Semana 31 (The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round)

Buenas! What a great and very exhausting week! It was the last week of the transfer! Time is literally flying! I can't believe that another transfer has gone by! I am staying in San Felix for another transfer! My comp is going to the islands! And my new comp is Elder Fabian. He is a really cool guy! A bit apostate in the mish, but we are gonna change that! Haha!  I'm super excited for this next transfer!

The reason this week was exhausting was because of bus rides! Hence the title. In total this week I took the bus 14 times! Those that have been on a bus with me know that I can't stay awake for more than 5 minutes. So missionary work combined with strange sleep on a countless number of buses with hours of travel seemed to take its toll. Not just on me physically, but financially too! I am broke now with another week until we get money. It wasn't bad though. I honestly enjoy bus rides a lot!

We had exchanges this week which was fun! I was with Elder Arrazola. He is a beast! Super fun time.

We went to Remedios for my first time! It was pretty cool! There are lots of people to teach there. The question is how many will be able to even come to church. They live a wee bit far, and don't have a lot of money.

I am now illegal in Panama. Everyone in my group went to migrations but me. So I'm hiding out here in San Felix.

La Familia HoHosh gave me rootbeer! That was for sure the biggest highlight of my week! I didn't think it existed here, but it does! I haven't had it since I left home. I forgot how good root beer is!

This week I also ate shark for the first time! Not gonna lie, it's pretty good! Much better than cow feet and chicken feet! But sharks don't have feet, so of course it was better.

Mountain day was great exercise as always! I don't think I've ever sweated more than when I'm climbing that beast in proselytizing clothes. This week we had the added feature of smoke from fires. We were coughing most of the way up, but that was just more cardio for us!

Sunday was Stake Conference! So the HoHosh family took us to David in their car. It was nice, until they got pulled over for speeding! Haha! The officer was like "where are you going? And we said "church" He asked "which church?" We responded "La Iglesia De Jesucristo De Los Santos De Los Últimos Días." He saw that we were missionaries in the back, and so he decided to let us go free because we were going to church. Only in Panama my friends, only in Panama. Dios Primero!

This week's thought is that this gospel is for everyone! I literally climb a mountain in the middle of nowhere to teach members of this church! Panama is also a place of all sorts of people. The diversity I saw in Stake Conference was crazy! Everyone is different. But this religion brings us all together. God knows all of us personally, and His gospel is perfect for everyone.

Love you all! Thank you for all your prayers! Please pray a lot for this area and for my new comp, Elder Fabian! We are definitely gonna need them. Have a great week everyone!

- Elder Lutze

E. Benitez & E. Lutze with their mini bananas

Missionary Look in Panama during COVID

Proof that root beer really does exist in Panama!

Super Zona David!

The Misty Mountain!

Semana 31

Dear Elder Lutze,

I continue to pray for you and your area! Life here consists of work at work and work at home. I’m actually writing my life history using my journals. It’s fun to see what an 11 year old mind thinks is important. Also preparing for our Israel trip and Europe…  lots still to do but getting there. Everyone’s just busy with their stuff 

Rachael’s studying for the CCRN and working on CRNA apps.

Hannah and Foster are busy with the boys.  Foster’s buried in shadowing working and studying for the MCAT.

Natalie is almost done with her Bachelors and working two jobs. We’ve seen her more recently and she actually seems to want to be here with us. It’s a nice change. I continue to pray and fast for her and put her name on the temple prayer roll. 

We miss you but also know you are where you should be at this time in your life. I know the Lord loves you and your effort! He is a tender tutor! I love this word for our Savior. It implies a one on one teaching relationship!

Love

 Mom

Thoughts this week…

Luke 18:1-14 Parable of the Unjust Judge

This is one very clear lesson we can draw from the parable. No matter how difficult our challenges or trials, the Lord fully expects us to continue in prayer, even if there seems to be no answer forthcoming. Why? Because we are not trying to change God’s heart; God is trying to change our hearts! Because our Father knows us intimately and loves us infinitely, there are times when He may be saying to us, “This is an opportunity for you to grow in faith, in trust, in spirituality, and in experience. Because I love you, I will not take away such opportunities from you.” 

“We need strength beyond ourselves to keep the commandments in whatever circumstance life brings to us. The combination of trials and their duration are as varied as are the children of our Heavenly Father. No two are alike. But what is being tested is the same, at all times in our lives and for every person: will we do whatsoever the Lord our God will command us?” —Henry B. Eyring

The process of self-examination and subsequent change is so important to our spiritual growth and spiritual self-reliance that sometimes the Lord deliberately holds back because we would miss a growth opportunity if He answered us right away. Why would He intervene and terminate the process before the lessons are learned, before the desired maturing has occurred? To use a very inadequate analogy, it would be like an Olympic track and field coach lowering the hurdles because so many runners are bashing their knees against them and crashing onto the track. On the contrary, once runners push themselves to clear every hurdle with ease, what does the coach do? He raises the hurdles.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell coined a phrase that captures the essence of the lesson of the parable of the unjust judge: “In no dimension of the divine personality of Jesus Christ do we see His love any more fully expressed than in the divine tutorials given especially to His friends—those who believe in and who strive to follow Him, leaders and followers alike, rich and poor alike, men and women alike, for He is ‘no respecter of persons.’ He would not deny these enriching but stretching divine tutorials to any who follow Him, especially those who have already done much to prove their friendship for Him and are thus ready for further lessons.”4

Tutorial is an interesting choice of words. Tutoring is distinguished from other kinds of teaching, not so much in what is taught but in how it is taught and the nature of the teacher. The standard definition of a tutor is that he or she is a highly qualified, private teacher who teaches a single student or a small group of students. And typically this takes place over a long period of time. The word tutor has its etymological roots in the Latin tutorem, a “guardian, or watcher.”

“Let us trust the Lord and take the next steps in our individual lives. He has promised us that he will be our tender tutor, measuring what we are ready for.”

—Spencer W. Kimball

In God we have the perfect tutor, and though He serves all of His children, each of His tutorials is intensely personal and highly individualized. If we will accept Him, He is in our lives for the long haul, not to work quick fixes or undertake minor adjustments. Elder Maxwell went on to say: “Perhaps these divine tutorials carry such a high priority because the more we are fully developed here, the more chores and opportunities we can be given in the world to come—chores and opportunities that, without growth through tutoring, simply could not be entrusted to us.”

We can ask ourselves over and over why the Lord doesn’t intervene when we are enduring some heart-wrenching trial in our lives. It is tempting to raise a fist to heaven and cry out: “Why aren’t you answering me?” Many times, we may be delaying those answers because of things we are doing or things we should be doing. But there are times when the answer is something else entirely. Elder Maxwell called such times “divine tutorials.” Others have referred to them as “trials of our faith,” “being tested so we can prove ourselves worthy,” or the “inevitable tragedies of life.”

Why isn’t God answering me?

If we listen carefully, we may hear this simple response: “Because I love you.”

Why Isn’t God Answering Me? Lund 

Semana 30 (A Yellow Watermelon and a Bappy)

I am very happy to say that we got a new phone! Missionary work is a million times easier with a phone that's for sure!

This week we also had Zone Conference! What an amazing experience honestly. This mission has great plans. I love our mission president so much, and he is such an inspired man. Zone Conference is always just free revelation. This time all the talk was about having faith and being obedient. Essentially the goal is to get 150 baptisms in the month of April. We have been averaging about 100 baptisms a month which is super good! But if everyone has faith, works hard, and is obedient this mission will take off even more.

Clemira gave us yellow watermelon this week. It was really good! I didn't know yellow watermelon existed, but it does! It was hilarious, because the power went out that night, we didn't have a phone, no water, and we couldn't cook any food. We just enjoyed the hot night eating yellow watermelon, playing and singing songs on the Uke, and watching a massive lightning storm! It was so cool!

We had exchanges this week with the zone leaders. I went with Elder Heap in David. Wow their area is blessed! Elder Heap and I had a really good time! He is super cool! And he is an absolutely amazing missionary. We had a lot of good lessons, and he said some very nice things to me on our exchange. I'm so happy to have great leaders in this mission, and that I can make good friendships!

We also found the hideout of all the teenagers in San Felix! It was actually such a big win! Our goal is to befriend them, and hopefully start teaching some of them soon! We at least now know there are teenagers in San Felix!

Then of course the highlight of this week... CLEMIRA'S BAPTISM!! After almost a year of no baptisms in San Felix, Clemira got baptized this week! It was such an amazing experience. There may not be a lot of members here, but they all showed up and there was so much love. I am always amazed at the faith and love I see from these members. Afterwards, Clemira was crying, and explaining how she just felt free. So, so amazing! I love this work so much. It's the most amazing thing to see someone progress and change in such a short time.

This week's spiritual thought came from Elder Heap. In the morning before we went back to the terminal, he shared some thoughts with me. He started off by saying he was proud of me and Elder Benitez. That we are in a really hard area, but we always stay positive. And then he went on saying that sometimes we are put in hard situations as tests, and to build character. He said that in the Book of Mormon obstacles are always seen as opportunities. He used the example of the brother of Jared. The problem was that there was no light in the ship, and the brother of Jared had to do all he could think of, and ask God to do the rest. He gathered rocks, and God touched them one by one to make them glow. The same is with us. We have lots of "opportunities" in life. But, we can't just expect God to fix everything for us. Instead, we have to think and do all we can, and then rely on God to do the rest. That is when we see miracles. And that is when we begin to reach our potential. 

I know lots of people are struggling with things. But I challenge you all to take the time to stop and think, how is this making me stronger? How is this bringing me closer to my Savior? I truly testify that our trials and experiences are for our good. But, only if we allow the Savior to help us see how.

Love you all! Thank you so much for the prayers! I truly see miracles here. Keep praying for my people here! This gospel is true. There is no greater gift. Until next week!

-Elder Lutze

Yellow Watermelon

Hat Day ~ E. Lutze & E. Benitez

E. Lutze & E. Benitez with Clemira

E. Lutze & E. Benitez ~ San Felix

Semana 30

Dear Elder Lutze, 

A very busy week... I spent Tuesday with the Young Women in a pre-Trek activity we learned about how to research ancestors. Did you know we're related to 4 European royalty  directly and 7 Mayflower voyagers? Wow! We also ate Johnny Cakes and made butter in a jar. Wednesday I met with our Emotional Resilience group. I love these ladies and the support we give each other. Thursday I spent time with two of my college roommates. Cheryl and I are going to set Rachael up on a blind date with her son Zack. PRAY! ;) Friday Rachael and I worked almost all day on planning our trip. I went to the temple in the morning. Saturday Hannah, Dad and I worked in the yard - mowing, fertilizing, etc. before all the storms coming again this week. In the afternoon, we attended Ross and Tricia's sealing in the Mount Timpanogos temple. I'm so happy for her. We went out to eat afterwards with the Roetkers and Hayes. I'm so grateful for the gospel and the friendships it brings. My thoughts for the week...

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917–2008) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles applied the message of the parable of the lost sheep  when he taught about why people stray from the Lord and Church activity:

“Some are lost because they are different. They feel as though they don’t belong. Perhaps because they are different, they find themselves slipping away from the flock. They may look, act, think, and speak differently than those around them and that sometimes causes them to assume they don’t fit in. They conclude that they are not needed. …

“Brothers and sisters, if only we had more compassion for those who are different from us, it would lighten many of the problems and sorrows in the world today. …

“Some are lost because they are weary. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. With all the pressures and demands on our time and the stress we face each day, it’s little wonder we get tired. Many feel discouraged because they have not measured up to their potential. Others simply feel too weak to contribute. And so, as the flock moves on, gradually, almost imperceptibly, some fall behind” (“Concern for the One,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 18–19).

While serving as provost of Brigham Young University, Elder Bruce C. Hafen similarly explored the application of the parable of the lost sheep, explaining that at certain points in our life, each of us might be like the lost sheep and in need of help:

“The lost sheep are not just the people who don’t come to church. … The lost sheep is a mother who goes down into the valley of the dark shadows to bring forth children. The lost sheep is a young person, far away from home and faced with loneliness and temptation. The lost sheep is a person who has just lost a critically needed job; a business person in financial distress; a new missionary in a foreign culture; a man just called to be bishop; a married couple who are misunderstanding each other; a grandmother whose children are forgetting her. I am the lost sheep. You are the lost sheep. ‘All we like sheep have gone astray.’ (Isaiah 53:6; emphasis added.)

“The times of feeling lost are not always times when we have wandered from the straight and narrow path. Not at all. We may be precisely where the Lord would have us be” (The Broken Heart: Applying the Atonement to Life’s Experiences [1989], 60).

I know this to be true and it goes hand in hand with what we were discussing today in Sunday school about core laws like Keeping the Sabbath Day holy and fence laws like no TV on Sunday or wearing church clothes all day. etc When we keep core laws we are showing our love to God and others. Sometimes fence laws hinder that if we're not careful and even may lead to lost sheep like Natalie. I feel like she's stuck on fence laws. 

I love you! Keep working hard. The Lord loves effort!

Mom

Semana 29 (Math Jungle 101)

Buenas!!

To get right into it... Clemira, as always, is the highlight of the week! She is progressing very nicely, and I pray and hope that she gets baptized this week! However, she is mostly the highlight because she always gives us food. This week's specialty was hot dogs, bread, and cheese. Pretty tasty!

We also had intercambios this week! It was sooooo weird! Haha! But, it was a lot of fun! And, I probably had the funniest experience yet. I was with Elder Chic here in San Felix. He was determined to put a fecha for someone here. The only lesson that didn't fall through was Clemira. I explained to Elder Chic what we were teaching, and that Clemira was on date to be baptized. But, he had other plans in mind. As we started teaching, Elder Chic began with a completely different lesson, so I just went with it. Then out of nowhere, Elder Chic invited her to be baptized!!!!! I was literally dying! It was hilarious! They were both so confused. Then I just played it off and hyped up Clemira. Literally it was the strangest thing.

Then Elder Chic and I ate with La Familia Hohosh. It was a good time! Then we went back home. Elder Chic wanted to arm wrestle me, so we did a few matches. It was fun...for me! Haha! That night he was being super weird. He kept turning on and off the light, and running back to his bed, trying to scare me or something. Well, little did he know I am very, very good at scaring people. So, the next time he turned the light off, I may or may not have scared the crap out of him. I most definitely did. The next day he told me that I "gave him fear." I love Elder Chic. He is such a wild man.

Also, people keep having me grab lemons off trees for them. Elder Castillo had me do it, Elder Benitez had me do it, and this random little girl asked me to do it too. I guess I found my new talent in life - jumping for lemons.

Mountain day was really good too! This week I was fed chicken feet instead of cow's feet. We also went exploring in Oma which was pretty interesting! During our 'mountain day,' it started to pour! So, being the extremely prepared missionaries we are, we took out our garbage bags and put them on. Then we used leaves to cover our heads. It sounds really stupid, and it looks stupid too, but it works!

Church was good as well! I finally met the bishop! He just kinda said "Good job Elders! See you sometime!" He doesn't want much to do with San Felix. We also had a sacrament meeting in Guabo. It was pretty cool to do the sacrament in the jungle/mountain! Truly this gospel is for everyone.

And as always, the spiritual thought. I'm sure everyone has asked at one point while doing math "When will I ever use this in my life?" I know I have. Well, I finally found my answer. There I was helping a little girl understand how to do her absolutely useless math. I love math! I really do! But this was the math that is genuinely useless. Yet, here I was, using my useless knowledge to help another gain the same useless knowledge. Oh, how my teachers would laugh at me now. "We told you that this math was important! It's like we've always said, this math will be important when you are serving a mission and are up in the jungle where the biggest problem, second to the fact that there's no water, is a little girl's math homework."

You may be wondering by now what this has to do with a spiritual thought. Well, my thought came while helping this little girl. The gospel is similar to learning math. Now, I could have just done the math for her, but then she wouldn't have learned anything. So, I had to explain it to her. Little by little, I explained how to do everything. Now, she was still a little confused, but with me by her side she wasn't scared to practice. Practice is the only way we learn how to do things. And how to do them well. The more practice we have, the better we become and the more confidence we gain. Well, it's all the same with the gospel. We have to practice every aspect of the gospel to become better and gain confidence in it. And just like this little girl had more courage to practice because I was next to her, it is the same with us. Christ is always right next to us. Every week, every day, and every hour we have the chance to practice. If we fail, Christ just helps us correct the mistake, and we keep practicing.

I love this gospel with all my heart. I testify that it is true, and that it is where joy is found. I'm so thankful for a loving Savior who died for me so that I may practice everyday to become more like Him. I love you all so much! And I encourage you all to keep practicing this gospel. Do the basics everyday and the amount of growth will be immeasurable. Please keep praying for San Felix! Especially La Hermana Clemira! Love you all!

-Elder Lutze

P.S. Our phone died for good. So I don't know when we will have that back. So sorry for not responding to some people!

E. Chic and E. Lutze - Intercambios

E. Lutze and E. Benitez in their rain gear!

E. Lutze on Mountain Day

E. Lutze and E. Chic with Flia Hohosh

Semana 29

Dear Elder Lutze,

We continue to pray for you daily and put your name on the prayer roll in the temple each week.

This week we did Pizzart with the YW on Tuesday. (We prepped Monday night.) They loved it! Wednesday, Dad and I were set apart for Trek. Bishop sure loves you, your effort, and your attitude. Friday we went to the temple and did an endowment session. We then went to Tru Rest Spa and followed that with dinner at Red Lobster. We were celebrating our 29th anniversary a week early. We watched the boys that evening while Foster and Hannah went on a date. Saturday Cami came over. We ate pizza, played Code Name and Stupid Deaths followed by cheesecake. Today Sonia, Yvonne and Alex are coming over for dinner and bringing Jeannette’s new baby boy. I don’t know any details yet. I taught YWs today! What amazing girls! We talked about overcoming our fears through the Savior.

Just a thought I came across this week as I was thinking about your service as a missionary! And really as we serve Him for life!

President Ezra Taft Benson described what happens in the lives of those who “lose their lives” for the Savior: “Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life to God will find he has eternal life” (“Jesus Christ—Gifts and Expectations,” New Era, May 1975, 20).

And I love this thought on healing by steps… not all at once even spiritual healing!

Mark 8:22-25

Elder Bruce R. McConkie pointed out truths we can learn from this miracle:

“This miracle is unique; it is the only recorded instance in which Jesus healed a person by stages. It may be that our Lord followed this course to strengthen the weak but growing faith of the blind man. It would appear that the successive instances of physical contact with Jesus had the effect of adding hope, assurance, and faith to the sightless one. Jesus personally (1) led the blind man by the hand out of the town, (2) applied his own saliva to the eyes of the sightless one, (3) performed the ordinance of laying on of hands, and (4) put his hands a second time upon the man’s eyes.

“Certainly the manner in which this healing took place teaches that men should seek the Lord’s healing grace with all their strength and faith, though such is sufficient for a partial cure only.” Following the receipt of this partial cure, “they may then gain the added assurance and faith to be made whole and well every whit. Men also are often healed of their spiritual maladies by degrees, step by step as they get their lives in harmony with the plans and purposes of Deity” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:379–80).

Love, 

 Mom

Semana 28 (Cow's Feet Soup)

Buenas!!!!

This was a pretty good week! A bit slow, but what else can you expect from San Felix. It's actually really sad, because we have other areas we can go to, but they are super far away and the people are too poor to come to church. So, the Bishop, who I still haven't met, basically banned us from going there. This means everyone in San Felix has been contacted. HaHa! We've still met some really cool people!

Clemira is progressing really well! We had a Noche de Hogar with her and with La Familia HoHosh! It went really well. However, we found out Clemira might be cursed. We are trying to figure that one out. After the Noche de Hogar, la familia HoHosh took Clemira home, and then they took us to eat at the only restaurant in San Felix - Paco Meralgo. It was actually super good! My new favorite restaurant in San Felix! Ha!Ha!

On Friday we went to Las Lajas to eat with La Familia Chavez. Their children are literally the wildest kids I've ever met. But, the moment you give them a phone, they are basically hypnotized. Bonus, after we got some really good ice cream! So the trips to Las Lajas are definitely worth it.

Then of course we had Mountain Day! That is a workout and a half! It's just a massive hike up the mountain. When we got to the family, I literally had taken a shower in my own sweat. Church wear plus hiking a mountain don't go hand in hand. Ha!Ha! But it's fun to go up. Then it started pouring when we were about to go down. So then I got my second shower! A lot better than the first that's for sure. HaHa! We got pretty muddy, but the rain felt really good. To describe how hot it was, when we got back to the road the rain was causing it to steam!

Sunday was also a good day! We only had about 11 people show up, which is still really good! It was a testimony meeting which was really cool because it felt a lot more personal with just a few of us there. Then after church we went up to Guabo. There were a bunch of random people there for an election, and they were all soooo quiet and awkward. They weren't even talking to each other. So, Elder Benitez and I sang for them and performed magic. It was funny but so so awkward. Then we were fed cow's feet soup. The whole time I was there I kept smelling something weird... yea it was the soup. I was laughing pretty hard actually. I've had fish soup, chicken soup, and now cow's feet soup. I've had other soups here, but I didn't dare ask what was in them. I was mainly laughing though because never have I ever broken a fast by eating cow's feet. But, I'm not dead yet! It actually was pretty decent soup! The after effects, not so decent.

Something pretty funny this week was that we had chickens, ducks, and dogs in our house. They are all starting to get a little too curious.

This week's thought came from when we had our weekly noche de grupo with Bonifacio. He is fairly new to the church, but he has quite the love for this gospel. Every Wednesday we show him a conference talk. And every time he always asks us "Can we listen to one by the prophet?" I truly admire his love for the prophet. Just the way he talks about him, and how he wants to meet him and shake hands with him. This made me think about how truly blessed we are that we have living prophets! Just think about that for a second. God loves us so much that he has prophets to guide us in a world that is full of so many terrors. God is constantly speaking to us through scriptures of old, as well as modern day revelation from actual living prophets. It's truly a blessing. The words of prophets are the words of God. So I encourage you all to not only take the time to talk to God through prayer, but to also listen to him through His prophets!

I love you all so much! As always, keep praying for my people! And as always, I'm constantly praying for all of you! Much love!

-Elder Lutze

From the Top of the Mountain

Our House

Teaching E. Benitez the smolder look

Bridge in San Felix

Semana 28

Dear Elder Lutze, 

We continue to pray for you and your area constantly! Expect miracles! 

Of course, another busy week! Dad left with Rachael Thursday night for SG. They took wood and the fireplace down in the van. We just had the wiring redone. Mice had eaten it! Yes you read the right! They accomplished a lot in two days. They met with Roberto about the yard and David about the block wall and the plumber about the rest of the rough plumb. The plumber starts Tuesday on that. Rachael and dad got the tub down the stairs to the basement, framed it all out including the shower and the wall and set the tub. Amazing! 

I’ve been keeping things going here…paying bills, running errands, etc. I spent time in the temple Friday with Anita. We are so blessed to have temples and the covenants we make there. Our Heavenly Father only asks that we endure to the end in faith! It’s amazing how the mission is a microcosm of life!

My thoughts this week are around faith. The three stories in Mark 5… Legion that was cast out, Jairus daughter raised from the dead, and the woman healed from her issue of blood. They all came to Him! They made the effort because of their faith. They were all humble-kneeling before Him. These three stories show that He heals us physically, emotionally, socially, and mentally. He has all power! He heals those of all social standing from Jairus a ruler to a man possessed living in a cemetery and a woman cast out of all social circles because she was unclean. 

Some thoughts from my scripture notes

Possessed man

Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles identified several truths that we learn from this miracle:

“This particular instance of ejecting spirit beings from a stolen tenement is set forth in detail by the gospel writers to show:

(1) That evil spirits, actual beings from Lucifer’s realm, gain literal entrance into mortal bodies;

(2) That they then have such power over those bodies as to control the physical acts performed

(3) That persons possessed by evil spirits are subjected to the severest mental and physical sufferings and to the basest sort of degradation—all symbolical of the eternal torment to be imposed upon those who fall under Satan’s control in the world to come;

(4) That devils remember Jesus from pre-existence … ;

(5) That the desire to gain bodies is so great among Lucifer’s minions as to cause them, not only to steal the mortal tabernacles of men, but to enter the bodies of animals;

(6) That the devils know their eventual destiny is to be cast out into an eternal hell from whence there is no return;

(7) That rebellious and worldly people are not converted to the truth by observing miracles; and

(8) That those cleansed from evil spirits can then be used on the Lord’s errand to testify of his grace and goodness so that receptive persons may be led to believe in him” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:311).

Woman with issue of blood

In Stake Conference today we were reminded that virtue = power. Sis Dalton talked about the value of virtue when we met and how she had to do all in her power to have the Spirit with her. I’ve thought a great deal about this scripture story today. The woman didn’t wait for the Savior to come to her. She knew her need and sought the Savior in faith to have that need met. It was then that she was healed. And this was after 12 years, bad physicians, she’d spent all her money, and she was getting worse not better. How did she have this kind of faith in the Savior after all of that?

In the original Greek text of the New Testament, the word corresponding to virtue is dunamis, which means “power” or “strength.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) recorded an experience that helps us understand the “virtue,” or spiritual strength, that is required of a priesthood holder when administering to others: “Elder Jedediah M. Grant enquired of me the cause of my turning pale and losing strength last night while blessing children. I told him that I saw that Lucifer would exert his influence to destroy the children that I was blessing, and I strove with all the faith and spirit that I had to seal upon them a blessing that would secure their lives upon the earth; and so much virtue went out of me into the children, that I became weak, from which I have not yet recovered; and I referred to the case of the woman touching the hem of the garment of Jesus. (Luke, 8th chapter). The virtue here referred to is the spirit of life; and a man who exercises great faith in administering to the sick, blessing little children, or confirming, is liable to become weakened” (in History of the Church, 5:303).

The Savior’s question, “Who touched me?” (Mark 5:31), created the opportunity for the woman to acknowledge her act of faith and the miracle of her healing. The Savior’s response helped the woman and others present avoid the misconception that the miracle had resulted from any miraculous power in His garment itself—“Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole” (Mark 5:34; italics added). It also declared to the woman’s neighbors and the townspeople that she was now healed and no longer subject to the social and religious exclusions that had been imposed upon her for so many years. God’s power can restore both purity and wholeness.

Jairus

 “The Lord has His own timetable. . . . The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith means trust—trust in God’s will, trust in His way of doing things, and trust in His timetable. We should not try to impose our timetable on His. Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing.”

—Dallin H. Oaks

I love you and I’m so grateful for your faithful service to the Lord!

 Mom