Monday, October 19, 2009

Week Two: I Love Loud Boys

I really look forward to reading the talks from the priesthood session. Joe is not the same kind of listener as I am, nor does he have my obnoxiously accurate memory, so his second-hand report is often wanting. I suspect its also because he's a man, and men aren't talkers. Something like that.

Anyway, I've committed to trying to follow the Spirit when I chose the talk for the week, and I felt very drawn to this talk. It's by Elder Yoon Hwan Choi (I totally copied and pasted that name) and titled, "I Love Loud Boys." Here's a little background on Elder Choi:



Elder Yoon Hwan Choi of the Seventy says two 14-year-old boys brought his family into the restored Church.
Elder Choi was born on May 18, 1957, to Dong Hun Choi and Jeung Soon Lee. His father allowed Elder Choi and his siblings to choose any Christian religion, but they often argued over their different beliefs during dinner. His father wanted to change this. Impressed by the Mormon religion of Elder Choi’s 14-year-old brother, the family listened to the missionaries. After learning about another 14-year-old, Joseph Smith, they were all baptized.
Growing up, Elder Choi dreamed of becoming a general in the Korean army. So when his bishop asked him to speak about preparing for a mission, Elder Choi said no. Another young man spoke instead, which made Elder Choi feel guilty.
“The Holy Ghost told me I needed to serve a mission,” he says. He prepared for and served two years as a missionary, interrupted halfway through by three years of mandatory military service. To this day, Elder Choi says he and his wife, Koo Bon Kyung, “never deny anything that comes from the Lord.”
Elder Choi completed a bachelor’s degree in business information management from BYU–Hawaii in 1988 and a master’s degree in business information systems and education from Utah State University in 1989. He was an instructor at both universities, a sales manager, and an investment director for a venture capital company. He was a regional manager for temporal affairs for the Church in Korea.
Elder Choi and his wife were both born and raised in Seoul, Korea. They were married on September 25, 1982, and sealed one year later in the Laie Hawaii Temple. They have three sons. Before Elder Choi’s call to the First Quorum of the Seventy, he served as bishop’s counselor, bishop, high councilor, stake mission president, stake president’s counselor, stake president, and Area Seventy.

Elder Choi was called to the Seventy in April of this year. I believe this is his first General Conference talk.



I hope you enjoy it!

8 comments:

  1. The first thing that came to my mind (besides the obvious, my 2 LOUD boys) is a relief society lesson from years ago that somewhat addressed the single and/or never married women. It stated that no matter your situation, you have many opportunities to "mother". There are so many chlldren around us that need a good experience and unconditional love that they just don't get at home. Sometimes it is our responsibility to step outside our comfort zone and be that person. You never know when a small act of kindness could truly and profoundly change someone's entire life.

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  2. What I really like about the talk was the story of the son who came to the activity because of the example of the nine boys, He says "Right after I hung up the phone, I remembered asking Dad what made the Hanaro Quartet so successful in their lives. He told me that they obeyed the words of the Church leaders and that they regularly attended the meetings of the Church. That was the key that changed their lives and made them so successful." I think it is important to attend as many meetings as you can and with an attitude that you can learn from it and hopefully use what you learn to better yourself and others as you live your life like Jesus Christ did. I love that fact that I can go to church every week and listen about the same gospel topics that have been taught for years and the spirit can still teach me something new.

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  3. This was a great one. I love the fact that these young boys were looked at as sort of "outcasts" among their community, but turned out to do such great things with their lives. I do believe that we can all be examples to EVERY child we are around, and that, especially outside of church, we need to act in a manner that is pleasing unto the Lord, especially when around children and young adults.

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  4. This was a very interesting talk. The first time I read it, I focused on the role Elder Choi and his wife played with these young men. But the second time I read it, I realized that the lesson I was really seeing was that it doesn't matter if we are new converts or were born in the church, we all have to learn the very same lessons. And the two lessons talked about here are listen to your leaders and attend your meetings.

    My first thought was "Well, I do those things." Then, as I contemplated the talk, I realized that while I attend sacrament meeting, how many times do I skip Sunday School because I have to prep the Young Women's room for their lesson. And I won't even mention how months it's been since I made it to Enrichment Night!

    Even the advice to have the faith to listen to our leaders, even if we're not sure why we are being counseled to do certain things. (Sometimes we know why, we're just pig-headed, stubborn, lazy or full of ourselves.) Lately in the news I've seen reports of LDS mothers of homosexual children that think the Church should "stay out of a political issue like marriage". Really? I thought marriage was a covenant with God that has been turned into a political issue. I think our prophets know why marriage is a covenant in our Church, and considered a 'sacrament' in so many other churches, and what marriage means to the Lord.

    And how well do we follow our leaders when advised about financial issues, food storage, service, fast offerings, tithing, visiting teaching, attending Stake Conference (not another name for 'free Sunday'), etc.

    I guess that what I see in this talk is that these young men have made a commitment in their lives to obey their leaders and attend their meetings, and they don't make excuses, they just do it. And that is the lesson that I have been reminded of in a very basic way.

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  5. I love the part that says "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" I know with my parents they are always happy when they know were doing whats right. It made me think of a qoute i dont know who its by but it says "A man is at his tallest when he stoops to help another" (i love that qoute). I know that if im helping someone that im doing whats right and this talk was a good reminder how important it is to listen to leaders and parents and to help them out in anyway posible

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  6. I finally got around to reading this last night and loved the message that Elder Yoon Hwan Choi (totally copied and pasted it too, Em) gave. I think the thing that jumped out at me the most was the encouragement to be faithful in attending all of our church meetings. That's one of the things that I admire so much about Greg when it comes to the gospel. He may not always have the time or WANT to attend all the meetings that he needs to, but he does because he knows it's important and he understands WHY we've been asked to do so. He not only is setting a good example for our children in that area, but also for me!

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  7. I think the biggest thing that jumped out to me was how am i raising my kids? Are they going to end up being "loud boys" or are they going to stay strong in the Gospel? I was also reminded of how important it is to attend our Church meetings. I took the two and put them together. Am I teaching my children the importance of attending ALL our church meetings? We have only been to stake conference twice I think since we've had kids. Those are important values to instil in our kids!

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  8. I was really touched by this talk. I bawled the whole time I read it. If you know me at all, you probably know why. ;)

    I appreciate Amy's comments--I whole-heartedly agree! Sister Dew's talk on motherhood changed my heart, and I try to do my best to be a "mother in Zion," as she and this talk suggested.

    I know there are youth around us who need us. I know that there are good kids who want to do what's right and have no one to show them how. I know there are lost souls wandering around, desperate for love and guidance. I am so grateful to have had people in my life (including some of you!) who have loved me enough to mother me, whose husbands have been my fathers and exercised their priesthood on my behalf. They are the goodly parents I longed for. I hope that I can have my eyes open and my heart and home prepared to shephard the lost and lonely, and show my gratitude for the incredibles gifts of love that have come me.

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Enlighten us!