A few Sundays ago we had a very special Stake Conference. Elder Jeffery R. Holland visited our Stake and shared with us a tremendous message. He truly is an Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ. The first thing I wrote in my notes about Elder Holland...
"He blew a kiss to us"
His presence and testimony filled our hearts with the understanding that the Gospel is true, that Jesus Christ is our Savior and walked the earth, that He knows each of us and loves us, that miracles happen even today, and that the heavens are open. Our Stake President shared a quote at the beginning from Elder Holland's October 2010 Conference talk,
“I have never been a leader of anything in the Church. I guess I’ve only been a helper.”
Maybe this is how the first disciples felt. They had the faith to cast where Christ told them to...
Fish filled their nets...
They saw the miracle...
They followed Him...
They helped Him, they chose to be His disciples...to be His helpers.
Elder Holland reminded us we are all volunteers...
"We are offering what we offer as a free will offering."
He testified....
"The Gospel is not going away - it is in the hands of his disciples!
In the Gospel Doctrine lesson the following week. We learned the disciples straightway left their nets and followed Jesus. They left their families, and careers, and positions in their communities.
So far I have not been asked to leave my family or career, but I can still be a disciple. I can still be a tool in the hands of my Savior to keep the Gospel spreading. I can listen when He guides me where to cast my net.
I pray there can be an impact on my family from my attempt to share the stories of Jesus's life with them. That as I cast the net of His life around them, they may be safe from the influences of the world and choose to be His disciples also and be His volunteer. After all, if our offering isn't to Him, we must ask ourselves, who is it to?
