Church Talk

Hey Guys - I had to talk in church today and I thought about you all as I wrote it.

Telephone Line Through Time

25 Sept 2011

Sacrament Talk

Stewart Ward, Mesa, AZ

My parents were surprised the night I was born. Instead of the boy they had anticipated out came another girl, their third. They had picked out the name Marvin Terrell Byrnes but because I wasn’t a boy I was simply called “the baby” for four days before my mom settled on Maren Annette. She came across this name while doing family history. I had heard stories of Maren all my life and felt a close kinship to this Scandinavian pioneer.

Maren was born in Norway in 1846, her father died at sea when she was 14 years old. Only 3 years later her mother and 2 sisters met mormon missionaries and were baptized and immigrated to America.

An except from her history reads:

“Arriving at New Orleans, after some delay, then went by steam boat up the Mississippi River to Keokuk, Iowa.  Inconsiderate of the Mormon Immigrants, if a child fell into the Mississippi River, the crew would not stop the boat to pick it up from the churning waters but would steam on up the river with no concern.

           

After some delay, their company was fitted out with wagons drawn by Ox Teams and the journey across the plains was begun.  Maren Annette walked the entire distance to Utah in order that her semi-invalid mother might have a place in the wagon and her younger sisters ride a part of the time.  Not much is known of this long journey overland to Utah, but the writer has heard her say that when each day ended it was her assignment to gather her apron full of buffalo “chips” to be used for fuel in cooking the meals.”

I love this story. To me her life is heroic. Her history includes horrific tales of the Black Hawk Indian war, marriage to a husband who left to serve a 2 year mission in Demark 7 days before his son was born leaving her with several small children as well. Maren Annette not only raised her own children but was surrogate mother to several who were orphaned through disease, death, and separation. Maren Annette had to struggle to support her family but lived a full and rich life. I’m amazed at this great lady.

But my topic today isn’t about pioneers or motherhood, its about “how scriptures bless our lives’

Bare with me – we’ve almost made the connection.

One of my favorite secular songs has the following lyrics

“And here's a young girl on a kind of a telephone line through time

And the voice at the other end comes like a long lost friend”

Maren Annette lived 168 years ago. Her story has connected her to me and I’ve found a long lost friend. She has become one of my heroes. But had I not been related to her – I probably wouldn’t know her story.

Another one of my heroes lived even longer ago, and I have his history available to me day or night on my smart phone and in a sacred book that sits next to my bed. He has a short history to share but It comes clearer then any telephone line through time and speaks directly to my soul. I’m talking about Enos.

I love Enos – I know we were friends before this life. He writes:

(Read Enos 1:2-5)

I can sympathize with Enos. I too have wrestled in my spirit and sought forgiveness for my transgressions. This exact chapter brought me to repentance and I did hear a voice in my mind telling me “Maren, thy sins are forgiven you” and I cried to the Lord for direction of what to do with my life. The lord had similar words for me – go and serve a mission.

These scriptures are real. They are lasting and true testaments of real people who struggled much the same way do today. They agonized over their children, siblings, and governments headed to destruction. They sought after good things and protected their families from the evil influences of the destroyer. They loved deeply and if we need to find long lost fiends we don’t have to look any farther then this book. We have it like ‘a telephone line through time’ filled with history that will touch our very core.

The scriptures were written for us, in our time, as a gift from our father whose plan is to reunite his family at the end of this life. One great big family reunion, wont that be great?

I say these things in the name of my savior Jesus Christ, Amen.