July 20, 2015

"And the Lord called his people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them."

- Moses 7:18

Bueno, decidí para escribir en español ahora. porque es difícil a escribir en ingles. Estoy hablando cien por ciento en Español en estés días porque vivo con 3 Latinos (Well, I decided to write in Spanish now because it is difficult to write in English. I'm talking one hundred percent in Spanish these days because I live with 3 Latinos)... but, I guess I'll switch to English so you don’t have to throw it in the translator. This week was great! I learned a great lesson from the spirit about unity. 

Elder Gale walking in the street at night in Chile and coming home from a successful day at work.

This past Sunday, I was assigned to talk, but I was able to decide what I wanted to talk about. I had no idea what I was going to speak about, but, as I was studying the scripture masteries (the 100 scriptures that we should have memorized), I came across one in the book of Moses 7:18. I read it, and I knew that it was what I needed to speak about. So, I broke it down into 3 parts, and I used those for my talk. I used the first part that says, "And the lord called his people Zion..." I took that to talk about the stakes of the church which is made of wards which are made of the members, or US. So, this scripture talks directly to us as members.

A picture of a lighthouse Elder Gale found to remind everyone to be the director towards a safe harbor for those that need comfort.

Then, I took the second part "and they were one in heart and will" (I’m translating from Spanish and in my head...), and I took that to mean that they were one, because if they aren’t one, then they are like the people in 4th Nephi who became separated and were not able to work together. I used the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 1:10 and D&C 38:27 to expound on that idea, and it really focuses on how we need to be one, or unified. I don’t remember what I talked about really because I was speaking by the spirit, but my comp recorded what I said. I will have it soon. But, it was amazing for me to speak because as I began, I was filled with the spirit and I was able to speak even better than I’ve been able to do before. I felt scriptures leave my mouth, and I could see the words the spirit directed me to say have an impact on people.

The final part of the scripture is my favorite... "that there were no poor among them." I take that to not mean poor as in without money, but as in poor in spirit, or poor as in feeling like they don’t have much self-worth. It truly hit me, and I loved it. It was a great experience for me to speak by the spirit, and I’m glad that the Lord blessed me in that moment to speak directly to the hearts of the people. But, to continue about the "poor," I related it to the members to do their visits, to serve, to help, and to love so that there would not be poor people among them.

Well, that was my talk, but it was amazing. I loved it, and I’m so grateful to my father in heaven to help me to speak to these people. My invitation to all of you would be to visit the poor. not just the poor in money, but those who are poor in spirit, those who feel alone, those who need comfort, that there may be no poor among us.

I hope that you all have a great week, and I love and miss you all.

Elder Gale