The Life and Teachings of Elder Neil Linden Andersen

The Biography of Elder Neil Linden Andersen

            The first thing that jumped out at me about Elder Andersen was that his family moved eight times for Church assignments. I can’t even imagine moving once. I get stressed out just thinking about cleaning my room or rearranging my furniture! The next thing that jumped out at me about Elder Andersen was that he not only oversaw the development of The Testaments, the launch of Mormon.org, and the installation of the audiovisual systems in the Conference Center. Many years ago, my dad was called to be the audiovisual specialist for our stake and I remember going with him to the stake center before every General Conference to help him set everything up. It was a lot of work, but I enjoyed helping my dad. The last thing that jumped out at me about Elder Andersen was that he speaks French, Spanish, Portuguese, as well as English. Being that I do a lot of singing, it is easy for me to sing in over ten different languages, but learning to speak a different language is a completely different story. I tried taking a Spanish class once, but because I had previously taken French in high school, it didn’t work out.

The Testimony of Elder Neil Linden Andersen

            As I watched Elder Andersen’s testimony, I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. I cannot imagine what the early Saints must have gone through. One of the things which came to mind as I watched Elder Andersen’s testimony was the book, Fire of the Covenant by Gerald Lund. When I was in eighth grade, I read this book for the first time. At the time I couldn’t understand why those Saints would so willingly go through all of these trials. During the next four years, there were many times when I wanted to read it again, but I couldn’t because I had borrowed it from my aunt and uncle. However, during my senior year of high school, after begging my parents to get it for me, I was able to read this book for the second time. During the course of my reading, I came across a last name that was very familiar to me. When I asked my teacher if he was related to the girl in the book, he told me that he was. Although this girl died on the plains, her family came over later, making her one of my teacher’s great-aunts. The sacrifices which I read about in that book had me in tears at many times. When I finished reading this book, I began to read The Work and the Glory series. When I finished those books, I had finally understood why they so willingly endured those trials and made all of those sacrifices. As Elder Andersen quoted that in their trials they became acquainted with God.

Recent Teachings

Elder Neil Linden Andersen, Spiritual Whirlwinds, April 2014 General Conference, Saturday Morning Session

Key Doctrine and Principles:

·         Adversity

·         Atonement

·         Courage

·         Marriage

·         Obedience

Favorite Quotes and Why They Matter to Me:

·         “Not all the whirlwinds in life are of your own making. Some come because of the wrong choices of others, and some come just because this is mortality.”

o    As it stands, right now the reason I love this quote the most is because it has to do with my circumstances. I know that some of them are because of mistakes I have made. But I take a great deal of comfort in knowing that a lot of my trials are because they are a part of mortality. One of the trials which I am going through right now is that I am a little depressed that my best friend, Richard won’t be able to come down this next week with some of my other friends. I miss him very much and I have found myself on the verge of tears because he isn’t able to come down. Still I am praying for a miracle that he might be able to come down. I know this miracle will only be possible if I have faith in Him, and that I don’t lose hope. I know that if the Lord wants Richard to come down to visit this next week, He will provide him with a way to make that happen. However, I also know that if the Lord doesn’t want Richard to come visit this next week, there is a reason for it, and I must not only accept that reason, but also not allow my hope and faith in Him to be shaken or diminished.

·         “Challenges will come to you, but as you trust in God, they will strengthen your faith.”

o    The reason I loved this quote is because it goes along perfectly with my reasoning for why I love the previous quote. It is a challenge for me to only get to see my best friend once a year and it is one that really tests my emotions and my faith. Still by trusting in the Lord is the only way I can make it through such challenges. With God nothing is impossible, but I must put my faith, hope and trust in Him.

·         “Find your grandfathers and grandmothers and your distant cousins who have gone before you. Take their names to the temple with you. As you learn about your ancestors, you will see patterns of life, of marriage, of children; patterns of righteousness; and occasionally patterns that you will want to avoid.”

o    I love this quote because as of yesterday, I’ve gone into full on family history mode. As it stands, I have over 100 names that I am preparing to take to the temple this next Wednesday. However, the reason I love this quote even more is because as I was searching for family names earlier today, I came across something in the family records that really struck a chord in me. My third great-grandfather, Samuel Mallisee had three children that I knew of from the family history list that we have from my dad’s side of the family. However, while I was searching for a birth date for his wife, Margaret Little, I came across his son, which isn’t listed anywhere in the family history that I have for his three other children, one of whom is just mentioned as being a twin to one of the girl that my second great-grandfather’s brother married. I felt I had found a long lost family member who might have unknowingly been overlooked for generations.

Past Teachings

Elder Neil Linden Andersen, Children, Ensign and General Conference (through the LDS Gospel Library App), November 2011 (General Conference October 2011, Saturday Afternoon Session)

Key Doctrine and Principles:

·         Children

·         Faith

·         Family

·         Marriage

·         Parenthood

·         Priorities

Favorite Quotes and Why They Matter to Me:

·         “When to have a child and how many children to have are private decisions to be made between a husband and wife and the Lord. These are sacred decisions—decisions that should be made with sincere prayer and acted on with great faith.”

o    I have always wanted to have a big family. In my Patriarchal Blessing it states that I will have sons and daughters. It also tells me that I will be sealed in the temple to a very special young man who is being prepared for me. However it also tells me to be patient in those things because they will happen in the Lord’s time and way.

·         “The bearing of children is a sensitive subject that can be very painful for righteous women who do not have the opportunity to marry and have a family. To you noble women, our Heavenly Father knows your prayers and desires. How grateful we are for your remarkable influence, including reaching out with loving arms to children who need your faith and strength.”

o    The main reason I love this quote so much is because one of my biggest trials that I am currently facing is that I want to have a family. Sometimes I wonder why I am 26 years old and still single, but it’s at times like these that I have to remember that I need to be patient, even when I feel like I’m going to go crazy from always having to be patient. Also one of the most difficult things about this is that I know for s fact that there are guys that want to ask me out, but because they know my best friend is a guy, they feel intimidated or like I would flat out say no. This is so difficult for me because I would never turn down a date unless I was already dating someone. Many of my guy friends when they learn that I’m not actually in a relationship with my best friend, they tell me they wish they had known about it sooner because they just started dating this or that girl.