Hello again, everyone! Before President Nelson was unexpectedly instructed by the Lord to visit the Caribbean Area of the Church during the first weekend of this month, he had set plans to visit the Pacific Northwest in company with his wife, Sister Wendy Watson Nelson and his Second Counselor, President Henry B. Eyring. He was in Washington State yesterday (Saturday September 15), speaking to what was the largest congregation who had yet heard him. The devotional gathering originated from a baseball field, a venue that held the largest gathering of Church members with the prophet to date.
A summary of his remarks (along with a video) can be found here. A couple of things stood out to me as I read and watched that just now: First, President Eyring correctly observed that although the Church tweaks programs, policies, and practices to better serve members worldwide, the basic doctrines of the Church have remained consistent since the gospel's restoration in 1830, and will remain so through the end of time.
Secondly, President Nelson cited a numerical figure of the number in attendance at that devotional during his remarks, which covered a wide variety of topics. As those in attendance prepared to sing the closing hymn, he stepped up to the pulpit again, mentioned that he believed in repentance, and then, with a twinkle in his eye, corrected the earlier figure he had provided, apologized for the error, and thanked everyone again for their attendance.
The one thing that has impressed me for several years now is how quick the Brethren are to acknowledge such errors and correct them in good spirits. Two such errors happened during separate times when President Eyring and then-President Uchtdorf led the Sustaining of Church Officers during President Monson's administration and inadvertently neglected to present some names on their lists, and we saw it happen again when President Oaks did the same just last conference.
It is moments such as this when the Lord reminds us that, although these men deserve our sustaining vote and undeviating support, they are no different than you or I are, and just as prone to moments of human error. The fact that they take quick action to correct such errors as soon as they can after they notice them is a humbling and gratifying process to see. It takes truly great individuals to admit when mistakes have been made, and I appreciate the candid way that President Nelson approached what others might see as a very minor error, but which he felt a need to clarify and correct.
Later today, the leaders journey to British Columbia, and I will post a report of their time there as soon as it becomes available. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. If you enjoyed what you read here and would like to stay informed of newly-added content, please feel free to subscribe. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
President Nelson Visits the Pacific Northwest
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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The Church News has provided a more complete report on the counsel President Nelson provided, to which I post a link below. Thanks again to you all.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ldschurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2018-09-16/president-nelson-shares-5-lessons-life-has-taught-me-with-49000-in-safeco-field-47997