Month: February 2019

Elders,

How is the week going for you? This nice peek into spring has been wonderful. Hopefully all is well with each of you. 

We made a change in our quorum on Sunday. We released Brad Woolley as secretary and sustained Marshall Rudd as the new secretary. I want to thank Brad for all of the effort and work he put into the calling. He is a good elder and a great friend. Thank you Brad.

Mitch led a great discussion on Sunday. We talked about President Eyring’s talk “Try, Try, Try”. We covered a lot of ground in our discussion. It culminated with a call to ministering and charity. I appreciate all of the input and comments. It makes us a better quorum and hopefully better priesthood holders as well.

Mark your calendars for our ward temple night on March 22 (Friday) at 6:30pm. We will be doing a sealing session at the Jordan River Temple.

A couple of weeks ago, we travelled down to Ephraim Utah to see our daughter who is attending Snow College. We made it down without incident, picked her up and went to the local Cafe Rio knockoff. We hopped into the car to go get her some groceries and supplies. I turned the key and the car made a very odd sound. It wasn’t the standard sound when the battery dies, nor was it the sound I would typically associate with a bad starter motor. It was really strange. 

It was President’s Day. We were in the middle of almost nowhere and our car was not going to start. 

Then the little miracles started. There were just too many of them for it to be just a string of coincidences. One of the workers from the restaurant came out to dump the garbage and we asked him about a mechanic. He said there was a small shop a few blocks away called Garage Sale Treasures. It didn’t sound like much of a mechanic but he suggested we call him. The mechanic fortunately was working that day and he was waiting on a part to be delivered from the mighty metropolis of Nephi so he had a few minutes to come and take a look. 

Darren showed up and looked like the ultimate mechanic. His coveralls were more grease than material. After 10 minutes or so of diagnostic work that involved him repeatedly whacking the starter motor with a large hammer while I tried to start the van we determined that it was in-fact, the starter motor that was bad. If the starter wasn’t bad before he got there, all the pounding on it with a large hammer certainly would have had an impact on the diagnosis. 

The next problem was whether or not there was a starter motor anywhere around. He called Napa – no luck. He then tried Autozone and after a long time on hold, they said they had one rebuilt motor. Darren said he’d take me in his beater 1990 VW Jetta to the store so I could buy it. I sent the rest of the family on a long walk back to Lexi’s dorm room, figuring I was in for a long afternoon. After buying the starter motor we towed the van to his shop with the Jetta. All went well until I saw that we had to make it across a muddy field to get to his shop. Somehow we made it in and he got to work.

I’m not completely inept when it comes to car repairs but I figured two things – one it was going to take a couple of hours and two – I was going to pay through the nose. I was worried as well that his part was going to show up and he was going to push me to the back of the queue. I was busily looking for some place to spend the night. I was not convinced that we were going home. I was to start a new job the next day and I wasn’t certain that I’d make the “new hire training” the next day.

Less than an hour later Darren hands me the keys and says he’s all done and would I come try it. I do, and it turns over and starts right up.

He writes me out the bill and I was preparing for the worst – holiday rate – rush job – non-local sucker – etc. I took a look and just about passed out. The labor and tax came to $70.21. He couldn’t take a credit card so he told me to take the car and go to an ATM and come back with the cash later in the afternoon.

I thanked him profusely and promptly paid him. The car has run perfectly ever since. We finished our visit and made it home as planned.

You could call it a string of coincidences, good luck, or small-town hospitality. I choose to see it as a collection of little miracles. God does care about the little things in our life. He is in the details if we seek to see them and find them.

I am grateful for these little miracles that happen all around us. I have been trying to look for the hand of God more in my life. I have made a concerted effort for the last several months and it has helped me. I feel like I am a better person and have a better outlook on life for looking for those little evidences of God’s love.

I hope that you will look for God’s hands in your day to day activities. Have a great week.

This Sunday is a Come Follow Me lesson. The lesson covers the Sermon on the Mount. I hope to see many of you there. 

Happy Day!

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828

Elders,

It is a great day. I hope that you are having a wonderful week. This coming Sunday Mitch Seaman is going to lead our discussion President Eyring’s talk “Try, Try, Try” from last conference ( https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/10/try-try-try?lang=eng ). I encourage you to read it in advance and think about how you can add to the conversation.

Alma 43:47-50
47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.
48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts–yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.
49 And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage.
50 And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon.

Matt Newton used this story in his talk on Sunday. I felt inspired to read it again to let it sink in a bit more – especially as it pertains to my family and those that I minister with and to.

It reminds me a bit of the Scottish patriot William Wallace. His ragtag army was pitted against a far superior (in size, equipment, and training) English army. Wallace’s troops were starting to doubt. They wanted to quit, to give up and go home. He saw and sensed their concerns and as Moroni did, he “sent forth and inspired their hearts” with thoughts of freedom. He then led them on to a miraculous victory. (Watch part of his inspirational speech here –  https://youtu.be/lEOOZDbMrgE )

We as husbands, fathers, and priesthood holders are entitled to personal revelation to know how to help inspire and lead our families – even at times against all odds. We need to be present and involved “Moroni saw the fierceness”, then as we communicate with our family we will be able to receive promptings from the spirit “perceiving their intent”. Then, we must have the courage to act and deliver the message from/with the spirit “inspired their hearts”, become unified and join with them “cry with one voice”. Finally together we fight and “stand against the Lamanites with power”.

This is a pattern we can use within our families, our ministering assignments, and within our quorum. We:

1. See the situation (observe / watch / seek to know)
2. Receive promptings to help
3. Deliver the inspiration
4. Stand together and fight

Elders – this is a battle for the souls of men and we are called to help gather and protect these souls. This is ministering at its finest. We can be a William Wallace or Captian Moroni to those around us. We have the priesthood of God and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to guide us. We can be “mighty men of valor”. We can be men of God. We can do this together.

God bless you. I pray for you and your families.

Have a great week. I love you guys,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828 

Elders,

Here is your last minute reminder that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. If you haven’t planned something nice or thoughtful for your Valentine, stop reading this now and get it taken care of. For some, messing this holiday up is akin to starting WWIII. Kris and I have been pretty low-key around Valentine’s day, but I’d be crazy to not at least acknowledge the holiday and her in some way. She is an amazing woman and I feel blessed that she allows me to hang around with her.

This past Sunday, David Oka and his experts talked about temple work, family history, indexing, the importance of record keeping, and the progression of the ordinances of the temple. We were encouraged to come and experience the temple. Listen to the words, promises, and blessings and deepen our conversion.

We have an opportunity to go together as a ward on Friday March 22 at 6:30pm to do proxy sealings. We’ll have more information as the date gets closer and hopefully we will have lots of family names to seal and that Michael Waddoups will be able to perform the sealings for us.

As I was reading in Mark 1 a couple of weeks ago, I was touched by one of the Savior’s early miracles (Mark 1:40-42). It involved Leprosy. Leprosy is still a scary diagnosis now, but back then it was a sure fire ticket to be banished from society, and a slow painful, lonely death – the epitome of outcasts. People would run away screaming “Unclean! Unclean!” At the very sight of a leper. 

Though Jesus’ ministry was still in the early stages, his reputation for being a miracle-worker preceded him. His fame even reached this poor leper. As Jesus was crossing between Galilean towns the beggar saw Jesus coming and approached him. I’m certain that the crowds immediately scattered, but this leper had great faith. He didn’t just ask Jesus if he could be healed. He asked in an almost apologetic way that if the Savior wanted to he knew that Jesus could heal him. Instead of backing away from the leper, Jesus drew closer and even physically reached out to provide a comforting touch (something that likely hadn’t happened for years) and through the priesthood, healed the leper.

There’s an old AT&T jingle “Reach out, reach out and touch someone”. This is one of the keys to being a minister like the Savior. Maybe we aren’t afraid of reaching out because of Leprosy but for me, I’m often afraid of saying or doing something wrong. I’m afraid that I won’t know what to do or be rejected. When I reach down within myself and get the courage to reach out, most every time the experience is great and I am uplifted up by the experience. 

There are a lot of “spiritual lepers” in the world and in our ward. There are people that just want us to reach out and touch or acknowledge them. They aren’t picky, they are just yearning for someone – for you – to reach out and touch them as the Savior would. Are you up to the challenge?

As I mentioned on Sunday, we have updated our ministering assignments. Please take a look inside of LDS Tools, do a “sync”, and look under your name for any changes. It will show who you are assigned to and who is assigned to you. Reach out in both directions as well as to your companion and help us all come together. You can be a miracle in someone else’s life.
Thank you for your friendship and brotherhood. You are great men.

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828

Elders,

Happy mid-week. After a long day of shoveling snow I slept like a baby. I hope that you all did the same. Some of my friends made it up the mountain and said that the powder skiing was unbelievable. They saw one boarder with an actual snorkel so he could breathe easier as he went through the snow. Regardless, the snow and water is welcome.

As I was studying the past few Come Follow Me lessons, my curiosity was piqued by the various players in the gospels. Nick in his lesson on Sunday added to my curiosity when he had us look up and learn a bit more about who the Jews, Pharisees, and Sadducees were. I dug in a little about Matthew since we studied some of his words, his book is first in the New Testament, and his conversion story was brought out in our studying of Luke 5. 

Matthew (formerly Levi) was not a humble fisherman called into the service by the Savior. He was a tax collector. Tax collectors seem to be universally disliked, but he was probably near the top of the list of those disliked by the people. He could tax you for anything and everything. There were few checks and balances and as long as Herod and Caesar got what they wanted, the tax collector could keep the rest. They were generally slime balls. 
He was not “friends” with many of the people in the town. Likely, people did all they could to steer clear of him and stay off his radar. The only people that were his friends were other tax collectors. The exception to this was Jesus, who simply said “Follow me”. 

Levi recognized the Savior and followed him. This left him in a bit of a predicament. How would he make his transition from a distrusted tax collector to a devoted Christian? What about his old tax buddies? What about his new “church” friends?

As a part of the transition, he threw a posh party at his house / estate. He invited all of his old buddies as well as Jesus and his disciples. Not much was said about the party but it seemed like everyone was getting along fine. Just a great social event (like our meet and eat this weekend?)

Until…

The religious police showed up. The Scribes and Pharisees saw this feast with the hated tax collectors and this new comer Jesus. Their pious and holier-than-thou attitudes prickled. How could this “teacher” be associating with these tax collectors? Doesn’t he know that this looks bad? They started bugging Matthew and causing a bit of a scene. Jesus steps in with a gentle rebuke says “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Luke 5:31). The Pharisees are rebuked and the situation defused.

Let’s be careful not to be like the Pharisees. There are lots of friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members that don’t believe exactly as we believe. We can turn up our Pharisaical noses at them, or we can welcome them into our lives, learn from them, love them, and share our feelings and beliefs with them. Let’s continue to foster an open and intentional community of caring and acceptance.  

This Sunday David Oka is going to teach us from Elder Ballard’s conference talk – “The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead” ( https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2018/10/the-vision-of-the-redemption-of-the-dead?lang=eng ) I encourage you to review it in advance and help join in the discussion.

One last thing… I’m going to send a SMS out to everyone today, but it is going to come from a different number than my main cell number. It will come from 385-217-6614. If you don’t receive one today would you please call or text me on my regular number 801-573-6828 and let me know? I’m trying out a way to send texts to everyone without the hassle of a group chat or a custom application.

Have a safe rest of the week!

See you on Sunday,

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828