Follow President Paternoster; He Knows the Way

Words cannot express the sweet feeling of the spirit that was felt by all at our recent Stake Conference as the Stake President entered the Chapel to a standing audience while the primary children joyfully sang the words:
"Follow President Paternoster, follow President Paternoster,
follow President Paternoster; don't go astray.
Follow President Paternoster, follow President Paternoster,
follow President Paternoster; he knows the way."

Following local and General Authorities is the one sure path of happiness and safety.  If there is one thing that saddens a Stake President it is when he sees members reap the disappointment and despair that could so easily have been avoided had they obediently heeded his loving counsel in the first place.  Today we will discuss the important topic of following the counsel of the brethren to have a one year supply of food storage.

When I asked the O'Donoghues, a newly wed couple who are both full time students, to prayerfully consider cutting off their Internet service so that they could afford to buy a one year supply of wheat and honey they came back to me and said they didn’t have the space for all that food in their rented bedroom.  They also claimed they “needed” the Internet for school work.  I haven’t heard from them since telling them about how Sister Paternoster used to make lovely cushions and pillows filled with wheat and how back in our day we got through school just fine using encyclopedias. 

Obeying the Lord by obeying priesthood leaders often takes great sacrifice.  When the famines, storms and pestilences of the last days come upon us I fear that prayer alone may not be sufficient to save the O'Donoghues.    

There are those even in the Church who murmur and even mock such counsel, but with the help of this month’s Ensign such murmurings will surely be put to silence.  In the article entitled *“Follow the Prophet” Elder Bennett of the Seventy discusses how when he and his new bride were students the prophet at the time counseled all families to have a one year supply of food. 

We learn from the article that the Bennett’s had very little money but they did have one unnecessary possession that could be sold – an engagement ring.  Please carefully consider what Elder Bennett had to say about that time in their lives:

    

"Unbeknownst to each other, both of us were thinking about how to start home storage for our family. To obey the counsel of that time, we needed to start acquiring a year’s supply of food. But how were we supposed to do it? We were students—and would be for years to come—and didn’t have a lot of money. But how was I supposed to ask Shelley to do that? I had just given her the ring. What would she think about my asking her to sell it so we could buy some oats and flour and rice?"

Elder Bennett goes on to say “I was so grateful for her willingness to make such a sacrifice to follow the prophet…..We became accustomed to lugging buckets of wheat from apartment to apartment, house to house, and city to city”.

My favourite quote from the article that shows the true spirit of obedience to Church leaders is as follows:“An engagement ring usually represents a commitment.  But for my wife and me, not having an engagement ring represented our commitment to the Lord and His prophets.”

Brothers and Sisters let us not be like the heathens who put their trust in men, for the scriptures plainly tell us: "I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm." (2 Nephi 4:34)

Please take some time this week to consider some of the sacrifices you might make to follow the loving and inspired counsel of your Church leaders.

Ever your servant,

President Paternoster

*http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/03/follow-the-prophet?lang=eng