Carrying Christ's Flag 扛著基督的旗幟

One of the unforgettable memories from this past trip to Taiwan was a fireside talk that was held in the Stake center by the Taipei Temple. I was able to go with my mom. The speakers were Elder and Sister Rasband. Elder Ronald A. Rasband is currently serving as one of seven Presidents of the Seventy in the Church. The fireside was full of members and wonderful non-member friends.

In Sister Rasband's talk, she shared a precious experience that happened when she and her husband presided over the New York, New York Mission (Tony Lee 06-08). This memory was brought to her mind because a Sister from Taiwan who served in their mission in New York was in attendance at the Fireside. Sister Rasband went on to share the experience with us. To celebrate Columbus Day in New York City, the missionaries serving in the New York, New York Mission were invited to be part of the city's annual parade. A senior couple missionary then collected flags from all over the world, and asked the missionaries to find the flags that represented where they were from. The Sister from Taiwan didn't find the flag she was familiar with or represented her homeland. With great disappointment she was really sad that she couldn't have a flag to carry in the parade. An Elder saw the situation ,then asked her to stand in front of the team and carry a flag of no country, but one that represented the church, The Church of Jesus Christ. He also comforted her and said, "Isn't that wonderful to be the representative of Christ and carry His flag? Isn't it wonderful to know that He knows us deeply and loves us dearly even when people can't recognize us nor know where are we from?"

I feel so blessed that I know from the bottom of my heart that what that Elder said is so true. I know we are all children of God and He and our Savior Jesus Christ love us very much. We don't need to carry their flag literally to remind us or show people this testimony, but by living in the gospel and striving to become more like Jesus, we show our love to God and also show that we have felt His love for us.

這次台灣行其中一個難忘的回憶便是和媽咪參加在台北聖殿旁舉行的一場爐邊聚會，演講著為現任教會總會七十員七位會長中的一位羅斯本長老及他的太太。當天現場擠滿了來自台灣各地的教友及許多非教友的朋友，真地很令人感動。

羅斯本姊妹分享到一個她和羅斯本長老先前服務於紐約傳道部的經驗，當天與會的其中一位姊妹當時也在那裡傳教，能夠在事隔多年後再相會令她回想到這個令她啓 發良多的經歷。在他們任內時，當地的傳教士們受邀參加花車遊行來慶祝哥倫布日，於是一位年長的夫婦傳教士便收集來自世界各地的國旗，讓傳教士們在遊行時可 以拿著代表他們所來自的地方的旗幟；而這位來自台灣的姊妹在經過一番努力後很失望地沒能找到代表她故鄉的旗子，她很難過，有位長老看到此番情形，便邀請她 舉著代表著基督及祂的教會的旗幟站在隊武的最前方，並且安慰她說：「身為基督的代表並手持祂的旗幟是不是很美好呢？能夠知道祂深深地認識並愛著我們即使當 其他人不正視我們、不知我們來自何方，這不是很美好嗎？」

我覺得非常有幸能打從心底知道這位長老所言甚是。我知道我們都是神的孩子，而祂及我們的救主耶穌基督很愛我們。我們不需真地舉著祂們的旗幟來提醒我們及讓人知道我們這番的見證，而藉著生活在福音中和努力變得更像基督，我們表達了對神的愛及顯露出我們已感受到神對我們的愛。