1/7/2018 - Section 76:11-19

January 7, 2018

Section 76:11-19

Scripture Study, Pondering, Holy Ghost, Philippine Manila Mission, Mission Nurse, Journal, 

Joseph gives a description of their (Joseph’s & Sidney’s) vision and the circumstances that preceded it. It is in v 19 that he explains “And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about.” Nephi described similar circumstances in 1 Nephi 11:1. He says he was ‘pondering in mine heart’ the things of his father’s dream when he was ‘caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea into an exceedingly high mountain’. And President Joseph F. Smith said that he received his vision of the spirit world as he sat in his room ‘pondering over the scriptures; and reflecting’ (D&C 138-1-2). President David O McKay taught: :I think we pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion….” And one last quote—from President Marion G. Romney: “I have been challenged by the word ‘ponder’, so frequently used in the Book of Mormon. The dictionary says that ponder means ‘to weigh mentally, think deeply about, deliberate, meditate’….”

I certainly feel impressions as I read these scriptures. I am ‘delighted’ by them. I feel my faith is strengthened by them. But once I get up from my scripture study, I often mark that off on my to-do list and throw myself into other aspects of life. I’m trying hard to pray every morning, speaking about my goals and worries and my plans to deal with all of those, and every evening, when I like to report on just how well I’ve done on carrying out my morning hopes and desires. That is helping me to come closer to the Lord. But ‘pondering’ is, I think, a big step up. As I look forward to the hecticness of this upcoming mission, I don’t know if I’ll have time for deep pondering, but I do know that the Lord will bless me greatly in other ways. My prayers now are to receive insights on how to help the missionaries in matters of health that will not only help them to recover from whatever ailment they are facing, but that will help them to live a healthier and therefore a more productive life.

We visited for several hours yesterday with Sister Turner who has just returned from being the mission nurse in Manila. She is a far more experienced nurse than I am. She has given all her love and efforts to the missionaries—and still continues to help even from her home in Utah. I know I do not have her level of nursing expertise. But I also know I was called to this mission. Next Sunday I will be set apart and blessed to do what I was called to do. I am praying for inspiration, and the ability to recognize inspiration, and the strength to follow that inspiration—AND, in addition, I am doing my best to learn more about the common health problems that the missionaries are dealing with. I’m making notebooks that will help me respond quickly to calls concerning the more ‘common’ health matters that plague the missionaries in the Philippines. I have faith that the Lord will give me inspiration in how to deal with the important & serious health problems. And I pray for the faith, and the steadiness of heart, to listen to Him in what will possibly be hectic and turbulent times of health. Sister Turner feels that the Philippines Manila Mission has more active health problems than any of her other 4 missions. And she feels that the Lord sends the missionaries of the Philippines to this mission so that they can finally get the healthcare that they, due to their poor economic background, never had the chance to receive. Lives can be changed, and brightened, and made easier if we (not just me, but the advisors around me and the Holy Ghost) can zero in on the real problems and help these wonderful, devoted young people—some of whom have had more difficulties in their young life than I can ever imagine—to conquer health problems, and possibly even more importantly, to rise above the hardships and tragedies that some of these young people have already experienced in their young lives.