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BYU ISTYLEA Disciple’sFaith byR.Brent andDonna JeanKinghornStudents Voice:Why doesn’t BYUIallow studentsto have pets.BYU I NursingProgram byYakshinee BoodooBeauty and theBlissBeing Beautiful andhappy is not impossible.

A Disciple's FaithR. Brent and Donna Jean KinghornBrigham Young University–IdahoDevotionalDecember 7, 2004The Special Musical number, Take My Life and Let ItBe Consecrated Unto Thee became our MissionaryHymn (after being taught to us by Elder and SisterHafen, who formerly presided over Ricks College).It describes a Missionary’s two years of discipleshipservice to the Lord.As mentioned, my wife and I had the privilege of serving our mission in Albania. For us, it was we think, thevery best mission to which we could have been called.When we received our call from President Thomas S.Monson, we knew little about Albania and I wouldguess that most of you don’t know much about it either.May I share a “thumbnail” sketch of what we learnedabout this country & its peopleIn the opening devotional message to the students lastAugust, before his call to the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Bednar taught the concept that BYU-I is a “DisciplePreparation Center” and that our focus must be to helpstudents’ develop a disciple’s faith that is focused in ourSavior, the Son of GodAs I think of the consecration of missionaries, I can’thelp but think of one of our elders who came into themission field leaving a terminally ill mother at home,with the anticipation that she probably wouldn’t bethere when he completed his mission. This elder lovedhis mother very much and promised her that he wouldbe a good missionary and complete his mission. Shortly after arriving in the mission field, he fell and brokehis foot. Fearing that he might have to return homefor it to heal and fearing this might break his promiseto his mom, he determined to not tell anybody aboutit and for two years he limped and hobbled on a footthat required surgery when he did return home. “Takemy feet and let them be, swift and beautiful for thee . . ” That’s a beautiful phrase and I believe it describeswhy the Prophet, Isaiah, said, “How beautiful upon themountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidingsof good things . . . ”My wife and I are deeply humbled to be here today tospeak to you. If you haven’t sensed it already, may Iassure you that a Mission President’s wife is the heartand soul of the mission. Certainly my wife was for ourmission in Albania.Elder Bednar then demonstrated this principle from thispulpit, by having the hall lights darkened (totally–and Ican assure you it got dark in here) except for a spot lightdirectly overhead that illuminated him alone at the pulpit. Then he stepped out of the beam into the darknessand said “As we walk to the edge of the light, I testifyI once was involved in arranging for the speakers forour devotionals. I know of the greatness of those who and promise that the light will move.” Brothers andSisters, seconds then passed in darkness and then thehave occupied this spot before me and of the preparation they made to say something of importance for overhead spotlight shifted and illuminated him. It was ayou. Please know that my wife and I are truly humbled very graphic demonstration of God’s instruction that wemust first take the step and then the light will follow.to be here today.

May I add my testimony of this by illustrating an example I witnessed in Albania of this great principle? Ateach of our zone conferences it was our practice to havethe district leaders stand a report on his districts’ serviceprojects for the previous weeks. At one particular zoneconference, a district leader came forward and then forhis report he asked his entire district to stand, face themissionaries, and then show them their hands. As theydid, we all quickly saw that they were all covered withblisters. Then he reported that their service project forthe past month had been to dig a well for one of thepoor member families in Elbasan who had no runningwater in their home. He then told of how the senior missionary couple there had seen their dilemma and foundsoon couldn’t throw the dirt up and over the edge.Then they devised a system to fill buckets tied to arope that was thrown over a log. When the bucketwas filled, they would hoist it up where the twoelders on top would take it and haul the dirt away todump. It was quite a project.You know, when you get down 15' or so, that is a deephole. At 16' they hit solid rock. That’s pretty discouraging when you have dug that long. How great is yourfaith at a time like this? The senior missionary wasdiscouraged, but not dismayed. After some searching,he found the one man in the little city who had a jackhammer. However, after the man broke two bits whiledrilling, he refused to go any further. How does thisaffect your faith? With a home made sledge hammerthey continued on chipping away using the sledgeand old railroad spikes.Brothers and Sisters, How is your faith when youget to 20' & you’re still in rock with no water? Howabout 25'? It was at about 26' when they came out onemorning and found the rock in the bottom of the wellwas wet. They broke through the rock that day, wentdown another foot, and the next day at 27 feet, theycame out to find a foot of water in their well.Brothers and Sisters, true disciples of Christ musthave faith to step into the darkness knowing the lightwill follow. They must be willing to dig down 27'knowing they’ll find water even when digging in solidrock. This Rock came from the depths of that well. Itis my constant reminder of the well and the faith ittook to dig it.that they were hauling water each day from a neighbora hundred yards or so away who had a well. After doingsome investigation, he found out how deep the well wasand he concluded that if they could dig down that far,they could dig a well for this family–and so they hadbegun.When the district leader reported that day, they weredown about 12 feet. Initially, when they had starteddigging the 6' feet in diameter well the digging wasrelatively easy. Two elders dug for a while and thentraded off with two others. As the hole got deeper, theyElder Bednar also explained that a disciple’s faith isa spiritual gift and that it dispels fear. Can I tell youhow I know that faith can dispel fear? To do so I wantto tell you about Agim Shehu. Agim’s wife, Aisha,joined the church a few years ago. Her husband wasa very spiritual man, but a stroke had left him partially paralyzed and he had been unable to leave hislittle fifth floor apartment for the past 6 ½ years. Ifirst heard of Agim from Sister Shehu when I mether one day coming into the mission office to enlargesome pages of the Book of Mormon for Agim to read.Following up on an invitation to visit Agim, SisterKinghorn and a couple of elders were able to officiallymeet him at their apartment a few days later. Brothersand Sisters, I wish I could adequately describe their

humble little apartment. Maybe I can’t do that, but I cantell you about the tremendous spirit that exists in hishome.It didn’t take long for me to determine that Agim hada beautiful testimony of the gospel. I told him so andI told him that he needed to be baptized. I rememberhis response. How he would love to, he said, but he justcouldn’t leave his apartment. With the stroke, his stepswere reduced to slow, difficult shuffle of only an inch orso per step and they lived on the 5th floor. I think SisterKinghorn wondered about my sanity at the time, but Itold Agim to look at those two big, strong elders–I said,they can carry you down. (They probably wonderedabout me, too.) Anyway, to make a long story, short, thenext week, Agim was out of his apartment for the firsttime in over 6 years–and in church. And he had done iton his own.My desire today has been to share with you someexamples of disciples’ faith which we saw during ourtime in Albania that you might have a greater desireto exercise your faith at this Disciple PreparationCenter to become a greater disciple of Christ wherever you might go in life. May I conclude by telling youof two people who I feel have become true disciplesof Christ–one an Albanian member and the other amissionary:Brother Arben Vogli is a young man with a pureheart and a great testimony. He gained his testimonythrough his extraordinary study of the Book of Mormon. When he joined the church in the early 1990's,there were few things translated in the Albanianlanguage, but the Spirit bore witness to him that whatthe missionaries were teaching him from the Book ofMormon was true. He had such a great desire to readthe Book of Mormon that he begged the missionariesWith faith in the Lord and in himself and in a greatto give him a copy, even if it were in English, so thatdesire to be baptized he had got up very early that nexthe could study it. Arben spoke no English, but whenSunday morning and 1" at a time, 1 step at a time, hehe received the book he obtained an Albanian/Englishhad gotten out of his apartment and down the fiveDictionary and set out to read the book on his own.flights of stairs on his own. The elders had been by hisImagine starting with the first word “I” and looking itside and had a taxi waiting for him. Two weeks of teach- up; then the next word “Nephi” and not finding it anding the discussions to him and he was baptized. Broththen finally figuring it out that it was “I’s” name. Anders and sisters, Agim has since received the Melchizedek then looking up “having” and not finding it. . . ButPriesthood and he and Aisha have been sealed together word by word he proceeded, writing the translatedin the Frankfurt, Germany Temple. I want you to know words in Albanian above English text.that a disciple of Christ must have faith to “step” into the When do you get tired of that and quit? A true disciunknown.ple doesn’t and neither did Arben. It took months toThe Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “Faith is the firstprinciple in revealed religion, and the foundation of allrighteousness.” He also taught that miracles, signs, giftsof the Spirit, a knowledge of God, and all good thingsare all the effects of faith. But he further explained thatfaith requires action and that there is no salvation in thegeneral principle of faith alone. Only when Jesus Christis the focal point is there faith in salvation (MormonDoctrine, pp. 261-4).Our Mission Scripture that all our missionaries memorized in Albanian and then recited at each Zone Conference along with Doctrine & Covenants 4 was 3rd Nephi5:13This scripture clarifies our role as disciples with a focuson the Savior and a promise of the salvation of everlasting or eternal life.get through 1st and 2nd Nephi, but by then he knewmany of the words and it started to go a little faster. Bythe mid point of the book, he was able to understandmuch of what he was reading and when he finishedthe book, not only did he have a testimony of it, buthe could speak English–not necessarily the King’sEnglish–in fact, it was a Book of Mormon English, butnonetheless he could speak and understand English.Arben is a sculptor. I submit that with his faith andhis testimony, he is disciple of Christ whose trip tothe temple to be sealed to his family was like a trip toheaven for him.Finally, let me tell you about a missionary who, Ibelieve, is a true disciple of Christ. Let me do so byreading a President’s Letter he wrote to me one weekduring his mission. I believe you will see why I feel hisdiscipleship is real.