Over the summer my husband and I had a great opportunity to go to some workshops on a husband/wife retreat with his work. In one of our workshops we were blessed to hear from Elder Yoshihiku Kicuchi. He is such a spiritual holy man that was a great joy and pleasure to be in his company. He has had a remarkable life: Being a convert to the Church in Japan to begin with, then going on to serve a 30 month mission, Mission President in Hawaii, Temple President of the Tokyo Temple, and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.
He shared with us some experiences he had while serving as Mission President, as well as some very important principles he taught the missionaries. These have had a profound impact in my life, and I hope they can help you as well
He told how when he arrived in Hawaii as a new Mission President there were many missionaries not living the missionary rules. He told us of surprise visits to their apartments in the middle of the day to find missionaries still in bed sleeping, surf boards in their living rooms, and so forth. Because of this, not surprisingly, their baptisms per mission were extremely low. They needed a new commitment to their mission and to life. He began to implement a program that was so powerful that their baptisms per month went from 24 to 154 in a matter of a few months time. More than that, it changed the spiritual lives of many of the young missionaries.
This formula taught to Elder Kicuchi by President David O McKay can change OUR lives and increase OUR spirituality if we implement this into our daily routine. You can think of this as 5 Steps to Greater Spirituality, a Personal Devotional, OR...
How to have your OWN Sacred Grove Experience
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| The Sacred Grove (taken by Susan Rust) |
and get closer to the Lord
Now I am not talking about replicating the First Vision when Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ in this grove of trees.
I am talking about beginning each day in a daily devotional of sorts that is sacred and holy time just for you.
By small and simple things....great things are brought to pass.
This is one of those small and simple things...which can bring great blessings into your life.
Here is the formula taught by Elder Kicuchi spoken in a cute Japanese accent:
- Arise Early...determined by you. Arising early shows your willingness. Follow this with some exercise which can be but doesn't have to be longer than 15 minutes.
- Wash Your Body...even if you have never been a shower every single day kind of person following this step has great benefits. Besides feeling clean and being clean, there is something ritualistic to the physical cleansing of your body that is actually very spiritual.
- Get dressed for the day in clean linen...this goes without saying, but get dressed and ready for the day
- Subdue your Spirit... which is the time for meaningful personal prayer. Come to know the Savior Jesus Christ and commune with the Father.
- Wait for Inspiration of the Holy Father... immerse yourself in daily scripture and gospel study. This is where answers will come.
What a powerful yet simple way to start the day. I have been living this and I love it. If you feel your spirituality and life needs a new jump start....try this out. It can change your life.
