My talk on Sunday 12/29/13
Humility In Accepting The Atonement.
Opening remarks.
Thank Bishopric and all those who support Elder Wardle and I.
Pray that the spirit will teach us both what we need to learn.
Speaking on humbly accepting the atonement.
1st story is Enos and his inquiring of The Lord.
Enos 1:4-8
Soul hungered, knelt down, supplication (the action of asking or
begging for something earnestly or humbly, because of thy faith.
Richard G Scott talked about humility as "to be teachable. Humility
permits you to be tutored by the Spirit and to be taught from sources
inspired by the Lord, such as the scriptures. The seeds of personal
growth and understanding germinate and flourish in the fertile soil of
humility. Their fruit is spiritual knowledge to guide you here and
hereafter."
I am amazed at other examples of humility in the Scriptures such as
John the Baptist declaring of the Savior, “He must increase, but I
must decrease.” Think of Moroni pleading with us not to condemn him
because of his imperfections, but to thank God that He made Moroni’s
imperfections manifest so that we can learn to be wiser than Moroni
was. Nor should we forget the exclamation of Moses, who, after
experiencing the greatness of God and His creations, acknowledged that
“for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had
supposed.” Moses’ recognition of our total dependence on God is the
beginning of true humility. (“To Walk Humbly with Thy God”)
So how can one know if they are humble? Marlin K. Jensen of the 70
said “if you think you have it, you don’t.” Try to develop humility
and be sure we didn’t know when we got it, and then we would have it.
But if we ever thought we had it, we wouldn’t. (“To Walk Humbly with
Thy God")
An English author John Ruskin’s adds his thoughts that "the first test
of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean, by humility,
doubt of his own power. … [But really] great men … have a curious …
feeling that … greatness is not in them, but through them. … And they
see something Divine … in every other man … , and are endlessly,
foolishly, incredibly merciful.” End quote (“To Walk Humbly with Thy
God”)
As Jesus Christ was teaching some lawyers and Pharisees about humility
in Luke 14:11 He stated "For whosoever exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (Luke 14:11)
Humility is the characteristic that will allow us to be more effective
tools in the hands of The Lord, to bring forth His holy work.
When we have done wrong or have been wronged it is our own humility in
submitting to The Lord in prayer that we need His help to get us
through that will help us feel the cleansing power of the atonement.
That is our act of faith, and we must continue in faith, that he can
carry "the transgressors prayer to God, to the offended party in
apology, and, where necessary, to his priesthood leader in
confession?" (“To Walk Humbly with Thy God”)
Our prayers to The Lord shows Him of our desire to be perfected and to
take upon ourselves of His will, setting aside our own. The perfect
example of this is Jesus Christ, who set the example while performing
the atonement in Gethsemane. In Matthew ch 26:36-44 He exclaims 3
times "Oh Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."
Truly humbling ourselves before The Lord will always drive us to say
"thy will be done." "And because who we are does affect what we do,
our submissiveness will be reflected in our reverence, gratitude, and
willingness to accept callings, counsel, and correction." Then we must
accept the atonement into our lives to transform us into a better
being this day than the last. (“To Walk Humbly with Thy God”)
Our salvation depends on believing in and accepting the Atonement.
Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it more
fully. The Atonement accelerates our course of learning by making it
possible for our natures to become perfect. All of us have sinned and
need to repent to fully pay our part of the debt. When we sincerely
repent, the Savior’s magnificent Atonement pays the rest of that
debt.3 (The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope)
We can accept the atonement through Priesthood ordinances as described
in D&C 84: 20 As stated " in the ordinances thereof, the power of
godliness is manifest"
We are commanded to remember the singular events of the mediation,
Crucifixion, and the Atonement by partaking of the sacrament weekly.
In the spirit of the sacramental prayers, we partake of the bread and
water in remembrance of the body and the blood sacrificed for us, and
we are to remember Him and keep His commandments so that we may always
have His Spirit to be with us. (The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope)
We must always be striving to receive and prepare for the next
priesthood ordinance by daily scripture study and prayer. As there are
numerous blessings, both seen and unseen, waiting for us to simply act
with a willing and humble heart.
We can then look to the ultimate blessing of the Atonement--to become
one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually
by name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning
us with open arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. How glorious
this experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His
presence! The free gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us
is the only way we can be exalted enough to stand before Him and see
Him face-to-face. The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the
perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. It is a love which
is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering, and, above
all, forgiving. (The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope)
What a message to carry to others that are around us who are searching
for direction and hope. That is why I am on a mission to give that
hope to those found and unfound brothers and sisters who need the
message that our redeemer lives and his arm of mercy is extended
always. Like the prophets and apostles have done going out like the
servant in the parable of the great supper "Go out quickly into the
streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the
maimed, and the halt, and the blind. Go out into the highways and
hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled."
(Luke 14:23)
Testimony
In closing I go back to the beginning with Enos to pray that you and I
will use the atonement to know we are prepared to have the experience
Enos so desired as we approach the day we are reunited with our Father
in heaven
"For I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and
shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and
he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place
prepared for you in the mansions of my Father." (Enos:27)
I humbly say in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Monday, January 6, 2014
January 1 2014 Looking Back
Thank you all so much for the letters
and gifts you gave me for
Christmas, they were all great! I liked
the gift a day project that my
family did for me and all the effort my
mom put into it, it was worth
it I promise you. This Christmas was
different than the last and much
different than the ones at home but
nevertheless it was still good.
Christmas Day I got to Skype my family!
Which I saw the photos put up
with me on the tv on top on the tv
haha. Since when did you get those
tv's? The weirdest thing about seeing
my family for Christmas was the
feeling afterwards of not being trunky.
For those that don't
understand that term it means that a
missionary is wanting to go home
and is having thoughts of packing his
stuff up in a trunk and heading
home. So being trunky means homesick in
a way. Normally lots of
missionaries feel that way after
interacting with people from home or
when people ask you questions about
coming home like my mother asking
about my flight plans 10 months from
now...I still love you after
Skyping I had none of those feelings
and the same with my companion
who was Skyping for the 3rd time as
well. It was good to see all of
you. Peter you look a lot older! People
are soon going to be thinking
that you are the 8th child and I am the
youngest, not okay
Also that day we played football with 6
other elders in a park and boy
am I not in shape for sprints. We all
were not doing so good because
none of us have done intense workouts
like that so I am going to try
and do better at preparing for that
before my departure. We also went
and ate with a family that day and they
feed us some fried turkey.
When we got there it had 5 mins left to
cook in this large container
full of oil in the backyard. He pulled
it out and it did not look like
a turkey but I sure was good. The skin
on it was so crispy and
flavorful, I loved it and would do it
again in a heart beat. It wasn't
the healthiest but it does take care of
the whole dry turkey
situation.
Went on an exchange with another elder
on sat. and had a lesson with a
man who has had a lot of health
problems in his life such as 3 spinal
tumors, 4 hip surgeries and some other
things all before he was 12 and
has had some other stuff as well
throughout his life. He often asked
the question about why is this all
happening to me and why do I have
to have all of these trials, is it
because I have more to learn or
what? Why did both of my parents die in
the same year and a couple of
other cousins and relatives. He had a
lot of specific detail questions
as well that was hindering his learning
of the simple truths. The
lesson ended on the note that we don't
know everything nor do we need
to. We are to act on faith and allow
God to do the rest, learning on
the way. Many things we don't know why
it happens and we might not
know for a long time maybe not even
until we die. We will someday
learn why though when judgment day
comes and then we will understand.
So for now try and learn and perfect
the basics in life and move from
there.
My companion and I have our talks this
Sunday and both went well. We
both felt like we did to much of one
thing and not the other. Elder
Wardle felt like he used a little to
much personal stories and I felt
like I used a little to much doctrine
and not enough personal stories.
I talked on humbly accepting the
atonement and he talked about
receiving the Holy Ghost. We were both
very nervous before going up
there to speak but afterwards I felt
like writing another talk because
that was only the 3rd talk I have given
in my life. I did ok but I
want to perfect it.
About my plans to send letters home to
the parents of the missionaries
in the zone. I heard some news from the
parents as a couple of them
posted on Facebook about an elder who
wrote them, one asked me if it
was me because his mom didn't put my
name in the post. To let you know
this was NOT for personal recognition
or to "fish for compliments" it
was for their parents to hear from a
3rd party how great their sons
and daughters were doing and what they
were learning. It was a gift
for the parents and because of it I saw
a son and a mother become more
attached to one another, trust be made,
and a heart warmed from a
missionary that previously had some
hidden anger at me. The parents
all received a picture of us as well.
As I look back on this year and what I
have accomplished I feel I have
grown more than I thought possible. I
feel so much more sure of who I
am, what I want from my life,
definitely how to look at people with a
positive image, and have learned how to
listen and recognize what
people are saying. I know I have grown
in a greater love and
appreciation for God and Jesus Christ
and what they have done for me
and for others. I have made some good
friends, but I have learned how
to make friends and be a better friend
even more. I felt like in the
past I was an okay friend to those I
grew up without most of the time
I was pretty weird to them and now I
feel I can be much more loyal to
them and others. I have also grow a
perspective on what matters most
in this life and that is family and
serving others. I plan on
excelling at those areas for the rest
of my life.
Thank you everyone for all of your
support and the love you have shown
me. Thank you for the high expectations
you hold for me and concern
you have for my. I love you all!
Love lots Elder Caleb Leonhardt
January 6 2014 Happy New Year!
This past week was awesome starting off
with a meeting with Tracey
Watson, the director of proselyting in
the LDS church for the world. I was
asked as was 9 others from the mission
to meet with him and talk about
a couple topics he was assigned to
receive information on. I have been
asked not to disclose a lot of
information on what we talked about but
he did say that the information given,
I might see it being implemented
while still on my mission and it would
effect missionaries around the
world. Kind of cool to think about and
kind of curious as to why
President Taylor asked me to go.
Nearing the end he allowed us to ask
him questions that we had and one of
the topics we got on was about
spiritual gifts. He talked about a
number of the spiritual gifts
mentioned in the scriptures but also
said there are numberless
spiritual gifts out there and the
Father wants us to obtain all of
them. What keeps us from them is not
coming to the Lord with a
specific question or desiring them. He
told us to never stop praying
for them and studying for them and
searching for them. What came to my
mind was that we have a Father in
heaven that wants us to obtain all
that we can and he wants us to have all
of the gifts he has provided
for us. We simply need to ask for them.
How wonderful that is that we
can become who we want with the
strengths we want by simply desiring
them, asking the Lord sincerely for
them, searching, and always
working for them. I really took that to
heart. Brother Watson is a
spiritual giant!
Had New Years and didn't get to do
anything that crazy because one I'm
a missionary and second because my
companion and I had to go to a 8 hr
long meeting that day. It was still
good though. Have a great New
Year! Love you all!
Love Elder Caleb Leonhardt
Monday, December 23, 2013
December 23, 2013 "Merry Christmas" from Arizona
Hello From Arizona!
We had transfers and
I am staying here in the same area with the same companion but someone I
was living with. Elder Moore from Utah left and we got a different
missionary living in the apartment with us. It was nice to go to the
meeting and see so many of my mission buddies and we got a picture
with Elder Wardle, Elder Empey, Elder Wolfgramm and I showing the
lineage of trainers, it was very cool. By the way I apologize for the
writing, it is different typing with this small keyboard and I don't
like it yet. I might just go get an old big keyboard and hook it up to
this and use that or it would be cool to get one of those role out
keyboards that are rubber. That might be a little to fancy for me
though. (I have now been given permission to email from my iPad and
will now be doing that from this time on.)
While we were in the church the other day doing online time and
sharing spiritual messages with people we got a text from our Mission
President and in the text he explained to keep Jan 11th open because
of a tri mission conference with Elder Holland and a few members of
the 70 who want to speak to us. This will be the first time I get to
see someone from the Quorum of the 12 in a smaller setting. Our
Mission President, now looking back at it eluded to another possible
time that the whole mission will be together all at once again before
they leave in June. With the number of possibilities I hope we get to
see another member of the Quorum of the 12.
By the way thank you so much for all of the gifts and letters from
family members and friends in my Christmas gifts. I have loved hearing
from all of you and the exciting things that are to come soon. Thank
you Matt for the address of my new storage unit, your house. I will be
sending you some stuff soon enough
In one of the wards that we serve in my companion and I were asked to
give talks in this coming Sunday worship meeting. This will be the
first time the both of us have spoken in church on our missions. When
the member of the Bishopric asked us to speak in church and we told
him that we both never had spoken they were thrown back and startled.
It was quiet funny. In that ward the members really love us, in fact
it's almost to much. While in the other ward it seems like the Bishop
likes us and the youth do but some of the other leaders who forget that we
are in the room. Which is understandable with the lack of a large
stature on my end...thanks mom
The other night my companion and I went to say a prayer with a family
in the area and after the prayer the father asked if we could help him
for a second. This was at 8:20 with a 15 min drive home ahead, so we
had sometime before we had to get on the road. He asked us to help
move this piano. It kind of looked like the piano we have back in
Baraboo but a little bigger...and heavier. This piano weighted like a
1000 pounds. With the 3 of us it was a struggle to move it into the
garage. They were getting rid of it because they got a new hollow
grand. First time seeing one of those too. Anyways we finally got it
out and the other piano in and helped him set it up and then had to
hightail it out of there, keeping the law of course. This man isn't
just a ordinary man either. Nor is he a normal piano player. It was
William Joseph. So we related this to playing catch with Brett Favre
or something like that. He then Played in the Sunday Christmas special
program and was amazing. It was actually the best Christmas program I
have ever been to. The children sang and did a fantastic job as well
as the choir.
We had a really good lesson Sunday night with a lady who hasn't come
to church for a while but came this past Sunday. She first started off
saying that she wasn't ready to come back yet but after awhile of
talking with her she finally explained that she needs to and that she
was missing it. Her mom and son were their. Her mom comes a lot and
was making some negative comments like that person didn't talk to you
on purpose and they don't like you. Eventually she told her mom that
she doesn't need those negative thoughts and that those thoughts are
not her's, she wants to think positively towards situations. They
asked their grandma to stop making those comments that it would be
better for her and then committed herself to coming to church and
reading and praying daily. It was a great lesson.
I am So excited for this Christmas Day to relax and have some fun
with some other missionaries.
I love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Love Elder Caleb Leonhardt
Sent from my iPad
--
We had transfers and
I am staying here in the same area with the same companion but someone I
was living with. Elder Moore from Utah left and we got a different
missionary living in the apartment with us. It was nice to go to the
meeting and see so many of my mission buddies and we got a picture
with Elder Wardle, Elder Empey, Elder Wolfgramm and I showing the
lineage of trainers, it was very cool. By the way I apologize for the
writing, it is different typing with this small keyboard and I don't
like it yet. I might just go get an old big keyboard and hook it up to
this and use that or it would be cool to get one of those role out
keyboards that are rubber. That might be a little to fancy for me
though. (I have now been given permission to email from my iPad and
will now be doing that from this time on.)
While we were in the church the other day doing online time and
sharing spiritual messages with people we got a text from our Mission
President and in the text he explained to keep Jan 11th open because
of a tri mission conference with Elder Holland and a few members of
the 70 who want to speak to us. This will be the first time I get to
see someone from the Quorum of the 12 in a smaller setting. Our
Mission President, now looking back at it eluded to another possible
time that the whole mission will be together all at once again before
they leave in June. With the number of possibilities I hope we get to
see another member of the Quorum of the 12.
By the way thank you so much for all of the gifts and letters from
family members and friends in my Christmas gifts. I have loved hearing
from all of you and the exciting things that are to come soon. Thank
you Matt for the address of my new storage unit, your house. I will be
sending you some stuff soon enough
In one of the wards that we serve in my companion and I were asked to
give talks in this coming Sunday worship meeting. This will be the
first time the both of us have spoken in church on our missions. When
the member of the Bishopric asked us to speak in church and we told
him that we both never had spoken they were thrown back and startled.
It was quiet funny. In that ward the members really love us, in fact
it's almost to much. While in the other ward it seems like the Bishop
likes us and the youth do but some of the other leaders who forget that we
are in the room. Which is understandable with the lack of a large
stature on my end...thanks mom
The other night my companion and I went to say a prayer with a family
in the area and after the prayer the father asked if we could help him
for a second. This was at 8:20 with a 15 min drive home ahead, so we
had sometime before we had to get on the road. He asked us to help
move this piano. It kind of looked like the piano we have back in
Baraboo but a little bigger...and heavier. This piano weighted like a
1000 pounds. With the 3 of us it was a struggle to move it into the
garage. They were getting rid of it because they got a new hollow
grand. First time seeing one of those too. Anyways we finally got it
out and the other piano in and helped him set it up and then had to
hightail it out of there, keeping the law of course. This man isn't
just a ordinary man either. Nor is he a normal piano player. It was
William Joseph. So we related this to playing catch with Brett Favre
or something like that. He then Played in the Sunday Christmas special
program and was amazing. It was actually the best Christmas program I
have ever been to. The children sang and did a fantastic job as well
as the choir.
We had a really good lesson Sunday night with a lady who hasn't come
to church for a while but came this past Sunday. She first started off
saying that she wasn't ready to come back yet but after awhile of
talking with her she finally explained that she needs to and that she
was missing it. Her mom and son were their. Her mom comes a lot and
was making some negative comments like that person didn't talk to you
on purpose and they don't like you. Eventually she told her mom that
she doesn't need those negative thoughts and that those thoughts are
not her's, she wants to think positively towards situations. They
asked their grandma to stop making those comments that it would be
better for her and then committed herself to coming to church and
reading and praying daily. It was a great lesson.
I am So excited for this Christmas Day to relax and have some fun
with some other missionaries.
I love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Love Elder Caleb Leonhardt
Sent from my iPad
--
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Elder Leonhardt, Sister Summerhays, Sister Demill
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