Senior Couple journal — New Zealand Hamilton Mission
May 10, 2015 to May 16, 2015
Dear friends and family,
Over five inches of rain in less than three days! One of the downpours was so intense that even the native Kiwi drivers were pulling off to the side of the road, waiting for the fury to pass. That was a serious storm. My windshield wipers at the very fastest sweep speed didn’t even come close to providing adequate visibility. The Taranaki countryside is greener than any green imaginable. The local farmers are celebrating.
1/ Scripture joke of the week: What is the favorite scriptural verse of orthopedic surgeons? See below for answer.
2/ Church history quiz of the week: Elder Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve, had the privilege of dedicating the Regina Saskatchewan Temple on November 14, 1999. Only two other times in this dispensation has an apostle who is not a member of the First Presidency dedicated a temple. Can you identify these other rare occurrences? See answer below.
3/ Update for the week: On Tuesday, March 10, we had the privilege of attending a mission conference in Hamilton at which Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, a member of the First Quorum of Seventy and a member of the Pacific Area presidency, presided and spoke. He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Wendy Nielsen. President and Sister Rudd were present as well. We had a wonderful conference and we were well instructed by our great leaders. Elder Nielsen related an amazing story as he spoke to us. He played college football at Brigham Young University during the 1970’s and was drafted by the Houston Oilers following his college career. He played several years in the National Football League (NFL). Not long after joining the NFL, he became aware of the NFL Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This fellowship was comprised of NFL players and their wives who espoused Christian beliefs and faith. Elder Nielsen and his wife immediately decided that they would join and be active participants in such a worthy association. He jokingly told us that there was plenty of UN-Christian behavior to be found in the NFL and its athletes, and he and his wife were happy to find a more edifying part of the organization. Remarkably, after making application to join the NFL Christian athlete association, he and his wife were informed that they would not be granted membership. When he asked for the reason for this decision, he was matter-of-factly told that “Mormons are not Christians”, and thus their application was denied. Elder Nielsen, over several weeks, tried to explain Mormon beliefs about Christ, pointing out that the name of our church is The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, that we have an additional volume of holy scripture that is “Another Testament of JESUS CHRIST”, and that we “…talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, and we prophesy of Christ…” He was told by the Christian Association’s leadership that the mere recitation of those beliefs did not change the fact that Mormons are not Christians, and he and his wife were again denied membership. He stated that all that was left for him to do was to be the best Christian one could be, to display Christ-like traits and attitudes in every aspect of his life, and to serve as an example of all that Christ taught. He did this admirably, and earned the trust and admiration of his teammates and coaches. The NFL FCA, however, remained “de-Mormon-ized”. How applicable is the following passage of scripture: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him [Jesus Christ], this is the testimony last of all, that we give of him, THAT HE LIVES…”
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4/ Answer to the scripture joke: The favorite verse of orthopedic surgeons? It has to be D&C 81:5 wherein they are told to “…strengthen the feeble knees…”. Sounds like job security, doesn’t it?
5/ Answer to the Church history quiz: Besides Elder Packer’s dedication of the Regina Saskatchewan Temple, the only other times when an apostle who was not a member of the First Presidency dedicated a temple were as follows: 1) On May 17, 1888 Elder Wilford Woodruff, then President of the Quorum of Twelve, dedicated the Manti Utah Temple. President John Taylor had died on July 25, 1887 and the First Presidency was not reorganized until April 7, 1889. Thus, Elder Woodruff, the most senior apostle, dedicated the temple. 2) The original Nauvoo Temple was dedicated by Orson Hyde and Joseph Young, This is another instance of a temple being dedicated by an apostle who was not in the First Presidency. There have been RE-dedications of temples by apostles who were not members of the First Presidency. Elders Perry and Nelson have RE-dedicated temples in recent times.
Much love,
Elder and Sister Taylor
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