Aligned
Over the course of the last 10 days, I have met face to face with each of the Stake Presidents serving in Belgium and the Netherlands.
I’ve travelled from the most southerly, to the most northerly part of the mission, meeting…
Angelo Leman in Gent
Eelco Scheltinga in Den Haag
Percy de Wilde in Breda
and Jerry Bletterman in Groningen
What is the role of a Stake President?
A stake president is the lay leader of a stake, which is a geographic subdivision similar to a Catholic diocese. A stake president is a man who is asked to serve as a volunteer in this position. He oversees Church programmes in a defined geographic area composed of individual congregations called wards and is responsible to help the members of his stake in their efforts to follow Jesus Christ. He also oversees the activities of the bishops or ward leaders, counselling them as needed.
As I met with each of them, I discovered something.
Frequently, in our discussions together, we used the word 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅, or 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝: “supporting or agreeing with another person, to match behaviours, thoughts or views, harmonize the aims or practices”
It was a marvel.
Whilst living here, in two countries where bicycles are everywhere, I’ve learned the importance of wheel alignment.
To keep your bike running smoothly, truing a wheel involves tightening and adjusting spokes from time to time to keep your wheels aligned.
Similarly meeting together from time to time with each Stake President, ensures that we are in full alignment.
Staying aligned
We are spiritually aligned through our faith in God, our testimonies of the truth, plus the knowledge and wisdom that each of us have gathered, as we study the holy scriptures and follow living prophets.
Quentin L. Cook recently said “Our Heavenly Father’s plan for safely gathering His children to our heavenly home is not based on worldly success, economic status, education, race, or gender. Father’s plan is based on righteousness, keeping His commandments, and receiving sacred ordinances and honouring the covenants we make.”
I love these men.
They have become true friends.
I feel united and aligned with each of them as together, we boldly declare the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and invite all to come unto Him.
