Thursday, June 18, 2015

WEEK 44 - THE SACRED ORDINANCE

Hey everyone, this is Elder Z.S.Weber, checking in once more for an
update on how life in Colorado is going. And let me just tell y'all
that it is just too hot to function. I don't know how, but in the last
week we've gone from being buffeted by rain and wind, to having
searing sun scorch us until we're fried up like strips of bacon.
Having the underground apartment we're staying in has definitely been
a nice, cool escape from the heat of the day. However, even with the
killer heat, Elder Buchanan and I were able to have some awesome
experiences this week.

To start off our week, we go to Wednesday, where we rose up early and
got started having a most enthusiastic day. We were dedicated to the
decision that we would work as hard as possible today, and glean
whatever we could from District Meeting that could bless us in our
service. It was about the time we were driving to the church for the
meeting, however, that we remembered that this week was Zone
Conference week, and our regular meetings wouldn't continue until
after the week was over. So, the rest of the day was simply spent
doing missionary work while trying not to get over-heated.

Thursday, however, was a much cooler day, in both senses of the word.
The Zone Meeting was awesome, as we were able to watch this video of
the Twelve Apostles training the Quorums of the Seventy before this
last General Conference. In the video, they spoke about making the
Sabbath a delight, and having a more reverent approach to the
sacrament. One of the really interesting things I gleaned from the
experience was something Elder Nelson said--that if we improve the
sacredness of our Sabbath Day observance and reception of the
Sacrament, faith will increase throughout the world.

One thing I really liked was how Elder Holland explained the
sacrament. He mentioned that we should take some time to ponder and
remember during the sacrament, as remembering the Savior is one of the
main requirements we have in the Sacrament prayers. He said we should
think back to who the Savior really was, how He treated His apostles
as His friends, how He loved everyone and found the time to bless
everyone, even when He Himself was in need of blessing for his
troublesome mission. How his parents, though simple and ordinary, did
what no other parents had ever done before--raised a son to be the
Messiah they had dreamed would one day finally come. It was really
amazing.

He spoke on how the Sacrament is an ordinance, just like baptisms for
the dead, and the covenants we make in the temple. As such, we should
give it our full respect and devotion. We must prepare ourselves,
physically, mentally, and spiritually, to partake of its sacredness.
For truly it is sacred, the most holy of ordinances we could have
access to in this tumultuous world we live in today.

After the Zone Conference was over, Elder Buchanan and I got a call
from our ward's Bishop. He was wondering if we could talk during
Sacrament meeting. Perfect timing, right? What I hadn't been expecting
was that we'd be the only speakers, and both of us would have to speak
for about twenty minutes. We were asked to keep our talks aimed at the
family, and strengthening it. I decided to have my talk be aimed at
improving the strength of the family through spiritual nourishing,
family bonding, and temple preparation in the home. I was worried
about how well I'd offer the information, but the members seemed to
like both Elder Buchanan's talk on Sabbath Day observance and the
family, and mine. So, all in all, it was a really great week.

Well, that's it for this week! Hope to hear from y'all again soon!

--Elder Z.S.Weber

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