Spiritual Matters

Tonight President Neal Peterson blessed us and set us apart as missionaries. It was another assurance that God is there, that He knows us and loves us, and that He is sending us to the exact place where He needs us. President Peterson addressed all my concerns and  referred to D&C 84:88. When the blessing was finished, I asked him if he knew that that was "our" scripture--pointing to the frame. He did not, but we all were touched that his words were the message that the Lord wanted us to hear. Jim's blessing addressed Jim's concerns and blessings for our family while we are gone. Wiping his tears, President Peterson told us that he couldn't find the exact words to express the feeling that had come to him when his hands were on Jim's head. It was something about our teachings helping the Gospel to spread across the border. I guess that we'll had to wait to see how it all plays out. President Peterson says we will know when it happens. It was a testimony to us that it was the Lord's message, through our very spiritual, in-tune stake president. Jim, Cameron, and Bishop Todd Parker participated in the laying on of hands.

Missionary Matters

We had our missionary "farewell" last Sunday. the best part was our family choir! Five of our boys, some daughters-in-law, and grandchildren sang "The Spirit of God." Brady and Kelsey sang solo parts, and Jill was our fabulous pianist. Here is a version of my talk:

Many years ago when were a very young family, we moved to a house in the country near Shelley, Idaho. Jim was working and had the opportunity to student teach seminary there. Steven and Derek were in first and third grade, and we had three pre-schoolers at home. We enrolled the boys at school and waited that first day for them to come home on the bus. This was in the days before cell phones, and we only had one car. When the bus came and went with no little Flanagan boys, I began to panic. It was late, and I wasn’t sure how to get help or what to do. No one was at the school by the time I called. Jim was at work and the nearest neighbors were not at home. I finally reached my mother-in-law in Idaho Falls, but she had to find a way to come. As twilight fell, amidst panic and prayers, my two little boys were seen walking down our country road. A miracle. How did they find their way? Not knowing which way to go, they had knelt together by a fencepost and said a prayer. A loving Father was watching out, and they were guided home. Isn’t that the way with all of us on this earthly journey? We are lost and alone until we rely on the Father to guide us back safely home.

As General conference closed on Easter Sunday, President Nelson stood and announced seven new temples. It was exciting to hear of another Utah temple. It was thrilling to hear the announcement of a temple in Russia. Seven new temples, but the one that took my breath away was the very thought of an Indian temple in Bengaluru. I had never thought of faithful Saints on the sub-continent praying for the blessings of the temple. Just as conference closed, Facebook dinged, and I looked to see a post from my friend Cecilia Jabakumar, principal of Arcadia Elementary.  She expressed her joy at the announcement of a temple in her homeland and exclaimed,, “How great is our God!” She later posted pictures and information about the thankful Saints in Bengaluru.  On his world tour, President Nelson told how there were to be 6 temples announced at conference, then the night before the announcement, the Lord told him to announce a temple in India.

The people of India have made many sacrifices for the Gospel.  Like the refugee converts I met in Turkey, they may have had to choose between the Church and their family. Like the branch president who met our train in Russia, they may have been forced from their jobs when they chose Christianity. Like the Iranian refugees, maybe they had to flee for their lives. No matter what sacrifices they had to make or we have to make, they made them willingly in exchange for the greater blessings and peace that the Gospel brings. “sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!”

Sacrifice is giving up something good or desirable in exchange for something of greater value. As Latter-day Saints we often have to make those kinds of choices: Raising families, serving in callings, making time for dinners to the sick, attending the. Temple instead of ball games or. Netflix, or maybe serving a 23-month mission in Laredo, Texas!

Many years ago my nephew was called to serve in the Russia St. Petersburg mission where my son Sean was already serving. Matt was asked to speak on sacrifice much like I was for today. He said he didn't think a mission was a sacrifice. I was feeling the same way until I started remembering all the things we would miss while we are teaching seminary and Institute in Texas—baptisms, graduations, weddings, babies, trips. These are all good things, but it is true that it is a sacrifice to miss them.

Remember the sacrifices on the altars in Old Testament times: Adam, Noah, Moses and all the prophets taught their people to lay on the altar the best they had in similitude of the Savior who would come and offer himself as the ultimate sacrifice. Easter has just passed, and we remember Christ in the Garden, on the cross, and resurrected on the road to Emmaus. His mission did away with blood sacrifices, but we still offer our sacrifices in similitude. We are asked to lay our pride on the altar, to give Him our hearts, our lives, and our love. 3 Nephi 9:19-20:

19. And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Cristina Rosetti said, "what shall I give Him, poor as I am?" Nothing seems to quite measure up. So, we are going to Laredo. For 23 months we will put aside the busyness of our lives and focus on the Lord's work.

Elder Haleck gave a talk in last October's conference called "The Heart of the Widow." He says that the heart of the widow is defined by a willingness to give all for building up the kingdom of God on the earth. Do we have that same heart, that willingness? Mark 12:41-44: "And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called into him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

"The heart of the widow who gave her two mites is a heart that will give all by making sacrifices; by enduring hardship, persecution, and rejection; and by bearing burdens of many kinds. The heart of the widow is a heart that senses, feels, and knows the light of truth and will give anything to embrace that truth. It also helps others to see that same light and come to the same measure of eternal happiness and joy. Finally, the heart of the widow is defined by a willingness to give all for the building up of the Kingdom of God on earth."

President Monson said, "As we follow the example of the Savior, ours will be the opportunity to be a light in the lives of others."

My sacrifice seems small compared to so many who sell their homes and cars, leave their children and grandchildren, and leave to serve in faraway, poor countries. We have traveled all over the world, and we have been called to serve in a busy border town on the Rio Grande.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks asked us to find ways we can sacrifice to help us come closer to the Savior. April 2012 That sacrifice—the Atonement of Jesus Christ—is at the center of the plan of salvation.

The incomprehensible suffering of Jesus Christ ended sacrifice by the shedding of blood, but it did not end

the importance of sacrifice in the gospel plan. Our Savior requires us

to continue to offer sacrifices, but the sacrifices He now commands are that we “offer for a sacrifice unto [Him]

a broken heart and a contrite spirit”

(3 Nephi 9:20). He also commands each of us to love and serve one another—in effect, to offer a small imitation of His own sacrifice by making sacrifices of our own time and selfish priorities.”

President Nelson told the people in Bengaluru, "It is easier for us to build a temple, than it is for us to build a people who are ready for the ordinances and covenants of the temple. It is going to take you a while to get ready." Then he joked that they better hurry because he is 93, and he wants to return to dedicate the temple. He said with a temple in India, members will have to "give up contention, learn to love one another even better than we already do, we will have to keep the commandments, we will have to be honest, we will have to be fair, we will have to be a covenant-keeping people."

His counsel is true for all of us. Our time is short. It is time for us to be willing to lay it all on the altar. We can never repay Him for all he has given us. How great is our God!