Although Mom has been home from her mission for several months, due to her broken leg, she has delayed her mission report. Today was the day, and we all gathered at her ward to hear her talk. It was a wonderful report following what turned out to be a pretty wonderful experience for my mom. I was glad to have Brandt there, in which I hope encouraged him in his desire to serve a mission. I will include her talk at the end of this post. I love that Brant took a sneaky picture of mom as she was speaking. We gathered afterwards and had crepes and other tasty treats. We are so happy to have Mom home, and so happy that she served.
SACRAMENT MEETING TALK
AUGUST 27, 2023
Sue DeMartini
In 2021, I received a call to serve for 18 months as a Member and Leadership Support Missionary assigned to the California Los Angeles Mission. In the list of available opportunities, Los Angeles was my least favorite. Having grown up in So Cal, I was very familiar with Los Angeles and considered it to be crowded, dirty, chaotic, and overall undesirable. Frankly, I was disappointed, but the Lord in a scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants told me to be cheerful and not fearful, that He would stand by me, and I would have the opportunity to bear testimony of Him. And the Lord fulfilled His promise. Although my mission was at times hard, stressful and frustrating, I now consider it to be a great blessing and one of the better things I’ve done in my life.
By way of background, the CA Los Angeles mission is one of the smaller in the Church geographically. Los Angeles county has a population of nearly 11M and contains the largest number of people from other countries living in the US, followed by New York and Washington DC. The population is very diverse. In February of 2022, President Nelson spoke in a devotional to members of the Church in California. He said that California serves as a vital crossroad to the entire world. He received a report that in a then recent So Cal stake Priesthood meeting, members from 31 different countries were represented. He stated that those Priesthood holders will be a force for good as they return and build the Church in their home countries. He encouraged the California saints to fully engage in the work of the Gathering of Israel. He told them, “You have access to power to change the future.”
Today I want to talk about two ways we can assist in gathering Israel – first through teaching and then by example.
In Romans 10:13-15, we read:
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel and bring glad tidings of good things!
Our young elders and sisters step forward and offer to go into the world to teach people about Jesus Christ, His gospel and the Plan of Salvation. In the California Los Angeles mission, and I know throughout the world, these missionaries (for the most part) are diligent, faithful, and obedient. And yet, although they work hard, they don’t always see the fruit of their labors.
While serving with my companion in the Burbank ward, we became acquainted with a young man from Ghana named Prince who was pursuing a master’s degree in film at the New York Film Academy. His goal was to return to Ghana and become a film producer. Prince’s father belonged to the African Hebrew Israelite Church and taught Prince doctrine from the Old Testament. As a youth, Prince was curious and wanted to learn more so he began reading the New Testament and read of a man named Jesus. Prince’s father told him that the Jesus story was false.
One day two missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on Prince’s door but his father turned them away. He told Prince they were preaching about Jesus. When Prince saw them enter the neighbor’s home, he sneaked next door to hear their message. He learned about Jesus Christ and His church on the earth today restored through a prophet named Joseph Smith. Prince left with a Book of Mormon. He had been reading the New Testament and learning about a man named Jesus. Now these missionaries were talking about a man named Joseph Smith and another scripture, The Book of Mormon. In Prince’s words, “It was a lot to take in.” When Prince returned home, his father discovered the book, took it from him, and forbade him to speak further with the missionaries. Thereafter, Prince was never allowed to mention the name, Jesus, in their home.
Prince’s father died in 2017 and in 2022, Prince enrolled at the Academy in Burbank. While experiencing numerous setbacks and great adversity, Prince’s mother encouraged him to find a church and give himself to God. He prayed to God to direct him to the right church and he found a list of nearby churches on the internet. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints caught his attention because of his brief experience years before with the two missionaries in Ghana. He called the church number and shortly thereafter Elder Eckman and Elder Padilla serving in the Burbank ward arrived at his apartment. Within two weeks, Prince was baptized a member of the Church. A year later, he shared his conversion story in a New Member Devotional at the Los Angeles Temple Visitors Center. He said:
“Being a member of this church has not only been to my benefit but to the benefit of others. I have become a peacemaker in the homes of many. . . As a son of God, I have found peace within me and I am glad to share this peace wherever I find myself. . . I have also gained the power and authority to overcome the world as Jesus Christ did.”
The elders serving in Accra briefly taught a young boy about Jesus and His Church restored through Joseph Smith. They certainly did not know then or likely know now the outcome of that brief encounter. Someday they will and they and Prince will rejoice together.
So how do those verses in Romans chapter 10 apply to us who are not serving a full-time mission? As President Nelson has said, “Anytime you do anything that helps anyone on either side of the veil take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that.”
When we teach our children of Jesus Christ, when we teach them to pray, and when we prepare them to be baptized and help them obey the commandments, we are gathering Israel. When we pray with children in the nursery, or teach in Primary, or help a deacon with a newspaper route as President Nelson once did every Sunday for a year so the boy could get to church and fulfill his Priesthood responsibilities, we are helping to gather Israel. We speak of Christ, we teach of Christ, that our children may know. Are we not all teachers?
In addition to teaching and testifying of Jesus Christ, we can help to gather Israel through our example.
In his April 2023 General Conference talk, “Safely Gathered Home,” Elder Quentin L Cook stated: “Our commitment to love, share, and invite can be greatly expanded. An essential part of this missionary effort is for individual members to become beacon light examples wherever we live. We cannot be in camouflage.”
A beacon is more than a lamp post that lights a city street or a flashlight that illuminates a path in the dark. The dictionary defines “a beacon” as “a strong bold light set apart on a high place as a signal, a warning or a celebration.” I like that term celebration. As members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days, we have much to celebrate and can lovingly and joyfully invite others to celebrate with us.
Brother Kent Bascom from the Burbank Ward is an example of a beacon light. He befriended a 92-year-old woman named Norma who was having difficulty finding transportation to various doctor appointments. Brother Bascom, who is semi-retired, offered to drive her whenever the need arose. In time, he invited Norma to attend church with him and his wife. She accepted and was warmly greeted by the bishop, ward members, and especially the RS sisters. Soon the missionaries began teaching Norma, and Brother Bascom and my companion and I joined in the discussions. Norma was baptized in July 2022. Every time we were with Norma, she asked, “Why are you ‘Mormons’ so nice? Why do you give an old lady like me so much time and attention?” The answer was fairly straightforward. “We are disciples of Jesus Christ and are trying to be like him. He loves you and so do we.” Norma was drawn to the church by the loving kindness of Brother Bascom, the ward members and the missionaries – their beacon light example. Two of the things that impressed her the most were the respect that women in the church gave to the men and the kind way in which members interacted with each other.
When President Egbert, my mission president, was participating in New Mission President training at the MTC, this thought came clearly to his mind, “When the weak and simple work with the King of Kings, the results are always majestic.”
That message became our beacon light in the mission. We witnessed miracles all the time. That message can be our personal beacon as well. President Nelson told the California members, “You have access to power to change the future.” We do too when we work with our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I pray that we may seek for opportunity to teach and testify of Jesus Christ, to serve others as He did, and to live in such a way that people will be drawn to the light of Christ shining within and through us.
