Chapter 35

The Waters of Mormon

The church established by Alma sets the example for us today—James’s mission president gives a
powerful talk in a mission conference about the importance of strong and healthy wards.

What constitutes a good landing place? The waters of Mormon was a fabulous example
of one. It was a ward well-prepared to receive potential converts from the missionaries. Like us
today, this righteous people, too, had aspirations of Zion. We read of them as follows:

Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water, and Alma resorted thither, there
being near the water a thicket of small trees, where he did hide himself in the daytime from the
searches of the king.

. . .

And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that
they should look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit
together in unity and in love one towards another.

And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they became the children of God.

And he commanded them that they should observe the Sabbath day, and keep it holy, and
also every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God.

And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with
their own hands for their support.

And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather
themselves together to teach the people, and to worship the Lord their God, and also, as often as
it was in their power, to assemble themselves together.

And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor
they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the
knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God.

And again Alma commanded that the people of the Church should impart of their
substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should

impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him
that had not should be given.

And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires
towards God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul.

And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly
before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs
and their wants.

And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon,
in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of
Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the
knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise
forever.

Here was a ward of the church established by Alma. The walls of the chapel were made
up of a thicket of small trees. It was a refuge from the outside world where one could go to hear
the pleasing word of God. A fountain of pure water existed there, and also a fountain of the Spirit
of God, filling the hearts of all those who came. Many, if not all, were baptized. The people
walked uprightly before God, imparting of their substance one to another of their own free will
and good desires toward God.

The title of our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is visible to all
passersby upon the beautiful buildings we have built or leased around the world. But a good
landing place is not a building only; we need our wards to be worthy of the holy name they carry.
The oneness in all things found in the people at the waters of Mormon is our goal.

The following is a mission conference address given by James’s mission president,
President George Robbins of Brigham City, in a conference attended by James and other
missionaries in January of 1981. He spoke as follows.

“While serving as a missionary in Guatemala many years ago, I was assigned to a small
town of about 20,000 people located near Guatemala City. When I arrived there, my companion
immediately informed me of some of the problems existing in the local ward. The wife of the
bishop, a woman with a very strong and powerful testimony, and someone who had been a force
for good with her husband in establishing the Church in this town, had been offended on one
occasion by something said to her by another member while attending church. She, therefore,
had stopped coming to church two years before, and other members of the ward had stopped
coming as well. A tragic split in the ward ensued that negatively impacted the progress of the
Church in the area.

“We met with the bishop in his office right after my arrival. He smiled sincerely as he
related the story of what had happened with his wife. It was a very small matter, but as a result of
a heated exchange with another sister in the ward during a meeting and, more precisely, because
of a small amount of pride on the part of his wife, she had decided to resign as the Relief Society

president and just sit at home on Sundays. The bishop had tried many times to get the matter
resolved in heart-to-heart discussions with his wife but, thus far, had failed to do so. He was
saddened by the turn of events, but not quite sure what more he could do.

“I asked the bishop if we might come by the following Monday night and present the
family home evening lesson to them. The bishop agreed, and we scheduled the appointment with
them on our calendar.

“That Monday night we arrived at their home as planned and my companion gave a
beautiful lesson on the theme of ‘families are forever.’ The lesson included pictures of his family
at the Salt Lake Temple, as well as a number of beautiful pictures of the temple itself. During the
lesson, the bishop’s wife broke down into tears, subsequently bearing a very strong testimony of
the Church. She talked about many of her experiences from the early years of the Church there,
they being the first persons who were baptized. The bishop and his wife were not only the first
ones baptized in the town, but also the first ones baptized in the surrounding area that later
became a stake of the Church. Thus, this was a very special couple of the Church.

“We listened to her talk for over an hour. She shared with us many spiritual experiences,
and also a history of the ward and how it had progressed year by year. Afterward, being humbled
by her own words and personal testimony, she asked that she might give the closing prayer. Her
prayer was among the most beautiful I have ever heard in my life! I was brought to tears as I
heard this fantastic woman pray to God. She had the faith to move mountains, literally.

“At the conclusion of her prayer, we all looked around at each other, enjoying the
moment. A great outpouring of the Spirit had been bestowed upon us, most assuredly. As we
prepared to leave, I told her we would come by to pick her up that Sunday. She thought the
invitation over for moment, then smiled to us and said, ‘Okay.’

“The following Sunday morning, we arrived at her house by taxi. She met us at the door,
but was not yet ready to go. She seemed nervous and a little unsure of herself, having not been to
church for so long. I told her we would wait for her to change clothes and that seemed to be all
the motivation she needed. She scrambled to get herself dressed and then quickly joined us. She
came with us to church and almost immediately this wonderful sister was back at work, talking
to people, finding out the latest of what was going on, and ready to do things. The whole
congregation was instantly lifted by her presence. She had no formal calling, but she was already
a leader among them again in just a few minutes' time. In the weeks that followed, everything in
the ward started to click again, and she herself was bubbling over with the enthusiasm of a newly
activated member. Momentum in the gospel had returned.

"My beloved brethren, this was one of the most beautiful events I have ever witnessed in
all my years of serving in the Church. These were not persons whom I had personally taught,
baptized, or had any contact with at all until this time. But what I was able to do was to assist in
laying the foundation for a group of highly energized Latter-day Saints to move forward in the
gospel. Attendance at church in the ward increased almost immediately, and new activities and
events were quickly planned. In all the excitement, a good number of referrals came to us,
providing us many new teaching opportunities.

“I spent the last four months of my mission in this area. The bishop and his wife asked
that we, the missionaries, might do one last baptism in the final week before I went home. Their
eight-year-old girl was ready to be baptized, and they asked that I might be the one to perform
the ordinance.

“The baptism ceremony was held in a beautiful canyon area just outside of town. It was a
place like that described as the ‘waters of Mormon’ in the Book of Mormon, where Alma
baptized many souls while hiding from the searches of King Noah's men. The entire ward came
out to this canyon area for the event, and what a wonderful day it was!

“I had many opportunities to teach and baptize during my mission, but to see this woman,
a catalyst, energize a ward and start to make exciting things happen in the gospel, that was to
experience missionary work at its highest level.

"This, young men, is what we are searching for as missionaries!

"Like Ammon, I might have wanted to stay there for the rest of my life, except that I was
also glad to return home and get started with my own life. A four-month period was hardly
enough for me. That was my only disappointment.

“Remember always, the converts we baptize need to have a good landing place. The
wards and stakes of our mission need to become strong, or all of our efforts as missionaries will
be for naught.”