This week we spent
most of our week finding new gators to teach, so we did a lot of contacting and
finding some new gators to see if they are ready and chosen. So it was good to
get after it this week finding new people. It was a lot of fun to find some new
familias and good people and we made it fun and got to meet some really great
people.
I really love the
Latin culture. It’s great and the people are sooo amazing, I am going to miss
them so much. But I guess I will just have to find Latins to hang out with in
the states and maybe even find a Latin wife…wouldn’t that be sweet JAJAJA…you
never know! So other than sweating like crazy and just finding and leaving the
area better than when I arrived here, we are just plugging away. I want to
leave the area so that when the new missionaries come in after me it’s ready
and people are doing good, I am just working hard to help the new guy that
comes so there is lots of work to follow up on.
I can’t believe that
in just a few short weeks I will be going home. That is crazy to say the
least!! What else do I have for you? So this week there was a fire and we tried
putting it out so it didn’t reach the house and all but we had to finally call
the firefighters so yea I about got stuck in there because the smoke caught up
so fast and I could barely see or breath. So I bent this pole back... my adrenaline
got going so bad that I really don’t know where all the strength came. So the
pic below is of me destroying the pole and getting out before dying. So yea the
force of the body is incredible under panicked situations. Good stuff.
Today we had a barbeque
with the zone and I and two buddies did all the cooking and grilling. Don’t
laugh dad, we can cook, you’d be surprised. It was a good time today doing
that. Then we played some volleyball with towels and water balloons. This week
flew bye and I really don’t know what else I have to say, just working hard and
doing my part to leave the area better than when I found it. What else... just
sweating my you know what’s off! HAHA…working hard and sweating plenty.
ENJOY A TALK THAT I
READ AND LOVED, APPLY IT TO YOUR LIVES.
“No Substitute for Family Prayer” by H. Kent
Rappleye
Modern prophets have
consistently taught that family prayer is essential if we are to protect our
families from the perils of today’s world.
The counsel of the prophet was plain and to the point:
“Parents, safeguard your families. … Pray together. There is no substitute for family
prayer when all kneel together before the Lord.” 1
Somehow
when I had listened to President Gordon B. Hinckley speaking in general
conference, I must have let those words be overshadowed by his announcement a
few sentences later that the Nauvoo Temple would be rebuilt. Yet as I reread
his talk in the Ensign, I realized that here was inspired counsel no one could
afford to ignore: nothing can take the place of kneeling with our families and
petitioning God for His help, guidance, and mercy. If we would help save and
strengthen our families, nothing else we do can replace family prayer.
It
is counsel that President Hinckley has consistently offered. A decade ago, in a
First Presidency message in the Ensign, he similarly taught that “a return to
the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of
the basic medications that would check the dread disease that is eroding the
character of our society.” 2
It
is a call that other prophets have consistently sounded throughout the history
of the Church. Following the sorrow and tragedy of World War I, for example,
President Heber J. Grant shared his feelings about family prayer: “I am
convinced that one of the greatest things that can come into any home to cause
the boys and girls in that home to grow up in a love of God, and in a love of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, is to have family prayer. … I
believe that there are very few that go astray, that very few lose their faith,
who have once had a knowledge of the gospel, and who never neglect their
prayers in their families, and their secret supplications to God.” 3
I
have often reflected upon my own experience growing up in a home with family
prayer. I don’t remember ever being instructed by my parents on how to pray. It
was just something we always did in our family. My earliest memories of prayer
are kneeling as a family around the kitchen table, feeling the steady,
unwavering faith of my father. Although he passed away more than a quarter of a
century ago, I will be eternally grateful for his humble and sincere prayers.
He had many sayings and proverbs he used to impart to us children, but no
phrase of his is more often remembered than one I heard him pray every time he
spoke to Heavenly Father. It wasn’t a vain repetition but a daily, heartfelt,
and sincere petition: “Wilt Thou bless the poor and the needy, the sick and the
afflicted, and those who have cause to mourn.” Little did I realize at the time
that my father was teaching me compassion for others less fortunate and mercy
for those in need. No lecture or lesson has had as far-reaching an impact on my
soul as did this simple, faithful, heartfelt plea of my earthly father to our
Heavenly Father.
I
have since learned that although one’s heart may be full and the desire great
to share thoughts and feelings with Heavenly Father, there needs to be a
special sensitivity to those who are participating. President Spencer W.
Kimball taught that family prayers should be “appropriate to the need. A prayer
of a single couple would be different from one for a family of grown children
or for one of small children. Certainly, it should not be long when little
children are involved, or they may lose interest and tire of prayer and come to
dislike it.” 4
Wise
parents will recognize the protective power of regular family prayer. President
Kimball taught: “No mother would carelessly send her little children forth to
school on a wintry morning without warm clothes to protect against the snow and
rain and cold. But there are numerous fathers and mothers who send their
children to school without the protective covering available to them through
prayer—a protection against exposure to unknown hazards, evil people, and base
temptations.” 5
Be
Consistent
The
challenge for parents in this age of rapid transit, rapid communication, and
hectic schedules is that families can easily fall into the habit of rapid prayer
or no prayer at all. Gathering the family together can be quite a challenge
when everyone seems to be headed in different directions at different times.
Even a half century ago, Church leaders were concerned with this intrusion of
busy schedules into family life. President George Albert Smith cautioned the
Saints: “I fear that, in the midst of the world’s confusion, of hurry and
bustle, many times homes are left without prayer and without the blessings of
the Lord; these homes cannot continue to be happy.” 6
Later,
President Kimball counseled: “When we kneel in family prayer, our children at
our side on their knees are learning habits that will stay with them all
through their lives. If we do not take time for prayers, what we are actually
saying to our children is, ‘Well, it isn’t very important, anyway. We won’t
worry about it. If we can do it conveniently, we will have our prayer, but if
the school bell rings and the bus is coming and employment is calling—well,
prayer isn’t very important and we will do it when it is convenient.’ Unless
planned for, it never seems to be convenient.” 7
Be
Flexible and Creative
Some
parents may get discouraged trying to hold family prayer. They have a desire to
follow the counsel of our leaders, but because of conflicting work hours and
school schedules, it sometimes seems impossible for them to gather their
families to the same place at the same time. Even so, with faithful devotion to
the words of the prophets and a little inspired creativity, families can find a
way to pray together. Elder Joe J. Christensen, then of the Presidency of the
Seventy, gave an encouraging insight to parents when he counseled: “Remember
family prayer every day. With schedules as they are, you may need to have more
than one prayer.” 8
Because
of the steady example of my mother and father, I can bear personal witness of
the value of these words of counsel from our leaders. When my parents had a
family of four small children, family prayer in the morning was not too
difficult to do on a regular basis. However, as we children got older, the
morning schedule of our family became unpredictable and hectic. There were
times when my father would have to leave for his job as an electrician at four
or five in the morning. My mother would arise with him and they would have
“family prayer” together before he left. Soon my sisters and brother would be
up for work or school, and my mother would have “family prayer” with them. Many
times I would be the last to arise in the morning and would rush to get ready and
run out the door. Without fail, my mother would call to me, “Let’s have family
prayer.” I would often complain that my ride was waiting or that I didn’t have
time. I am most grateful that my mother would ignore my pleas and excuses and
simply say, “You always have time for prayer.” In fact, my most prevalent
memory of family prayer in the morning is when my mother and I prayed together.
How grateful I am that she did not let busy schedules and the hustle and bustle
of everyone leaving for work and school get in the way of praying with her
family, even though it sometimes was in stages. Now that our children are
older, my wife and I often find ourselves kneeling in prayer with different
ones at different times before they leave for the day. It is not uncommon to
have “family prayer” three or four times in the morning.
Don’t
Let It Slide
President
Hinckley has encouraged parents to be hopeful and to persist in holding family
prayer, even if the blessings of doing so are not immediately apparent: “I give
you my testimony that if you sincerely apply family prayer, you will not go
away unrewarded. The changes may not be readily apparent. They may be extremely
subtle. But they will be real, for God ‘is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him’ (Heb. 11:6).” 9
Faithful
adherence to the counsel of the prophet will bring blessings. Most children
probably don’t realize the impact their parents’ example will have on the rest
of their lives, but parents must persevere.
President
James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, once told of an
interview President Kimball held with a bishop. President Kimball asked the
bishop how often he held family prayer. The bishop responded that he tried to
hold family prayer twice a day, but that his family probably averaged only once
a day. The prophet answered: “In the past, having family prayer once a day may
have been all right. But in the future it will not be enough if we are going to
save our families.” 10
In
teaching that we should have family prayers in the morning and the evening,
Church leaders have called for more than simply expanding the blessings we
pronounce upon our meals. President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “Just a few words
added to the blessing on the food, as is becoming the custom in some parts, is
not enough. We need to get onto our knees in prayer and gratitude.”
11
During
difficult times family prayers in the morning and the evening will not always
be enough. President Kimball said: “Never hesitate to gather your family around
you for your prayers, especially in those times when more than morning and
evening family prayer is needed. Extra needs require extra prayers.” 12
Teach
Your Little Ones
Although
children learn to pray as they listen to their parents pray, family prayer is
meant to be a time for all the family to participate. Even very small children
should have the opportunity to voice family prayer. “One cannot learn to pray
by merely listening, but must be given experience.” 13 There is, of course, a proper order of
things governing who should direct family prayers. “If the father is home, he
takes charge, and calls on one of the family to pray. If father is not there,
the mother is in charge. If both are gone, the oldest child is in charge, and
every night and every morning, the family is on their knees in prayer to the
Lord.” 14
As
children participate in family prayer and hear their parents speak to God in
humility, with faith in Jesus Christ, they can begin to learn things of the
soul in a setting that cannot be duplicated anywhere else. During family
prayer, children may begin to consider the answers to the great questions of
the ages: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?” Through family
prayer—and their own personal prayers that are thus encouraged—children will
begin to learn that they are sons and daughters of a loving Father in Heaven,
that they are here as part of a great and wise plan of happiness, and that they
can hope to return to their Father after this life. It is through family prayer
that children become acquainted with many eternal family
values.
What
an impact parents can have on their children if they pray as a family that
their sons will prepare for and be worthy to serve missions! How powerful will
be the message when parents pray that their daughters and sons will stay
morally clean and keep themselves worthy to enter the holy temple to be sealed
for time and all eternity! As parents plead for the Holy Spirit to be in their
home, children will come to know the importance of seeking the Spirit in their
own lives. As children hear their parents plead for help in resolving difficult
challenges and then witness the answers to those prayers, they will begin to
develop a spirit of inquiry of their own. They will pray with a desire to
knock, seek, and ask for help with problems and trials they face in their own
lives (see Matt. 7:7–11). The spirit and behavior that
parents leave as a model when they approach Heavenly Father in prayer will have
an important, long-lasting effect on their children. As President Kimball once
reminded parents, “Your little ones will learn how to talk to their Father in
Heaven by listening to you as parents. They will soon see how heartfelt and
honest your prayers are. If your prayers are a hurried and thoughtless ritual,
they will see this too.” 15
Parents
can also learn much about prayer from their little ones, as did a group of
Nephite parents when the resurrected Savior appeared among them and loosed the
tongues of even their small children (see 3 Ne. 26:14). Often the words given to little
children in prayer are more profound than they understand, but the humble,
listening heart can hear the Holy Spirit speak through them.
Don’t
Wait to Begin
Families
that have not been having family prayer should not wait for some change in
conditions or some ideal time to start. There is no better time to begin than
now. Family prayer is a habit that should be part of a family from its
beginning—when a husband and wife become one through marriage. But families
that have not had the habit can usually begin it with little preparation; the
parents—or mother or father if the parent is single—can lead out and teach or
encourage the children to follow.
Sometimes
there are special circumstances—a spouse or child who declines to participate,
for instance. But if the spouse will permit prayer or if the child will be
present, even without participating, a heart often can be won in the end by
humble, persistent, loving example. Over time, the benefits of family prayer
usually become obvious even to those who decline to participate, and they may
be learning from what they observe, even when they do not realize it. Many are
the stories of those who have been touched by prayers, both in the family group
and in the solitary, yearning heart that would not give up on loving.
The
end result is worth whatever sacrifices we make to build the habit—and often
these are no more than small sacrifices of time. President Hinckley has said:
“I know of no single practice that will have a more salutary effect upon your
lives than the practice of kneeling together as you begin and close each day.
Somehow the little storms that seem to afflict every marriage are dissipated
when, kneeling before the Lord, you thank him for one another, in the presence
of one another, and then together invoke his blessings upon your lives, your
home, your loved ones, and your dreams.” 16
Following
the devastation and terrible destruction that occurred after His crucifixion in
the Old World, the Savior appeared to the Nephite people and comforted them
with the counsel to “pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name,
that your wives and your children may be blessed” (3 Ne. 18:21). What simple yet powerful direction
to a people who had lost and suffered so much. What peaceful direction to all
who suffer and need guidance in their families today.
Recently
a good father and husband passed away unexpectedly in his home. He was only in
his 55th year. His youngest son found him while the mother was away in a nearby
city. The boy’s older brother and sisters were contacted at work. Friends and
neighbors came to assist. The children gathered at the hospital with extended
family and priesthood leaders. Medical personnel tried in vain to resuscitate
the father, but he was gone. There was much sorrow and grieving. Mother was
finally contacted and sped to the hospital, not knowing that her eternal
companion had already passed away a few hours earlier and that her children had
been heartbroken and awash in grief and pain for some time.
Upon
arrival, this mother was informed of the loss of her husband and taken to the
small hospital chapel where her children had been waiting. What a trial and
test lay before this woman! As she entered the chapel, her children rushed to
the comfort of her arms. Immediately, before much else was said, this wise and
steady mother said to her sorrowing children, “Let’s have family prayer.” And
so a family whose life and future had looked so bright and promising that
morning knelt together, arm in arm, to petition their Father in Heaven to help
and comfort them as they began the process of rebuilding shattered lives. The
members of this family testify that God heard their prayer. From that moment
on, there was strength and comfort. Testimonies were reaffirmed, hope was
steadied, and love and understanding filled the family circle. Father was gone,
but they knew it would be only temporary. Uniting in family prayer, they had
been reminded that through the grace and Atonement and Resurrection
of Jesus Christ, they would be together again as a family.
For
this family, for other families in the Church, and for all families throughout
the world, the words of a living prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, bring
comfort, guidance, and promise of everlasting spiritual growth: “There is no
substitute for family prayer.”
SEE YOU GUYS SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elder Long
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