No such thing as coincidence.
Last Tuesday meeting with our group leadership at church, I was informed that I would have the opportunity to teach this Sunday. I do enjoy teaching, though I feel that I am woefully inadequate to do so, especially in this group which has some 9 or 10 former Bishops in it. I have mentioned this before, I think, I usually do okay, and hopefully it will go well this time. The subject of discussion will be the talk given by Elder Brent H. Nielson, of the Seventy (a group of leaders that serve in assignments from the Prophet, and the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.) as did the Seventy in the time of Christ.
Of course, this is complicated enough on its own, as most of the men in our group know Elder Nielson personally, as he grew up around here, having served in several leadership positions. I remember the talk, given in the Sunday morning session, titled "Waiting for the Prodigal". Here is a link to the talk where you can either watch, or read it.
So, remember the title of the post, for I truly believe that there is no such thing as coincidence. I know that our Heavenly Father knows what we need to hear, to study, and to teach. I felt hearing this talk the first time, that it was amazing, in fact, one of the best talks in the entire conference. It was extremely personal for him, and as it turns out, is extremely personal to me, especially teaching it this week.
The particulars of the why, are not needed in this post. Suffice to say that many of us have family members that are not where We would want them to be. Elder Nielson counsels on this as the Savior did: “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Luke 15:4).
He follows through on discussing his sister, and the very real pain that their family experienced when she turned away from their, and her, beliefs. They still reached out to her, inviting her to family functions, including her in everything. She knew that she was loved, and over time, her heart softened, and she ultimately returned to fellowship in their church, embracing the beliefs that she grew up with, and recognized, as truth.
I understand what he is saying, but it is in the details that problems arise. It is very rarely a one way street in that situation, and sometimes it takes recognition of that fact to be able to heal, and to mend. All we can do is to let our families know that they matter and that they are loved.
We are all in need of healing. We are all in need of the Savior's love, His unconditional love for us. We are not perfect, not even close, but if we strive to live as the Savior lived, and to love as the Savior loved, we can be accepting of those who have different opinions, and lifestyles, and continue to watch, and to wait, and to pray, that our hearts can be softened, and that we can truly work on our relationships, and when the prodigal returns, we can open our arms to him, or her. By the way, if you were to read the parable of the Prodigal Son, as if you, as an individual, were the prodigal, it can provide greater understanding. After all, aren't we all prodigals? Are we not separated from our Father in Heaven, living and learning from our experiences on this earth? Perhaps we need to beg the Father to accept us back, with a broken heart.
Elder Nielson speaks to those in pain, and it is a message to the world. I can only hope that as I teach, I will be able to get the message across, not only to those in the group, but to myself as well.
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