Post # 232 -- Part 7 -- Counsel
from members of the Twelve Apostles
Elder Andersen addresses
‘compensatory blessings’
amid COVID-19
Humility, Hope,
and Compensatory Blessings
Exist amid COVID-19,
Elder Andersen Says
Updated 13 MAY 2020 5:00 PM MDT
Editor’s note: This is part seven in a series of counsel from members
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the COVID-19 outbreak.
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
continue to face the ongoing obstacles of the COVID-19 pandemic,
they will humbly get on their knees and turn to the Lord and their
“Once we settle ourselves with our concerns about the health of
our family, employment, and the disruptions right before us, we
know we need to pray: ‘What am I to do? What am I to learn?
How am I to grow in this unusual time?’”
Each who seeks with sincerity will be blessed with the same sure
resolve: “All the world is in the hands of the Lord,” said the member
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “All things are in His control.”
Speaking to the Church News via video-conferencing as the
COVID-19 pandemic continued to cause illness and death, stifle
economies and alter daily routines, Elder Andersen reflected on
humility, hope and compensatory blessings from the Lord during
times of challenge and trial.
“You can never find yourself in a time that the Lord won’t teach you
if you are righteous,” he said. “This life is a time for becoming, not
just for experiencing. It is a time of being taught from on high. As we
are righteous, compensatory blessings always come — even in the
most difficult times of our lives.”
‘A time of great learning’
COVID-19 did not surprise the Lord, and He will use it to accomplish
none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all
things, and obey not his commandments.”
This time, when society has paused, can be a time of great learning,
a time to shift one’s focus from a temporal perspective to an eternal
perspective, he said. “When these things come to us, of course there
are worries — there are financial worries, there are health worries,
there are emotions, and all kinds of pressures and things that are not
\ comfortable.”
Elder Neil L. Andersen greets Church members during a member meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 12, 2020. Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
Church members have an opportunity to “stand back and say, ‘
There is something about this that will be important for me.’”
Perhaps, above all else, he said, “it brings to each of us humility.”
During these moments, God’s children are praying more often and
more fervently.
“Stay on your knees longer and see what the Lord will teach you,”
in these times.”
Slow down
One such compensatory blessing has been that the often-rushed
pace of life for so many in the world has slowed down, Elder
Andersen said.
He recalled an experience several years ago, when his son bought
a wood carving of the Savior. The piece was about three feet tall,
and the artist had carved the Savior with right hand outstretched in
front — as if signaling or addressing others.
Elder Andersen’s son took the carving home and placed it on his
desk. When his 3-year-old daughter saw the carving, she turned to
her father, and stretching out her arm like that of the wood carving,
she said very seriously, “Daddy, Jesus says, ‘Slow down.’”
Elder Neil L. Andersen asks questions of several of his grandsons during a Thanksgiving Day devotional at the Provo Missionary Training Center on Nov. 28, 2019, in Provo, Utah. Credit: Scott Taylor
Elder Andersen said the spiritual nourishment sought by faithful,
humble followers of the Savior will come when they are peaceful,
quiet and contemplative.
He recalled as a boy living on a farm, where he would go on a
horse to watch cattle or to work on irrigation for hours. That
slowness and solitude gave him a lot of time to ponder and
contemplate.
How many of you ahcw taken advantage of this opportunity
to slow down and reflect and pray to know your Heavenly
Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Have you each taken this
\opportunity to share with your family members and friends
about what you have learned about Heavenly Father and His
Son Jesus Christ?
“I had to think through what I was doing, think through who I
wanted to become, think through the things I needed to work on
in my life,” he said. “That was a very strong blessing.”
Soon Latter-day Saints will be able to again find that solitude in
\the temple, he said.
The experiences of the past few months have caused many to
\yearn for the temple, for the sacred place of “stillness and quiet
where we can be taught from on high,” he added.
Personal lessons
Elder Andersen said he has personally learned many lessons as
First is a renewed appreciation for his wife, Kathy. Her sense of
giving and service has “made me think that I need to be more
appreciative with my verbal expressions of how grateful I am for
all she does for me,” he said.
Do each one of you have a renewed sense of appreciation for
your spouse and other family members and friends members?
Have you taken thee time to show your gratitude to your
spouse and other family members and friends?
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles speaks to members before applying mortar at the
cornerstone ceremony of the Lisbon Portugal Temple dedication on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019.
He is joined his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen. Photo by Scott Taylor, Church News.
Second is the need to testify of the Savior to his own family. “I have
traveled the world and been able to speak about my love for and
sure witness of Christ,” he said.
In recent weeks, “I realized I need to speak more directly to those
who are closest to me — to my children, to my grandchildren —
about the things I speak to the world about all the time.” He said
opportunities to do that have come during Sunday family
devotionals held via video conferencing.
During this time of the shelter in place have you taken
opportunities to speak more directly about the Lord
Jesus Christ and His Father. To share your testimony of
your Savior Jesus Christ.
Latter-day Saints find ‘compensatory blessings’ amid
coronavirus pandemic
Third is an appreciation for those who live with daily physical
or emotional challenges. Elder Andersen had surgery March
10 on his rotator cuff, and in the weeks that followed, he found
himself thinking with new empathy about those who deal with
daily, lifelong challenges.
Have you taken this time to show appreciation for those who
live each day with one form or another of physical or
emotional challenges.
Fourth, Elder Andersen said he has new appreciation for his
Brethren in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles.
Although they are connected by technology, he misses
being “shoulder to shoulder” with others in the quorum.
“I have a great appreciation for the unbelievable blessing of
sharing my life with people of enormous testimony, faith and
personal character,” he said.
Do you have a new appreciation for the members of your own
family members, your friends , and your Church family? Have
you taken opportunities to make some connections with them
during this shelter in place order?
‘We should come out stronger and better’
The work of the Lord will not stop, Elder Andersen promised. “We
are not going to suddenly be in a world that we don’t recognize,”
he said of the return to normalcy and regular routines.
“We will be back in the temples. Missionaries will be in their
assignments. We will be back together as congregations
enjoying each other’s fellowship. We can know that these
events that we are experiencing are temporary.”
This is quite a statement of home for each one of us that ‘we
can know that these events that we are experiencing are
temporary’ don't you think?
The Savior admonishes His followers to be as a child, submissive
and willing, Elder Andersen said.
Are you like a child, submissive and willing? Are you keeping the
commandments of God?
The apostle said he hopes that as Latter-day Saints look back on
the COVID-19 pandemic, they will realize they came out of it better
than when they started.
“There are always compensatory
blessings in these times.”
“Hopefully, it has made us more prayerful, and given us the hope
that the sacrament will mean more to us when we again receive
the sacrament together.
“Hopefully, we will be more sensitive to the person who is not
there with us — and we will reach out in ministering.
“Hopefully, we will think about what it means to be lonely or to be
isolated. And we will care more for others.
“Hopefully, it will mean that some of the superfluous things in
our life fall away.
“And hopefully in the Church, we will realize that central to all
that we are doing is the Savior Jesus Christ. Our focus is on the
Savior and what He has done for us, what He has offered to us,
allowing us to be with Him forever.
“We will exit this difficulty better, stronger and more devoted to
Jesus Christ and His eternal work.”
Do you remember the counsel which Elder Anderson has
given to us today? Well it was not today, but you know
what i mean, right? What Counsel do you remember from
this address? There, I think I got it right this time!!! My
fingers do not do well with this new computer. It has
buttons in the wrong places and it confuses me when I hit
one of them without thinking.
The next thing i know the screen goes dark or the search
window pops up in miniature form all across the bottom of
the screen. And don't get me started on the auto correct.
Some of the things this computer says to me would make
you scream:) It does pretty good for a while then I have a
hard time trying to figure out what I was saying because of
it’s corrections!
\
I know it sure makes me frustrated because sometimes
when a thought goes through and I write it down when I
go back to it at the end of the sentence or paragraph
that i am writing I freeze. I freeze because sometimes
I can't remember what it was that I was trying to say,
in which case i have to delete it from our conversations:(
I do pray that each one of you has been uplifted in some
small; way for reading through this address with me. I
hope that you too have been able to find blessings amidst
the COVID 19 which still plagues out world. I know that
we are trying to get back to some form of normalacy but
the threat of the illness is still looming over and around us.
I will get back to the counsel from Elder Anderson. He
mentioned that he had learned four things from this
quarantine status, do you remember what those four
things were and can you claim the same for yourself and
your family members and friends? I love the following
quote from the beginning of Elder Anderson’s message:
“You can never find yourself in a time that the Lord won’t teach
you if you are righteous,” he said. “This life is a time for
becoming, not just for experiencing. It is a time of being taught
from on high. As we are righteous, compensatory blessings
always come — even in the most difficult times of our lives.”
I believe this quote gives us hope don't you think so?
Then in the next section he said the following: “This
time, when society has paused, can be a time of great
learning, a time to shift one’s focus from a temporal
perspective to an eternal perspective,” So what have you
been learning during this COVID 19 period in your lives?
He finished this section titled ‘A time of great learning’,
with the following statements: ‘Perhaps, above all else, he said,
“it brings to each of us humility.” During these moments, God’s
children are praying more often and more fervently.“Stay on your
knees longer and see what the Lord will teach you,” he
these times.” ‘
In the next section we learn that we should Slow Down!!
And if you think about it. This COVID 19 certainly has
made us all, to slow down in order to protect ourselves and
our families from this nasty virus! Elder Andersen said ‘One such
compensatory blessing has been that the often-rushed pace of life for so
many in the world has slowed down.’ .
Elder Anderson spoke of a time when his son had bought a
wood carving of the Savior with His right hand outstretched
in front of Him as if he were addressing others. When his
little 3 year old daughter noticed that carving on his desk:
“ she turned to her father, and, stretching out her arm like that of the wood
carving, she said very seriously, ‘“Daddy, Jesus says, ‘Slow down.’” Elder
Andersen said the spiritual nourishment sought by faithful, humble followers
of the Savior will come when they are peaceful, quiet, and contemplative.”’
The next section teaches us that we might learn “Personal
Lessons” during this time of COVID 19 period. So, what
personal lessons have you learned during this period of
COVID 19? Elder Anderson said that he learned four
lessons, do you remember what those lessons were that
he shared with us from his experiences ?
Elder Anderson said that we should each “We Should
Come out Stronger and Better” from this encounter with
COVID 19. Elder Andersen said: ‘The Savior admonishes His
followers to be as a child, submissive and willing,‘. He further
stated that “We will exit this difficulty better, stronger, and more
devoted to Jesus Christ and His eternal work.”
I know that there is so much more to learn from this
address, so be sure that you reread it with a prayer.
Saying a prayer is so helpful to me when I am trying to
learn something. My little grandson comes to me every
night to say a prayer with him so that he has ‘good
dreams and no bad dreams’. His faith is like a mustard
seed, but it will grow.
Well, we are here at the end of this address and I have
stopped my rambling for this post. I hope that your days
have gone well this past week and i wish you the best for
this upcoming week. Enjoy your days. Remember to continue
to do all you can to stay healthy and safe. Look for those
blessings that Elder Anderson has taught us about.
Remember who you are!!! Continue to say your prayers at
least morning and night . Please continue to study the Book
of Mormon with me and all of our cyber study buddies out
there in cyberspace. Remember that your Heavenly Father
is only a prayer away. He will meet your needs if you but
ask Him for His help,
Your Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ are ever
reaching down for you and for me. They are ever ready to
lift us up, out of our confusion and darkness up into the
light and a place of safety. They want us to succeed!! We
are each given so many chances to repent and come
unto Him!
I challenge you to take this opportunity to Come unto Him,
if you haven't done so yet or if you have but it was some
time ago and you have drifted away from Him. Please come
back!He is still there with His hand reaching out to each
one of you. Remember the Atonement of Jesus Christ is
for all who ever have lived or who will ever live upon this
earth. Until my next post, please stay safe.
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