Jenny Oaks Baker Shares Testimony

Book of Mormon

I can promise, that by reading the Book of Mormon, you will gain a greater understanding of Jesus Christ than what you already have, you will come to know more of his mission upon this Earth, of his kindness, his mercy, and his plan for all of us. The Book of Mormon will build upon what you already know of Christ from the Bible, through the testimony of Prophets that lived long ago in America.

Family!!!!

Get Them To The Temple

Elder Perry quoted the sixth President of the Church, Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918), who said, “There is no exaltation in the Kingdom of God without the fullness of the priesthood.” He then explained that, “Every man who receives the priesthood does it with an oath and a covenant, and [if he is faithful] he shall be exalted...............

Rescuing Those Who Are Less-Active

He also said it is important to make sure that those receiving the Aaronic Priesthood as well as those who have become less active Melchizedek Priesthood holders or prospective elders should understand that neglecting the priesthood has consequences.

“I hope that sometimes we think about [the] responsibility that is ours to be certain they are properly trained in [the] priesthood before they are given the Melchizedek Priesthood and [that we as leaders] are careful that they understand the duties and responsibilities. … I hope this year we’ll turn the card a little by trying to make some effort on their rescue, to bring them back into the fold. And they will come back–it’s been so easy to reclaim them if we’ll go out and seek them.”

Priesthood leaders take note of what they feel inspired by the Holy Ghost to do in response to the teachings given by an Apostle.

He asked the leaders if they know how many less-active priesthood holders are in their stake or ward. “You should have that right on your mind. If you don’t have it now, I want you to go home and find out and put it on your refrigerator door. I want you to look at that number every day … and think about it. These are active Melchizedek priesthood, brethren that need to be brought into the fold.”

In an interview following the meeting, he said, “That is the job of an elder’s quorum president and of a high priest group leader, really taking their lists, analyzing which ones are less-active, and then prayerfully praying about selecting maybe five at a time [to whom] we will carry the message of the gospel. … It is the process of really understanding and knowing the people well enough that the inspiration of the Lord will come and say this one will be receptive, and this is the one we should start working with.”

Fulfilling a Dream

During the meeting, he said he has a dream, that in every ward in the Church the elders quorum president will be “vitally concerned about five less-active,” and the high priest group leader will be concerned about five less-active prospective elders, and that they will work with missionaries to “go into these homes and teach them the gospel.”


He said, “If you have good coordination with the full-time missionaries they can fill in and do those 10 so that the missionaries are always teaching, every night, the gospel. Then, when you’re short, then you start calling ward missionaries to fill the responsibility of teaching these 10 families the duties of these basic principles of the gospel. Then we’re bringing them along. We have found this works very effectively if we’ll only do it. We can build our father’s kingdom, we can fulfill our responsibilities, and we can be prepared for what the lord has ahead of us in this great period that we’re engaged in today. … Just think what would happen if every ward had 10 more active Melchizedek Priesthood. It would literally change the Church. We would have 290,000 more active Melchizedek Priesthood. Now, that would be a great body to meet the challenge we have ahead of us.”

Blessings from the Rescue

Elder Perry said that seeing someone return to full activity brings great joy. “There is nothing like a perspective elder returning into the fold because suddenly their whole outlook on life changes. … Think of what that does to a man. It prepares him spiritually to understand his relationship with God the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus the Christ, first and foremost. It unites [him with] the Holy Ghost again in his life, to where that is an active force in leading, guiding, and directing him. It makes him a better husband, appreciative of his wife because he learns the true doctrine that comes. They are eternally linked together for time and for all eternity. And of course it makes him a better father because he can teach [his family] the gospel and understand it and be an example to them on how they should live.”

The culmination of the rescue effort, he said, is when those who are rescued go to the temple. “To me, that is the graduation day. When we have been able to get them through course of study that they understand the doctrines of the kingdom been able to clean up their lives, been able to invite the Holy Spirit into their lives, they have made a commitment to our Savior in a culminating event of this whole process will be being there with their sweet companions and their families and having those great blessing pronounced on their head for time and all eternity.”

Carry Christ

Recently I watched a video by Al Fox, and sometimes when I see a good video, I feel inspired to take action. So I watched the video with a really great person named Angelica, and we decided that we would challenge each other and see how well we could do what happened in the video; Al Fox carried in her hand a picture of Jesus Christ everywhere she went for the day, and she never put him down.

     Really, before I started the challenge, I thought it would be pretty easy. As I went through the day, I found out right off the bat, this was not going to be easy at all. The first thing that I did was go to the shower, ha. So I made it through that challenge. But then came making breakfast, which presented a little inconvenience, but sometimes carrying Christ in our hearts is inconvenient, but will always be worth it. Every now and then, I would lose hold of the picture of Christ and it would fall to the ground, but I would quickly pick it up. Sometimes outside forces will try and knock Christ out of our lives, and sometimes they will do a good job at it, but when that happens, quickly turn again to Christ and make him apart of your life again. Then at certain points, I would lose focus and set the picture down, and then I would remember instantly and pick it back up. How quick we are to forget Christ in our lives, but he shall always forgive us if we strive to keep our eye single to the glory of God and always remember him.

    
What is really interesting about it all, is that at the end of the day, if ever I lost focus and set the picture down, I always felt like something was missing, just like if we leave Christ, we will always feel as though we are missing the presence of his spirit. And when I got used to holding it in my hand, it became natural for me to do everything with it in my hand, and no longer became an inconvenience, but just everyday activity. What I learned through the challenge was sometimes it is hard to keep focused on Christ all the time, and sometimes we can easily forget that he gave us everything, and we should always remember him. But as we keep him close to us, he shall become one with us, helping us along our trials in life.

small things bring great things to pass

Never Underestimate the Effect You Can Have

We must never underestimate the profound effect we can have in gathering Israel, Elder Nelson said. He retold an instance where his willingness to simply lend a battered copy of the Book of Mormon to a young woman changed her life and the lives of many others in generations to come.
During the Korean War a young army nurse named Beverly regularly assisted Elder Nelson in performing operations. At the end of one particular operation, she asked him: “What makes you different from the other surgeons I work with?” Elder Nelson took that opportunity to bear his testimony and lend her the Book of Mormon.
“One week later, her husband returned the book and said, ‘Thanks a lot.’” Elder Nelson replied, “‘You didn’t read it, did you?’ ‘Please take it back and read it prayerfully and then I want my book back.’ When they returned, they said tearfully, ‘We have read the Book of Mormon. We know it’s true. We want to know more.’”

Elder Nelson tells missionaries they have a legacy to fulfill, and must never doubt the life-changing power of the Book of Mormon. “The Book of Mormon is the most effective book available to help you teach of the Lord,” Elder Nelson says. “It is a tangible sign to the world that the promised gathering of Israel has begun.”

From One Simple Gesture, 309 Conversions

Elder Nelson went on to baptize both of them and, 30 years later, was reunited with Beverly at a conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. He found that because of his simple gesture, 80 people had been converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 2012, the list had expanded to 309 people.
“The Book of Mormon is the most effective book available to help you teach of the Lord,” Elder Nelson said. “It is a tangible sign to the world that the promised gathering of Israel has begun.”

Elder Nelson

Special Witness - President Uchtdorf

MY 10

Ten ways to bring yourself closer to God:

1- Pray to god always

2- Serve God

3- Serve others

4- Seek revelation through church attendance

5- Seek forgiviness from God and from yourself

6- forgive others

7- Teach the Gospel to those you know

8- Read the scriptures, better yet feast upon them :)

9- write in your journal: life, promptings of the spirit, spiritual moments

10- Be Humble -- Realize God gave you everything


There are many more things written in  the scriptures, for which Christ has given us wisdom on how to act while in this world. I would encourage you to to look through the scriptures on ways to get closer to God.