Elder Ronald Anderson Rasband, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visited and addressed the New Delhi Stake to an audience of 684 members on 13'March 2022. This is not his first visit to the burgeoning Asian nation. He travelled to India 32 years ago as a businessman and as part of an ecclesiastical assignment as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 2015. His focus and the main theme of his talk were on the importance of building a multi-Generational family. He quoted President David O. McKay: 'No success can compensate for failure at home'. 1 He also quoted President Harold B. Lee: 'The most important of the Lord's work that you will ever do, will be the work you do within the walls of your own home' .
Some of the highlights of the message that he gave are as follows;
· This pandemic is no respecter of persons. Isn't it? It can strike, and it can be ruthless. I am grateful every day for the next breath of life that I can take, another day on the earth to thank the Lord for the blessings we enjoy.
· This has been a disruptive time not only for you, for your families but this entire Church. However, I bear a strong witness to all of you that we never ever felt abandoned. We knew, and I know, that Jesus Christ leads and directs this Church. Every decision that was made relative to your Sunday Meetings, to the missionaries, to the temples were all inspired by the Lord.
· I have seen our dear Prophet, kneel at a sacred altar and plead with Heavenly Father that a vaccine would be miraculously introduced in record time so that lives could be saved and spared. As a result, the gathering of Israel could go forward on both sides of the veil.
· I say to everyone here and outside the Church to give our missionaries and members the opportunity to tell you about what we offer. We are not going to take away anything that you have. We are only going to add to it.
· Our Church is not a Catholic Church; it is not an Orthodox Church, It is not a Protestant Church. It is the restored church of Jesus Christ on the earth today. If you were to take a blueprint of Jesus Christ's Church in the meridian of time and overlay that blueprint on this Church, it would look the same because it is His Church.
· We must do our utmost, particularly with our youth. I want them to know that they are very special to the Lord and this Church.
· Your families are ports of peace for your family. This is a Gospel centred church, a family-centred Church, a church organization to support your families. Wards, branches, stake, all of the organization of the Church is here to support your families and bring happiness and joy into your life.C1
Accompanying him were the following: Elder David P. Homer and his wife Sister. Nancy Homer, Elder John Gutty and Sister Sudha Gutty, Elder Meurs, President and Sister Suresh Ramakrishna with President and Sister Robert William.
Emphasis was given to reaching out to people instead of waiting for the right time for others to approach us. Elder Homer said that we need to seek out those who need us and that we need to take care of each other. Elder Gutty said: 'As we start focusing on Jesus Christ, the Lord will bless us, and we need to look up to Jesus Christ and live'.
Sister Stella M.Kohli from the Malviya Nagar Ward, a member for the past 29 years, was accompanied by her husband, Brother Tejpal Kohli and daughter Megan Stella Kohli and expressed her joy in attending the conference with Elder Rasband. She said: 'It's been two years since the pandemic, and the thrill of seeing and listening to an apostle of the Lord added to her joy as a family. It was a delight being with the Saints together and witnessing an apostle of the Lord.'
Brother Rahul Kaushik is a recent convert who attended the conference with his wife, Sister. Ruhi Kaushik described that she felt the spirit during the meeting and felt fortunate to see an apostle of the Lord.
All the members who attended the conference were uplifted and felt the blessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tears rolled as we heard the leaders speak; it was a marvellous experience. It is a blessing to have living prophets and apostles guide us and lead us in these latter days.
Notes:
1 Elder David. O. Mckay, “Teachings of David .O. Mckay: The Importance of a strong Family”
2 President Harold. B .Lee, 'Teachings of presidents of the church: Harold. B. Lee(2000),134.”