Sabbath Post

When the Ensign comes each month, I'm the kind of person who will pick and choose what articles I want to read (usually the visiting teaching message and the shortest ones). Recently, our monthly issue came and I realized how much I didn't read. I have mad a goal to go back and read through each one. All of them! This afternoon I just finished the February '07 issue. It was funny because one of the longest articles was one of my favorites, and I'd like to share it with y'all.

The article is called "My Ways Are Not Your Ways". It is by Elder Clayton M. Christensen who is an area seventy. He goes over 5 counterintuitive points that will help us as saints grow stronger thus helping the church grow stronger. The points are:

1. "If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?" (Matt. 18:12)
2. "...by the weak and simple." (D&C 1:23)
3. "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:35)
4. "Ye must...become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God" (3 Nephi 11:38)
5. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my bretheren, ye have done it unto me" (Matt. 25:40). "Out of small things proceedeth that which is great" (D&C 64:33).

In the second point he talked about how usually all of the same people hold leadership callings in the church, because these are usually those who are the strongest in the church. He thinks that these individuals should have callings of training and support. He talks about how Enoch, Moses, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Amos, and Joseph Smith were all underqualified in the world's view but the Lord transformed them.

He also talked about ways to help out youth be stronger. He talked about a stake that only had 3 out of 35 active young men. The leaders tried having the active young men call the less active ones and set up transportation for them. The next week the boys who began attending were also given the assignment to set up transportation. They also did other things like callings to increase activity. In two years they had 16 young men actively attending. I just thought that was awesome!

There are tons of other great things in here. There's another article in the issue about a lady whose husband passed away and she talks about what we can do to help comfort people who have suffered a loss. I think every one should look the issue up. It's great!

February '07 Ensign