Post # 249 ---  Part ten in a series of counsel from members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the COVID-19 outbreak.



Dear Family and Friends

I was just sitting here watching my little students at play and wondering what this world holds for their lives. The Lord said that He would save His nest and brightest for last and I am telling you the babies are being born so smart and quick to learn.

I have one little girl who jumps up to help any of her classmates and she is very helpful to me as well. This is wonderful  for her to be willing to do for others, but in doing this she is oftimes not allowing the other children to blossom and grow.

Whenever I redirect her helpfulness she becomes very discouraged and sad and she goes off to pout for a while. I imagine we all feel this way sometimes. Especially since this coronavirus has literally changed how we do things in this world. There aren't very many things that have remained the same.

For part 9 in the series of counsel from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Elder Stevenson teaches us about discouragement and how we must look at it through the lens of faith. I believe that we are each one learning new things in our life and looking through the lens of faith does make a difference!!!



How to view discouragement during COVID-19 through the lens of faith, Elder Stevenson says




By Sarah Jane Weaver
Updated
24 JUN 2020
4:25 PM MDT
Editor’s note: This is part ten in a series of counsel from members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during the COVID-19 outbreak. Read counsel from President M. Russell Ballard, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Dale G. Renlund and Elder Gerrit W. Gong.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified across the globe the past four months, Elder Gary E. Stevenson has contemplated the very first sentence on the first page of the Book of Mormon, written by the ancient prophet Nephi.



“I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents … and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days.” (1 Nephi 1:1, italics added).
Nephi begins his own sacred record with the clear understanding that hardship has always been part of the human experience. He also confirms that being highly favored of the Lord in the journey through mortality does not make one exempt from life’s struggles and challenges.

Adding to Nephi’s words, Elder Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “In the midst of affliction and disappointment, the Lord also allows us to be highly favored by Him.” 
Speaking to the Church News as part of a series highlighting counsel and direction from Latter-day Apostles during the coronavirus crisis, Elder Stevenson emphasized the need for Latter-day Saints, as did Nephi, to view disappointment and discouragement through the lens of faith.


‘Good global citizens’

In early March, as the pandemic accelerated, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pledged to always be “good global citizens” and in all cases “exercise an abundance of caution.” Thus, they suspended all Church gatherings worldwide, returned more than half the Church’s missionary force to their home nations and closed all temples Churchwide. 



 Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder Gary E. Stevenson, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, smile during an interview in Rome, Italy, on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News


At the same time, government and educational leaders closed schools — a move that altered graduations, suspended academic testing and required the cancelation of sporting events, dances and other activities.

As a result, in addition to death and illness and devastating economic implications of the pandemic, many are dealing with very real disappointment and discouragement, said Elder Stevenson.
Amid this altered landscape, the Apostle has thought of Latter-day Saints preparing to enter the temple for living ordinances — including temple sealings — but could not and also of the thousands of missionaries who completed their service early, who were temporary released and reassigned or who have spent days in quarantine. In addition, he has thought about the youth who prepared for athletic seasons that did not happen or performances that were canceled, and families who could not hold funerals or other special gatherings to honor loved ones.
Nephi teaches, however, that blessings often do accompany hardship and disappointment.



A living prophet
Elder Stevenson said Latter-day Saints have been highly favored of the Lord during this time of pandemic as they have received words and counsel from a living prophet.
As the ripple effect of the pandemic continued to spread in early March, President Russell M. Nelson shared a message of hope on his social media channels.
“We are living in a remarkable age, where we constantly see the hand of the Lord in the lives of His children,” said President Nelson. “Our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ know us, love us, and are watching over us. Of that we can be certain.”

At the same time, President Nelson spoke of the “unique challenge” facing the global Church. “These unique challenges will pass in due time,” said the Church president. “I remain optimistic for the future. I know the great and marvelous blessings that God has in store for those who love Him and serve Him. I see evidence of His hand in this holy work in so many ways.”

Millions viewed this message and other inspired words from President Nelson, said Elder Stevenson, who added: “Knowing the calamities that would come upon the world, the Lord called upon President Russell M. Nelson to guide us and help us manage these unique and perilous times.”
“In the midst of affliction and disappointment, the Lord also allows us to be highly favored by Him.” 
Elder Stevenson said that as Latter-day Saints build on the sure foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and look to the prophet, they will be able to see all the ways they have been “highly favored of the Lord.”



‘Sorest of afflictions’
As a young man, Elder Stevenson served in the Japan Fukuoka Mission. Since then, he has returned to Asia often — as a businessman, as president of the Japan Nagoya Mission, as a General Authority serving in the Asia North Area, and as presiding bishop and now an Apostle.

 Bishop David H. Burton, then Presiding Bishop of the Church, and Elder Gary E. Stevenson, then president of the Church Asia North Area, look at the destruction caused by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and powerful tsunami left more than 20,000 people dead, displaced thousands and destroyed more than 551,000 homes throughout Japan on March 11, 2011. 


On March 11, 2011, Elder Stevenson witnessed the “sorest of afflictions” facing Japan while serving as area president there. A 9.0-magnitude earthquake and powerful tsunami in Sendai left more than 20,000 people dead, displaced thousands and destroyed more than 551,000 homes throughout the Asian nation.

Charged with ministering to the members in Northern Japan and administering humanitarian aid after the crisis, Elder Stevenson traveled often into the destruction zone, watching and learning from resilient Latter-day Saints who overcame disappointment, severe personal loss and other afflictions — but were highly favored of the Lord, he said.
“Great pain, that many continued to bear, was contrasted with the blessings that came,” he said.



‘A long, patient journey’
One of those great blessings was the Sapporo Japan Temple. Elder Stevenson broke ground for the temple on a rainy and windy day only six months after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Saints of Sapporo were highly favored of the Lord as construction on a promised House of the Lord began. “We bow before Thee at this beautiful site chosen by Thee and thank Thee for the faithfulness and sacrifice of the members and converts in all of Japan,“ said Elder Stevenson in the dedicatory prayer. 

On Aug. 21, 2016, five years later, Elder Stevenson sat in the celestial room as President Nelson dedicated the Sapporo Japan Temple.

 During a cornerstone ceremony for the Sapporo Japan Temple, President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Sister Wendy Nelson, stand with children invited to participate, from left, Kuhi Kikuchi, 10; Ryuto Miyamoto, 8; Hina Iwamoto, 7; Kaito Miyamoto, 6; and Miku Nigita, 4, who is helped by her father, Haruhiko Nigita. Elder Elder Larry Y. Wilson of the Seventy looks on from behind. 



The temple dedication represented “the end of a long, patient journey,” said Elder Stevenson. “The period of construction to completion of the magnificent temple and grounds served as a symbol of the recovery and reconstruction of hundreds of miles of coastal Japan.”

From this dichotomy of tragedy brought by the tsunami and the triumph that is symbolized by the temple, members of the Church in Japan could say “having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days,” said Elder Stevenson.
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Latter-day Saints experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic will also express the same sentiment, he added. “These disappointments will pass over us, and one day we will be able to look back and see the great blessings, amid the afflictions, we have had in the course of our days.
“That is going to happen for all of us. We will see that in spite of many afflictions, we are highly favored of the Lord.”



Again, i know that this counsel is directed at church members but if you follow this counsel i believe that you too will notice blessings in your lives and in the lives of your family members and friends:) Let us all be “highly favored of the Lord” and look at our afflictions through the lense of faith.

This is what I have been doing for many years but especially these past five years of fighting stage four breast cancer. I have watched my friends with different types of cancer die from it as well as dwindle down in size where they have nothing left to fight with. And still they had faith and trust in the Lord and His will and timing.

Good news everyone, my treatment has been approved by my insurance:) :) ;) :) I am so excited to get this new treatment underway. And I was also able to pick up my new medicine for the pain. I discovered that I had developed an allergy to hydrocodone. It was doing strange things to my body:(

I have taken that medicine before in my life and it never affected me in this way before so i was taken by surprise by it. I even wondered if I was having some new kind of seizures. Crazy stuff going on. It was my granddaughter who said to me one day “hey grandma are you allergic to one of your medications”?



So, everyone be aware, and maybe you have had this experience before with taking a familiar prescription and having an allergic reaction to it later on. If not, please be aware that it can and does happen to the best of us:)  well, enough of my rambling for this post:) I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy,

Please remember to look at your discouragement through the lens of faith!!! It is so important guys. Keep praying every day at least twice a day. Keep studying your scriptures, reading every day -- especially from the Book of Mormon. Until my next post, remember who you are!!! Stay safe while your children head back to school!