Obrando en la Viña: "Juan! Pray for the hermanas!"

Elder Perry came to Logan in October of 2013 to speak at a regional stake conference held in the Spectrum. I sang in the Institute choir with a couple of friends. I was there. I saw him.

He towered above the crowd, and his deep voice rang through the basketball stadium as he expressed his love for Cache Valley and the brisk Logan air.

It's been a while, so I don't remember much of what he said that day...but I do remember the way the Spirit testified to me that he truly is an apostle of God.

I admire his enthusiasm and his love of life. I admire his energy and his enormous, happy smile. I admire his confidence and certainty, and I admire his fiery testimony of the gospel. I am grateful for the way he testifies of the Savior--for the way he speaks as if he knew Him--for the way he reminds us how much our Father loves us and invites us to live our lives the way the Savior would have us live. I admire him for his special witness of Jesus Christ.

Elder L. Tom Perry

At 6:30 this morning, 20 minutes before we were supposed to get up, Carbon Monoxide Detector let her voice ring through the house and let us know that "Low battery. Low battery. Low battery." Why don't you just let us sleep, we thought? We lost 20 minutes. We'll buy batteries later. Thanks a bunch, CMD.

My companion got up and took the detector down and pulled the batteries out so that we could change them. As I was getting ready a little while later, I read the back of our dear friend, Carbon Monoxide Detector.

"WARNING.
Carbon monoxide cannot be seen or smelled but can kill you."

Whoa.

"If alarm sounds," it continued...

The government requires in each home a correctly installed, correctly functioning carbon monoxide detector because it wants to protects us. It wants to protect us from something that cannot be seen or smelled but can kill. Prevention is better than carbon monoxide poisoning. Prevention is better than...well, death. Right?

God calls prophets because He wants to protect us. He wants to protect us from something that cannot necessarily be seen or smelled but can kill. He wants to protect us from sin. He wants to protect us from the poisoning effects it can have in our lives. Prevention is better than sin. Prevention is better than death.

The carbon monoxide detector alerts us of the presence of gas in our homes because it wants to protect us. It alerts us when the batteries run low...a condition that would prevent it from functioning properly--that would prevent it from alerting us of the presence of carbon monoxide in our homes. That would prevent it from alerting us that we are about to be taken prey by something that cannot be seen or smelled... That we are probably about to die. Buying new batteries is better than death.

God's prophets speak because they want to protect us. They alert us of the presence of sin in our lives... Of habits and practices that could drain our spiritual batteries and impede our ability to recognize the damaging affects of sin or even separate ourselves from them. They alert us of the fact that we are about to be taken prey by something that cannot be seen or smelled... That we are in spiritual danger. That our spirit is about to die. Listening to the prophets is better than death.

I, as a consumer and a United States citizen, could choose to get annoyed that I have to change the batteries. I could complain that the carbon monoxide detector woke me up 20 minutes early this morning... That I lost sleep to go to seminary, or I spent my entire Sunday in church. That my parents made me read the scriptures before I could go to bed, and then they even made me kneel down for family prayer. I could question why in the world I have to stay home every single Monday night when all of my friends are having fun hanging out. I could get frustrated when God's divinely appointed apostles teach that something is not okay...even when the world teaches so loudly that it is. When they ask me to put my phone away in sacrament meeting or pay a full tithe or make time to go to the temple. I could question their motives. I could question the motives of the carbon monoxide detector. But whichever way I choose to look at it, the fact of the matter is the same.

The carbon monoxide detector woke me up because it is programmed to save my life.

The prophets wake us up because they want to save our life.
God wants to save our life.

I, as a consumer and a United Sates citizen, could choose to get annoyed that I have to change the batteries... Or I could choose to change them with a happy heart, grateful for the warning that they're about to die. I could wake up happily (and just as early) to go to seminary, and I could happily spend three hours of my Sunday in church. I could enjoy family scripture study and prayer, grateful that my parents care enough to arm us spiritually every morning and night before the battles of the day. I could remember the promise of prophets that if we hold Family Home Evening every single Monday, we will not get lost. We will truly become a forever family. I could thank my Father in Heaven for the guidance of prophets who speak out against sin... Who warn us of dangerous practices that will put our relationship with Him in danger and eventually result in a life of sadness and confusion. I could choose to question their motives. I could question the motives of the carbon monoxide detector. Or I could choose to give thanks for their love for God... For their love for me...

I could give thanks for the fact that the prophets are called of God because they want to save our life.

God wants to save our life.

I know that Elder Perry was an apostle of God. I know that the other 14 men that serve alongside him are prophets and apostles of a God who love us enough to send us carbon monoxide detectors. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet just like the prophets of old--Moses, Abraham, and Noah--called to warn us of spiritual dangers and help us live a life free of poison and sadness. Free of spiritual death.

If we follow his guidance--if we replace the batteries when he asks us to, and even replace the detector itself when necessary--we will never go astray.

We will never run the risk of being killed by something that cannot be seen or smelled...but that really does have the power to kill.

When the alarm sounds...let us listen.
God loves us.
He wants to protect us.
And so do His apostles. So do His prophets.

Let's listen to their warnings. Let's heed the instructions. And let's be willing to change the batteries sometimes, even if we have to wake up 20 minutes early on a P-day to do it.

I love you all!
Have a wonderful week! :)

Hermana Sanford

Quotes of the week:
"This is the Church of Jesus Christ."
"Yeah. Respect. And a lot of it."

(praying) "Thank you, Heavenly Father, for this beautiful Sunday..."
(Olga interrupts) "Oh my goodness, today is Sunday! I swear I didn´t even know today was Sunday!"