August 19, 2012

Do we need Church?

While I was in the Navy on the USS Hornet CVS 12, we served two six-month missions in WESPAC, or the Western Pacific theater. During this time we were away from family and friends, and to a large degree, we were away from the normal parameters in our lives. Many sailors got caught up in gambling, prostitution, smoking, drinking, and any other ill advised practice one might imagine. Drugs were not a high priority target for those who wished to destroy their lives, but they existed and many involved themselves in these unsavory addictive elements as well. A few years later during the Viet Nam war, drugs became a violent and totally destructive force and many lost their will to be free from the controls of drugs and many lost their families and even their very lives. On the Hornet, one survey showed that well over half of the ships compliment (number of men based on the ship) and the air command that used the ship for their air operations had one or more venereal diseases. This number, tragically included the ship’s Chaplin and a significant number of the officers.

Miraculously, because of a small group of LDS sailors who had asked for and received permission to establish an LDS Sunday School (tethered to one of the Honolulu Wards) we had a place where we could go, partake of the Sacrament, be bolstered in our faith, assist each other in avoiding these heinous tools of Satan, and do whatever else we could to bless the lives of others. I would be flat out lying if I said I wasn’t tempted and swayed by some of these evils; but thanks to the simple anchor of a place for spiritual refuge, I came out without any tattoos, any sexual interactions, any drug related experiences, and minimal damage from experimenting with tobacco and alcohol. By the end of the second tour I was ready to embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all my heart and participate fully in all the blessings of serving our Heavenly Father, marriage, family, and especially Temple Marriage.

Do we need Church? We most certainly do. I watch from the vantage point of someone who has been on both sides of the stream and will tell you, without any doubt that my life would be somewhat akin to a train wreck without a testimony that God lives and Jesus is the Christ. The Holy Ghost is a continuous influence in my life and provides me with spiritual guidance through the ministering of angels. In addition I am able to be guided to those who might be blessed by assistance on this mortal playing field.

Someone in need of food, clothing, housing, friendship, or some other simple assistance,  just appears in our lives, or is prompted to seek us out. This is not new. Jean and I have experienced this blessing for virtually all of our married life, beginning with a little boy named Ronnie Davis only months after we returned to Arizona in 1965. We have always held these opportunities close to our hearts and cherished them because they have allowed us to see more clearly why we are here and it also helps to bless the lives of others.

Some of my loved ones and great friends have never found the beauty and love of God in their lives. Others have determined that they would rather do without the wonderful spiritual blessings that come through belief and faith in Our Heavenly Father. We all have our personal agency and I would be the last person in the world to demand that anyone violate their personal agency; however, I will continue to invite any and all to look closely at their lives, determine if they have what it takes to move from this life to the next without the magnificent opportunity to have intercession from and through God’s channels.

Thank you all for your friendship and love. God bless each of you as you seek the best avenues for blessing the lives your family and friends.

Duane Jacobs, grandfather, father, uncle, cousin, brother, and friend