Elder Uctdorf

On Friday night, Ryan & I had the privelage of hearing Elder Dieter F. Uctdorf speak at a fireside for Air Force Cadets and their families. It was a 4 Stake fireside held in the Air Force Academy chapel--such a beautiful place. Members and non-members of the church were in attendance--with some high-ranking Air Force officials as well. Though the fireside was directed to military families, our stake president invited us to attend, since Ryan is the Highcouncilman over Military Relations for our Stake.
I think that the thing that impressed me most is how Elder Uctdorf, a retired German Airforce man and pilot, was so grateful for the help of the United States. He thanked President Reagan and George H. Bush for their help in ending the Cold War, and for the United States military for all that they do in trying to build peace in other nations as well as their own. He also reminded us to not be exclusive or cliquish in our religion, and that to remember that before the gospel was restored to the earth in the 1820, the Reformation had to occur; and it was through those good men who were Reformers, like Martin Luther, that the principles of Christ's gospel were practiced. He said how grateful he was for the faith of his youth, the Luthern church, who gave him a foundation. He told us that we must learn to live as brothers and sisters, with our political, cultural, and religious differences. And that we must not coerce people into the gospel, but rather live it and invite them as President Hinckley said, "to bring all the good that they have and see if we can add unto it. It was a great reminder of how we should act as children of God.