Sacrament Meeting Talk, Rochester 2nd Ward, August 2022
I would like to share an experience that I had about 3 years ago.
I was in Tallinn, Estonia. For those of you who might not remember where Estonia is, on one side, down the Baltic coast a bit, is Germany. On the other side, just across the river, is Russia, St Petersburg, Russia.
While there, we went on a food tour which was a walking tour and there were just three people which made it nice, and we could chat a bit. We went to several restaurants and had samples of the local foods. Among other things, we had a glass of sea buckthorn juice and smorrebrod with raw fish on top. We also went to an Eastern European prize-winning chocolate factory. Of all the things we tried, hands down, the chocolate was the best.
When we had finished the tour, we ended up on the opposite side of Tallinn from where we were to be picked up. Our guide asked us if we minded walking through the park as that was the shortest and fastest route back. We said no problem. The park was somewhat sparse, just a few trees down the way on our right and where we were, was a small hill with well-kept grass.
We felt isolated there, so I guess we felt somewhat empowered to ask our guide a few questions.
The first question we asked was, is it difficult to live in Estonia considering the neighbors? She said living here is always difficult. It has been difficult and dangerous for a very long time. Estonia is a republic. We have a history of wars around us, not just decades but centuries of wars. This includes many invasions and occupations of our country and basically destroys our way of life. It has not been just difficult, but it can be extremely dangerous and sometimes downright frightening. She said, “I have lived here in Estonia all my life so to me it has just become a way of life.” Then she added…
There are three things we Must remember, ALWAYS. Twenty-four/seven.
- We must always be aware of where we are,
- Who we are with,
- What is being said.
Earlier, she had told us that she had participated in the Olympic games, gone to college, and later got a job and married. They have 2 pre-teenage boys.
My heart just ached for her because of the way they must live. I said, “Why don’t you and your family move to somewhere where you will be safer?” I guess that was a spur of the moment and dumb question.
But what she said then though really blew me away! She stopped walking turned to looked at us and said, “My family, my, my ancestors have lived here on this very soil, for as far back in time as history was recorded. This is my country! This is my home! Where else would I want to be????”
I have thought a lot about what she said, and I think about how blessed we are living here in America. For me, it’s the greatest country on the planet earth!!
As the ancient and the modern-day prophets have said we will have difficult and dangerous times that will get worse rather than better.
We have difficulties–in some places and times, extreme difficulties. There is great unrest, and so much division. Sometimes and in some places, it is very dangerous and downright frightening!
But I think that there are three things that we MUST remember ALWAYS, twenty-four/seven. They are:
- Jesus Christ lives, He is our maker and our redeemer.
- We MUST be as little children and put All of our faith and trust in Him.
- He has asked us to stay on the straight and narrow path that will lead us back to Him.
Where else would we want to be???