Experiences from Nauvoo
Spiritual experiences I had during EFY in Nauvoo (before I forget them)
• Monday, pretty much all day, I was really nervous about having a group of 16-18-year-olds after having younger kids all summer. I was afraid that I wouldn’t know how to work with them or be an effective counselor for them. From the moment I found out that I would have older guys, I had been praying that the Lord would help me to be the best counselor I could be for them. During meet your counselor, when I asked them what they expected of me, I was expecting to get the same answers I had gotten all summer – “hook us up with the ladies”, “be awesome”, “let us stay up as late as we want”, and similar “worldly” expectations. Well, my guys blew me away by only stating two things: “be cool, but make sure we still follow the rules and do what we need to do”, and “keep track of us – be our shepherd (but not in a babysitting kind of way)”. NEVER has any group ever kept it that simple or that spiritually-minded. This helped a bit, but I hadn’t yet had a teaching opportunity with them until the evening devotional. During the devotional on recognizing the Spirit, I wanted to give them a chance to share, as I always do, by asking them to share personal experiences they’ve had in their lives where they’ve felt and recognized the Spirit. Right away, Michael raised his hand. I called on him, and instead of contributing to the devotional, he almost pleads for help on filling out the damage report from the other five guys (he had previously taken it upon himself to fill it out). Right then, a wave of peace and comfort rushed over me. THIS WAS WHAT I WAS USED TO!!!! Guys with irrelevant questions in the middle of devotional! It’s like the Lord was trying to tell me that everything would be okay because they weren’t really as big of a new experience as I had expected them to be! Even thinking about this over a week later still chokes me up a little. The Lord DOES hear and answer our prayers, even over the little things, because he knows that they’re important to us (a point illustrated by Chuck’s snow boot story during the Tuesday night devotional)!
• Tuesday night, Steve told me that he wanted to take some family names to the temple on Wednesday when our family went to do baptisms for the dead. There wasn’t much I could do about it that night, but Wednesday morning after the morningside, he and I went into the BC office to clear and print the names. We were able to print one name, but for some reason, we couldn’t get it to print any more. Steve and I went to the Family History Center at the stake center and asked if we could print from there, but we had the same problem. We eventually broke it down and found out that one specific name kept glitching out the system. We printed all of the other names and were ready to go. I had the opportunity to baptize Steve for his ancestors, and it was amazing. I KNOW they were there watching their work be done for them, and that they were happy about it! I’m not sure if they’ll all accept it, but I know that they’re grateful that we did it for them because now they have a choice and can use their agency. It was one of the best temple experiences I’ve ever had!
• Wednesday night’s Atonement devotional was a powerful one as well. I could have pretty much just let Chandler and Steve teach the whole thing. I can’t remember what all was said, but I know that Chandler had so much he wanted to share that he even wanted to keep discussing this with our group after I closed the devotional! I can’t believe how solid my group was, especially Steve, Chandler, and Chuck. The others were great as well, but those three could pretty much pack their bags and go serve missions right now!
• Thursday’s visit to Carthage was another amazing experience. It was the first time I had been there (or to Nauvoo, for that matter) since before my mission, so I was definitely looking at everything from a much different perspective. When we went to the room where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred, the senior missionary giving us the tour played an audio dramatization for us. The Spirit was so THICK it felt like we were swimming in it! I was almost moved to tears (I may have even let a couple slip out). My testimony of Joseph Smith doubled in strength after that experience, and then seeing the film Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration Friday morning strengthened it even more. I have seen the movie several times, but never in Nauvoo, where a lot of it takes place. I know I cried during the film. I’m so grateful to Joseph Smith for enduring all of the persecution and trials he had to endure so that the gospel could be fully restored for us.
• Friday night was pretty much amazing!!!!!!! (yes, all of those exclamation marks are necessary) First, after the Taking It Home fireside, our family stood in a circle and sang the EFY Medley (which has been done every week). As we were singing, and especially when it was just the guys, I took the time to look at each one of them (again, as I’ve done every week). This time, though, something different came to me. As we sung the chorus of “Army of Helaman”, I looked at each one of them and saw them in a white shirt, tie, and a missionary nametag. After having the chance to hear all of my guys (and all of Josh’s group as well) bear their testimonies at some point during the week, I KNEW that they are going to make excellent missionaries, and that their testimonies are going to bless the lives of many people some day (maybe even now). This insight has only come to me once – my very first week of EFY in Normal, Illinois, last summer.
• As we were walking back to the hotel Friday night, I stayed behind to talk with Chuck. He told me that the other counselors and I were great examples to him and that he really looked up to us. I told him that I really looked up to him and the other youth I’ve been around during 10 weeks of EFY because of how spiritually strong some of them are at such a young age. I shared with him that I didn’t actually have my own testimony of the church, and specifically the Book of Mormon, until I was 19 or 20 and just about to leave on a mission. I then asked him how old he was when he got a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and he told me that he hadn’t yet. I was surprised because Chuck had been one of my “on fire” guys all week. I asked him if he had ever read the Book of Mormon and he said he had, and that he was about ready to start Alma. When I asked him if he had ever prayed about it, he said no. I testified to him that this was the only way to know for himself for a certainty. He knew it was good and he desperately wants to find out if it’s true. I committed him to pray before and after reading from the Book of Mormon from now on and that as he does this, he’ll get an answer. I also counseled him not to wait, but to start ASAP! This walk back was a great opportunity to talk with Chuck one-on-one – something that I now know that he needed, and something that I had never really taken the time to do with any of my youth. I think that part of why the week was so amazing was because I made sure to talk to each of my guys individually at some point during the week, just to get to know them and have fun with them. It definitely helped!
• Monday, pretty much all day, I was really nervous about having a group of 16-18-year-olds after having younger kids all summer. I was afraid that I wouldn’t know how to work with them or be an effective counselor for them. From the moment I found out that I would have older guys, I had been praying that the Lord would help me to be the best counselor I could be for them. During meet your counselor, when I asked them what they expected of me, I was expecting to get the same answers I had gotten all summer – “hook us up with the ladies”, “be awesome”, “let us stay up as late as we want”, and similar “worldly” expectations. Well, my guys blew me away by only stating two things: “be cool, but make sure we still follow the rules and do what we need to do”, and “keep track of us – be our shepherd (but not in a babysitting kind of way)”. NEVER has any group ever kept it that simple or that spiritually-minded. This helped a bit, but I hadn’t yet had a teaching opportunity with them until the evening devotional. During the devotional on recognizing the Spirit, I wanted to give them a chance to share, as I always do, by asking them to share personal experiences they’ve had in their lives where they’ve felt and recognized the Spirit. Right away, Michael raised his hand. I called on him, and instead of contributing to the devotional, he almost pleads for help on filling out the damage report from the other five guys (he had previously taken it upon himself to fill it out). Right then, a wave of peace and comfort rushed over me. THIS WAS WHAT I WAS USED TO!!!! Guys with irrelevant questions in the middle of devotional! It’s like the Lord was trying to tell me that everything would be okay because they weren’t really as big of a new experience as I had expected them to be! Even thinking about this over a week later still chokes me up a little. The Lord DOES hear and answer our prayers, even over the little things, because he knows that they’re important to us (a point illustrated by Chuck’s snow boot story during the Tuesday night devotional)!
• Tuesday night, Steve told me that he wanted to take some family names to the temple on Wednesday when our family went to do baptisms for the dead. There wasn’t much I could do about it that night, but Wednesday morning after the morningside, he and I went into the BC office to clear and print the names. We were able to print one name, but for some reason, we couldn’t get it to print any more. Steve and I went to the Family History Center at the stake center and asked if we could print from there, but we had the same problem. We eventually broke it down and found out that one specific name kept glitching out the system. We printed all of the other names and were ready to go. I had the opportunity to baptize Steve for his ancestors, and it was amazing. I KNOW they were there watching their work be done for them, and that they were happy about it! I’m not sure if they’ll all accept it, but I know that they’re grateful that we did it for them because now they have a choice and can use their agency. It was one of the best temple experiences I’ve ever had!
• Wednesday night’s Atonement devotional was a powerful one as well. I could have pretty much just let Chandler and Steve teach the whole thing. I can’t remember what all was said, but I know that Chandler had so much he wanted to share that he even wanted to keep discussing this with our group after I closed the devotional! I can’t believe how solid my group was, especially Steve, Chandler, and Chuck. The others were great as well, but those three could pretty much pack their bags and go serve missions right now!
• Thursday’s visit to Carthage was another amazing experience. It was the first time I had been there (or to Nauvoo, for that matter) since before my mission, so I was definitely looking at everything from a much different perspective. When we went to the room where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were martyred, the senior missionary giving us the tour played an audio dramatization for us. The Spirit was so THICK it felt like we were swimming in it! I was almost moved to tears (I may have even let a couple slip out). My testimony of Joseph Smith doubled in strength after that experience, and then seeing the film Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration Friday morning strengthened it even more. I have seen the movie several times, but never in Nauvoo, where a lot of it takes place. I know I cried during the film. I’m so grateful to Joseph Smith for enduring all of the persecution and trials he had to endure so that the gospel could be fully restored for us.
• Friday night was pretty much amazing!!!!!!! (yes, all of those exclamation marks are necessary) First, after the Taking It Home fireside, our family stood in a circle and sang the EFY Medley (which has been done every week). As we were singing, and especially when it was just the guys, I took the time to look at each one of them (again, as I’ve done every week). This time, though, something different came to me. As we sung the chorus of “Army of Helaman”, I looked at each one of them and saw them in a white shirt, tie, and a missionary nametag. After having the chance to hear all of my guys (and all of Josh’s group as well) bear their testimonies at some point during the week, I KNEW that they are going to make excellent missionaries, and that their testimonies are going to bless the lives of many people some day (maybe even now). This insight has only come to me once – my very first week of EFY in Normal, Illinois, last summer.
• As we were walking back to the hotel Friday night, I stayed behind to talk with Chuck. He told me that the other counselors and I were great examples to him and that he really looked up to us. I told him that I really looked up to him and the other youth I’ve been around during 10 weeks of EFY because of how spiritually strong some of them are at such a young age. I shared with him that I didn’t actually have my own testimony of the church, and specifically the Book of Mormon, until I was 19 or 20 and just about to leave on a mission. I then asked him how old he was when he got a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and he told me that he hadn’t yet. I was surprised because Chuck had been one of my “on fire” guys all week. I asked him if he had ever read the Book of Mormon and he said he had, and that he was about ready to start Alma. When I asked him if he had ever prayed about it, he said no. I testified to him that this was the only way to know for himself for a certainty. He knew it was good and he desperately wants to find out if it’s true. I committed him to pray before and after reading from the Book of Mormon from now on and that as he does this, he’ll get an answer. I also counseled him not to wait, but to start ASAP! This walk back was a great opportunity to talk with Chuck one-on-one – something that I now know that he needed, and something that I had never really taken the time to do with any of my youth. I think that part of why the week was so amazing was because I made sure to talk to each of my guys individually at some point during the week, just to get to know them and have fun with them. It definitely helped!
posted by David at 6:51 PM
1 Comments:
David, reading your posts has really touched me, a lot. Thank you.
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