Good Friday

Today is ๐†๐จ๐จ๐ ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐๐š๐ฒ.
Christians all over the world remember this day as one of immense suffering for our Saviour.
Last night, two millennia ago, He suffered great pains in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Who can fail to remember His agony.
Speaking of Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane, Luke wrote…
“And he… kneeled down, and prayed,” saying Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. ” And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. ” And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. ” (Luke 22:41-44.)

Challenges

Quentin L. Cook said; โ€œIf the grim realities you are facing at this time seem dark and heavy and almost unbearable, remember that in the soul-wrenching darkness of Gethsemane and the incomprehensible torture and pain of Calvary, the Saviour accomplished the Atonement, which resolves the most terrible burdens that can occur in this life. He did it for you, and He did it for me. He did it because He loves us and because He obeys and loves His Father. We will be rescued from death — even from the depths of the sea.โ€
From Gethsemane, to the cross, and then the tomb, He rose triumphant, bringing life and hope to all of us.
In our Missionary Zone Conferences this week, I spoke about Jesus Christ, His Atonement and resurrection and the impact His life has for all mankind.
Sometimes, we may feel that He has forgotten us, yet He testifies… “Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee… Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.โ€ โ€“ see Isaiah 49:15-16.
Upon His hands, are engraven our sins, our pains and all our afflictions, and if we come unto Him, I promise, that each of us will feel of his redeeming love and heal us.
Through repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, you can feel the joy of forgiveness of His redeeming love, always and forever, just like Emma Bair and Janessa Anderson
Why not invite the missionaries over this weekend, and reconsider why the Easter message is so important for you?

He is Risen

Gran to the left.
Nana to the right.
A little 2 year old me, in the middle.
I am so grateful for the many sweet memories.
Death takes loved ones from us.
It has been many years, since both have passed away.
But,… I am comforted to know, that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, two millennia ago, resurrection is a reality for all of us.
The Apostle Paul said this to the people of Corinth…
โ€œFor I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve. After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.โ€ 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.
Each recurring Easter is a constant reminder that reinforces this eternal truth, that He lives!
โ€œHe is not here: ๐ก๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ž๐ง.โ€ See Matthew 28:6.
Because our Redeemer lives so shall we.
I know that He lives. And you can know too.
I look forward to a happy reunion, with Gran, Nana, Dad, Jack, Joyce, Ronnie, Violet and the many other beloved relatives and dear friends who have already passed through the gateway we call death.
Why is the existence of a resurrected God so important to all of mankind?

Hear Him

Itโ€™s been a busy week of interviews for us, in Leiden, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
I mentioned preparing for General Conference in all my interviews.
A common theme was about hearing and following the voice of the Lord.
I shared an experience with a few that I had with prayer some 15 months ago.
In my blog of 3rd January 2022, I recorded the following:
โ€œArising from my knees early this morning, I asked myself had I simply been โ€œsaying a prayer or had I ๐’„๐’๐’Ž๐’Ž๐’–๐’๐’†๐’… with God?โ€
I paused and reflected upon the question.
I slowed down.
I sunk deeply into my very comfortable chair.
I noticed all of the distractions around me.
The ticking of a clock.
The buzzing of an electric light.
The whistling and howling of the wind.
A car engine roaring into life.
The chirping of an early morning bird.
I noticed my breathing, in an out and the physical sensations of my breath.
I became much more ๐’‘๐’“๐’†๐’”๐’†๐’๐’•.โ€

Can I invite you to do an experiment today…

Turn off the television, the radio, your podcast, put your mobile device down, and switch off anything else making a noise in the room where you are sitting.
Listen to the silence.
What can you hear?
The ticking of a clock perhaps?
The sound of traffic from outside?
Someone making noise in another room?
Had you heard those noises before?

Why not?

If our lives are filled with noise, we wonโ€™t hear the still, small, whispering voice of the Lord.
Likewise, itโ€™s only in the silence of our little experiment, that we hear the quieter sounds.
We have to learn to quieten both our inner and the outer noise to find stillness.
Henry B. Eyring said โ€œYour problem and mine is not to get God to speak to us; few of us have reached the point where he has been compelled to turn away from us. Our problem is to ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ.”
Some 5 ยฝ years ago, our dog Fawn, found a quiet, still place to rest her head on mine, for half an hour watching General Conference.
I hope that all of us will take the time to tune in to General Conference this weekend and listen for that still small voice that whispers, as we hear from those who have been called to speak about Him.
In our lives, how can we demonstrate what we think of Him?

Voices

We are beset by a clamour of voices, to which our ears are subjected daily.
Today we face so many kinds of voices on the internet via social media, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, to name only a few.
There are so many other kinds of voices that contend with one another, in politics, television news, newspapers, magazines, podcasts and on the radio.
I often wonder what is being communicated in advertising, in books, in movies, the latest Netflix series, and in pop culture to our youth and young people of today.
Voices that threaten, that spread terror, that promise miracle cures, that lust for power, that lull us into a false sense of belief, that set out to deceive, are filled with fake news, along with misinformation and many others that promise something for nothing.

Media

In our day, we are living through a period of blurred media boundaries and of mass communications.
There are many persuasive voices that try so hard to beguile us into believing something that is inherently false.
What do you hear in your homes, or in the streets of your towns and communities?
Centuries ago, the Apostle Paul warned in 1 Corinthians 14:10 โ€œThere areโ€ฆso many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.โ€
I see fulfilled daily the famous quote of Abraham Lincoln, when he said โ€œHe who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions.โ€

Influences

We can be influenced by so many today, whose morals and ethics may be questionable.
However, the story of any great achievement in the world, is nearly always the story of some strong individual.
Speaking of our day, in Isaiah 24:2 we read โ€œas with the servant, so with his master.โ€
Ultimately, this means that in order for people to have a good way of life, they must have good leaders.
All of us follow someoneโ€™s voice.
Above all of them, I know that one day each of us will hear the Voice that many have forgotten, but when they hear, will know again, for every ear shall hear, and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess.
What are the voices you are listening to?

Without Guile

Recently we said farewell to Hannah Hammer and several other missionaries who departed for home.
I want to say a little today about Hannah, as she was our first missionary to arrive directly here (October 2021) and also serve her entire mission in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Serving a mission in a foreign land, learning a new language, and sharing your feelings about Jesus Christ, in a secular country where people donโ€™t like to talk about religion, is not an easy thing to do.
If anyone tells you otherwise, believe me, theyโ€™re kidding.
Challenging missionary opportunities ensued for the next 18 months, as she served in Den Haag, Antwerp, and Apeldoorn.
In meeting with Hannah frequently, I knew her personal experiences have enriched the lives of many people and laid a firm foundation for her and all those she met, that sheโ€™ll treasure all of her life.
The words that Hannah spoke, always had a strong conviction of truth, and came from her heart.
Like her missionary peers, Hannah followed the example of Jesus Christ, daily.

She is a woman without guile.

How do I know that?
Evidence abounds everywhere, by the love that people have for her.

Without Guile

Joseph B. Wirthlin said; โ€œA person without guile is a person of innocence, honest intent, and pure motives, whose life reflects the simple practice of conforming [their] daily actions to principles of integrityโ€.
To be without guile is to be pure in heartโ€”an essential virtue of those who would be counted among true followers of Christ.
It was both humbling and refreshing to be with Hannah and it is likewise so, to be daily with all of her peers in the mission field.
Each of them, with their unique characteristics have strengthened my faith in the rising generation and give me great hope for the future.
According to the scriptures, Jesus Christ lived without guile and has commanded us to do the same.
Applying this teaching to ourselves, and it most certainly isnโ€™t easy, means that we should always mean what we say, and always say what we mean, honestly and kindly.
Like all of us who serve around any missionary, saying goodbye is always a very difficult thing to do.

Tears

Tears are shed, hugs are given aplenty, and love abounds, evidenced in the picture.
I am so grateful for each and every single one of our missionaries (currently 115), who touch my heart, every single day.
If you allow them, they can touch your heart too with their message of hope.
As Jesus said of Nathanael, can we say of ourselves, that we are without guile?

One cube or two?

Thatโ€™s a question Iโ€™ve asked myself several times recently.

Most mornings for the last 4 weeks, I have added three teaspoons of honey to a mug of hot water.

Following my heavy cold, Iโ€™ve had an annoying cough that has lingered way too long!

One morning, in an effort to increase the efficacy of my magic healing concoction, I decided it may be a good idea to add a sugar cube.

One or two I thought?

One morning I tried one.

The next morning, I tried two.

And the result of my experiment?

Sadly, it didnโ€™t help my cough, it only made feel a little guilty about adding more sugar to something that was already sweet.

The next morning, it was back to honey only.

We all make hundreds of decisions every day, some big and some small.

While some of these choices turn out great, chances are that not every decision will be a good one.

Weโ€™ve all made choices that we wish we hadnโ€™t.

We all make mistakes, plenty of them in fact.

We never really lose anything when we make mistakes, maybe we do gain experience, hopefully some wisdom and perhaps some compassion for others when they make similar errors.

Bad decisions arenโ€™t all that bad after all, especially if we learn from them.

In fact, you can benefit from all your previous bad choices right now.

And the lesson learned?

Honey is sweet enough!

Every wrong decision has a lesson to teach.

It can be painful to examine your wrong choices.

Do you know whatโ€™s even more painful though?

Making the same mistake again.

What have you learned from your unwise choices?

#choices #decisions

What great leaders do…

Yesterday was amazing.
Every six weeks, we meet as a Mission Leadership Council.
I was surrounded by true leaders.
It is their time to lead.
Young men and women, with pure humble hearts, who are principle driven, selfless, devoted, disciplined and who get things done by bringing out the very best in others.
Our time is spent in training, learning, and counselling together.
Great missionary effort requires great leadership, through faith, love, obedience, and work.
All leaders must be good followers and they do that with exactness.
They see potential everywhere.
They are examples of goodness.
They are bold.
They lift and inspire.
They encourage.
They are prayerful.
They listen with genuine empathy.
They communicate with kindness.
They are great teachers.
They take time to slow down and consider what really matters most.
Ultimately, each of them endeavours to emulate the greatest servant leader of all, even Jesus Christ.
They love to serve others, as Christ centred servants.
They minister, one by one.
Remember, one is the key to the ninety and nine.
They feed their sheep.
Meeting with each of them is an absolute joy.
Ezra Taft Benson said…
โ€œMen and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whosoever will lose his life in the service of God, will find eternal life.โ€ (See Matthew 10:39)
As a leader, do you constantly remember that you are a servant?

Handling Failure

Experience has taught me, that to suffer some anxiety, some stress, some low moods or depression, some disappointment, or even some failure is ๐’๐’๐’“๐’Ž๐’‚๐’.
Let me repeat that…. ๐๐Ž๐‘๐Œ๐€๐‹!
Everyone fails.
Everyone.
Everyone has bad things happen to them at some point.
Every now and then, a really good miserable day, or even a few of them may come along all at once, lined up perfectly all in a row, day after day!
Maybe you have felt days like that?
Doomed to failure.
Defeated, lost, discouraged, possibly even feelings of shame and inferiority may ariseโ€ฆ
You may even choose to prolong the agony by engaging in some mental torture, relentless self-criticism, beating yourself up and continually berating yourself.
When we feel like this, we may even want to hide, to shrivel up or even just disappear.
Have you been there?
Itโ€™s easy to be tough on ourselves. Isn’t it!

If this is you, choose to ๐’๐“๐Ž๐!

It is time to change your relationship with failure.
Take a momentโ€ฆ
Breathe.
Think.
Let me assure you, ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐š ๐›๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฒ…
What would you do to support a friend through a similar difficult period?
By showing ourselves some kindness, respect and encouragement, we can practice self-compassion.
With self-compassion, we give ourselves the same kindness and care weโ€™d give to a good friend.
โ€œSelf-compassion has been defined as a self-attitude that involves treating oneself with warmth and understanding in difficult times and recognizing that making mistakes is part of being human (Neff, 2003)
Realising that things donโ€™t always go the way you want them to, is a reality shared by each and every one of us.
My experience is to see failure as a step closer to success, not a step backwards.
How can you be kinder to yourself?
Think of a time when you failed at something and someone responded with kindness and reassurance…
How did that make you feel?

Side by Side

I enjoy my early morning studies.
Sleep is very important, but for me my desire to learn the gospel and to come to know my Saviour Jesus Christ has always been more important than lying in my bed for too long each morning.
Russell M. Nelson has said โ€œTo those who feel defeated and downtrodden, look to the early hours of the day for your rescue.โ€
In the wee small hours every morning, when all is quiet and peaceful, there is nothing I enjoy more than to sit on the living room sofa, wrap myself in a blanket and snuggle up with a good book to help me come to know my Saviour Jesus Christ, a little more.

Scriptures

The scriptures have always been a good friend and in them there are many examples of those who arose early in the morning:
โ€ข Genesis 19:27 โ€œAbraham gat up ๐’†๐’‚๐’“๐’๐’š ๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’Ž๐’๐’“๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ to the place where he stood before the Lordโ€
โ€ข Exodus 34:4 โ€œMoses rose up ๐’†๐’‚๐’“๐’๐’š ๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’Ž๐’๐’“๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stoneโ€
โ€ข Joshua 6:12 โ€œAnd Joshua rose ๐’†๐’‚๐’“๐’๐’š ๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’Ž๐’๐’“๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ, and the priests took up the ark of the Lordโ€
โ€ข In Mark 1:35 we read that the Saviour himself arose ๐’†๐’‚๐’“๐’๐’š โ€œ…๐’Š๐’ ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’Ž๐’๐’“๐’๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayedโ€.
I know that more flashes of inspiration and insight come in those early morning hours, than at any other time of the day.
In the early mornings of the last two weeks, my thoughts have turned to Palm Sunday and General Conference weekend of Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd April.
Why not join us online?
Iโ€™ve enjoyed the General Conference talks from six months ago.

Side by Side

Each morning, I pick up two copies of the Liahona and study them ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž ๐›๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž.
One in Dutch and one in English.
Firstly, I study a talk in Dutch and try to understand as much of the talk as I can.
Secondly, I study the same talk, but this time in English to gain further clarity.
Interestingly, the two-language approach, brings additional inspiration, insight and understanding.
In a letter of 2nd March, the First Presidency said, โ€œGeneral conference provides an opportunity to receive personal revelation as general Church leaders give counsel and directionโ€
I know personally, that one of the best ways to come to Christ is to listen and study the words of His special witnesses.
The best time for me to that, is ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž ๐›๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ž in the early hours of the morning.
Our missionaries can help you learn of Jesus Christ.
They also like the early mornings too!
What is your favourite time to study?

In a dark place?

Sometimes, we can find ourselves in some dark places in our life.
It can be debilitating.
Itโ€™s been my experience, that everyone has low mood days.
And I mean everyone.
When they come (and they will), what can you do about it?
There has been lots written in recent years about positive thinking, mindset, mindfulness, sleeping patterns etc.
Personally, for years, I have maintained a daily habit of journaling.
Unquestionably, it has helped to maintain my mental well-being.
However, one of the most frequently recommended practices by psychologists, counsellors and coaches to help those with dark moods, anxiety or stress, is to keep a ๐ ๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ž ๐ฃ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐š๐ฅ.
What is a gratitude journal anyway?
Simply, a gratitude journal helps you appreciate life more.
Its easy to begin.
Find a small notebook, some quiet โ€œmeโ€ time to reflect, maybe 15 minutes at the end of the day and write down three things that you are grateful for.
Let the gratitude flowโ€ฆ
Here are some ideas to get you startedโ€ฆ
โ€ข Someone youโ€™re happy to have in your life.
โ€ข Your favourite part of the day
โ€ข Someone who gave you good advice.
โ€ข Good news or something that made you smile.
โ€ข Something beautiful you saw today.
โ€ข Someone who inspired you.
โ€ข Something you love about your work.
The outcomes?
Itโ€™ll reduce stress, lower anxiety, release tension, provides clarity, itโ€™ll make you happier and will help you gain a better understanding of yourself.
The more practice you get, the easier it becomes, and youโ€™ll more easily feel the sensations that come into your thoughts as you focus on gratitude.
Go on, give it a go, and start today.
ยฉ Copyright 2024 Daryl Watson. All Rights Reserved. Registered in Scotland, Company Number SC473068