In the office this past week we were happy to have the mission budget completed and turned in to Hong Kong. Saturday Aug. 15th was transfer day for the missionaries. Many missionaries were transferred. Because of missionaries who just completed their missions, we have 16 mini missionaries serving right now. This gives us 178 young missionaries. We have about 200 missionaries including the seniors and President and Sister Andersen. The number will increase in September with about 34 new missionaries - 13 from the States and about 21 Mongolians.
Tuesday night was Addiction Recovery step 3: Trust in God. In step 3 we make a decision to open ourselves to God and surrender our entire lives—past, present, and future—and our will about our lives to Him. Step 3 is an act of agency. It is the most important choice we ever make.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated:
The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. It is a hard doctrine, but it is true. The many other things we give to God, however nice that may be of us, are actually things He has already given us, and He has loaned them to us. But when we begin to submit ourselves by letting our wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him (Insights from My Life, Ensign, Aug. 2000, 9).
Reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved (2 Nephi 10:24).Sunday after Church we enjoyed having our 10 Sukhbaatar missionaries over for dinner - Elders Whittle, Byambadorj, Jargalsaikhan, Amgalan, Fawcett, Munkhbayar, Balsansambuu, a mini missionary, and Sisters Zolboo and Uugantuya. We ate pulled pork on homemade hamburger buns, homemade potato salad, homemade coleslaw, watermelon, and homemade chocolate cake with ice cream.
The conversation flowed nicely. Some of the Mongolian elders speak a little English. Between our English, their English, their Mongolian, and continuing translation by Elder Whittle we communicate with each other.
President Goo, the president of the Hong Kong Temple, came to Mongolia; Mongolia is in the Hong Kong Temple district. Brother Yip from Ukiah is a counselor to him in the Hong Kong Temple presidency. President and Sister Goo arrived Friday night, drove 4 hours up to Darkhan Saturday morning to speak at a 10 am fireside, drove the 4 hours back to Ulaanbaatar, and spoke at a 4 pm fireside for endowed members. Sunday night he spoke again at a fireside in Ulaanbaatar.
The Goo's are Chinese, but their home has been in Hawaii. Sister Goo said as they were raising their children, they went to the temple a lot; they had weekly Friday night dates to the temple. The temple is her sanctuary where she feels the presence of Heavenly Father and knows he loves her. The temple has great power to bless our lives. We need to teach our children the importance of the temple by our good example. The temple is connected with the Savior's atoning sacrifice. Without temple ordinances, his sacrifice is in vain; we cannot move onto eternal life.
In Mongolia where members cannot attend the temple frequently, they need to have the temple with them in their hearts; they need to remember the feeling they had when they received their own endowment. Every day walk uprightly before the Lord and keep your covenants. Then you will have the temple inside of you.
President Goo taught that the new and everlasting covenant is the fulness of the gospel. It includes the temple covenants and ordinances. Eternal marriage is the crowning ordinance of the temple.
President Goo referred to DC 109:8, 15, and 24. We can organize and prepare ourselves by having daily personal prayer, daily scripture study, weekly family home evening, attending our Church meetings, keeping the command- ments, and building the kingdom. Verse 15 tells us the Lord will bless us by granting to us a fulness of the Holy Ghost, and verse 24 tells us the Lord will establish us for all eternity.
DC 109:24 was referred to in a talk by Elder Bednar at April General Conference. President Goo emphasized three words: honorably, name, and standing. 1) Honorably - obey, trust, give glory to, respect, conduct affairs with integrity. 2) Name - to hold a temple recommend. 3) Standing - length of time or duration, not changing, immovable, high reputation, frequent attendance; constant continued use of recommend.
President Goo recommended that members who cannot yet go to Hong Kong to receive their endowment ask their bishop or branch president for a practice temple interview to prepare themselves to go to the temple. For members who have already received their endowment, he said they should always keep their recommend current even if they can't travel to the temple; there are many things they can do to promote temple work including family history.
Elder Bednar at Conference quoted Brigham Young, "Let the fire of the covenant which you made in the House of the Lord, burn in your hearts, like flame unquenchable."
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