Hello Missionary Friends! May
28, 2016
Happy Memorial Day!
This is one of my favorite holidays, mainly because in Rexburg, where I
grew up, it generally signaled the end of winter. There were sometimes more
days of frost, but generally it was okay to put out the tomatoes by the end of
May. Anyway, I hope you are having a wonderful holiday of remembering those who
have blazed the trail, paved the way, and set the road signs for us, the
followers. That’s why we remember them.
I have been reading the essays at lds.org that the Church is
publishing to help clear us some misconceptions about who we are and what we
believe. They have some appeal to the
honest and humble out there who really want to learn the truth. Some of the sectarians still don’t get it,
though. For instance, this guy, head of a large and prosperous seminary (which
gives a good hint as to why he can’t change his tune) had this to say:
"The foundational doctrine of Mormonism is that God is
eternal but Jesus is not,” Land told OneNewsNow. “Until they get that doctrine
right — the doctrine of the Trinity — how can they be approaching
orthodoxy?"
"The Mormon Jesus is not our Jesus, and the Mormon God is
not the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” he contends. “It's that
simple — Mormonism is another religion."
It makes me want to say, “Ah, come on! You are standing in
darkness and you can’t even comprehend the light.” But that is what the Lord told Joseph Smith,
too. (D&C 6:21; 45:7; 88:49.)
Susa Young Gates in a great article entitled “The Apostate”
in the April 1905 Improvement Era, wrote: “One apostatizes only from truth, not error.” That explains why people can leave the Church
but they can’t leave it alone. Interesting concept, don’t you think! The
essence of being able to see and comprehend the light, and to tell the
difference between light and darkness, is contained in the power and gift of
The Holy Ghost. The pride of the world, represented by the Great and Spacious
Building without a foundation so powerfully portrayed in Lehi and Nephi’s
Vision of the Tree of Life, is what prevents people from comprehending the
light. Everybody, LDS or not, has to deal with that issue.
I really enjoy working in the Twin Falls temple every
Wednesday morning, as I have said many times. I have noticed, however, that
something has been missing, and I identified it as my own regular temple
worship. Since I retired Gaye and I have gone weekly to do endowments or
initiatory, but since we have been officiating, that regularity has dropped
off. So I got up Thursday morning, skipped breakfast, and drove the 5 minutes
to the temple to attend an endowment session. (Gaye couldn’t go with me.)
WOW! What an experience I had! It felt
like I had not been to the temple in a long time, even though I am there for 8
hours every Wednesday, officiating in everything but sealings. (We get to
participate in sealing sessions as patrons a couple of times a month during our
temple shift, and that is a remarkable experience, too.)
One of the things I learned from this temple experience is
that Satan loves to mock God. He tells lies as if they are truths. Sometimes
the words really are true, as in saying that there really is no other way, but
the circumstances and the intent are false. Sometimes people say that Satan tells
half-truths. Really? There is no such thing as a half-truth. He is a liar from
the beginning, and we would do well to stay out of his employ. Anyway, I felt
light and warmth glowing into my soul until I thought I would burst. That is
the kind of experience we pray for our friends and investigators, our home
teaching families, our visit teaching families, our students in our Primary and
Sunday school classes, and especially our families to have in every context
associated with this marvelous Gospel. We want to see the light, comprehend the
light, and enjoy the safety the light brings to our lives.
I remember so well how I felt the first week I was in South
Africa as a young missionary. We had spent one week in the Missionary Home in
Salt Lake before flying for three days to get to Johannesburg. Everything was
out of whack in my biological clock. The sun came up in the wrong place, the
people were culturally and racially very different from anything I had ever
experienced, the language was completely uncomprehendable, the food was weird,
I had to wear a suit and tie all the time, you know the feeling. Two days later
I was on a train for a 24-hour ride to my first area, where I was with a South
African elder who had not even been able to go to the temple before his mission
service. The nearest temple was in London, England. I was so home sick I could
not even think straight. The idea of another 2 ½ years of that, with no
opportunity to ever speak with my family over that whole time, was almost more
than I could bear. I wanted to die every night, and getting up was painful as I
realized that I was still there. Until, that is, I had a dream that I had gone
home and had to face everybody. Boy, I was glad to wake up in South Africa
after that! The 2 ½ years in front of me
that had appeared to be forever from the front passed too quickly, and I was on
my way home.
I love reading your letters, you who share them with me. For
you who don’t, I also feel your spirit and enthusiasm as I visit with your
parents about how you are doing. It is such a strengthening experience for me
to read how you are out there tackling your own demons with faith and
commitment. And I love to learn of the lessons you are gaining as you serve and
grow. Keep it up! You are all awesome!
Tons of smiles and love to you,
Ken Patterson