Last Monday more than five hundred members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attended a devotional with Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church. He was accompanied by his wife, Ruth Lybbert Renlund; Elder Bryan K. Taylor, Central America Area President and his wife, Jill Taylor; El Salvador San Salvador West/Belize Mission President, C. Leroy Breinholt and his wife, Kelly Breinholt.
Elder Renlund´s message was precise and welcomed by all in attendance. He encouraged the Saints by saying, “today is a new day in Belize.” His words to the members were to “keep the momentum and don’t stop” when it comes to exercising faith in Jesus Christ.
Referring to an experience he had kayaking, Elder Renlund explained the following:
“During a kayak journey, without a guide, without objectives, the wind can be harmful. A similar thing happens when in life we do not have a guide or objectives. The wind and the waves can even lead us to Satan. Without Jesus we have no sail, no balance, no anchor, and no direction. Jesus Christ guides us. He knows us and He invites us to follow Him.”
Then Elder Renlund called all the 11-year-olds to the stand with him and shared his experience when he was 11 years old. He said “It was at this age that I got a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and Restorer of the Gospel.”
He challenged all the children and their parents to do the same. He went on to say "God can make the willing able. He cannot make you able if you are unwilling. We are children of God, joint heirs of all that He has - including eternal life and exaltation.” He shared the scripture from Mosiah 2:41.
Elder Renlund invited Latter-day Saints to consider themselves in a blessed and happy state made possible by their keeping the commandments.
The Church in Belize
Belize has more than five thousand of Latter-day Saints. There have been blessed since the beginning of the 1980´s when the first missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ started coming to Belize.
Subsequently they have had six prominent leaders’ visits. Among these was the President of the Church, President Gordon W. Hinckley, in 1997. President Russell M. Nelson came in 1992 as an Apostle to bless the land of Belize to the preaching of the Gospel. These visits were followed by visits from Elder Quentin L. Cook in 2016, Elder Gerrit W. Gong in 2018 and, today, Elder Dale G. Renlund.