April 2018 | Saving Ordinances Will Bring Us Marvelous Light
I liked the personal stories Elder Wakolo shared and I could tell he has a fun sense of humor.
"What ordinances, including the sacrament, do I need to receive, and what covenants do I need to make, keep and honor?"
"I promise that participating in ordinances and honoring the associated covenants will bring you marvelous light and protection in this ever-darkening world."
Elder Wakolo is from Fiji and was baptized about 24 years ago. He shared how ordinances "bring you and me marvelous light."
I liked the personal stories Elder Wakolo shared and I could tell he has a fun sense of humor.
"What ordinances, including the sacrament, do I need to receive, and what covenants do I need to make, keep and honor?"
"I promise that participating in ordinances and honoring the associated covenants will bring you marvelous light and protection in this ever-darkening world."
Elder Wakolo is from Fiji and was baptized about 24 years ago. He shared how ordinances "bring you and me marvelous light."
Elder Wakolo talked about all of the important steps every person must take — be baptized, confirmed, ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood for men, the temple endowment and the marriage sealing.
I liked this story he told about a couple named John and Bonnie Newman.
One Sunday, after attending church with their three young children, Bonnie said to John, who was not a member of the Church, “I cannot do this on my own. You need to decide whether you come to my church with us or you choose a church that we can go to together, but the children need to know that their dad loves God too.” The following Sunday and every Sunday after, John not only attended; he also served, playing the piano for many wards, branches, and Primaries over the years. I had the privilege of meeting with John in April 2015, and in that meeting, we discussed that the best way he could manifest his love for Bonnie was to take her to the temple, but that could not happen unless he was baptized.
After attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 39 years, John was baptized in 2015. A year later, John and Bonnie were sealed in the Memphis Tennessee Temple, 20 years after she had received her own endowment. Their 47-year-old son, Robert, said of his dad, “Dad has really, really blossomed since he received the priesthood.” Bonnie added, “John has always been a happy and cheerful person, but receiving the ordinances and honoring his covenants has enhanced his gentleness.”
I also liked this experience shared:
The sacrament is an ordinance that helps us stay on the path, and worthily partaking is evidence that we are keeping the covenants associated with all the other ordinances. A few years ago, while my wife, Anita, and I were serving in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission, I went out to teach with two young missionaries. During the lesson, the good brother we were teaching said, “I have been to your church; why do you have to eat bread and drink water every Sunday? In our church, we do it twice a year, on Easter and Christmas, and that is very meaningful.”
We shared with him that we are commanded to “meet together oft to partake of bread and wine” (Moroni 6:6; see also D&C 20:75). We read out loud Matthew 26 and 3 Nephi 18. He responded that he still did not see the necessity.
We then shared the following comparison: “Imagine you are involved in a very serious car accident. You have been injured and are unconscious. Someone runs by, seeing that you are unconscious, and dials the emergency number, 911. You are attended to and regain consciousness.”
We asked this brother, “When you are able to recognize your surroundings, what questions will you have?”
He said, “I will want to know how I got there and who found me. I will want to thank him every day because he saved my life.”
We shared with this good brother how the Savior saved our lives and how we need to thank Him every day, every day, every day!
We then asked, “Knowing that He gave His life for you and us, how often do you want to eat the bread and drink the water as emblems of His body and blood?”
He said, “I get it, I get it. But one more thing. Your church is not lively like ours.”
To that we responded, “What would you do if the Savior Jesus Christ walked through your door?”
He said, “Immediately, I would go down to my knees.”
We asked, “Isn’t that what you feel when you walk into Latter-day Saint chapels—reverence for the Savior?”
He said, “I get it, I get it, I get it!”
He showed up at church that Easter Sunday and kept returning.
I invite each of us to ask ourselves, “What ordinances, including the sacrament, do I need to receive, and what covenants do I need to make, keep, and honor?” I promise that participating in ordinances and honoring the associated covenants will bring you marvelous light and protection in this ever-darkening world.
