Hump Day

Bryce Anderson has just returned from BYU, Idaho.  He will be working for Allen Marine on one of the whale watching tourist boats this summer.  Vika Toetu'u has just been called as the second councilor in the Branch Relief Society.

This great experience we are having is one half over today.  When our thoughts go back to home, the time seems to have slowly gone by.  If we think of our experiences here and in the now, time whizzes by. 

The lesson from Revelations seemed quite disjointed to me.  I would have liked to have a re-do on that one.  I spent the entire time giving them the meanings of the symbols the Apostle John mentions.  There really wasn't enough time to do that great book justice.  On Thursday evening we had an in-service for our stake teachers.  Only one sowed up for this.  Bro. Scott Beames spent the entire evening showing us how to teach Revelations.  I so wish I had received this before my lesson the night before.  This evening we are in charge of the YSA Family Home Evening lesson.  I think I'll give a little more of the introduction of the pieces of the revelatory puzzle that allowed Joseph Smith to declare the Book of Revelations to be a very clear book.

 
Elder Beirne just arrived from serving in Anchorage.  He is from Hawaii.  I had heard that he played some college football so I googled his name.  Sure enough, he had quarterbacked for University of Arizona and graduated in 2011.  He is in the middle of a masters degree.  The Mt West Schools wanted to make this 6'4" and 235 lb. athlete a linebacker.  The PAC schools said he could be a quarter back.  Evidently he was a pretty good one.

The Gospel Discussion for the adults on Thursday was centered on the Trial and Crucifixion of the Savior.  These attendees contribute such wonderful insight and experiences and the time flies by becoming a spiritual highlight of the week for me.   And the pot luck lunch was extra special this week.  The sisters went to the bank on this one.

Clarresa Ullmeyer attended her first Institute class on Wednesday.  What a night to begin that was, as we were teaching Revelations.  Her mother attends Institute on Thursdays and told us it was pretty overwhelming to her.  Michaela Schlechter will be graduating from H.S. and seminary this month.  She is anxious to be in the YSA and hangs out a lot.

Monday evening we were pleasantly surprised to have nearly 20 YSA members, whom we had never seen, walk in the door for FHE.  The tourist season is now officially in full swing.  There were two cruise ships last week and beginning today they come in daily with sometimes as many as 4 at once.  These kids are here to work for the summer for money to continue with their schooling.  When they introduced themselves yesterday in Elders Quorum, every one of them said they had been on a mission.  I know several of the newly arrived sisters are also returned missionaries.  During FHE I made a point of welcoming them and hoped they would lean on our YSA Branch to help them strengthen their testimonies. 

This is three of our YSA summer stock.  I haven't learned the name of the first, but in the middle is Klause, and on the right is Jackson. 

Yesterday after our Branch Council, I drove up to the Westin Baranov to pick up a few YSA to bring to the church.  I wasn't quite sure where the Baranov was but saw two young women standing on a corner looking like they were dressed for church.  I rolled down the window and asked if they knew where the Baranov was.  They did not.  I asked if they were expecting a ride to church and they were, so I told them to hop in.  I then asked if they were expecting a ride to the LDS church.  They were.  I ended up taking four back to their apartments after the block.  I am hoping they will get used to the city bus schedule and use that in the future. 

For some reason our Gospel Doctrine teacher did not show up.  The Branch President asked if I could wing the lesson.  I spent about ten minutes of the Priesthood Quorum time going over the lesson.  I then taught the law of consecration and all that goes along with that lesson.  At times like this I'm so happy to have developed the gift of babbling.  (Is that one of the gifts of the spirit?) Diane told me that I gave the lesson that had been given two weeks prior.  Oh well.  No one seem to recognize it.  Different chefs make quiche different ways.

We had a wonderful Fast and Testimony meeting.  A couple of our young ladies have graduated from UAS and one is returning to her home in Barrow.  She was quite emotional about leaving.  She now has a degree in Marine Biology.  The second has been accepted into  BYU Hawaii to work on a masters degree.  She too was quite emotional about leaving Juneau.  Imagine the contrast of Cloudy Juneau and Sunny Laie. 

We returned to the church at 4:00 p.m.   I recorded the CES Fireside Broadcast of Elder Wm. R. Walker so I could show it at 6:00 p.m. to our YSA group.   I then went into the missionary prep class and taught three of our young people how to teach the gospel principles.  Yesterday we worked on the purpose of our earth life.  I understand the Tupou twins, Josh and Villi, have submitted their papers.  They graduate from H.S. this week.  They mentioned to me they really hope to be called to Tonga. Emilyanne is getting close to submitting her papers I believe. 

While I was teaching missionary prep, Diane was playing the piano for a duet.  One of our Tongan elder statesmen passed away Thursday morning.  His funeral is today and Diane will be playing for that duet as they sing.

Elder William R. Walker was our Stake President when we lived in Sandy.  We loved him in that capacity.  He gave a wonderful talk around and about Pres. Thomas S. Monson.  That was a treat to hear him bear testimony of the divine call that Pres. Monson holds, and that he is still a wonderful personality with lots of concern for the one that is lost.

The 3rd ward Elders cornered me after church yesterday.  They were insistent that I go with them to a missionary discussion at 8:00 p.m. Evidently they have begun teaching an eccentric who is very scripturally literate and they felt they needed help.  (What were they thinking when they thought I could help them?)   I consented to go with them.  When this 40 year old single man saw me at the door, he assumed that the elders had brought someone important to challenge his knowledge of the scriptures.  Oh little did he know, how little I know.

His apartment sits on the shore of the Gastineau Channel looking across that channel towards downtown Juneau.  The building was nice.  His apartment was a cluttered mess.  However I did catch very quickly that he had all sorts of religious material piled up on tables and couches and chairs around the room.  After an opening prayer, which he asked one of the elders to give, he proceeded on a quest to state every bit of Bible doctrine that he could spew at us, and in particular at me.  And he was aggressive.  I was finally able to get him to momentarily slow down so the elders could give the lesson they had planned.  Dave, our investigator, listened to them about 30 seconds and then was again right in my face, asking if I really believed God was so incompetent as to let His church perish from the earth in an apostasy.  I tried to explain that it wasn't incompetence but that he allowed it to happen for his purposes.  I even used some very good scriptures that prophets wrote, scriptures about that very much expected apostasy.  I suppose I pretty much expressed myself louder than I usually talk to get my point across in between his challenges of doctrine.  He wasn't convinced, and with a pointed finger declared that we hadn't proved anything.  I had to butt my way into his soliloquy to explain that it wasn't my opinion but that of the prophets that he was disputing.  I am sure that by this time my body language was giving off signals of exasperation and disgust.  He turned and said that I was wrong to come into his home and get mad when someone disputed what I had said.  I tried quickly to tone my body language down and not to look disgusted, but the damage had been done.  I tried again to get him to focus on the message the two elders had to deliver.  While they were scrambling for the DVD to show on the restoration, Dave asked me if I had been Born Again.  I told him that indeed I had; I just had not been saved in the sense that he was use to hearing.  That began another tirade of scriptural knowledge.  And another chastisement was delivered as well.  At this moment the elders got the DVD to working and I could see the sigh of relief pass over their faces as Dave slowed down his tirade enough to start watching the DVD on Joseph Smith.   However, he quickly picked up his bible again and was concentrating on more things to toss at us, in particular me, the supposed learned one.  He saw nothing of the DVD.   I could see this man was not searching for truth, but intent on delivering what he perceived as truth. 

We were finally able to get him to a point where we could say a closing prayer.  He asked if I would say it.  He wanted to hear me pray.  I must say, there was a quick silent prayer sent to the heavens as I paused before beginning our prayer together.  I gave as soft of a prayer, emotionally, as I could deliver.  I asked our Father in Heaven to have angels assist Dave to know of the truthfulness of the things the elders were teaching.  I asked that he would understand the Book of Mormon as he read it, and be able to feel of the spirit in the book, that being a second testimony of Jesus Christ.  I also asked in the prayer that he would be able to forgive me for appearing to him to be angry and disgusted.  When we got up to leave he was still in my face.  But it was a bit different.

He said, "If you come into my house, you better be prepared to get right in my face with your opinions and beliefs.  Because I'm going to get into yours." 

I replied, "I really don't like to teach that way.  As soon as one of us gets in the others face, the Holy Spirit feels the tension of contention, and he will leave.  And no one can then learn anything." 

I apologized to the two elders as we stood a bit numb in the parking lot.  I felt that a lot of the contention of the discussion came because I had been with them.  The man saw an older person with his missionary teachers and felt threatened.  They assured me that that was not the case and that he was in their faces as well when I wasn't there.  I then gave them the advice that if the contention did not soon disappear they might want to get on their knees and ask the Lord if they should continue to teach him.  I brought to their attention how they were feeling. 

I asked, "Do you feel the spirit of peace after a discussion like this?  Can you see how this type of an experience can ruin an entire day? If he continues to want to be the teacher rather than allowing you to teach him, you might better use your time elsewhere."  I hope that was the right advice.  These are two wonderful young men and that was quite an experience for all three of us to go through.