President & Sister Stephen W. Owen, General Young Men President
Tuesday devotional, September 17, 2019
Tuesday devotional, President and Sister Stephen W. Owen, General Young Men President
Sister Owen:
- “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ…” Romans 1:16
- We need to strive hard to restore the proper name of the Church.
- Remember Doctrine and Covenants 49:27 — “Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded.”
- Doctrine and Covenants 123:12 — “…there are many on the earth…who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it…”. You can help them find it.
- Purify your hearts before me. Treasure up the words of God.
- Doctrine and Covenants 11:21 — “…if ye desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”
- The Spirit carries the word unto the hearts of men, but He can’t carry it into!
- The Lord will give you what you need in the very hour that you need it. The Holy Ghost will bear record of your words.
- Remember that if ye receive not the spirit ye shall not teach.
- The Savior lives. He knows what you are going through.
- The Missionary Training Center almost cracked me when we were preparing to serve as mission president.
- Your badge carries great power because of the Savior’s name that is on it.
- Missionary work is great but it is also hard. Missionary work is true work. Everything else is just a job.
- A Chinese convert chose “Joy To The World” as the hymn at her baptismal service, even though the service was in the summer. She loved the message.
President Owen:
- My calling requires me to be with the youth of the Church regularly.
- Would you all please quote the 4th Article of Faith with me? It is one thing to quote the article, it is quite another thing to be able to TEACH the 4th Article of Faith. What a privilege to invite others to come unto Christ.
- Can you teach the doctrine of Christ? The doctrine is not a list, and especially not a checklist. The points of the doctrine of Christ are not one-time events in our lives — they are continual, ongoing goals and efforts. It is a lifelong effort.
- Faith in Jesus leads to repentance and obedience. Repentance and obedience lead to ordinances. Ordinances lead to the reception of the Spirit, and the reception of the spirit leads to greater faith in Jesus. Thus, this is a circle, not a straight line. Enduring to the end is the facilitator for each arc of the circle. It is similar to climbing a circular staircase — recurring plateaus and upward motion.
- Declare His words to this generation. Let this work be your “daily walk”.
- You can’t teach what you do not own. You will learn to speak from experience, not from memory.
- Let the message be engraven in the fleshy tables of your hearts, as Paul directs.
- Become an ‘epistle’ for the Lord. Others will be able to ‘read’ the evidence of the truthfulness of our message in your countenances.
- Rely on Jesus Christ.
- Having a full-time companion is a great blessing. Learn how to lead and also how to follow. Jesus is the great example in this — He was the ultimate leader and also the ultimate follower. He did nothing but His Father’s will.
- You may feel inadequate and under-qualified, but you can do this work with the Lord’s help. The qualifications for this work are faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to God’s glory. These are gifts from God and He will grant them to you. The work is not ours, but the Lord’s. Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies. The Lord can make something great out of you and me.
- Elder Holland said, “Come as you are, but don’t plan on staying as you are!”
- Conversion and discipleship are lifelong commitments.
- Prepare for tranquil and steadfast devotion and dedication during your entire lifetime.
- Plan to be 100% LDS 100% of the time.
- Lehi admonished his son to be firm, steadfast, and immovable in the cause of Christ.
- How will you avoid falling away after your mission? Fill your spiritual tank every day! Feast on the word, pray, ask yourself if you are in the faith, serve and bless others daily.
- Spiritual experiences occur most frequently when we are in the service of our fellow men, not when we are sitting and waiting.
- Conversion doesn’t happen in a day or a week. It is a lifelong process.
- God will help you and comfort you.
- Never forget that a hungry dog hunts best. Be hungry in the work! Do not ‘coast’ through your mission.
- The Lord’s goal for you is much more that just serving a 2 year mission. He has eternal goals for you.
- A missionary in our mission was discouraged because he was not having success despite his obedience. It was revealed to me that he was not ‘rejoicing’ in the work. I told him to smile and gain a positive attitude, and his mission turned around. This is joyful work.
- Don’t give up. Be obedient. You will soon have reason to rejoice. In fact, just being a missionary is reason to rejoice.
- God’s plan is to bring eternal joy to people. He sent Jesus, and now He is sending us.
- Remember faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Truth has been restored in its fullness.
- Remember this — if you can live this gospel, you can teach this gospel!
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