Comment

Bloch Paintings of Christ

Recently my missionary companion and I were teaching a fifteen-year-old Chinese boy from Taiwan. He had been exposed only to the teachings of Buddhism and was unfamiliar with Jesus Christ. So we showed him the Carl Bloch paintings of Christ’s life in the January 1991 issue. We explained each scene and shared the captions and scriptures. Afterward, our investigator was excited because he finally understood Jesus Christ and what his teachings are all about.

Sister Kimberly Shriver
Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission

“Do I Know My Neighbor?”

I would like to commend you for publishing the article “Do I Know My Neighbor?” in the March 1991 issue. As a convert, I have sometimes winced as I watched the faces of other new members when someone makes a well-intentioned but tactless remark about another church.

I know many good Christians and Jews who daily love and serve their fellowmen. And I know some agnostics and atheists who are kinder than some of us Latter-day Saints who are so busy going to meetings that we don’t take time to help our neighbors, get involved in a community project, or donate money to any cause but the Church.

We don’t have to be Latter-day Saints to be good Christians or good people. But if we practice our Christianity, we will be good Latter-day Saints as well.

Barbara Stockwell
Springfield, Oregon

Living with Chronic Illness

Thanks for the wonderful article “Living with Chronic Illness” in the March Ensign. Sister Knapp’s testimony touched me deeply, especially since I have been living with chronic illness for two years.

Doctors cannot cure my illness or tell me when it will end. So far, no medical treatment has helped ease my pain and fatigue. God, who could tell me when it will end or heal me, has chosen instead to comfort me, teach me, nurture me, and open my mind and heart to those truths that are sweetest to the soul.

I have learned to walk by faith, for if I did not, despair would claim me. I have learned for myself how powerless man is; I cannot make one hair black or white, much less will my body to be well. By learning to accept my situation without bitterness, I am learning to say, “Not my will, but thine be done.” I love God now, for I have sought after him and will continue to seek after him. He is my hope and strength.

Kara Keatley
Woodbridge, New Jersey

I appreciated the article about chronic illness in the March 1991 issue. I would like to share a resource that has been tremendously helpful to me in trying to identify and deal with my own health problems. The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) in the United States keeps a listing and can provide information on hundreds of conditions with which many physicians may not be familiar. For more information, write to NORD at P.O. Box 8923, New Fairfield, CT 06812.

Sheila Gill
Montezuma Creek, Utah

Helping the Disabled

I would like to respond to the letter “Interested in the Handicapped” in the Ensign’s March 1991 Comment section.

There are many things people can do to help make things better for disabled people. Even a disabled person can make a difference. I know; my younger brother has Down’s syndrome, and my older brother and I both have multiple sclerosis. Most of the suggestions below take little or no money—only a commitment of time and love.

Mayor’s Committees: Most towns, cities, counties, or states have a mayor’s committee. These organizations have the ability to help change local and state laws as well as to help teach others in the community about the needs of all handicapped people. Even a small organization of fewer than ten working members can affect a state law change; I know this because our group helped with legislation on an issue relating to parking in handicapped spaces.

Special Olympics: This organization can use help in many areas. It needs coaches, board members, people to input information in computers, people to help the athletes make it to their next events, and people to help raise funds.

Sign Language: Learn sign language—you will bring a smile to someone who understands it. And you never know when you might find an individual who needs someone to interpret for him or her.

National and State Organizations: These groups have many projects that require volunteers, from raising funds to performing in a telethon.

Kay Sutton
Morehead City, North Carolina

The Model of Herod’s Temple

We have received a number of inquiries about the article “Jesus and the Temple” (Apr. 1991). Photographs used in the article were of a model of ancient Jerusalem that has been reconstructed in Jerusalem. The model was built in the 1960s, under the direction of Michael Avi-Yonah of Hebrew University. His original work continues to be updated by Hebrew University professors who alter the model to fit each new archaeological discovery.

In the model, one-fourth inch equals one foot. At that scale, an average man would be represented as nearly one and a half inches tall. The model is properly oriented to the four points of the compass.

The Editors

Image

Model of the temple and Old City in Jerusalem

“In Prison, and Ye Came unto Me”

My March 1991 Ensign arrived yesterday, and I want to express gratitude for the article, “In Prison, and Ye Came unto Me.” I hope this article spurs Latter-day Saints to help institute more programs like those that exist in Utah.

Perhaps the most important point the article makes is that those in prison can have great potential. We all tend to view parts of society as all good or all bad—but life is not that simple. We have no right to judge the worth of an incarcerated individual any more than we have the right to judge our neighbor.

In fact, people in prison have one great advantage over those who have grown up with relatively few major problems in life; they know what it feels like to hit “rock bottom,” so they have the power to truly empathize. Some of these people are so grateful for repentance and the chance for a better life that they can be great spiritual examples to the rest of us.

Laura Cleverly
Tehachapi, California

I was grateful to find “In Prison, and Ye Came unto Me” in the March 1991 issue. It has helped me feel the Spirit and helped my testimony to grow.

I, too, made a mistake that requires me to spend time in prison. I made the decision a year ago that I would live according to gospel principles. Because of this, I have made many friends who are also searching for a happy heart.

All I can do is plant seeds and realize that the men here are also children of our Father in Heaven. I only hope and pray that when they are released they will seek the blessings of repentance and continue to strive to live lives that will allow them to return to our Father.

Brent Parry
Moberly, Missouri