5 Nevertheless,
after all this, I never have known much of the ways of the Lord, and his mysteries and
marvelous power. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, I
mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power; yea,
even in the preservation of the lives of this people.
6 Nevertheless,
I did harden my heart, for I was called many
times and I would not hear;
therefore I knew concerning these things, yet I would not know; therefore I
went on rebelling against God,
in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month,
which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges.
7 As I was
journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of
the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou
shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God;
for he has fasted many
days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou
shalt receive him
into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the
blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.
8 And it came
to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house.
And as I was going thither I found the man whom
the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was
this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.
9 And the
angel said unto me he is a man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it
was said by an angel of God.
10 And again,
I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say
unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to
make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma
hath dwelt at
my house.
11 For behold,
he hath blessed mine
house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my
kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us
according to the words which he spake.
We introduce ourselves as representatives of Jesus Christ,
and state that we would like to leave the Savior's Peace and Blessing upon
their home. We then take the names of family friends and kin of that person and
kneel down and offer a blessing. It is not just a prayer; it is a blessing
using the priesthood authority of God. This creates a spiritual environment where
the person can feel the Spirit testify of the truths that we share.
This is not all we have been doing. We have been sharing
this sacred blessing with members of the church after we eat in their home.
Saturday we knelt down in a home and offered the Savior’s
Peace and Blessing and I felt that I should give it. I haven’t given too many
of these so I was a bit nervous and doubted myself. I knew however that this
family needed this blessing and that I shouldn’t have such selfish thoughts as
to limit the power of God through me. I chased those thoughts of doubts away
and cleared my mind. I paused for a little bit and then began to speak. I do
not remember many of the words I spoke, but I do know that it was a simple
blessing. However, I testify that the Holy Ghost was putting the words I needed
to say into my mouth because the Spirit was so strong in the room. I began to
be warm all over, and felt as though my clothes would catch fire. I finished
the blessing and we all continued to kneel not saying anything, marveling in
our minds about what had just taken place. I opened my eyes and looked up to
see everyone in tears and the head of the house was staring at me. After a few
more moments of silence, in a whisper I asked what thoughts and feelings did
they feel as we left this blessing upon their home. The head of the house,
without hesitation, told me that it was as if the Savior himself was there
during the blessing and that His arms were encircling us. We all marveled again
together in silence. Then I asked the others and they said that the room felt crowded.
That was interesting because the wife works on family history. All in all it
was a miraculous experience, and I testify that I know that the Priesthood is
real and that men can once again, just like in times of old, call down the
powers of Heaven and bless mankind.
Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and letters. They truly
help me!
Love, Elder Gomm
No comments:
Post a Comment