President Alba's Message

President Alba

“I STAND MY POST”

THE POWER OF OBEDIENCE AND REPENTANCE

SISTER ALBA, MARCH 2ND 2014

Our family went on vacation to Disney World one Spring Break. All 6 of the children where still at home and ranged in age from 16 down to 4 years old. This was before the time when everyone had a cell phone so if someone got separated a Disney World. …Well, they were separated for who knows how long. As the day wore on the 3 older kids wanted to go back to some of the big rides so we decided that President Alba would take the older kids and go one direction and I would take the 3 youngest ages 9, 7 and 4 and go the other. We planned a time and a place to meet later. The two youngest Kelsey and Kaitlin had slipped into the restroom while we were making the plans standing right outside waiting for them. The girls were still in the restroom and I was waiting with Tristan my 9 yr. old when I realized that I had given Rene’ the wrong information as to where to meet. I could see his black round head disappearing into the crowds so I turned to Tristan and said, “Tristan, I have to go and catch dad… I want you to stand exactly where you are, keep you eyes on the door, grab hold of you sisters the moment they come out and do not move until I return…. do you understand??? He looked me right in the eye and answered with total determination…. “I STAND MY POST” !!

When I returned just a few minutes later, there he was standing as straight and tall as he could be as if his feet had been nailed to the pavement, had both of his sisters with him…each one in a hammer lock…. in exactly the same place I had left him. He hadn’t wavered or moved an inch.

“ I STAND MY POST”. How I love that phrase and all that it implies. I have no idea where Tristan came up with it that day. I had not ever heard him use it before and I don’t believe we used it in our daily life. But he had gotten the call to action, understood it clearly and had determined to be completely obedient to it. He was ‘all in’. And “HE STOOD HIS POST”. 

I smile now thinking of my son standing so strong, true and immoveable. And he has lived all his life that way. He is still “STANDING HIS POST”

Elders and Sisters are we standing ours? 

We have received a ‘call to action’ from God Himself. We have all accepted the call to serve as representatives of His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no higher call. 

So I ask now, do you clearly understand your call and are you determined to be completely obedient in it? Will you “STAND YOUR POST”? Will you be strong, true and immoveable? Will you choose to the higher path? Will you nail your shoes to the pavement of righteousness and not budge even an inch? 

OBEDIENCE. I love that word. It is beauty. It is freedom. It is confidence. It is strength from God. It is blessings from heaven that cannot be withheld. But it is not easy. 

Why is it so hard if this is what God asks us to do? There are many reasons but the most important are these and we all know them.

1. Agency: There must be opposition in all things or there would be no choice to make.

2. The natural man: We all have our personal weaknesses and temptations and our journey here on earth is one of ‘overcoming’.

3. Satan: Satan has been given the power on earth to tempt us, try us and to hit upon our weaknesses. His demons are fighting for each one of us. His whole desire is to do destruction to the kingdom of God and especially…His servants. You and me.

As I mentioned on the phone call, this mission is under siege. Of course, it is because this is the best mission in the world. Here in our mission we have the best and the brightest missionaries on the earth today… Here in our mission we have been given much. Here in our mission we have more faith, knowledge, and love. Here in our mission we have been asked to ‘lead the world’. So of course Satan is aware and determined to send his army of demons to stir us up to do evil…. he wants to see us fail.

Elders and Sisters, we must determine each and every one of us that this will not happen. Each one of us needs to pray for strength and say ‘I shall not fail, I shall not falter’. “I STAND MY POST”!

But how do we do it??

That, Elders and Sisters is easily answered. We know what we need to do. It has been clearly laid out for us through the scriptures and prophets…but sometimes we make mistakes …we all do.

What then? That is easily answered also.

The atonement of Jesus Christ will give us purity and make us free from whatever we have done… whatever sin we have committed will be forgiven. Today I ask you to take stock. Today I ask each and every one of us to look inward and determine to remove the darkness if there is anything amiss. Do not wait another day in sin. Give it up. Once again we will be filled with light and joy and our burden of sin will be removed from us after repentance.

Repentance is a beautiful, necessary and sometimes difficult process that is available to everyone and allows us all to be clean… every wit.

Here are the steps… they all need to be done or the repentance is not complete.

1. Acknowledgement of the sin

2. The feeling of Godly sorrow… (Not just disappointed or sad at getting caught)

3. Confession: Go to God in prayer …. or to President Alba if needed while here on your mission

4. Make restitution… ask forgiveness with all you have effected or offended… make recompense

5. Go and sin no more…change yourselves

Let us lift our eyes to heaven and together we will make one another stronger and we will stand against the evil one…and win. Let us remember that in the heavens there are more for us than against us. Let us understand that God has a great plan for this mission. Let us believe in it and determine to do it. Let us each say with full heart and determination…. “I STAND."