Uphold

Went home teaching this evening after church.  My new companion was out of town so I took Jack with me.  Jack will be 14 in a few weeks and should be my companion shortly thereafter so this was good practice.  We saw the Miners and the Shurtleffs.  Great visits in these homes and Jack did a great job. 

I thought about what I might share in these homes and I felt it would be good to talk about conference next week and the opportunity we will have to participate in the solemn assembly to sustain President Russel M. Nelson as the prophet.  I took a gander at LDS.org to see if they said anything about it and came across a little message titled Uphold the Hands of Our Prophet. It is a good read and shared a message that I thought was perfect for a brief home teaching visit.  The article shared the story of Moses and how when the children of Israel were in battle they were successful when Moses held up his hand.  When his hand fell their enemies prevailed.  As the battle carried on Moses's hands grew heavy and as they began to fall Aaron and Hur lifted them and steadied them.  Moses was upheld by those he served.

We have the opportunity to raise our hands and to uphold President Nelson. We will be able to raise our hands to sustain him as the Prophet in the solemn assembly next week.  We can continue to uphold him by following the direction they give. President Nelson shared this in October 2014 conference:  "Our sustaining of prophets is a personal commitment that we will do our utmost to uphold their prophetic priorities.  Our sustaining is an oath-like indication that we recognize their calling as a prophet to be legitimate and binding on us". I quite like that and feel a great love for those who I have previously sustained as prophet.  I have felt that love grow as I have tried to do my part to uphold their prophetic priorities.  I think it is important to recognize our duty to sustain not only with our hands but with our actions. There are times when that can be difficult to do as it may require sacrifice on our part.  We may have to stand alone. Whatever the case, when we follow the prophet and uphold him, the Lord will uphold us.

I shared the story of having President Hunter pass away while I was on my mission and not being able to participate in conference because of the delay in watching it in South Africa.  It took time for the recordings to arrive and I returned home before they arrived and before conference had been broadcast for the saints in South Africa.  When I returned home the folks had recorded conference. I couldn't wait to turn it on and participate in the solemn assembly for President Hinkley.  That was a very special moment for me to stand in the family room of our house on Telegraph St. in Carson City, to raise my arm to the square and sustain President Hinkley as the Lord's prophet on the earth. I look forward to this great opportunity to do the same for President Nelson.