Words of an apostle

This week we were blessed to have Elder Bednar and his wife with us here in Korea. The notes I took on their counsel take up pages in my journal so I’ll give you the main ideas.

• ·         Don’t hesitate to stand and let the inspiration come in the moment.
• ·         As we keep our eye on the goal (Jesus Christ) we can do all things that He has asked us to do.
• ·         The way to put off the natural man is to get married and raise a family. Living in a family gives us a mirror into who we really are.
• ·         To inherit the Telestial Kingdom there are just a few things you cannot do; to inherit the Terrestrial Kingdom there are some things you need to do; but to inherit the Celestial Kingdom you need to be changed by the things you do.
• ·         Sometimes, because the Spirit is always there as a constant, quiet peace, we fail to recognize it.  Most important is to recognize and know when the Spirit leaves and turn around.
• ·         In response to how to counter the barrage of anti-Mormon literature some missionaries read after they return from their mission, Elder Bednar counseled to give equal time to Book of Mormon study.
• ·         Elder Bednar shared his pattern of reading the Book of Mormon start to finish searching for the answer to one question.
• ·         He reinforced the reason to learn English is because English is the language of the restoration.
• ·         Our purpose is to find, teach, and baptized but the measure of our success is not in the choices of those to whom we seek to share.
• ·         Elder Bednar told the missionaries that there is no such thing as sacrifice because all we have is the Lord’s. He said that we can make an offering to the Lord and used as an example the senior sisters who were separated from their grandchildren.
• ·         Elder Bednar counseled, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven.”
• ·         He referred to the repeated counsel from the apostles on the subject of Sabbath Day observance. He said the reminders will not go away until they are heeded. It is NOT your day. It is the Lord’s Day. What we do on that day reflects what we think of our Savior. He was very direct in counseling NOT to study on Sunday which is the norm in Korean culture.

To illustrate he understands academic pressures to succeed he shared a story of his graduate school experience. Of four students accepted into the elite program at a very prestigious university he was the only one with a wife, two children, and a calling to teach early morning seminary. The other four did nothing but study and do research. At the end of the program, only one student completed the program. His success he attributed to the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord to bless those who choose Him first. He left an apostolic blessing upon those who would heed his warning and his sure witness that this is the Lord’s church directed by Jesus Christ.

On the train ride home I gave my seat on a busy train to an older grandma and she was so happy that she took both of her hands in hers and hugged them. That's as close as Koreans get to hugging; they usually don't touch. She had such a big smile and talked to me in Korean. My understanding of her Korean was zero! So, I pulled out my one ace and that is my phone with pictures of Snowbird and our trip to Capitol Reef. I tell them that this is what Utah looks like and then point out the daughters, son, granddaughters and grandsons in the pictures. They are amazed to see one of our big family pictures at Snowbird.

One of my favorite grandmothers was in the park one day and she wanted to tell me something about two. She was counting and showed two fingers, her thumb and index finger in an L-shape. On the next loop of the park there were two friends sitting with her and it looked like she was pouring them something to drink and they were having a little tea party together. Then she motioned me to join them. She had boiled some very small sweet potatoes and they were peeling them with their fingers and eating them. They were a little warm and she wanted me to eat one, too. I patiently peeled a potato and enjoyed eating it with them. I tried to say delicious in Korean but I’m not sure she understood. She just wanted me to eat another one and then she insisted I have Wayne join us and he sat and ate, too. When she left she insisted I take the rest of the uneaten potatoes. 

On Saturday we headed for Soyosan Mt. with most of Seoul from the number of people who exited the train and were everywhere on the mountain. There was a flower festival there and the Fall leaves were ablaze in color, a delight to the eye. We decided to try the right fork today to see something new. It looked to be the steep ascent to the summit but we enjoyed the view and put one foot in front of the other. As we crossed the stream we saw three soldiers sitting on a rock resting. Wayne recognized one of our soldiers, Austin. Some of the sergeants wanted to hike so they brought the soldiers with them and they were enjoying a bit of freedom from the confines of the base. I didn’t push to reach the summit but Wayne reached the top and took pictures of our apartment complex from the top. Now he has bragging rights as he talks to soldiers who make this ascent regularly.