2001
Of All Things
November 2001


“Of All Things,” New Era, Nov. 2001, 38

Of All Things

Test Your LDS I.Q.

  1. How many full-time missionaries does the Church have worldwide?

    1. Fewer than 50,000

    2. Between 50,000 and 60,000

    3. Between 60,000 and 70,000

    4. More than 70,000

  2. Which of the following places is not a location for one of the Church’s 15 missionary training centers?

    1. Hamilton, New Zealand

    2. Rome, Italy

    3. Bogotá, Colombia

    4. Preston, England

    5. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

  3. How many languages are taught at the Provo, Utah, MTC?

    1. Fewer than 35

    2. Between 35 and 55

    3. More than 55

Answers:

Service Bells

It’s almost that time of year again. Christmas brings excitement and time with family, but it also brings many opportunities to serve and bless others. Before those silver bells start ringing and you get too busy to think and plan, begin looking for opportunities to help someone else this Christmas. Giving of yourself is the best way to emulate the Savior and to remember why we celebrate His birth.

Information Upgrade

You have just received the most up-to-date guidance you can get for your life. What are you going to do with it? Even if you listened intently to general conference, it’s a good idea to review the words of Church leaders in this month’s Ensign.

You could set a goal to read one or two talks a week. That way, you’ll keep fresh in your mind all the things the prophet and Church leaders want you to do to make your life better. And you’ll discover things you missed when you heard it the first time.

“To have living prophets, seers, and revelators among us and not listen to them is no better than not having them at all,” says Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, of the Seventy. “Our sustaining support of prophets, seers, and revelators is not in the upraised hand alone, but more so in our courage, testimony, and faith to listen to, heed, and follow them” (Ensign, Nov. 2000, 41, 42).

For Example …

Leadership Tip: As members of the Church, we are sometimes the only window to the gospel of Christ that some people have. So it’s important to always set a good example.

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Let us as Latter-day Saints reach out to others not of our faith. Let us never act in a spirit of arrogance or with a holier-than-thou attitude. Rather, may we show love and respect and helpfulness toward them. We are greatly misunderstood, and I fear that much of it is of our own making. We can be more tolerant, more neighborly, more friendly, more of an example than we have been in the past” (Ensign, May 2000, 87).

Priesthood Power in Numbers

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve said, “Be worthy of the priesthood which you hold, brethren, and use it to bless your family. …

“Young men: Honor the Aaronic Priesthood. … Become fully active in the elders quorum when you are ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The brotherhood, the quorum instruction, and the opportunities to serve others will bless you and your family throughout your life” (Ensign, May 1999, 33, 34).

The Shaeffer family, of the Roseville California Stake, has five priesthood holders who hold five different priesthood offices in their home. They all try to follow Elder Hales’s instructions.

  • 1c, 2b, 3b (about 49 languages)

(Left to right) Ari, 13, is a deacon; Adam, 15, is a teacher; Zachary, 16, is a priest; Zane Jr. is an elder and just got home from a mission to Ecuador. Their dad, Zane Sr., is a high priest. The boys have one sister, Aubrie, who’s 18. She and her mom feel blessed to have these priesthood holders in their home.