Here is a little story I read and really liked about the importance of fulfilling our callings etc. I think it is pretty great. I hope you like it too. It is from Elder Marion D. Hanks.
“Let’s use the name Donna to designate [a] sweetyoung lady who left her home for a nearby bigger city for employment. She had a great desire toattend a church university and needed funds tohelp her achieve her ambition. She failed to findwork in the big city, and as time went by shebecame more and more discouraged. Then,through a series of incidents, she came into theinfluence of an unscrupulous and designingperson who took advantage of Donna’s loneliness and youthfulness and the discouragement of herinability to find work and led her into an immoralexperience.
“The experience was horrifying to Donna, and shereturned home with a broken heart to tell her mother and, after a time, her bishop of thetragedy.
“There was counsel and compassion, admonitionand direction, prayer and blessing. Donna went back home to make her adjustments and to beginto learn the sorrow of remorse of conscience andthe blessing of gratitude for the graciousness andgoodness and mercy of God. Then one day shehad to counsel again with the bishop, to report tohim that through this one fragmentary, tragicexperience it was now apparent that she was with child. Now a different situation existed, and therewas additional counsel and an effort to meet thisnew situation. There was consideration of theRelief Society Social Service program, whichprovides for such situations, and otherpossibilities were considered; but the decision was finally made by Donna that she would remainat home in her small town to wait her time. Someefforts were made at dissuasion in view of theproblems this course involved, but Donna decidedthat, under the special circumstances of herwidowed mother’s illness and otherwise, shewould remain there.
“Donna stood up in the next fast and testimonymeeting and explained her condition. Sheacknowledged her fault and asked the forgivenessof her people. She said to them, ‘I would like towalk the streets of this town knowing that youknow and that you have compassion on me and forgive me. But if you cannot forgive me,’ she said,‘please don’t blame my mother—the Lord knowsshe taught me anything but this—and please don’t hold it against the baby. It isn’t the baby’s fault.’She bore testimony of appreciation for her bitterlywon but dearly treasured personal knowledge of the importance of the saving mission of JesusChrist. Then she sat down.
“The man who told me the story reported thereaction of the congregation to this experience. There were many tearful eyes and many humblehearts. ‘There were no stone throwers there,’ hesaid. ‘We were full of compassion and love, and Ifound myself wishing that the bishop would closethe meeting and let us leave with this sense ofappreciation and concern and gratitude to God.’
“The bishop did rise, but he didn’t close themeeting. Instead he said, ‘Brothers and sisters, Donna’s story has saddened and touched us all.She has courageously and humbly accepted full responsibility for her sorrowful situation. She has,in effect, put a list of sinners on the wall of thechapel with only her name on the list. I cannot inhonesty leave it there alone. At least one othername must be written—the name of one who is inpart responsible for this misfortune, though hewas far away when the incident occurred. Thename is a familiar one to you. It is the name ofyour bishop. You see,’ he said, ‘had I fullyperformed the duties of my calling and accepted the opportunities of my leadership, perhaps Icould have prevented this tragedy.’
“The bishop then told of his conversation withDonna and her mother before her departure for the big city. He said that he had talked with someof his associates. He had talked with his wife,expressing concern for Donna’s well-being. Heworried about her lack of experience and herloneliness. He had talked, he said, with the Lordabout these things also.
“‘But then,’ he said, ‘I did nothing. I didn’t write anote to the bishop or to the brethren in Salt LakeCity. I didn’t pick up the telephone. I didn’t drive afew miles to the big city. I just hoped and prayedthat Donna would be all right down there allalone. I don’t know what I might have done, but Ihave the feeling that had I been the kind of bishopI might have been, this might have been prevented.
“‘My brothers and sisters,’ he said, ‘I don’t knowhow long I am going to be bishop of this ward. Butas long as I am, if there is anything I can do about it, this won’t happen again to one of mine.’
“The bishop sat down in tears. His counselorstood up and said, ‘I love the bishop. He is one ofthe best and most conscientious human beings Ihave ever known. I cannot leave his name thereon the list without adding my own. You see, thebishop did talk with his associates. He talked withme about this matter. I think that he thought thatbecause I travel occasionally in my businessthrough the big city, I might find a way to check onDonna. I might have done, but I was hurrying tothis meeting or that assignment and I didn’t takethe time. I too talked with others. I mentioned myconcern to my wife. I am almost ashamed to tellyou I talked to the Lord and asked him to helpDonna. And then I did nothing. I don’t know whatmight have happened had I done what I thoughtto do, but I have the feeling that I might haveprevented this misfortune.
“‘Brothers and sisters,’ he said, ‘I don’t know howlong I will be serving in this bishopric, but I wantto tell you that as long as I am, if there is anything I can do about it, this will not happen again to oneof mine.’
“The president of the [Young Women] stood upand told a similar story. The bishop’s counselor incharge of this auxiliary organization had talkedwith her. She had had some moments of thoughtand concern but had done nothing. She added hername to the list.
“The last witness was an older man who stoodand added two names to the list—his own andthat of his companion ward teacher. He noted thatthey were assigned to the home in which Donna and her mother lived and that they had failed insome visits and made no effective effort to be thekind of teachers that the revelations of God hadcontemplated.
“‘I don’t know how long I will be a ward teacher,’ hesaid, ‘but as long as I am, I will not miss anotherhome another month, and I will try to be the kind of teacher that the Lord seemed to have in mind.’
“The meeting ended, and the wonderful man whoshared this great experience with me said,‘Brother Hanks, I think we could not have moreclearly understood the importance of the offices and officers and organizations in the Church if theLord himself had come down to teach us. I thinkthat if Paul had come to repeat his instructions to the Corinthians that “the eye cannot say unto thehand, I have no need of thee: nor again the headto the feet, I have no need of you. Nay … themembers should have the same care one foranother. And whether one member suffer, all themembers suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Cor.12:21–22, 25–26.)—I think we could not haveunderstood the point more clearly.’
“A number of years ago Brother Joseph Andersonand I had the privilege of driving with President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., to a solemn assembly in St.George. On the way I related to him this story, ithaving recently happened then. He thought a long time and had a tear in his eye as he said, ‘BrotherHanks, that is the most significant story I everheard to illustrate the great importance of ourfilling our individual obligations in the Church.When you have thought about it long enough,pass it on to others.’
“I have thought about it long and often. I believe itillustrates powerfully and humblingly thepurposes of the Lord in establishing his kingdomand permitting us the blessing of individual service therein. I now share it with you and prayGod to bless us all to understand its implicationsand to act on them, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.” (In Conference Report, Apr. 1966, pp. 151–53.)
I can't think of anything too exciting that happened this week.
Sacrament meeting was ok. Our 16 year old investigator (grandson of the American man that we met) went with us to sacrament meeting. He told us that he wants to become a member of the church and that he liked the meeting because he felt like he could really understand everything. It was really great and one of the sisters in the ward was really nice and explained everything to him and why the church is the way it is. It was really neat.
My mind is about ready to explode with college decisions, etc, so I might have to leave it there.
Love you tons!
The future looks bright!
Elder Benjamin Merrill
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