Finding them thar blessings in our wilderness

Greetings to you as you teach God’s children about the wonderful blessings of the Gospel – the good news – of Jesus Christ.

Some pictures from Gospel Library

I was thinking about an experience last week, blessing the sacrament with Tashinga Mukucha. I am not usually aware of how things are going, but I was watching those passing the sacrament and so I was aware that the bread had run out and at least those serving, and probably someone in the congregation did not receive bread. They could not eat in remembrance of the body of the Son – but, even if they could not eat, they could witness that they are willing to take upon them His name, and always remember Him, and keep His commandments which He hath given them – and as a result they could always have His Spirit to be with them. This sacrament experience was not quite complete for those who missed the bread.

Jesus fed five thousand with few loaves and few fishes (see also Matt 14, 15, Mark 6, 8, Luke 5, 9, 11, John 6, 21, and other examples of His power to multiply as an example of our making five other from the five talents that He gave to us). Could He not have multiplied this bread to feed all who were there to partake of the sacrament? Yes! He could have, but He had delegated the sacrament to the bishop who delegated it to those assigned to prepare the sacrament.

I thought back to Digby Chater, the branch president in Welkom Branch telling us when he was branch president of going out from his home in Virginia to visit members in Harmony, probably travelling about 60 or more kilometres that night. As he turned into his driveway, his Volkswagen Beetle ran out of fuel. He opened the garage door, let the car run down the slope into the garage, went to bed, and the next morning he dealt with putting in fuel. This incident came to mind as I was returning home one evening after visiting some members and attending Institute class, and I ran out of fuel before I got home! I was about 650m from my home and not in the driveway! There were no significant slopes between me and my home. I was on a motor scooter. I could have pushed it home and filled it, or I could have parked it, walked home and returned with fuel to fill it, but I was miserable because I had not been blessed as Digby was.

The young man who provided the bread could have supplied more than three slices. Tashinga and I could have broken the bread into smaller pieces. We could have done something to prevent the shortage of bread for the sacrament.

Digby would have turned his car to Reserve and I would have turned my scooter to Reserve. We both knew that the fuel was low, but his need being in a car late at night was greater than mine being on a scooter in the twilight.

Why did God not provide enough bread to feed those needing the sacrament? Why did He not enable me to have enough fuel to reach home? He could have, but I needed to be self-reliant. He delegated our self-reliance to us.

We so often bemoan our difficulties, challenges, shortages, lack, loss, or whatever, rather than looking for the miracles in our lives. How often did Israelites bemoan the boring same food every day, breakfast, lunch and supper? Manna, manna, manna, manna, manna, manna…! No variety! Forty years with no variety! Really? Oh – once there were some quail… But then it was back to manna, manna, manna. How inconsiderate of that God who told us to follow Moses away from the flesh pots of Egypt? We were slaves, but hey – at least we had a more interesting diet! And then there are those fiery serpents that caused the deaths of some of our family! There was that brazen serpent, but it was not just standing in my front garden – I would have to walk some distance to gaze upon it before I might be healed – as some said that they had been.

Whether you as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or someone that you are teaching, is facing issues that cause misery, it is important to remember the comment that the devil seeks that all men might be miserable like himself, as opposed to Adam and Eve who could have had no joy, for they knew no misery while in the garden of Eden, and the promise ‘Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.’ all mentioned in the second chapter of 2 Nephi.

You are sharing the gospel of joy. You are helping people to learn about the church of joy. Blessings on you as you look for and recognise the joy and help others to recognise the joy in their lives and acknowledge the hand of God in all things.

I know that we are blessed with immeasurable joy, even although there are times – really – that we feel an absence of joy in our shroud of black misery. Blessings on you as you look for the miracles in the daily bread and being delivered from evil as the Lord directed us to consider as He taught the manner after which we should pray. Seek them thar blessings and ye shall find them. And you will be able to help others to find them thar blessings in the manna in their wilderness. The Sprit – the Comforter – shall help you to acknowledge that the Lord is present, in the details, right here, now, even when we seem to be spending years in a dull, miserable wilderness. He does have a living prophet in 2025.

Will I get any? Will that basket even get as far as me?

I shared some thoughts with our ward yesterday that I feel are worth sharing here. We had sung the hymn Reverently and Meekly Now that always gives me pause to ponder as it is written as Jesus Christ speaking in the first person to you and to me.

I then shared some thoughts about the sacrament - I had a piece of bread about the size of a grape. You get small and large grapes, but this was sort of a medium sized grape. And the water was also a small quantity. These were really welcome as we were fasting, and the sacrament has particularly special meaning to me while fasting.

My mind turned to the experiences when Jesus Christ provided bread and wine for some people. In what we refer to as the Last Supper He probably broke bread into about 13 pieces and shared this bread and wine for Himself and His twelve apostles. That bread and wine might have been larger portions than a grape.

Jesus blesses the bread for the first sacrament

Then He broke bread and gave it to 5000 people, sharing but five loaves and two fishes, and the multitude did all eat and were filled. I wondered how long it took Him to break the bread and what size portions He broke. In His visit to the Nephites He administered bread and wine to apparently 2500 people as He introduced them to the sacrament. He first gave to the 12 disciples. After they had eaten and were filled from bread that He had broken, they were then instructed to serve the bread to the multitude who, in turn, had eaten and were filled. He then gave them wine and they did all drink and were filled. Them all being filled sounds as though the pieces of bread may have been larger than a medium sized grape. 

Loaves and fishes for feeding the five thousand

I have often wondered what someone sitting at the edge of the crowd might have been thinking as the basket was passed around. Whether the basket was large with people reaching deep into them, or small with bread visible above the brim, might some have wondered - 'Will the basket have anything in it when it reaches me? Will it even reach me?'

It is remarkable that when He served, there was enough and to spare, with twelve baskets of fragments being gathered up after the multitude had departed following the feeding of the 5000. How often do we look at things and worry that we will not get anything, or that we will lose out, or that we cannot have enough for ourselves, let alone sharing with others? It takes quite a paradigm shift to get ourselves thinking in harmony with the way the Saviour taught, as in John  17:21-22, that we strive to become one with Father and Son. This goes even a leap further as we are each promised in D&C 84:33-38 'all that the Father has' as we enter into the new and oath and covenant of the priesthood. I was impressed when my brother pointed out that the Father does not only have everything that is in the Earth and all of His creation, but He also has the power to create all of those things. That is a mighty promise!

I think that many people focus on the concept that they can buy anything in this world with money rather than simply working to have sufficient for their needs, and then continuing to work 'by the sweat of thy face' to share of their surplus with others. I hope that I shall always be able to unselfishly share of my surplus with others and be confident that there is enough and to spare.

Congratulations, Dad. You can bless the sacrament

I remember one day when I was very young running up to my father after the Church meeting and congratulating him on being able to bless the sacrament!

The Ken and Philippa Powrie family, 1960

Clockwise from the left: Ken (father), Les, Jane, Tim, Judy, Ron and Philippa (mother) in the centre

Ken Powrie 1961

We were meeting in the Krugersdorp Town Hall at the time, so that would probably have been well before I was 9 years of age when we moved to the new Krugersdorp chapel in 1963. I would guess that I was quite a bit younger than 9 years, but have no idea how old I was. I have wondered if my father might have recorded the incident in his diary, but that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

It was clear that I esteemed those who could bless the sacrament.

My father was called in 1959 as president of the Transvaal District and so usually presiding at meetings and very often visiting other units around the district. I wonder if I might have been younger than 5 years, so before he was called, but I imagine that I was older than 5 years of age.

Many years later my father told me that one would not preside 'from the floor', so I wonder if the mission president might have been visiting, enabling my father to bless the sacrament, or else he presided from the sacrament table on that day if he had already been called to serve as district president.

Of course, I now see that the district president would direct others who direct others who direct the administration of the sacrament, but in my young mind, the ordinance of the sacrament was so sacred that I saw it as a very great honour for my father to be able to administer the sacrament of the Lord's supper.

I am very privileged on occasions to administer or pass the sacred emblems of the sacrament. It was a special experience recently to bless the sacrament together with my son Richard while my oldest grandson Joshua and his father Andrew passed the sacrament immediately after Josh was ordained as a deacon, and then to pass the sacrament together with Josh. I wish that more of my friends could participate in this holy ordinance.

We also have an unusual situation at present with the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are not able to meet together with the saints in sacrament meetings. Sally and I are blessed to be able to have the sacrament in our own home, with me blessing and passing it each week with authorisation of the bishop. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have encouraged those without a worthy priesthood officer who can administer the sacrament: “In unusual circumstances when the sacrament is not available, members can be comforted by studying the sacrament prayers and recommitting to live the covenants members have made and praying for the day they will receive it in person, properly administered by the priesthood.”

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Just minutes after posting this blog someone on the family sent a Facebook link by Russell M Nelson 

It was really meaningful for me to read about his experience of the sacrament with his wife in his home, and reading what many said who commented on his post.