OCR Text |
Show Something To Talk About... y,' You know that the first Thursday in each month we hold as a fast day. How many here know the origin of this day? Before tithing was paid, the poor were supported by donations. They came to Joseph and wanted help, In Klrtland, and he said there should be a fast day, which was decided upon. It was to be held once a month, as it is now, and all that would have been eaten that day, of flour, or meat, or butter, or fruit, or anything else, was to be carried to the fast meeting and put into the hands of a person selected for the purpose of taking care of it and distri- butlng it among the poor. 12:113. At v'esent the first Sunday of the month is designated fast day. Ingredients For Excellent Talk: Good Beginning, Crisp Ending To plan the separate parts of your talk well you must know how long (how many minutes) the talk Is to be and just where your talk is scheduled on the program. Be sure your material can be given in the time allotted, with a minute or two to spare. Make your opening an "attention getter. Plan on the conclusion of your talk right from tho beginning. Make It a sharp, clear punch of what you have said. A good beginning and a crisp conclusion are almost sure to guarantee an excellent talk. DlKsvrMt of ariffctm Ywnf President David 0. McKay tells this story. William (not the boys true name) was a lad who had been taught to pray. When he was about 10 years old, his father was nearly killed in an automobile accident. It happened early in the morning, and so were the mother and children, including William, that none could eat a meal or cared to. However, later In the day, after the doctors had sewed up the lacerations, repaired the broken bones, and given assurances that daddy" was not fatally injured, the loved ones calmed their fears and began to resume the regular family routine. As was the practice in that Mormon home, before the evening meal, all knelt in prayer. Following it, William started away from the table. Seeing this his mother said: Come, Will, sit down and eat your dinner. No, Mother, replied the lad, I am not hungry. You must insisted the mother. You haven't eaten all day. Dont worry any longer, Daddy will be all right Please excuse me, Mother, I am fasting and want to go up to my room. He did go to his room, and there knelt & i, in earnest prayer for his fathers speedy and complete recovery. Rising from his knees, he put on his hat, picked from his little garden the few first violets of springtime, walked to the When you stand up to speak your audience will immediately have in mind four basic questions. Every speake- - must keep them in mind: 1. Why this subject? this subject for us? Why this subject for us at this time? Why this subject for us at this time by this speaker? 2. Why grief-stricke- n 3. 4. M.I.A. Speech "The hospital, and placed the flowers in his injured fathers hand. As the father received them, he recognized in the lads face an expression that reflected the yearning of his little soul for his fathers recovery. There was no need for words. Father and son understood each other, and the boy in the the Lord comforted both consolation, the father in the assurance that the Lord would answer the lads prayer. And he did in a miraculously speedy and permanent recovery. (Tills Incident is a trua story of it automobile accl dent In whictt President McKay was Inlured, and the child, called Wiiliairv who prayed for hta father, la President McKay's son). Prea. David O. McKay, Ao$ust, Ittfc from "Cherished Experiences" But remember that on this, the Lord's wt Ctmmltte Sort day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord. And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or in other words, that thy joy may be fulL Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer. : D. a C. The law to the Latter-da- y Saints, as understood by the authorities of the Church, is that food and drink are not to be partaken of for 24 hours, from even to even, and that the Saints are to refrain from all bodily gratification and indulgences. Fast day being on the Sabbath, It fol lows, of course, that all labor is to be abstained from. . . . Now, while the law requires die Saints in ail the world to fast from even to even, and to abstain both from food and drink, it can easily be seen from the scrip- tures and especially from the words of Jesus, that it is more important to obtain the true spirit of love for God and man, :purity of heart and simplicity of intention, than it is to carry out the cold letter of the law . . . Many are subject to weakness, others are delicate in helath, and others have nursing babies; of such it should not be required to fast Neither should parents compel their little chidren to fast . . . Better teach them die principle, and let them observe it when they are old enough to choose intelligently, than to so compel them. Jo ph F. Smith There is a man who is a young bishop in Honolulu, very wealthy, and yet a young man with a lot of humility. He was called one day from the Queens Hospital to come and bless a boy who had polio. A native sister had called him. He was her bishop, and she said, Bishop, come up here, my boy is stricken with polio, and I want you to come up here and administer to him and bless him. All day she waited for him, and the bishop never showed up. All night he never showed up, the next morning he never showed up, but early in the afternoon here he came. She turned loose on him. She called him everything she could think of. You, my bishop, I call you and tell you my boy is here stricken with polio. And you, your own boss, you have your cars, you have a beautiful yacht( you have everything you want, and your time is your own, and you dont show up. You just come now after a whole day. After she had finished and couldnt think of anything more to call him, he smiled and said, Well, after I hung up the receiver yesterday, I started to fast, and I've been fasting and praying for 24 hours. I'm ready now to bless your boy." At S p.m. the boy was released from the hospital entirely cured of polio. . . . This kind goeth net out but by prayer and fasting. Irm "Mttttww Cawtor Spkl" Missionary Release Day Filled With Memories - - Continued from page II After the prayer, Elder Richards gave a short talk. Go home and tell the priests in your ward to prepare. They should be at the to peak of preparation. Encourage them them prepare Lord, to the help get close for a mission, he said and then quoted the D&C 16:6: And now, behold I say unto you, that the tiling which will be the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my father. The wife of the mission president is as the mission mother. The missionaries have special regard for Sis-te- l Davey (Mrs. C. Leland Davey, wife of Canadian Mission president). I send a little of my heart with every missionary that goes home, Mrs. Davey said. A person cant love people and have them close without missing them when they go home from their missions. It has been only two years of service, but there is an eternity to remember it. she said. Share your experiences with your friends and your parents keep your mis- said. Mrs shine, Davey sionary known WEEK Tlie spond. missionaries were invited to re- Elder Shipp was first. My testimony has grown as I have shared it with others. Presenting the lessons to the investigators is important, but the testimony of the Gospel has been the thing that touches the people, Elder Shipp said. I am a convert to the Gospel, the first in my family. It all came about because a missionary touched my life. His example and encouragement impressed me. When I get home I am going to pick one individual and try to help and touch him to go on a mission, Elder Shipp concluded. Elder Samuel Smith, Preston, Idaho, said It seems as though I just got here. I have learned to love the people and this country. We have affected lives, we have converted some. I am thankful for my mission. Elder Paul J. Heslop, Salt Lake City, expressed his thoughts, I am thankful that the Church provides an opportunity for a mission; it has been a privilege to go on a mission. I know that I must show by my woiks that the Gospel is true. A missionary gets close to his Father in Heaven and learns that it isnt him that converts people to the Gospel, but the witness through the Holy Ghost. Being on a mission is a lesson in discipline, he said. ENDING JUNE 21, 1969 Elder Ian Tosh, Melbourne, Australia, was the last of the four nervous missionaries about to be released. I know the Lord answers prayers because on this mission, there has been things that Elder Tosh couldnt fix and I have had to depend on my Father in Heaven," he said. I am thankful for my testimony. I have been a member of the Church for five years. I met the elder that baptized me while I was in the mission home. I would like to see him again because my testimony has grown, he said. The anxious eyes of the missionaries turned to their mission piesident as he stood to speak. His spirit was warm, his instructions clear. Behave yourselves on your way home. You are not released until you report to your stake president and high council. Report to your draft board within five days after you arrive home, were the instructions of Pres. Davey. Always live the Gospel, be exemplary In your Lvv s. You have been testifying of the prophet Keep your lives attuned to the prophet Follow the leadership of your bishop and your leaders, he said. Pres. Davey closed by saying, Live so you will be able to say the last two years have been the greatest all through your lives, Elder Heslop says "goodby" to contacts, Mr. and Mrs. Don King |