Comments:
December 24, 2008
To Our Dear Elders and Sisters,
We send you our sincere and heart-felt good wishes for a blessed Christmas season. We address you as our Elders and Sisters because you still are! And we hope that you are all – every one of you – still faithful to the testimonies you had as missionaries, and to the covenants you have made, both before and since your great experience in the ABM. We sincerely hope you have nourished your faith by continuous service in the Lord’s Church, and in service to your fellow men. We hope especially that you are in a happy, devoted and absolutely faithful relationship with the most important people in your world – your spouses and your children. We hope you are “steadfast and immoveable” as disciples of the Savior, and that you are good “examples of the believers.”
That sounds like a tall order, but none of it is beyond the power of any of you. We know there have been a few unresolvable marital problems, for which we feel very sad. Yet each of you, in every situation, can make sure that you yourselves do everything possible to act honorably. The Lord will always bless you when you do your best.
The unsteady economic situation all over the world reminds us that we are “coming down the stretch” toward the Second Coming of the Savior. We remind you that the faithful need not fear. Many times we are promised in The Book of Mormon that if we keep the Lord’s commandments we will prosper in the land. With confidence I can promise you that if you strictly keep the commandments and faithfully follow the Prophet you will feel the power of His Spirit over you. Those who become too wise and too sophisticated to do so will reap a sorrowful reward. But we hope every one of “our” missionaries will follow the steady path towards God’s Kingdom!
We love you and pray for you and your families. We appreciate the many cards and letters you have sent. May you have rich happiness this Christmas, and each day going forward!
Sincerely,
President and Sister Belliston
Angus H. Belliston, 76, Australia Brisbane Mission; Pleasant View 4th Ward, Provo Utah Edgemont South Stake; branch president's counselor at Provo MTC; former counc. 3 temple presidencies, regional representative, stake president and counselor, bishop, and Scoutmaster; bank senior vice president; degree in banking and finance from the University of Utah; born in Nephi, Utah, to Albert Henry and Elsie Elizabeth Maughan Belliston; married Marcelle Greenhalgh (dec.), then Ruth Eleanor (Jenny) Jones, 11 children. She is a former stake Relief Society president, stake Young Women president's counselor, Relief Society president, Young Women president, Primary president, and Sunday School teacher; received degree in dental hygiene from the University of Oregon Dental School; born in Nephi, Utah, to Preston Lunt and Helen Chloe Bailey Jones. |
