20 July 2010 6:00am
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you so much for the missionaries that have served in our family and for Jedediah Craig Harr whose was set apart as a missionary Sunday 18 July 2010.
We had a very exceptional extended family home evening planned for a month or so by Marta. Val was conducting and he had ask every missionary in our family to share something special about their mission. The entire family, except for Whitney who is having her own spiritual experiences being an Especially For Youth Councilor for two weeks in Logan, gathered on the new deck at Fox Hunt.
We first ate Chinese which is not usual for us but was very good and we thank Brad for providing it for us and others added good things.
Val then took charge and we sang together “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission” and prayed and then Dave Stapel started and stood up front of the family and shared about learning to share yourself not trying to be someone else but sharing your own talents to find and teach the people that you were sent to teach that have been prepared for you. Cliff Lindford, Jeff McNeill, Jeremy Paulsen, Brad Harr and then Grandpa Chris, who was especially thrilled to have the opportunity to stand and tell about deciding to serve a mission and the spiritual Holy Ghost witnesses that accompanied his and Orla’s call to serve. Val followed and then (it is now dark) turned sometime over to Elder Jed.
Jed shared from memory:
THE STANDARD OF TRUTH
“…the standard of truth has been erected; No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”
Joseph Smith Jr.
MY MISSIONARY COMMISSION
“I am called of God. My Authority is above that of the kings of the Earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is my Master and he has chosen me to represent him. To stand in His Place, to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me. My Voice is His voice, and my acts are His acts, my words are His words and my doctrine is His doctrine. My commission is to do what He wants done. To say what He wants said. To be a living modern witness is word and deed of the divinity of His great and marvelous latter-day work.”
HOW GREAT IS MY CALLING
By Elder Bruce R. McConkie
As Jed spoke these words having memorized them I felt that Jesus Christ was standing right behind his shoulder.
I was reminded of Katie’s missionary scripture:
D&C 84:88
And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.
And a similar scripture:
D&C 49: 27
Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded.
What a great privilege to be in the presence of Jesus Christ, our Savior. I did not see him I just had the impression that He was there as Jed spoke the words about representing Him.
In the days of Moses as the children of Israel traveled in the wilderness the presence of the Lord was witnessed constantly as a cloud over the tabernacle by day and a pillar of fire by night.
It is my goal to see him face to face as Moses diligently tried to inspire the children of Israel to do so.
It was a special time to hear Grandpa Chris tell us about his strong impressions of the Holy Ghost and how important it was to him. It was great to have him there as our senior patriarch to share. Katie also was especially powerful and she stood on a chair and told us about street corners and singing “I am a child of God”. Jeremy encouraged each kid there to know now that they are going to serve a mission. Jeff did not want to go where it was cold but went to serve in Michigan some days it was -20. He served. Brad told about putting a Book of Mormon on the roof as a creative way to get to share about it and how every missionary will have to think of their own ways of sharing. Cliff told of teaching a special young man who yelled to them over the fence and wanted to interview Mormons on their religion. He taught and loved that young man just a little older than he was and how he went on be become a missionary. Val met Bruce Olsen chopping wood and chopped wood for him the day he met him and now his sons have served missions. Every missionary added to the spirit as they shared their insights about their mission with us.
We closed the FHE by all singing a song lead by Brinley and then “Called to Serve” and little Brycen prayed.
Thank you Marta for providing us with this wonderful time together. The family all loved coming together to have this family home evening. The cousins played and did not want it to end. Little Bode and Emma were still running and play at 11:00pm. It was a beautiful feeling of being together.
It was an awesome evening.
