Melvin Volkman

It is quite possible that this story has been documented before but I am not sure when, where, or by whom.  So I will tell  it, even though it is second hand.  This is how my Mother related the story to me.

My Great-Great-Grandmother Flora Cole Woody (my mother's mother's mother's mother) was introduced to the Gospel and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1956 when she was 75 years old.  She then sent the missionaries to her children and grand children, but little came from that for about 5 years, shortly after she had passed away.

Melvin Raymond Volkman
My Grandpa

In 1960, my Grandparents were living in North Seattle (now Shoreline), Washington.  The missionaries had visited them, but they were turned away.  My Grandpa was out of work and feeling desperate.  One night, he went into the bathroom and locked the door (probably the only place he could be assured of privacy).  He knelt and prayed for help: he needed a job.  That night the missionaries knocked on the door.  Naturally they were not what was expected and Grandpa slammed the door.  A few weeks later, Grandpa was again feeling desperate.  He needed a job to provide for his young family.  Again he entered the bathroom and prayed for help.  Again the missionaries came to the door.  Again they were sent away.  A few more weeks passed.  He still had not found work and decided to pray again.  He locked the bathroom door and pleaded for help.  Once more the missionaries knocked on the door.  As he was about to slam the door once more, he heard "If you send them away this time, they will not come back."

Instead he invited them in.  He, my grandmother, mother, and her brother, listened to the discussions about the Restored Gospel.  They were baptized on April 1st, 1961.  Grandpa was always faithful.  My grandmother and my uncle stopped attending church for a few years, but Grandpa was stalwart.  He was the pillar of strength that my mother needed during her teen years as they attended church together.  Later, Grandma and Grandpa were sealed together.  Grandpa loved serving in the temple and did so weekly until Grandpa became ill.  He was her sole care-giver for 5 years until she died 10 years ago.  That is when my parents began living with him to help him - he was quite exhausted from his efforts.  Not long after that mom became ill.  Grandpa outlived her, he outlived his 4 siblings.  My father has been taking care of Grandpa for the last few years.  I learned this morning that he passed away Thanksgiving night, quite peacefully at the age of 97.

I love Grandpa, he is such a funny guy.  The typical old farmer type that simply doesn't know when to stop.  He could make anything grow.  Just stick a stick in the ground and it would grow for him.  Doesn't seem to feel pain.  When Grandpa's father was nearing his time to go, he called for Grandpa.  "Sonny, help me.  You can help me."  Grandpa didn't know what to do, but he father kept asking.  Grandpa offered to give him a priesthood blessing.  "Yes, that is it." Grandpa gave him a blessing and he passed away within a week.  Grandpa was able to give several blessings releasing people from life.  It became quite a joke.  "Don't let Grandpa Volkman give you a blessing, it could kill you." :-)  But he has wanted to go for a long time: rather jealous of anyone who beat him to it.  But being the man he was, he just kept on keeping on.

But now he is back with his parents, his siblings, his wife, my mother.  What a happy time they are having.  I think I am rather jealous myself.

So in honor of this fabulous man, I am going to have an evening of Chocolate Indulgence.  (He could never have enough chocolate)  This is an end to an era.

Conference Time

General Conference was so good this time.  I think I say that every time - probably because I need it.  Every Six months seem to be just about perfect; just when I am needing that spiritual boost and recharge.

I was a little nervous about how it would go.  We usually watch it at home, online.  I watch it and catch as much as I can while kids run around and get what ever they get out of it and Jonny sleeps through the first sessions and may or may not catch any of the rest.

This time we don't have high speed internet, so our only option is going to the church to watch it. Things to consider:

• I knew I wanted to go to all the sessions (there are 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday with the Priesthood session on Saturday evening that I do not attend).  
• When we were kids we listened to the sessions on the broadband radio and went to the church for Sunday afternoon. 
• I knew Jonny would not want to go out of his way to attend.

So I came up with a plan.
I would attend all; we would all attend the Sunday Afternoon; I would take Joshua with me and one other child per session.  Jonny and Steven could go to the Priesthood session.  That way they would all get at least two.  Jonny signed off on this plan.

Then I improved it. (add bribery) I got some special treats to bring for conference.  This is special because I do not bring treats to church and because they are things I don't usually get.  (cheese sticks, fruit snacks, fishy crackers and candy corn.)  Consequentially they exceeded my expectations.

Saturday morning I had Josh, Becca, Daniel, and Isaac.  Afternoon I had Steven and Josh.  Sunday morning I had Josh, Becca and Daniel (apparently Isaac was planning on it too but he wasn't ready at the time, and I didn't realize he was wanting to go.  I left without him.  He was terribly sad and I had to ask his forgiveness which he gave even though he was still sad.)  Then we all went Sunday afternoon.  As I expected they were having a hard time sitting by Sunday afternoon, but they did well.

I would not have asked that much of them, but we all got more out of it than we usually do.

The announcements about the age changes for missionaries and a new curriculum for youth are exciting.  The reaction to the age change was fun to watch.  The more I look at the new curriculum: Come and Follow Me, the more excited I become.  The Lord is indeed hastening his work.  I feel strongly that more evidence of this hastening will be coming in the next few years.

What a wonderful time to be a part of the Lord's work.  I am inspired, re-energized  and more committed to do my part and be a better disciple.

God is the Gardner

I have liked and respected my bishop.  Today he became my hero.

Today was ward conference.  In his address, the bishop shared the story originally told by Elder Hugh B Brown of the Allegory of the Currant Bush.  I will summarize, but the original is much better.

When he was young Elder Brown bought an old run down farm.  On the farm was a current bush.  It was over 6 feet high and going all to wood.  So he pruned it down till it was a little clump of stumps.  As he looked at the bush he thought he heard it say, "How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me, because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.” He responded, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.”

Time passed.  Elder Brown had a successful career in the Canadian Air Force and would soon achieve the rank of General.  But when the time came he was told he would not be promoted.  He would be assigned as a training officer.  He soon learned that the reason he had not received the promotion was because he was a Mormon.  He had given years for this and all he had worked for would not now happen.  He was brokenhearted.  He said, “How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?”

Then he heard a voice, his own voice.  It said, "I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do." He was humbled and prayed for forgiveness.  Now as years have passed he can see the wisdom of the Gardner.

As I heard my bishop share this story today I cried.  I have heard the story before, but it meant more today.  For 20 plus years my bishop has served as a firefighter.  The last 15 he has served as the city's Fire Chief.  He has given time and love to this position.  He is a hero to many.  A week and a half ago, the mayor, just two weeks after taking office, fired the city's fire chief, police chief, city manager and city attorney.  No explanation has been given.  The Mayor was elected on a platform of change and apparently wanted to change things.

So after 20 dedicated years, just months short of possible retirement, he is kicked out.  In his very next sacrament meeting address, the bishop shares this story with a humble heart.  Without talking about his disappointment and shock directly, he manages to share his feelings and to encourage the rest of us to trust Heavenly Father, even when we don't understand the reasons.

What a wonderful man.  He has been a hero to many for years.  Today I honor him and his wonderful example.  He is my hero.

Blessings that come from making and keeping Covenants

I had the opportunity to give a talk in church today. I thought I would share it here.

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If I want to be able to play the piano beautifully, a requirement and a commitment is accompanied with it: I have to practice. I will not be able to play beautifully without practice. I could complain, I could rebel and ask why is practice a requirement. But my rebelling doesn’t change the fact that if I want to play beautifully, I have to practice faithfully.

Some view God as a one making unreasonable demands. He gives us lists of rules with a bunch of “Thou shalt this and thou shalt not that.” They become afraid that if they agree to follow all these rules, they lose their identity, their free will and become drones. If God really loved us why would He do that to us?

But God is not throwing down rules and demands in the name of commandments. Instead he is a Loving Heavenly Father who wants us to be happy. He knows what will make us happy. So he gives us commandments and says, “If you want to be happy, this is what it takes.” If you want to play the piano… This is what it takes.

If we are willing to follow these commandments, He is willing to go one step farther and put it in writing, so to say. He asks us to make covenants with Him. If we promise to make and keep covenants, than He will bless us. A covenant is a promise we make with our Heavenly Father.

Available evidence suggests that, at least at one point, before we came to earth, we liked the idea of making and living all these covenants. We thought it was just, and WELL worth the effort. When the Lord presented His plan, we shouted for joy. Are we still shouting for joy or do our covenants seem more like obligations?

President Eyring said "The fruit of keeping covenants is the companionship of the Holy Ghost and an increase in the power to love. That happens because of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change our very natures. We are eyewitnesses of that miracle of greater spiritual power coming to those who accept covenants and keep commandments."

The Lord gives us Covenants and Commandments as an excuse to bless us. Ok, maybe not an excuse. I doubt the Lord needs and excuse to do anything, but he does follow eternal laws. Not because he has to, he is God after all, but because he Won’t break those laws, he is God after all; HE is perfect. But in order for us to receive the blessing we must be obedient to the law upon which it is predicated. But as soon as we are obedient, the Lord sends those blessings.

The Lord invites us to make many covenants as part of The New and Everlasting Covenant. That covenant is The Gospel covenant. Robert J. Matthews explained that The purpose of the gospel is to educate, perfect, and sanctify man, lifting him to the status of a god in celestial glory. A person cannot lift himself or herself by individual effort alone but must be lifted by the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. This power does not operate in its fullness unless one is wholeheartedly willing to be so lifted.

Did you catch that? Yes we need the atonement, but the atonement won’t work by itself. WE have to be willing; wholeheartedly willing. The gospel helps us become wholeheartedly willing to be so lifted by the atonement.

That is why the Lord asks us to make covenants. He so wants us to be like Him. What can be more fabulous than that? When I think of becoming like my Father in Heaven, I shudder: I have such a very long way to go. I need all the help I can get. I want and need the direction given by the Gospel Covenant.

Through revelation we can learn what that lofty goal will entail. Heavenly Father has asked us to be baptized. In doing so we covenant to bear one another’s burdens, to strengthen and serve each other, to share the gospel with others. We covenant to take the Lord’s name upon us. The Lord promises us that we will always have His spirit to be with us. What a wonderful blessing. This covenant is so important that Heavenly Father allows us to renew it weekly by taking the sacrament.

In the temple we make covenants and receive ordinances. In the temples, the Lord teaches us what we need to do to return to Him. We receive further guidance, understandings, and strength to endure. Heavenly Father loves us so much He asks that we not enter the temple and make these covenants until we are spiritually mature to do so. But the temples are not exclusive. Heavenly Father wants all of His children to come to the temple. Everything in the church is intended to guide us to the temple. That is why we send missionaries around the world. The classes and lessons, the hymns we sing, the activities all are designed to strengthen and prepare us to enter the temple and receive blessings from the Lord. The purpose of Priesthood quorums, Relief Society, Sunday School, Primary, Young women and young men’s, is to prepare Gods children to make and keep sacred covenants in the temple.

The brethren have the additional calling to make covenants as holders of the priesthood of God. Many outside the church and some inside do not understand why only the brethren are allowed to hold the priesthood.

Sister Julie B Beck. General Relief Society President.
"[Women] have and live with an inseparable connection to priesthood. The prophet Joseph Smith put the sisters in a position to receive all the gifts, blessings and privileges of the priesthood.
We need never confuse the idea of those who hold the priesthood in trust, with the priesthood. The priesthood is Gods Power. It is His power to create, to bless, to lead, to serve as He does. The priesthood duty of every righteous man is to qualify for the blessing of holding that priesthood in trust for the Lord, so that he can bless his family and those around him. And I will say the priesthood duty of sisters is to create life, to nurture it, to prepare it for covenants with the Lord.
Don’t confuse the power with the keys and offices of the priesthood. God’s power is limitless, and it is shared with those who make and keep covenants. Too much is said and misunderstood about what the brothers have and the sisters do not have. This is Satan’s way of confusing both men and women so that neither understands what they really have.
Sisters and brothers, each have every ordinance, every gift, and every blessing available to them to get back to our Father in Heaven, and no one, not male or female is left outside of those blessings to qualify for exaltation. There is a unity in the council and the covenant that is required to get there. Neither the man nor the woman can ascend without the other. We are inseparably connected in that way."

Both men and women make priesthood covenants that help them fill their divine callings.

The gospel covenant includes paying our tithes and offerings: the windows of heaven are opened. When we live the word of wisdom, we are blessed with strength and that the destroying angels will pass us by. We covenant to teach our children the gospel. This blesses homes and our own eternal posterity. We covenant to serve each other and strengthening each other bringing us happiness and peace.

Bonnie D. Parkin, former Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency told a story of a young woman named Katie. While at girls camp Katie felt angry and abandoned because of overwhelming family problems. Her testimony teetered, in serious jeopardy. But a concerned leader, in an effort to live up to his holy calling, wrote Katie a note saying, “I love you. I believe in you. You have a testimony, because I have heard you bear it in these ways.” Then he listed those ways. The note arrived at the right time; Katie was strengthened to live her covenants because someone else strived to live his."

What impressed me in this story was the man who must have received a prompting and followed it. Have you ever thought of following a prompting as a requirement of living your covenants? It is. Following those promptings can bring blessings to you and those around you. Several years ago I had a prompting. There was a family in our ward; their youngest son had been in my primary class. They were young in the gospel. I gathered that they were struggling in their testimony. Then several weeks went by and they did not come to church. I had the thought that I could send them a simple note telling them that I missed them at church and how much I enjoyed their son in my class. In came the excuses. I have always been rather shy; initiating a conversation is still difficult for me. And notes for some reason are just “one more thing.” “No, someone else, who knows them better will do it.” Soon it seemed unimportant. I never sent the note. To my knowledge, they never returned to church. I cannot tell you how much this pains me. That boy would probably be about 17 now; his sister about 20. Very possibly my inaction to live my covenant to strengthen the weary will affect generations.

Along the way as part of our covenants, the Lord gives us callings. Callings are not just opportunities to serve, they are opportunities to see blessings flow from Heaven. Some callings are temporary callings, some are not. Let me share some of my callings with you. Jonny, Steven, Isaac, Daniel, Rebecca, Joshua, neighbor, visiting teacher, nursery leader. As we strive to fulfill our callings we are entitled to personal revelation. What an amazing blessing this is. Not only can I serve my brothers and sisters better, but I become more like my Father in Heaven.

So you see, when I was asked to speak on the blessings that come from making and keeping covenants, I was a tad bit overwhelmed. The blessings are endless, they are eternal; the blessings NEVER end. They are the way to true happiness, to eternal life with our Father in Heaven, with our Savior, with our families. Eternal blessings and joy.

President Eyring taught that "Each of us who have made covenants with God face challenges unique to us. But each of us shares some common assurances. Our Heavenly Father knows us and our circumstances and even what faces us in the future. His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, has suffered and paid for our sins and those of all the people we will ever meet. He has perfect understanding of the feelings, the suffering, the trials, and the needs of every individual. Because of that, a way will be prepared for us to keep our covenants, however difficult that may now appear, if we go forward in faith."

We can keep our covenants; the Lord will help us, show us how, and strengthen us, so that we can. He will not force us, but He continually invites us. He is making the path as clear as possible so that we can become so much more than what we are.

Oh, Brothers and Sisters, let us keep our covenants. Let’s find real joy. Our Savior could return today if WE were ready for Him too. We are really the ones He is waiting for. We need be worthy of living in His presence. Let us find joy in keeping our covenants.

I know this gospel is true. The gospel and all of its principles, ordinances, and covenants were restored by a prophet of God. Through the power of God, we have The Book of Mormon; it testifies of our Savior. I know this through every part of my being. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.