Kollin’s
Testimony
Given:
June 17, 2007 Skyway Ward
Let me
paint a picture for you in your mind. It is August 2nd 2002 at 6 am.
I am sitting in the Celestial room of the Salt Lake Temple. My soon to be wife
is sitting by me. I sit nervously in the celestial room waiting for someone to
come and get us. I was very nervous. Several minutes later someone comes. Our
families are there in the sealing room waiting. We listen to some kind counsel
given by the sealer and then he asks us to kneel at the alter. We kneel. I
don’t remember much of what was said that day, but I do remember the sealer
said for Time and for all eternity, and there was then a feeling that came into
my heart. That day, more than any other, I realized the importance of
ordinances in my life. Today I want to talk about how ordinances have blessed
my life and how they can bless your life as well.
I
received the Melchizedek priesthood before I went on a mission. Since I
received that ordinance, I have seen it bless my life and bless others through
me.
36 That
the arights
of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that
the powers of heaven cannot be bcontrolled nor handled
only upon the cprinciples of righteousness
Brothers
and Sisters I want to testify to you that I know that the Priesthood is the
power of heaven. And said simply, the power of the priesthood is the authority
to act in the name of God. Worthy men can exercise this power to bless god’s
children. Not only can the Melchizedek priesthood be used to perform temple
ordinances but it can and should be used to bless families and people in
everyday life situations. A good example of this is a Father’s blessing. Every
year before school started my dad would give each of his children a fathers
blessing. It was an opportunity for him to tell his children that he loved them
and that Heavenly Father loved them. But it was also his opportunity to prepare
them for the challenges of the world. These blessings helped us throughout the
year to make the right decisions, to get through tough tests, to remember what
we had been taught. Now, as a father, I am comforted to know that when the time
comes for my little boy to go out into the world, I have priesthood power to
bless him and protect him. All because I made myself worthy to participate in
the priesthood ordinances.
The
Melchizedek priesthood can also heal the sick and offer comfort to those in
need. When I was in Junior High, my cousin had found a tumor on his back. We
came together as an extended family and fasted and prayed for him. But the
thing I remember the most was when his father gave him a healing blessing. Not
just a father’s blessing. A blessing of healing and strength At that point in
time we didn’t know what the tumor was. He came to Seattle to have surgery a
few days later and the tumor turned out to be benign and the surgery was
successful. After my cousin woke up from surgery his parents told everything
was fine and he said I already knew it would be.
30 For
God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that
every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by
faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them
out of their course;
31
To put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break
every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things
according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and
powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the
foundation of the world.
Brothers
and sisters, this is the power of the priesthood and the most important thing
listed there is the ability to stand in the presence of God.
The
next ordinances I want to talk about are ordinances of the temple. More
specifically, the endowment and the sealing of families. By going to the temple
and receiving the endowment and being sealed together, we can make our families
eternal. These ordinances are not only the keys to eternal life, I believe they
are the keys to happiness in this life as well. The knowledge that these ordinances
bring, offers peace and comfort in a world that offers increasingly difficult
challenges and sadness. Situations
beyond our control can change our lives, lead to instability and fear. But
through these ordinances we can gain an eternal perspective. God’s love for us
doesn’t change, no matter how the world does. God’s power does not diminish,
even as Satan’s power to corrupt increases the evil in our world. Through the
ordinances of the temple, we have hope for happiness in the eternity, but also
hope for peace now.
"The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain."
Some of us have family members who
have strayed from the church. But here is a promise that, through temple
ordinances, faithful parents can have assurance that they will return. That
thought, I think, offers peace to many parents, and hope.
Temple ordinances also offer peace when a loved one is sick or dies.
18 And
I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this arock
I will build my bchurch;
and the gates of chell
shall not dprevail against it.
19
And I will agive
unto thee the bkeys
of the ckingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou
shalt dbind
on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.
The sealer that August day acted in the name of God and Bound me to Sara and Sara to me. That means that as we live righteously, I will have claim on her and she will have claim on me, and we together will have claim on our children. Sickness or death cannot change that. Our family, like many others, has had challenges and trials that have brought that thought closer to home.
About 3 years ago, my wife and I were living in Idaho. I had been working for one year with a great company. Sara had just a baby six weeks earlier. My arm had bothered me for a few years after a sports injury. I thought I would have to have surgery on it so I put off seeing a Dr about it. Because of our new baby and because of my demanding job. But soon it became too painful and I finally decided to go and get it checked out. After visits with local doctors we were sent here to Seattle to see a specialist. We arrived here expecting them to tell us that I would have to have some kind of scope for a torn ligament or something like that. Instead, the doctor here told us that I had cancer. A very rare type of cancer, and even more rare for a person at my age. I had a very large tumor and the cancer had spread to my lungs. He told us I had a 20% to 25% chance of survival. At that point, the thought of death was very real in our minds. But the comforting feeling of eternal life was in our hearts. I knew, as did Sara that we had been sealed for time and for all eternity just two years earlier and if we lived righteously we would be with each other again. Of course, that didn’t mean that we weren’t scared for the future or happy about the cancer, but that little bit of hope is sometimes all you need to find the strength to go forward. During that crazy time we had to make a lot of decisions. My father gave me a priesthood blessing and we attended the temple. After that, everything seemed to fall into place. We moved to Seattle within a couple of weeks and started treatment very soon after moving here. It took 7 rounds of Chemo, a stem cell transplant, and 30 rounds of radiation, but today I am in remission. That I am still here is a miracle. Because of priesthood blessings, prayers, faithfulness, and fasting I am healthy today. During my treatment, I met many other patients. And some of them, I could tell, were in the depths of despair. They had no hope. They had glimpsed their own mortality and they weren’t sure where they stood. I remember one man in particular, after we had talked for a bit, he asked if I was a member. I said I was and learned that he was as well. As we talked, it was clear that he was not active. What was more clear was that he was scared and didn’t know where to look for comfort. I can honestly say, that apart from the first few days after my diagnosis, Sara and I didn’t feel that despair. All through my treatment, we were able to be positive and brave. And I can say that it had everything to do with the temple covenants we had made and the blessings that came with them.
Brothers
and sisters, the ordinances of the temple change lives, for the better. If you
have not yet received these ordinances, I hope you will work to get there. If
you have received them, you must honor them and use them.
President
Hinckley said
“I hope you are using the Temple constantly, because you will gain
blessings there that you cannot gain anywhere else on the face of the whole
earth. The temple stands as a monument for all to see. It stands as a statement
that we as a people believe in the immortality of the human soul. Everything
that occurs in that temple is of an uplifting and ennobling kind. It speaks of
life here and life beyond the grave. It speaks of the importance of the
individual as a child of god. It speaks of the importance of the family as a
creation of the almighty. It speaks of the eternity of the marriage
relationship. It speaks of going on to greater glory. It is a place of light, a
place of peace, a place of love where we deal with the things of eternity. If
there is any man here tonight who is not worthy to go into that holy house, I
urge you to put your life in order so that you may go there and partake of the
unique and wonderful blessings that we have there. President Hinckley 624.
In closing I give this challenge. Brethren, if you haven’t been ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood discuss with your priesthood leader the Bishop or your Home teachers what you need to do to accomplish that. Home teachers: if there are people you visit who need extra encouragement ask council and set goals for them to receive the priesthood and temple ordinances.
Sisters, as a husband I appeal to you. The men in your life need your encouragement. They need your help and support. It is not in our nature to ask. If there is someone in your life who could be doing more to reach these ordinances, please help them. As men, we need the blessings, we need the Melchizedek priesthood to bless our home, we need the peace that comes from being endowed and sealed in the Holy Temple.
There are probably some in this room who have never been to the temple. That’s okay. We want to help you. We want to go to the temple with you. So you will be able to enjoy the promised blessings that are there.
There are some in this room who have had a temple recommend at one time but have now let it expire. You know what to do to get it back. And there are many in this room that have current temple recommends, I encourage you to go and to go often. Set a goal for your family. Ask how often you go to the temple and go?