Memories
It was many years ago, and only a year or so after I had been baptized, that I had one of my first experiences as a recipient of selfless love and service from other Latter-day Saints.
I had graduated from Frostburg State College, and was in my early twenties.
Since my college baptism, my life had already gone through many changes in the nearby little Cumberland, Maryland Branch of the LDS Church, which was in the Blue Ridge District of Western Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
My former friends and associates had spurned me, because of my newfound faith and lifestyle, but I otherwise was pleased and content with the refreshing new focus of my life.
Although my financial circumstances were grim, I cheerfully paid an honest tithe and generous fast offerings from my meager income.
Even so, there were many times that a meal at a Church get-together or with a family in the Branch was all that I had to eat that day.
It also was a special treat when one of the families would surprise me by bringing a covered dish to Church for me (They claimed that they just thought a single young man would enjoy some home cooking.)
It was during that time in my life that a some other single adults had stopped by my tiny downtown Cumberland apartment, to pick me up to go with them to a movie.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Libby and Janice must have noticed (or just flat-out snooped) that my kitchen cupboards and refrigerator were almost completely barren.
Shortly thereafter, these two sisters and others in their group somehow managed to sneak into my apartment and filled my cupboards and refrigerator to overflowing with food.
It wasn't until then that I realized that my personal financial challenges were not the secret that I previously had supposed.
Our Father in Heaven had been watching out for me through the personal agency and initiative of His loving Saints.
Postscript: The "Comment" section of: the December 2011 issue of the "Liahona" magazine includes some of my feedback, posted as "I Was Overcome with Gratitude" (http://www.liahona.lds.org/).
I had graduated from Frostburg State College, and was in my early twenties.
Since my college baptism, my life had already gone through many changes in the nearby little Cumberland, Maryland Branch of the LDS Church, which was in the Blue Ridge District of Western Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
My former friends and associates had spurned me, because of my newfound faith and lifestyle, but I otherwise was pleased and content with the refreshing new focus of my life.
Although my financial circumstances were grim, I cheerfully paid an honest tithe and generous fast offerings from my meager income.
Even so, there were many times that a meal at a Church get-together or with a family in the Branch was all that I had to eat that day.
It also was a special treat when one of the families would surprise me by bringing a covered dish to Church for me (They claimed that they just thought a single young man would enjoy some home cooking.)
It was during that time in my life that a some other single adults had stopped by my tiny downtown Cumberland apartment, to pick me up to go with them to a movie.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Libby and Janice must have noticed (or just flat-out snooped) that my kitchen cupboards and refrigerator were almost completely barren.
Shortly thereafter, these two sisters and others in their group somehow managed to sneak into my apartment and filled my cupboards and refrigerator to overflowing with food.
It wasn't until then that I realized that my personal financial challenges were not the secret that I previously had supposed.
Our Father in Heaven had been watching out for me through the personal agency and initiative of His loving Saints.
Postscript: The "Comment" section of: the December 2011 issue of the "Liahona" magazine includes some of my feedback, posted as "I Was Overcome with Gratitude" (http://www.liahona.lds.org/).
posted by Larry D Kump | 9:24 AM
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