It is Tuesday
afternoon on November 13, 2012.
Eighty-nine missionaries are gathered outside the Ecully chapel in Lyon
in front of trees with their late fall foliage.
They are from our Lyon, Geneva , Lausanne and Nice Zones. Our missionary leaders have done their best
to arrange us with a small opening in the middle so that we are ready for a
quick photo with important visitors that will arrive soon. Our visitors arrive in a large van. President Roney quickly sets up his camera on
a tripod while Elder Andersen, an apostle of the Lord and his wife, Sister
Roney and Elder Kearon (2nd counselor from the area presidency from
England) step into the middle of the throng of missionaries. I find myself standing right next to Elder
Andersen with Sister Jeppson at my side.
President Roney rushes to his wife’s side and the remote camera snaps
several pictures. The large group
disbands and enters the building according to a plan.
Elder Andersen, Elder
Kearon, and seven members of stake presidencies from Lyon, Nice and Lausanne
have lined up to greet and shake hands with each missionary as they enter the
chapel. After everyone is seated a
choir of missionaries with Sister Kofoed from Bountiful as a soloist set the
spiritual tone for the rest of the meeting when they sing Merveilleux l’amour
(I Stand All Amazed). The meeting is
conducted in English with translation into French though headsets. Sister Roney shares some insights that she
learned while reading the Book of Mormon again recently as a missionary. President Roney speaks about faith and trust
in Christ. Elder Kearon discusses the
importance of the power of the spirit.
Sister Andersen relates experiences relating to her husband’s calling as
a mission president and later in 2009 as an apostle. Elder Andersen concludes the meeting by
describing his calling as an apostle, teaching
about the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:2, sharing insights
about sharing the gospel, and teaching and testifying about Jesus Christ.
I cannot adequately
describe the depth of feeling when an apostle of the Lord testifies of the
Savior, and you know that he really is a special witness of the Savior because
he testifies and witnesses in such a profound and inspiring way that you know
that he knows that the Savior lives and has been blessed with sacred
experiences in acquiring that knowledge.
At the end of his testimony he says to the congregation, “I love
you”. When I respond back like the
others and say “We love you”, the spirit is very strong as I receive a personal
witness that Neil A. Anderson is indeed an apostle of the Lord, a prophet, seer
and revelator.
That evening we
travel from the church by bus, metro and tram with other missionaries to a
large assembly hall where hundreds of members from the Lyon area gather to hear
Elder Andersen speak. We are very
pleased when our amie (friend), Hermine from Gabon, comes to the meeting and we
have the blessing of sharing the experience with her of hearing an apostle of
the Lord speak. This time the meeting is
conducted in French with translation into English. The Lyon stake president conducts the meeting
and also shares experiences with Elder and Sister Andersen as a young single
adult in Bordeaux twenty years ago while Elder Andersen served as a mission
president. Elder Kearon requires a
translator as he speaks about the symbol of roses. Sister Andersen speaks in French and shares
experiences and teaches about tithing.
Elder Andersen speaks in French about marriage and the family and the
theme taken from the New Testament, “I was blind, now I can see”. He teaches and testifies about the Savior and
bestows an apostolic blessing on the audience.
After the meeting he graciously stays to shake hands with the members
and amis of the church including our amie, Hermine. We hear later that Elder Andersen traveled to
give blessings to two sick children in hospitals after leaving the
meeting. We return home knowing that we
have been blessed with a memorable, life changing experience.
NOS PETITS-ENFANTS
During the April 2010
conference, Elder Andersen gave a talk with the title, “Tell Me the Stories of
Jesus”. He quoted words from the Primary
song: Tell me the stories of Jesus I
love to hear, Things I would ask him to tell me if he were here. Then he talked about experiences of Jesus
Christ just like he did with us during our Tuesday meetings. I encourage you to read this talk again and
encourage your parents to use it as a theme for a home evening lesson. Grandma and Grandpa are reading a special book
about Jesus: Jesus the Christ by a
former apostle, James E. Talmage. We
encourage everyone at the right age level to understand it to read or reread
this marvelous book.
When reading and
being taught about the stories of Jesus, you probably remember stories that
include his apostles like Peter, James and John. I believe that even though our current
apostles including Elder Andersen were not with Jesus in Galilee and Jerusalem,
they are so close to him through the sacred and spiritual experiences of their
ministry that their desire to serve, their spiritual strength, their priesthood
power and their testimonies of the Savior are just as strong as the ancient
apostles.
