And all was well.

Recently I have been reflecting a lot on the last 2 years of Cody's mission experience and can't help but remember his first 6 months in the small town of Big Spring, Texas where he will tell you that he became truly converted to the Lord and which he now calls "a sacred place for him".  As I was reading some general conference talks today on lds.org, I came across a talk given by Elder Uchtdorf where he shares his own experience living in Big Spring while attending pilot training.  I couldn't help but note the similarity in what both Cody and Elder Uchtdorf learned in that small town, God really does know and is aware of each and every one of us no matter where we live or what our circumstance.  I loved this particular part of his talk....

Let me share with you a personal experience that may be of some help to those who feel insignificant, forgotten, or alone.

Many years ago I attended pilot training in the United States Air Force. I was far away from my home, a young West German soldier, born in Czechoslovakia, who had grown up in East Germany and spoke English only with great difficulty. I clearly remember my journey to our training base in Texas. I was on a plane, sitting next to a passenger who spoke with a heavy Southern accent. I could scarcely understand a word he said. I actually wondered if I had been taught the wrong language all along. I was terrified by the thought that I had to compete for the coveted top spots in pilot training against students who were native English speakers.

When I arrived on the air base in the small town of Big Spring, Texas, I looked for and found the Latter-day Saint branch, which consisted of a handful of wonderful members who were meeting in rented rooms on the air base itself. The members were in the process of building a small meetinghouse that would serve as a permanent place for the Church. Back in those days members provided much of the labor on new buildings.

Day after day I attended my pilot training and studied as hard as I could and then spent most of my spare time working on the new meetinghouse. There I learned that a two-by-four is not a dance step but a piece of wood. I also learned the important survival skill of missing my thumb when pounding a nail.

I spent so much time working on the meetinghouse that the branch president—who also happened to be one of our flight instructors—expressed concern that I perhaps should spend more time studying.

My friends and fellow student pilots engaged themselves in free-time activities as well, although I think it’s safe to say that some of those activities would not have been in alignment with today’s For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. For my part, I enjoyed being an active part of this tiny west Texas branch, practicing my newly acquired carpentry skills, and improving my English as I fulfilled my callings to teach in the elders quorum and in Sunday School.

At the time, Big Spring, despite its name, was a small, insignificant, and unknown place. And I often felt exactly the same way about myself—insignificant, unknown, and quite alone. Even so, I never once wondered if the Lord had forgotten me or if He would ever be able to find me there. I knew that it didn’t matter to Heavenly Father where I was, where I ranked with others in my pilot training class, or what my calling in the Church was. What mattered to Him was that I was doing the best I could, that my heart was inclined toward Him, and that I was willing to help those around me. I knew if I did the best I could, all would be well.

And all was well.¹⁵

During pilot training in Big Spring, Texas, Dieter F. Uchtdorf was awarded the Commander's Trophy.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/you-matter-to-him?lang=eng

You can click on the link above to read Elder Uchtdorf's talk in its entirety.

The standard of truth has been erected.....

Hey Mom!

Zone Conferences went well, I instructed on using scriptures in teaching situations.

As far as speaking, I would prefer to be at our home ward on Sunday and get the talk done. Is there anyway where we could still go on a trip and not have to travel on Sunday and miss church?

The truth goes on! A couple Sister missionaries attended a baptist church this weekend because their investigator really wanted them to...turns out it was the annual anti-mormon service. The good baptist people brought in some ex-mormon missionaries and had them speak about their road away from the church. Can you believe that garbage? For their whole 2 hour service they bashed on another church. Nourishment from the good word of God eh? It is the most tragic thing to hear of these ex-missionaries who leave the church and then even start up their own deal...but, we knew it was coming. Nephi was right. Haha sorry, just on my soap box. We better buckle up tight mom, its starting to get pretty rocky in this world!

Well mom, I love you and miss you. I haven't checked the office for your package yet, I will do that today. Thank you very much. I did get the letter though, thank you for the update!

All is well momma, I look forward to seeing you soon. The standard of truth has been erected! (:

Love, Elder Backus



(As I read about these returned missionaries who for one reason or another have left the church, I thought of a talk that Elder Holland gave and I am only sharing a portion of it, but you can read it in its entirety here.   His thoughts are also my thoughts about the questions that arise in the restored church of Jesus Christ).

“It is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God” ²¹ that every one of us, young or old alike, must build. Why? To what end? “That when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you the devil shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” ²²

That strength, brothers and sisters, undergirds our position on every question of doctrine, history, or Church practice that can and often does arise as the work unfolds. You have heard those questions. They are not new. They first arose in the neighborhood of Palmyra when the 14-year-old Joseph first reported his heavenly vision, and they continue in one form or another to the present day. We have recently addressed a dozen or so of these issues in a series of essays, desiring to be both accurate and transparent within the framework of faith. Not all gospel questions have answers—yet—but they will come.

In the meantime, I have a question. What conceivable historical or doctrinal or procedural issue that may arise among any group could ever overshadow or negate one’s consuming spiritual conviction regarding the Father’s merciful plan of salvation; His Only Begotten Son’s birth, mission, Atonement, and Resurrection; the reality of the First Vision; the restoration of the priesthood; the receipt of divine revelation, both personally and institutionally; the soul-shaping spirit and moving power of the Book of Mormon; the awe and majesty of the temple endowment; one’s own personal experience with true miracles; and on and on and on? Talk about a question! It is a mystery to me how those majestic, eternal, first-level truths so central to the grandeur of the whole gospel message can be set aside or completely dismissed by some in favor of obsessing over second- or third- or fourth-level pieces of that whole. To me, this is, in words attributed to Edith Wharton, truly being trapped in “the thick of thin things.” 

I readily acknowledge the very legitimate inquiries of many who are perfectly honest in heart. I also readily acknowledge that everyone has some gospel question or other yet to be answered. Nevertheless, we would hope, for skeptic, believer, and everyone in between, that humility, faith, and the influence of the Holy Spirit would always be elements of every quest for truth, that foundational truths would always be the reference points in that quest, and that all other issues which may yet need resolving are pursued “by study and also by faith.” ²³ At the end of the day, all of us must make distinctions between the greater and the lesser elements of our testimony. For me the greater pillars include those majestic truths mentioned earlier, their irreplaceable centrality in my life, and the realization that I simply could not live, I could not go on without them or without the blessings I have known or without the promises we have all been given in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

So, as we speak of questions, write this one from the Apostle Paul across the chalkboard of your mind and instill it in the hearts of your students: “For what if some [do] not believe? [What if they don’t?] shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” ²⁴ The answer to that is “No!” Not in my life! Not in my lifetime! Not for me and my house! No one’s unbelief has or can or will—ever—make my faith in God, my love of Christ, my devotion to this Church and this latter-day work “without effect.” The truthfulness of this latter-day gospel is “in effect,” and it will stay “in effect” as long as the sun shines and rivers run to the sea, and forever after that. Don’t miss those blessings!