"God is at the helm" - Elder M. Russell Ballard

Stay on the Old Ship Zion. The Lord is at the Helm.

     Yesterday's talk asked how our church experience was working out for us. This one outlines how it should. It seemed to me this talk was about following the prophet, though that was never directly said. Elder Ballard begins by talking about the Lord's apostles, those that walked with him. Without those first disciples, we would have no apostolic witness of the Lord's life. I have never really thought about that. The witness we have is that of the Lord's chosen twelve. It isn't just some people off the street who saw Jesus walk by. It is the testimony of apostles, some who would go on to be prophets.
     I often think of Peter. He is an inspiration to me. He was so very human, yet he was being instructed by perfection. He falls short and is chastised a lot. I find that amazing. The Lord's apostle, one who goes on to be prophet of his church, needing chastising. I find it comforting and uplifting. Elder Ballard says, (very very paraphrased) "We make a mistake finding only the shortcomings, and failing to see the Lord working through those he has called. The Lord uses us despite our humanity." Despite our humanity! How beautiful. Our Father made us human, he knows our shortcomings and he uses us even still. His Grace is sufficient even for us.
   Elder Ballard states, "The Lord's apostles are duty bound to watch, warn, reach out to help those seeking answers."  Twenty years ago, President Hinkley gave us the Family: A Proclamation to the World. Today we see the beautiful insight of that. The deterioration of the Family in the last twenty years is staggering. How grateful we should be to have a divine warning and guidance of truth.
     In our own day, we are being warned about the sanctity of the Sabbath. It may not seem like a big deal now. It may seem that breaking the Sabbath, or even just having an apathetic approach to it will not harm us, or make much difference in the great expanse of eternity. However, we are being warned. Twenty years from now, what will we see? Will we look back and wish we had heeding the call to reform our Sunday worship? Or will we be grateful for that divine warning and guidance? This is something for me to consider in my family. I don't know exactly how to overhaul my Sunday, without ruining the day of rest. My rest involves naps, movies, books. Kyle's involves football. The kids play with Legos and watch movies. All very restful activities, yet not centered on Christ or even done together as a family. Just something to think about. I will have to come back to this. My Sundays may require a planning session.
   Elder Ballard then does something that I love. He outlines what is appropriate for Sacrament meeting, including testimony meeting. I wish all in the church would follow this counsel. It is when it isn't heeded that I can't feel the Spirit. Testimonies are beautiful, uplifting, and inspiring, but rambling is not. Neither is a parent whispering to a child what to say. Sorry. It's just not. Practice at home.
     The church is the Good ship Zion. The Lord is at the Helm. He direct us and keeps us from running aground. If he is at the Helm, I like to the think of the prophet in the crows' nest, keeping a weathered eye on that horizon, Our ship's destination is the Kingdom of Heaven and the presence of God. We need the church to get there. Spirituality of itself is not the same thing. We need the covenants and the priesthood available only through his anointed. So you see, our church experience does work for us. It provides us all the necessary things to return to Him.