Sleep is so important. It is a time to let your body heal and re energize for the next day!
Sometimes I feel like I need to be working all the time. I am on the Lords time. Only two years. I need to be doing all I can to move His work forward. While this is true, if you work yourself to hard you can become tired and lose motivation. You could burn out. This is why rest and activities that will take your mind off the work is important. Take time to disengage. I am learning this is important.
Marcella is progressing well. We have taught her the Plan of Salvation. She agrees with what we believe.
Kathy is great. We invited her to read the intro to the Book of Mormon. She said she will also pray about what she reads.
Jesus Christ is the way. We can become like Him as we make covenants in the temple. Through Him all will be resurrected. Through Him all can choose to repent and be cleansed of sin. He is perfect. He is the example of whom we should follow. This was my focus of my talk I gave yesterday (January 17, 2021) I shall attach it below.
Take a picture in front of a temple near you and save it as the lock screen on your phone! It will increase your desire to enter it one day.
Love you all, Elder Spencer
The Temple: House of the Lord
By: Elder William Spencer
January 17, 2021 Clarksville, AR Ward
Good morning everyone! I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today. What an amazing ward. You are all amazing. All children of our Father in Heaven. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Elder Spencer. Literally my first name is Elder. haha. Just joking. I have enjoyed my time as a missionary so far! I was trained online from my room with nine other missionaries in their rooms. The online MTC experience for me was one of growth and spiritual nourishment. It will be a time I will always cherish. I feel greatly blessed that I was able to travel and begin service in my original assignment; the Arkansas Bentonville Mission. I grew up in Canada but was born in Provo, Utah. Because of my duo citizenship they allowed me to come and serve here. I hope my fellow missionaries, including my comp, and friend Elder Horner will be able to get to their original assignments as well. Mexico and Tahiti look out! Heavenly Father “...knoweth all things'' (2 Nephi 2: 24) He knew this virus was coming. He knew missionionaries would be reassigned. He knew hardships would occur. He comprehends it all. Sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better. “God will do something unimaginable.” (Elder Uchtdorf, God Will Do Something Unimaginable, October 2020 general conference) God has already done something unimaginable through temples. I would like to address there importance in pointing us to Jesus Christ and becoming more like Him.
The temple is the most important building in our church. In reality it is the most important building for everyone. Temples are where we become like God. The promises we make to Him inside point us to Jesus Christ who is “the way” to eternal life with Heavenly Father. (2 Nephi 31:21) We are “trying to be like Him,” (I’m trying to be like Jesus, #78, Childrens Songbook) and the ordinances we can perform in temples help us along that path.
What does it look like to try to be like Jesus? Is it easy to become like Jesus? Is it simple to become perfect? No, brothers and sisters, it is not easy. It is not simple. It takes hard work. Trying over and over again, time and effort, diligence. When we are becoming like Jesus we are becoming like God. That is an incredible thing that will take eternity to learn how to do. It will take the Atonement of Jesus Christ to become like Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ overcame two deaths. The first was spiritual death, when He performed the Atonement: an act that only He could do. He was perfect. Second, physical death. “When Christ died on the cross, His spirit became separated from His body. On the third day, His spirit and His body were reunited eternally, never to be separated again.” (PMG Chapter 3, L2, pg 51) Jesus Christ was resurrected. He now has a body that is perfect. “...never again subject to disease, pain or death.” (PMG Chapter 3, L2, pg 51) That is a miracle in itself. Because Jesus was resurrected we too, will be resurrected. He died so we could live again. One day, our bodies will be made perfect. To live with Heavenly Father again we need to be resurrected so we can endure “God’s presence..” (PMG Chapter 3, L2, pg 51) but we also need to be “cleansed from sin.” (PMG, Chapter 3, L2, pg 51)
Let me now share an experience I had while working on a temple that might make it easier to understand just how our work being done on the temple needed to be perfect or at least as good as we could possibly get it, in relation to how we should strive to be to enter God’s presence.
I was working on the Vancouver British Columbia Temple. We were re-constructing the landscaping on the grounds. A fence would be put up around the property along with a long sidewalk within the fence to allow for patrons to easily walk around and enjoy the beauty of the building. The time came to begin work on the sidewalk. The ground was cleared of all plants and roots, and gravel was dumped and racked out. We measured, and leveled the rock so the sidewalk would be even and straight. More rock as added, tampers came and compressed the rock to make it solid and safe. Form work was completed with cutting, more measuring, screwing and pounding in spikes. Our sidewalk was starting to take shape. Finally, the day came to pour the concrete. A huge truck came full of cement and a partner truck came to pour the mixture directly where it needed to go. The cement came and it was difficult work spreading it evenly and keeping it within the forms. We had to work fast because cement dries up quickly. Working as hard as we could we went down the whole sidewalk: pouring, smoothing, and forming. But we were not fast enough. The cement dried too quickly for us to complete our task. I was frustrated at myself. What could I have done more to complete the sidewalk before it set? Why were we not able to finish in time?
Our boss would later tell us: “You all worked so hard today. You gave it all you got and you did all that you were told to do. The cement dried quickly and our job was not completed because of that. Therefore, it will not pass the inspection check that the temple work needs to pass. Luckily we have the means and resources to try again and learn from our experience. We want the best quality of work done on His sidewalk. Tomorrow we will tear out the sidewalk we poured today.” The next day another crew member and I cut up the sidewalk.
So what does this story have to do with striving to be clean to enter God’s presence? Just like the crew had a job to build a sidewalk, we have a job to return to our Heavenly Father. We will have to work hard at it: pouring, smoothing, and forming our desires to follow Jesus. Sometimes we will be working so hard but fall short. We may harden our hearts making it impossible to finish the job. In the Book of Alma we read: READ ALMA 34: 31-32. This is the time to prepare to meet God; to perform our labours. “...do not procrastinate the day of your repentance..” (Alma 34: 33) We began to tear up the sidewalk the day after we poured it. “If not now, when?” (President Gordon B. Hinckley)
Jesus Christ “..has redeemed [you], He knows [you] by name, [you] are [His].” (Isa. 43:1) He will “.. come before you face..” and send His “..angels to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88) You can become clean through Jesus Christ.
I would like to share a story that recently occured to illustrate that He will not leave us comfortless, and how He can lift us up in our times of despair. One day, Elder Decker and I were headed out to Lamar for a teaching appointment to a dear sister whom we love. We are in a car share with Vandy, Peterson and Horner and they had the car. So we had to bike to Lamar. Five miles one way. We started off, cruising along when I noticed I couldn’t see Elder Decker any more. He was up and over the hill while I was still peddling up it. After peddling and peddling I got to the top and saw Elder Decker way down at the bottom. Weird I thought. I have biked before. I know how to shift gears properly and go up a hill. Elder Decker must just know more because he grew up in Missouri where the landscape is similar to here. However, it wasn’t just that hill. It was the whole ride that he was flying and I was far behind. I became discouraged. How can he be so far ahead of me? Why can’t my bike go any faster?! My legs were sore and I was hot from the jacket I was wearing. My shoulder bag was bumping into my leg and getting in the way of my peadling. I was frustrated and wanted to give up. But then three distinct songs with accompanying thoughts came to my head. First was “I’m Trying To be Like Jesus.” the thought of Jesus suffering for me. He felt the pain in my legs, the heat from the sun and my jacket and the annoyance of my bag. He felt it for me. Second was, “A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.” Joseph Smith was martyred soon after this hymn was sung in Carthage Jail. He died for the church. Surely I can finish biking to deliver the message he died for. Third was “Come Come Ye Saints.” The early saints travelled across the United States in the snow and cold to Zion. They were persecuted, friendless and homeless. Many also died for the cause of Zion. Even though I feel lonely on this bike ride, they had no one. I was at least biking in good weather, while they had to go through the snow. These thoughts and songs gave me strength to endure.
I would later see from a man in this ward that my back brakes were rubbing on the tire. That is why I was going so slow. That is why I was having such a hard time
Brothers and sisters. Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance. Always hold a current temple recommend so you can enter the house of the Lord and become more like Him as you make covenants with HIm. I am so excited that a temple is being built in Bentonville. That will be an amazing day when that temple is completed. It will give me a good excuse to come back and visit!
I know temples are the houses unto the Lord. We can feel His presence inside. So go. Go up unto the mountain of the Lord. The Saviour is waiting. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
