22-May-2019

Elders,

First off, I want to apologize for missing the past two weeks. I had good intentions but things just didn’t work out. Between vacation and a work trip my time just disappeared. This weekend is the Memorial Day weekend. It is traditionally the start of summer and many times we gloss over the meaning of Memorial Day. It was first observed  in May 1868 to celebrate the sacrifices of the Civil War. In 1971 it was made a national holiday. We celebrate all of those that paid the ultimate price in the service of our country. I hope that during the weekend you find some time to talk to your family about why we celebrate Memorial Day. I encourage you to take 10 minutes to listen to this presentation called “Remember Me” by Jocko Willink a decorated hero, author, and podcaster. https://youtu.be/8c_MxHNOUmE

This last Sunday Nick taught us in Sunday School about the parable of the laborers. He shared portions of Elder Holland’s talk from the April 2012 conference https://www.lds.org/study/general-conference/2012/04/the-laborers-in-the-vineyard?lang=eng. It is a beautiful parable about the love God has for each of us and that no matter where we are on the covenant path – even if we don’t think we can even see it from where we are – that he loves us and is anxious to apply the atonement in our lives – to heal us – to purify us – to make us better men, husbands and fathers. 

I was studying this morning and found myself wrapped up in the story of Mary and Martha. This is part 3 of the story. The scene was a dinner at the home of Lazarus just a few days before Jesus was crucified. I’m sure that his upcoming ordeal weighed heavily upon Jesus. He was there with his apostles. He had previously told his apostles that he was soon to be killed, but they hadn’t internalized that yet. They thought Jesus was invincible and that surely he would not lose his life. Mary had heard the same message. She believed and she acted to show her love and acceptance of Jesus as her king and savior. She took an incredibly expensive box of nard (perfume) and anointed his feet with the oil and washed his feet with her hair. It is a deeply touching and symbolic scene of love, devotion, and faith on the part of Mary. Jesus recognized her gift and prophesied that “Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.” (Mark 14:9) It begs the question for each of us – How do we show our love and devotion to the Lord? 

This coming Sunday our lesson in quorum will be led by Ken on the talk from Elder Rasband in the last conference titled: Build a Fortress of Spirituality and Protection https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2019/04/56rasband?lang=eng

We also have 2 service opportunities coming up soon. If you can help with either one, please let a member of the quorum presidency know. The opportunities are: 

June 1 – Camp Haven day of service. It is at our stake’s property near Indianola. It starts at 8:00am and will run for a good portion of the day. We’ll be cutting back branches from the road and putting them through the chipper. We need a couple of men for this one. If you can spare a Saturday, please let us know.

July 29th – Aug 4th to clean the Jordan River Temple each night from 10-12:30 am. While it isn’t until the end of July, we are being asked to turn in our roster by the first of June. Cleaning the temple is a pretty awesome experience. If you haven’t done it (or it has been a while) and you have a current recommend, I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity.

A final reminder – We are asking everyone to take a ward survey. The leadership of the ward would like to get a pulse on the ward and get anonymous feedback on what we can do to make your church experience more meaningful. If you haven’t already taken the survey please follow this link and take the survey. http://bit.ly/w9survey

Men, life is great. You play an important role in your family and in our ward family. Thank you for being an example for me and my family. 

See you on Sunday!

President Oldroyd
801-573-6828