Elder & Sister Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Tuesday devotional, May 23, 2017
Tuesday devotional, Elder and Sister Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, May 23, 2017.
Elder and Sister Renlund:
- When Elder Renlund was called, his sister texted him and told him that he was one of only four “binary” apostles in this dispensation. He was apostle number 100 (apparently, 100 apostles have served in the Quorum of the Twelve, although several apostles have been called that have not served in the Quorum of the Twelve). The other “binary” apostles are numbers 001, 010, and 011. His sister reminded him that 001 was Thomas B. Marsh (excommunicated), 010 was Orson Pratt (excommunicated), and 011 was John F. Boynton (excommunicated). His sister wrote: # 100 – Dale G. Renlund – ???
- They talked of the Christus statue. Its official name is Christus Consolator. There is a copy of the statue in John Hopkins Hospital. Elder Renlund passed it twice a day during his medical studies. The original is in Copenhagen. A sign on the statue says, “This is my Beloved Son, Hear Him” and “Come Unto Me”. We are to HEAR and COME. This is our latter-day message.
- Our missionary purpose is to invite others to COME. We should invite and help.
- The four chapters in the Book of Mormon that declare the doctrine of Christ are 2 Nephi 31, 3 Nephi 9, 3 Nephi 11, 3 Nephi 27. In those 4 places, faith is mentioned 8 times, repentance is mentioned 18 times, baptism is mentioned 25 times, Holy Ghost 16 times, and enduring to the end 7 times. The name of the Father is mentioned 62 times!
- Conversion is not a one time event. We should repeat the steps over and over during our lives.
- The sacrament is a “substitute” for baptism as we repeat the steps of conversion. The sacrament represents our baptism.
- They witnessed how much the sacrament means when they were serving in Africa. In 2011 there was a political upheaval in an African country and the Church was banned in the country, religiously and politically. The saints could no longer meet. During that upheaval, nearly 900,000 people were massacred in a 9 month period. After about 1 year of legal efforts, the government miraculously reinstated the church. The Renlunds were there when the sacrament was passed again to eager saints. They will never forget what an experience it was to see these saints partake of the emblems with tears running down their faces. They admonished all of us to more fully appreciate what a privilege it is to partake of the emblems.
- Seek for Jesus, view His face.
- Renew your baptismal covenants every week through partaking of the sacrament.
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