"A Disciple's Faith"
Brent and Donna Jean Kinghorn
December 7, 2004
The Special Musical number, Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated Unto Thee became our Missionary Hymn (after being taught to us by Elder and Sister Hafen, who formerly presided over Ricks College). It describes a Missionary’s two years of discipleship service to the Lord.
As I think of the consecration of missionaries, I can’t help but think of one of our elders who came into the mission field leaving a terminally ill mother at home, with the anticipation that she probably wouldn’t be there when he completed his mission. This elder loved his mother very much and promised her that he would be a good missionary and complete his mission. Shortly after arriving in the mission field, he fell and broke his foot. Fearing that he might have to return home for it to heal and fearing this might break his promise to his mom, he determined to not tell anybody about it and for two years he limped and hobbled on a foot that required surgery when he did return home. “Take my feet and let them be, swift and beautiful for thee . . . ” That’s a beautiful phrase and I believe it describes why the Prophet, Isaiah, said, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things . . . ”
My wife and I are deeply humbled to be here today to speak to you. If you haven’t sensed it already, may I assure you that a Mission President’s wife is the heart and soul of the mission. Certainly my wife was for our mission in Albania.
I once was involved in arranging for the speakers for our devotionals. I know of the greatness of those who have occupied this spot before me and of the preparation they made to say something of importance for you. Please know that my wife and I are truly humbled to be here today.
As mentioned, my wife and I had the privilege of serving our mission in Albania. For us, it was we think, the very best mission to which we could have been called. When we received our call from President Thomas S. Monson, we knew little about Albania and I would guess that most of you don’t know much about it either. May I share a “thumbnail” sketch of what we learned about this country & its people
-Albania is a small country of about 3.5 million people – that’s 230 miles long and up to 115 miles wide.
-It’s a located across from Italy, above Greece and below Kosovo and Serbia.
-It’s made up of 70% Muslims, 20% Greek Orthodox, and 10% Catholics.
-It is the poorest of the Central European countries.
-Albania was the last of the Communist countries to fall.
-It was the only country in the world where Atheism was the national religion.
-Communism robbed the Albanian’s of its earlier religious roots and of God – In fact, it was a crime punishable by years in prison for Catholics to cross themselves or for people to mention God or Christ or Mohammed.
-The Albanian Communist government destroyed over 1,800 churches and mosques and executed hundreds of Muslim clerics and Christian priests.
-The church sent the 1st proselyting missionaries (4 of them) into Albania in 1992, shortly after sending senior Humanitarian missionaries into the country.
-When the Missionaries would find people with a spark of religious interest in their souls, they would find–just like with the 2,000 stripling warriors who said they were taught by their mothers, the Albanians would say, “We were taught by our Grandmothers” We heard that many times.
-Today there are over 1,300 members of the church in this small country – and they are wonderful people whom we grew to love and appreciate.
In the opening devotional message to the students last August, before his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Bednar taught the concept that BYU-I is a “Disciple Preparation Center” and that our focus must be to help students’ develop a disciple’s faith that is focused in our Savior, the Son of God
In his opening Devotional address to the students of then Ricks College on August 29, 2000, Elder Bednar taught:
The tendency of the natural man or woman in each of us is to expect first the evidence of faith before we receive and act upon the assurance [of faith]. This false pattern is summarized in the statements of individuals who say: “Show me a sign, and I will believe” or “Explain the reasons, and then I will follow.” The Lord's pattern, however, is quite different. Seeing is not believing; rather, believing is seeing.
Elder Bednar then said,
I imagine many of you may be like me; I would rather have the evidence before I act . . . Imagine a beam of light that surrounds us. God instructs, “Take a step into the darkness,” and we respond, “First, move the light and then I will take the step.” God instructs again, “You take the step and then the light will move.” Faith is the assurance that precedes the act which ultimately yields the evidence.
Elder Bednar then demonstrated this principle from this pulpit, by having the hall lights darkened (totally–and I can assure you it got dark in here) except for a spot light directly overhead that illuminated him alone at the pulpit. Then he stepped out of the beam into the darkness and said “As we walk to the edge of the light, I testify and promise that the light will move.” Brothers and Sisters, seconds then passed in darkness and then the overhead spotlight shifted and illuminated him. It was a very graphic demonstration of God’s instruction that we must first take the step and then the light will follow.
May I add my testimony of this by illustrating an example I witnessed in Albania of this great principle? At each of our zone conferences it was our practice to have the district leaders stand a report on his districts’ service projects for the previous weeks. At one particular zone conference, a district leader came forward and then for his report he asked his entire district to stand, face the missionaries, and then show them their hands. As they did, we all quickly saw that they were all covered with blisters. Then he reported that their service project for the past month had been to dig a well for one of the poor member families in Elbasan who had no running water in their home. He then told of how the senior missionary couple there had seen their dilemma and found that they were hauling water each day from a neighbor a hundred yards or so away who had a well. After doing some investigation, he found out how deep the well was and he concluded that if they could dig down that far, they could dig a well for this family–and so they had begun.
When the district leader reported that day, they were down about 12 feet. Initially, when they had started digging the 6' feet in diameter well the digging was relatively easy. Two elders dug for a while and then traded off with two others. As the hole got deeper, they soon couldn’t throw the dirt up and over the edge. Then they devised a system to fill buckets tied to a rope that was thrown over a log. When the bucket was filled, they would hoist it up where the two elders on top would take it and haul the dirt away to dump. It was quite a project.
You know, when you get down 15' or so, that is a deep hole. At 16' they hit solid rock. That’s pretty discouraging when you have dug that long. How great is your faith at a time like this? The senior missionary was discouraged, but not dismayed. After some searching, he found the one man in the little city who had a jack hammer. However, after the man broke two bits while drilling, he refused to go any further. How does this affect your faith? With a home made sledge hammer they continued on chipping away using the sledge and old railroad spikes.
Brothers and Sisters, How is your faith when you get to 20' & you’re still in rock with no water? How about 25'? It was at about 26' when they came out one morning and found the rock in the bottom of the well was wet. They broke through the rock that day, went down another foot, and the next day at 27 feet, they came out to find a foot of water in their well.
Brothers and Sisters, true disciples of Christ must have faith to step into the darkness knowing the light will follow. They must be willing to dig down 27' knowing they’ll find water even when digging in solid rock. This Rock came from the depths of that well. It is my constant reminder of the well and the faith it took to dig it.
Elder Bednar also explained that a disciple’s faith is a spiritual gift and that it dispels fear. Can I tell you how I know that faith can dispel fear? To do so I want to tell you about Agim Shehu. Agim’s wife, Aisha, joined the church a few years ago. Her husband was a very spiritual man, but a stroke had left him partially paralyzed and he had been unable to leave his little fifth floor apartment for the past 6 ½ years. I first heard of Agim from Sister Shehu when I met her one day coming into the mission office to enlarge some pages of the Book of Mormon for Agim to read. Following up on an invitation to visit Agim, Sister Kinghorn and a couple of elders were able to officially meet him at their apartment a few days later. Brothers and Sisters, I wish I could adequately describe their humble little apartment. Maybe I can’t do that, but I can tell you about the tremendous spirit that exists in his home.
It didn’t take long for me to determine that Agim had a beautiful testimony of the gospel. I told him so and I told him that he needed to be baptized. I remember his response. How he would love to, he said, but he just couldn’t leave his apartment. With the stroke, his steps were reduced to slow, difficult shuffle of only an inch or so per step and they lived on the 5th floor. I think Sister Kinghorn wondered about my sanity at the time, but I told Agim to look at those two big, strong elders–I said, they can carry you down. (They probably wondered about me, too.) Anyway, to make a long story, short, the next week, Agim was out of his apartment for the first time in over 6 years–and in church. And he had done it on his own.
With faith in the Lord and in himself and in a great desire to be baptized he had got up very early that next Sunday morning and 1" at a time, 1 step at a time, he had gotten out of his apartment and down the five flights of stairs on his own. The elders had been by his side and had a taxi waiting for him. Two weeks of teaching the discussions to him and he was baptized. Brothers and sisters, Agim has since received the Melchizedek Priesthood and he and Aisha have been sealed together in the Frankfurt, Germany Temple. I want you to know that a disciple of Christ must have faith to “step” into the unknown.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “Faith is the first principle in revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness.” He also taught that miracles, signs, gifts of the Spirit, a knowledge of God, and all good things are all the effects of faith. But he further explained that faith requires action and that there is no salvation in the general principle of faith alone. Only when Jesus Christ is the focal point is there faith in salvation (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 261-4).
Our Mission Scripture that all our missionaries memorized in Albanian and then recited at each Zone Conference along with Doctrine & Covenants 4 was 3rd Nephi 5:13
Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people , that they might have everlasting life.
This scripture clarifies our role as disciples with a focus on the Savior and a promise of the salvation of everlasting or eternal life.
My desire today has been to share with you some examples of disciples’ faith which we saw during our time in Albania that you might have a greater desire to exercise your faith at this Disciple Preparation Center to become a greater disciple of Christ wherever you might go in life. May I conclude by telling you of two people who I feel have become true disciples of Christ–one an Albanian member and the other a missionary:
Brother Arben Vogli is a young man with a pure heart and a great testimony. He gained his testimony through his extraordinary study of the Book of Mormon. When he joined the church in the early 1990's, there were few things translated in the Albanian language, but the Spirit bore witness to him that what the missionaries were teaching him from the Book of Mormon was true. He had such a great desire to read the Book of Mormon that he begged the missionaries to give him a copy, even if it were in English, so that he could study it. Arben spoke no English, but when he received the book he obtained an Albanian/English Dictionary and set out to read the book on his own. Imagine starting with the first word “I” and looking it up; then the next word “Nephi” and not finding it and then finally figuring it out that it was “I’s” name. And then looking up “having” and not finding it. . . But word by word he proceeded, writing the translated words in Albanian above English text.
When do you get tired of that and quit? A true disciple doesn’t and neither did Arben. It took months to get through 1st and 2nd Nephi, but by then he knew many of the words and it started to go a little faster. By the mid point of the book, he was able to understand much of what he was reading and when he finished the book, not only did he have a testimony of it, but he could speak English–not necessarily the King’s English–in fact, it was a Book of Mormon English, but nonetheless he could speak and understand English. Arben is a sculptor. I submit that with his faith and his testimony, he is disciple of Christ whose trip to the temple to be sealed to his family was like a trip to heaven for him.
Finally, let me tell you about a missionary who, I believe, is a true disciple of Christ. Let me do so by reading a President’s Letter he wrote to me one week during his mission. I believe you will see why I feel his discipleship is real.
Dear President Kinghorn,
Today in Fier, two little beggar boys would not leave us alone. They wanted money. We told them no. They still wanted money. We told them no again . . . but they still wanted money. It hurts me to tell them no [because] the more you do it, the easier it becomes. [It’s so frustrating.]
My answer to these turmoiling [feelings] has always been to [increase] my fast offerings–the Lord’s welfare system. I believe, President, that I will never be a rich man . . . but I want to (and plan to) give all my excess to the church. If I don’t need it, surely the Lord knows someone who does. I want to give and give and give.
Today I don’t feel that’s enough though. True, he who gives money gives much. But I have more than just money. I have time. I can serve my fellow beings. I can try to bring light to the eyes of these children. I can share my talents. I can love the unloved. I can hold the abandoned baby close. I can spread hope through time spent in service.
Ultimately, I can give my whole self. All I am and want to be, I want to give away . . . Abundantly giving of [my] all. I will want for nothing.
I made the covenant [to live the Law of Consecration.] I plan to keep it . . . I may not be able to give the beggar my 20 lekë piece today or tomorrow, but I plan on giving my life and my all for the remainder of my days. [I] want to consecrate [my] performance unto the Lord. [I] want to give my all to this work. [I] may not give riches in coin or check, but [I can] give the eternal riches of happiness and peace found in gospel living. President Kinghorn, I love being a missionry. It is a joy to spread this message.
Brothers ands Sisters, his desire to “give his all” exhibits true charity or “loving as Christ would love.” He is truly becoming a true disciple of Christ because of his desire to give his all.
I could share a hundred other, equally powerful, experiences about the discipleship of our missionaries and the faith of our members in Albania, but time won’t allow it But their ability to exercise faith and be a disciple of Christ is no different than yours–or mine
Just like a person who sets out to climb a lofty peak and never knows of the view from the top unless he summits the mountain, you will never experience the fruits of faith until you exercise it. Likewise, if you expect to exit this institution as a true disciple of Christ, then you will need to have experienced His love in your life and you will need to have exercised His power by giving of yourself.
The Savior taught the Jews, who believed in Him (and the same could apply to us), “...If ye continue in my word, (after you leave this Disciple Preparation Center, by applying what you have learned here) then are ye my disciples indeed: and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
I testify that life will present you with many opportunities to “step into the darkness” and I promise you the light will follow those who do exercise great faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ. I testify that faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, combined with “disciple preparation” truly does dispel fear. I am a personal witness of the power of faith and the miracles that follow and of the goodness wrought by disciples of Christ. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.