My original plan was to humor you all, brothers and sisters with a few jokes about 'Yellow Fever'. But I later realized that there really IS a Yellow Fever that can kill you so I'm going to refrain from doing that today. But, having served in Japan as a missionary and myself being a "product of Yellow Fever", I can declare that a "win-Wynn situation" (no pun intended!). I sure do love Japan, brothers and sisters. And it has been a privilege to have served in the Japan Nagoya Mission. And me returning to Japan has been long overdue, I can tell you that right now. I realize I gotta be a little careful about my remarks today for I fear making my family or even the bishopric cringe in their seats; I have no intention of doing that!
Today my purpose in speaking to you this morning is on the topic of personal revelation and I was also hoping to connect that with missionary work and my personal experiences in the mission field. To start off:
I.) Personal Revelation:
We're entitled to it, every single one of us in this room. It comes to us at different levels whether it be on a personal level, at a family level (for example, if you're a father presiding over your own family), or even for a church calling. And especially for our callings, there's usually something for us to learn from it by way of revelation. Referring to the fourth chapter, page 89, Joseph Smith teaches, "Salvation cannot come without revelation; it is vain for anyone to minister without it" (History of the Church, 3:389; Preach My Gospel Chapter 4 Recognize the Spirit, p. 89). And if we go further into the section on personal revelation here, it also says, "Joseph Smith also taught that revelation is vital for you daily work: "This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted-by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed" (History of the Church, 5:135; Preach My Gospel Chapter 4 Recognize the Spirit, Personal Revelation p. 89). And it says further on here: "You have been promised inspiration to know what to do and have been given power to do it (see D&C 43:15-16). He will help you as you try to recognize and understand the Spirit through diligent scripture study" (Preach My Gospel Chapter 4 Recognize the Spirit, p. 89). It's pretty self-explanatory here, brothers and sisters. Without revelation, this church cannot exist. It's just amazing how well organized a church unit, a Stake, the church as a whole is organized through General Authority leadership, then going down to local leadership. Each of those men and women called to leadership or axillary positions have been entitled to receive THAT type of revelation, whether it be on a local level or a more general level.
Going further into Preach My Gospel on page 99, which is entitled 'A Word of Caution' (that should be a wake-up call to all of us!). First, it says "Revelation and spiritual experiences are sacred. They should be kept private and discussed only in appropriate situations." It also says, "Resist the temptation to talk freely about these experiences." President James E. Faust is also quoted here and it says, "If worthy, we are entitled to receive revelations for ourselves, parents for their children, and members of the Church in their callings. But the right of revelation for others does not extend beyond our own stewardship" (President James E. Faust, "Communion with the Holy Spirit," Ensign, March 2002). From what I interpret here, there are several prerequisites and post requisites when it comes to revelation. In 2010, the entire missionary curriculum at all Missionary Training Centers was altered and ultimately changed throughout that year. Part of that curriculum includes teaching missionaries how to become trustworthy missionaries and my Mission President couldn't emphasize enough on this. To become trustworthy missionaries, we had to become:
1.) Master Finders
2.) Master Teachers
3.) Master Planners
4.) Followers of the Master, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Most of the prerequisites that I can think of fall under Followers of the Master, and that can be broken down even further. First is obedience; when we get the promptings by way of revelation, we should obey by acting on it. We should also as President Faust said, be worthy of it by obeying all of God's commandments. Second is faithfulness; sometimes we can be unsure even when one would think he or she has the answers. There's always uncertainty but having faith will lead to action. Third is unity. Now in the context of unity, we usually refer to missionary companionships being unified in teaching the lessons or allowing the Spirit to work through them. As members of the church, unity means we need to be living faithfully by Gospel standards, on the same page as the Lord and what His will is for us. Unity connects back to obedience and faithfulness; unity with the Lord's will means being completely faithful to Him and obedient to the standards we are expected to live as members of the church. Sometimes it might require us to be faithful to be unified, especially for those of us who may be living under standards or influences contrary to the Lord's standards. Fourth is determination; we are sometimes required to put forth the effort and work for the answers we may be seeking. Determination can be further fueled and strengthened by faith. So long as we have the faith that our answers that we seek WILL come AND throw in our honest efforts, we shouldn't have to stress about it! Fifth, a really important prerequisite tied back to obedience is cleanliness. The Spirit does NOT dwell in unclean places whether in a room, home, or in one's mind.
Post requisites to revelation includes being trustworthy of it and we can strengthen that trust by:
1.) Maintaining the sacred nature and the privacy levels of these spiritual experiences we have.
2.) Maintaining limited usage of it based on our level of stewardship. For example, you will never receive revelation to tell a Bishop or Stake President how to fulfill his calling.
3.) Act! Once we get the answers or prompting, act on that!
Personal revelation is really important in Missionary work. Each individual area that an Elder or a Sister is assigned to has different individual needs, based on the people within that area they come in contact with. The needs can be met by way of revelation; it's not easy but it's the Lords way, and it's the only way.
II.) Thoughts of Missionary Work and the Church in Japan
I don't have much time left but I would like to transition at this time and share a few thoughts with you about missionary work and the church in Japan. First I refer to Alma 13:24-25; this scripture became the backbone to my motivation and commitment to missionary work not too long after I went into the the Missionary Training Center. It reads, "For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory. And now we only wait to hear the joyful news declared unto us by the mouth of angels, of his coming; for the time cometh, we know not how soon. Would to God that it might be in my day; but let it be sooner or later, in it I will rejoice."
I found myself asking from time to time whether or not a mission really is "the best two years" of a young LDS mans life. The answer to that question depends on how one makes of it. To me, a mission wasn't "the best two years" of my life and I don't mean to say that my mission was a miserable experience. I had a great time; to me, a mission is always going to be filled with bits of hardships and misery along with all the successes and the joy that comes out of it. To me, the words "the best two years" has been overused as a trademark saying based on a movie and I fear many missionaries serving today try to base their own experiences off it with a set of expectations... But I think a mission is an important two years because a young man goes through so many life-changing experiences. I didn't mean to offend anybody by saying what I just said but what matters most is that one did his or her best on their mission, fulfilling their responsibilities and following and living the standards of a missionary.
This leads me to my next point and I would like to speak briefly about expectations. I wish I knew some of these things before going out on my mission... Missionaries are expected to do a lot of things in addition to the things that they shouldn't do! We bombard them with it all the time and we should at least expect them to live by the rules and standards of a missionary. But of all the expectations we have for each other, the ones that should matter the most is ones own expectation aligned with the Lords will. Other expectations including ones from other family members, relatives or friends no offense, don't really matter. For example, don't bombard your missionary son or daughter with expectations of them becoming fluent with the language or becoming a District Leader or an assistant to the mission president. From personal experience, I didn't expect my mission to turn out the way it did. I still take this very personally but I wanted be serving in a leadership position sometime in my mission but I never got to. There were times I dealt with feelings of resentment about the matter but in the long run, I'm now at peace; I came to realize (and again, I wish I knew this long before) we're usually called to these positions because there is something that we need to learn from it so I take it that I had nothing to learn had I served in a leadership position.
I had a difficult time putting this into words brothers and sisters but regarding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan, let's just say there's plenty of room for improvement. It's tough to be Japanese Saint, brothers and sisters. It's hard enough when your co-workers pressure you to go out and get drunk with them every night after work when you have high standards to live. It's hard to be a teenager in Japan struggling to make friends unless you attend extracurricular activities also known as cram school which can eat up a lot of time, leaving little of it for church activities. Imagine your children attending in a seminary program that only meets once a week, or it's really tough, once a month. Despite the hardships and the faults the church has over there, it will improve; prophets have prophesied and testified of it.
In 1998, President Henry B. Eyring then as an apostle visited Japan and spoke at the former Japan Missionary Training Center. In his address, he said "... in reality, the Lord is laying down the foundation. And upon this foundation, miracles will occur. These miracles will happen in the form of great changes occurring in the hearts of members of the Church in Japan. This has just now started to happen although it may not be easy to see. The day will come when members of the Church will consider it a privilege to speak to colleagues at work and people in their neighborhoods about the Church... But even if the Lord changes the hearts of those outside the Church so they hold feelings of respect for the Church, unless (Church members) decide they want to introduce their friends to the missionaries and their actions show the gospel is true so the people around them will turn their ears to the teachings of the Lord, the work of the Lord will be retarded in its progress."
That should be a wake-up call not only for members in Japan but to ALL of us. I understand it's sometimes difficult or even nerve racking to share the gospel with your friends. But all it takes is a little faith and if they reject the message, move on; you've done your part. I said that to the members over in Japan many times... Long story short, the members of Japan deserve so much more. Compared to Salem Stake, few of the areas I served in don't have what we have; consider yourselves blessed. Some of the members feel it's a burden to go to church; there are good explanations why over half of the total membership in Japan is less-active. How sad is that? A little over a year ago, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited the Asia North Area, making a stop in the Japan Nagoya Mission. As a mission, we gathered for an All-Mission Conference to hear Elder Holland speak; he walked up and down the aisles of the chapel we were in and just before closing, he turned the brethren on the stand, Elders Rasband and Stevenson who were accompanying him and said to them, "Brethren, I feel as if I need to do something here that I haven't felt before."
Elder Holland proceeded to extend an apostolic blessing not only to us but to the entire Asia North Area in our presence. He E-mailed my mission president a paragraph containing the blessing and I would like to read this to you today:
"Because this has been such a wonderful experience for us and because we feel the missionaries are working diligently, I feel to leave a blessing not only upon you elders and sisters here in Nagoya but also upon every mission in the area. In response to that prompting and by the priesthood I hold and the apostolic office that has brought us to Asia, I do bless every one of you that you will feel the urgency of the work and the love our Father in Heaven has for you in laboring in his vineyard. I bless you with the Spirit of the Lord to be with you in your duties, guiding you in your study, leading you in your proselyting efforts, comforting you regarding any concerns you have here in the mission or with your families at home. God will bless you and all for whom you pray. He loves you, this is His work, and He pours out his blessings on those who diligently serve Him. Let your hearts be peaceful. Angels are dispatched to attend you and those about whom you care so much."
"I bless the nations of Japan and Korea, and the other island locations of our missionaries in this area. Father, bless the people that they will be responsive to the Spirit, that they will feel a hunger in their heart to find the truth, and that they will recognize these missionaries as being agents from Thee when they present Thy truth to them. To aid in that I bless political leaders, the economy of the nations, and any other forces that sometimes disrupt the work. May stability and tranquility come in those social and cultural forces. I bless members, priesthood leaders, and investigators-including the less active-that a major thrust will go forward from this apostolic visit to this land. I turn the key again, as keys have been turned in before, to bring a new chapter, a higher achievement, greater success in this most important work in the world. Such success can only come from heaven. We can work hard to prepare the way and deserve success, but the blessings come only from our Father in Heaven. In that, we honor Him, give praise to Him, vow to be clean and worthy, and diligently labor before Him to see a new era of the gospel rise in this Land of the Rising Sun and neighboring nations. May it be so now, with power and great glory, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
That right there was one of the most powerful experiences I ever had on my mission and probably in my entire life. It was indeed a privilege to have been in Japan at that time. Less than a month after Elder Hollands visit to Japan, one of the most powerful earthquakes to ever hit rattled the country causing devastation to Sendai and much of the Tōhoku region. Having relatives in that region, I thank a loving and merciful Heavenly Father for watching over them. It's been over a year but recovery efforts and problems there are on-going and it's my hope and prayer that things will finally get back to normal over there...
If there's anything I can pass on to the future generation of missionaries, I first repeat what Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita of the Seventy counseled us which is to bring a desire to preach the gospel, a developed testimony and love for others. My recommendations are by way of revelation prayerfully figure out what your expectations can be. Once you figured that out, find out what the Lord expects of you by aligning your expectations to His will. Also take something small you can carry around that has significant meaning to you. This can be a ring, your name badge, a pin but every time you're at your lowest point, at a dark hour of discouragement, reach down and touch the object and remember the meaning of it and beat the discouragement; let this small object of yours be the tool to help you beat discouragement during your mission and for the rest of your life.
Brothers and sisters, we are imperfect and that's a part of Heavenly Fathers plan. I hope each of you will take the time to count your blessings because there are others out there, not just in Japan but throughout the world waiting for the blessings we have. Please consider your own blessings and pray for those who deserve so much better. May we always strive to do our best in fulfilling our responsibilities whether it be in our callings or in our family life or our personal lives.
あまりたくさん時間は無いですけれでも今から日本語で証したいと思います。この教会は神様の真実の教会であることを知ってます。また主イエスキリストは生きてるので、彼の犠牲、彼の模範、彼の教え心から感謝慕いと思います。神様はジョセフスミス、召された預言者によって、この教会とこの福音を回復されたことを知ってます。本当に、この回復された福音を感謝します。私は宣教師として日本名古屋伝道部に伝道できたので心から感謝します。また、１５年振りに日本にいる親族もう一回会ったことに感謝します。また自分の家族も感謝します。とりあえず、この福音や生活あるので、私はがんばりたいと思います。愛する兄弟姉妹の皆さん、よろしくお願いします。この話と下手くそ証、全て主イエスキリスト様の聖なる名前をとして証しました。アーメン。
