While attending the meeting to introduce our Stake 10-week Pilot
Program, Elder Tate asked ALL of us to consecrate ourselves to the Lord for 10
weeks. He said that a very important part of our consecration is to have a
Daily Devotional. Elder Tate referenced Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi since he has spoken on
this topic a few times. I went home that evening and found two of the
reference’s he spoke of. The first one is from the Ensign, August 2009
and the second one was from a BYU Devotional in 2011.
This challenge could not have come at a
better time for me. With the New Year comes personal reflection and goal
setting. This challenge is exactly in alignment with a goal I set and had not
quite implemented yet. I started my daily devotional the next
morning. I usually do not struggle with a good night’s sleep.
However, the 1st two nights of starting my daily devotional I
knew Satan was trying to thwart my progress. After a very restless night’s
sleep I arose early and started. My daily devotional has been such a
blessing in my life. I pray that we will ALL take on the 10-week
challenge to consecrate your life to the Lord and as a part of this have your
daily devotional with the Lord. Each of our daily devotionals will look
and be different than anyone else. We are all at different stages,
struggles and places in life. If you are not sure what your devotional
should be like, read the two articles below by Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi and pray to the Lord
and you will know.
Elder
Tate also made reference to a quote that his Mission President Steven R. Covey
told the missionaries. I looked it up and found a reference to this quote
in Steven R. Covey’s obituary.
Throughout
his life, on most mornings, he would arise early, go to a place where he could
be alone, and he would pray, meditate, and study the scriptures. This daily
private victory, as he coined it, became the source of his security, guidance,
wisdom, and power and he often told us kids that "if you will spend twenty
minutes each day with the Savior of the world in private worship, you will
spend eternity in his presence."
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/DeseretNews/obituary.aspx?n=Stephen-Richards-Covey&pid=158620708
What a Beautiful and Powerful statement. This Challenge is
to All, not just those who attend Relief Society, but the Ward
as a whole. I do pray that you will each take on this challenge that has
been given to us. We will all be better prepared spiritually to participate
weekly with the new curriculum in Sunday School and Relief Society. And we will
be better prepared to take on the challenges that may come our way.
Here is the list of RS lessons for February and their link to the
website (click on each title to take you to the website)
The Power of Morning Prayer and Scripture Study
When I served as a mission president in Hawaii, I had many
opportunities to speak with young elders and sisters struggling to become
better missionaries. I remember one missionary who became deeply discouraged.
His missionary work had become unbearable to him,
and he started doubting his testimony. He came to me with the request to send
him home.
Instead, I asked him to follow the example of Nephi in pondering
and praying about his concerns and desires (see 1 Nephi 10:17; 11:1). This is a practice I have followed for
many years and a practice many other General Authorities of the Church follow.
I asked the missionary to go to his apartment and do the following:
Rise from
his bed early—in his case, a few minutes before 6:30 a.m.
Exercise
for a few minutes.
Wash his
body and shave—make himself clean.
Dress for
the day.
Go to a
quiet place inside his apartment.
Kneel,
subdue his spirit before Heavenly Father, and call upon Him. Talk with Him in
reverent prayer.
Wait for
His holy inspiration, pondering the scriptures or a recent general conference
talk and think about the specific problems he faced.
I promised this young elder that if he did this and immersed
himself in the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, for a few minutes every day, he would
experience feelings of joy and would receive strength to go on. 3
A few days later he came to see me. His eyes filled with tears
as he told me of his experiences during his early-morning devotional time. He
served wonderfully as a servant of the Lord and completed an honorable mission.
His wife recently told me that he continues to rise early to have private time
with his Heavenly Father.
I taught this same principle to each of the missionaries over
whom I had the privilege to preside. I was concerned that we were not doing all
we could to bring the light of the gospel to the Hawaiian people. Within a
relatively short time after the missionaries started this practice, the number
of referrals we received from members increased, teaching opportunities went
up, and the number of baptisms in our mission doubled and then tripled. All of
this happened because the missionaries’ efforts were magnified by power of the
Holy Spirit.
I know from personal experience the spiritual power that can
flow into your life if you follow this practice. You will feel the love of God
and a cleansing, purifying regeneration of your spirit (see 1 Nephi 11:22–25; D&C 50:28–29). You
will experience moments of revelation, when the Spirit whispers to your spirit
what you need to do to be a better father, a better mother, a better son or
daughter, a better disciple of Jesus Christ.
BYU Devotional by Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi given 18
January 2011
1. Hold a Personal Morning Devotional
How would you like to have your personal morning
devotional in your “Sacred Grove”? I am not talking about the sacred
experiences Joseph Smith had in the Sacred Grove.
Our prophet, President Monson, shared his insight:
The boy prophet Joseph Smith sought heavenly
help by entering a grove which then became sacred. Do we need similar strength?
Does each need to seek his or her own “Sacred Grove”? A place where
communication between God and man can go forth unimpeded, uninterrupted, and
undisturbed is such a grove.8
One day Elder Marion D. Hanks, now an emeritus General
Authority, shared with me an experience he had as a young General Authority. He
asked President David O. McKay, “How would you suggest I maintain my
spirituality?”
President McKay said he did five simple things every day:
I arise early.
I wash my body.
I put on my new linen.
I subdue my spirit before the Father.
I wait for the inspiration of the Father.
Brothers and sisters, I would like to invite you to wake
up a little early—not super early, because it won’t last, but reasonably early;
maybe 20 or 25 minutes earlier than you do now. Wash your body; shave; put on
washed, fresh underwear; comb your hair; and put on your clothes.
Then find a very peaceful, secluded place that can be
your own Sacred Grove and go there. Now, I am not suggesting you go to your
backyard among the trees and kneel in the snow.
Humbly, reverently, kneel before the Father. Call upon
His holy name through His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Express your love for Him.
Express gratitude from your heart to Heavenly Father. I will not dictate how
long you should stay there. You decide.
In your morning devotional you can have your divine and
holy fellowship with Heavenly Father in your own Sacred Grove every day. This
helps you to cultivate your special relationship with Heavenly Father through
His Son, Jesus Christ. What a glorious privilege that is for you and me.
If you will do this, my brothers and sisters, I promise
you humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, that your life will be changed. You
will feel close to your Heavenly Father—closer than ever before.
Some mornings you will feel overwhelmed by the Holy
Spirit. You will just want to cry. These overwhelming, strong feelings tell you
that Heavenly Father loves you so much. You will personally feel the love of
God as you have never felt it before. You will feel and know: “I am a
child of God! My Father loves me! He sent His Beloved Son to us! My Savior
loves me so much.”
When you hold a personal morning devotional every day, I
promise you again that your life will be changed. Joseph Smith also promised
us: “If you will obey the Gospel with honest hearts, I promise you in the name
of the Lord, that the gifts as promised by our Saviour will follow you.”9
Again, as President Monson taught: “Does each need to
seek his or her own ‘Sacred Grove’? A place . . . unimpeded,
uninterrupted, and undisturbed.”10 Please call on Heavenly Father
and talk to Him reverently. He wants you to remember Him and to call upon Him.11
