两代的先驱者

两代的先驱者

圣殿山

2021 年 8 月 22 日

未分类, 提升圣徒

作者：莫飞雁，原文为中文

在汉语中，先驱者一词是由两个主要的字组成，包括“先”和“驱”字；“先”的本义是在前面，而“驱”则是使马奔驰。所以先驱者即是指犹如马匹般在先使劲勇敢前进的人，为他人开辟新的道路。

This is the same for the pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith was the first prophet after the restoration of Christ’s Church. In the spring of 1820, he sincerely asked God with great faith which church he should join. He then saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, whose light was above the brightness of the sun, and they answered his question that he should join none of them. Joseph was called to restore the original Church of Jesus Christ so that people on Earth will have the opportunity to know the living God and know how to obtain eternal blessings. Because of this great mission, he suffered immense ridicule, persecution, temptation, and heartache. After all of these trials, he was martyred.

Early saints of the Church were called to bring to pass the will of God. “Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts…Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land.” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:7-8). Thousands of converts decided to give up everything they had and left their homes to travel to the gathering place. The journey was hard. They suffered hunger, cold, illness, and uncertainty. They were expelled and persecuted constantly. Many sacrificed their lives in order to build Zion, to strengthen God’s Church on Earth so that they and all people on Earth—past and future generations—could have the opportunity to receive eternal blessings. The state of Utah has established July 24th as the Pioneer Day to commemorate their heroic effort and sacrifice.

However, the word pioneer doesn’t just apply to those who crossed the plains. There are pioneers from every era of time. Adam and Eve were the first human beings on Earth. Vincent Van Gogh was a pioneer of expressionism in the 20th century. Howard Reingold pioneered the development of virtual communities. We can be pioneers within our own families. I would like to share the experiences of two generations of pioneers in the Mo family.

我父亲出生在中国广东省的一个村庄里，19岁去当兵，三年后回到家乡当体育老师，结识了我母亲。当时家境贫穷，偶然听到了可以让父亲去委内瑞拉的机会，他心想借此机会为家挣钱养活他的父母和孩子，让家庭过上舒适的生活，所以决定于1984年独自一人前往委内瑞拉。帮助他出国的是他的表哥，他暂时垫付着路程和出国证件的费用，父亲到达后再打工偿还。当时他当体育老师的工资都用完了，便身无分文地向几位亲戚朋友借了600元人民币开始出发。

行程从新平村开始到沙湖镇，再到广州，在朋友家过夜直到第二天早上。然后他乘火车去了香港。到达后不久，他就用仅有的钱买了一套新衣服、一双鞋和一个给表兄弟的礼物，作为回礼。购物完后，他终于踏上了飞往巴黎的飞机转机，最终到达哥伦比亚。当时，他身无分文，一句英文也不会。

抵达后，有一个安排好的人来接父亲去了指定的酒店并等候去委内瑞拉的行程安排。当时委内瑞拉还不提供任何签证，所以去委内瑞拉的路程变得格外的长。

在车上有两名哥伦比亚人，加上我爸爸有两名中国人，还有司机。车开了几个小时后，经过一座严峻陡峭的山坡，预想不到的冒险旅程现在开始了。透过窗户，爸爸可以看到荒无人烟的深山密林，使人有种不祥的预感，天也逐渐变黑了。司机才解释说，他们快到委内瑞拉的边境了，所以他们一会儿必须以最快的速度跳下车，他要去和边境线的守卫者谈妥，再回来接他们。这时我爸爸就开始后悔了，想不到出国的路径居然是这样的。但是这时没有退路了，就必须听司机的。车上的人当时都是二十几岁的小伙子，手脚灵活地从车上跳了下来，一一抓紧树干，等待司机回来。爸爸描述说那是一个恐怖的夜晚，从来没见过这么荒凉巨大的，悬崖峭壁的野森林，随时都有被老虎、狼或野兽吃掉的可能。往下俯瞰就是深不见底的深渊，一个不小心就会摔下去必死无疑，睁开眼睛就会使人惊恐万分。即使是这样，他们也只能战战兢兢地等待车子归来。

After more than half an hour passed, the car finally came. They got in the car, breathed a sigh of relief, and passed the border safely. The car advanced into the barren mountains and ridges. Soon the driver told them that there was one last border to pass. They had to jump out of the car again. Unfortunately, my dad happened to jump onto an unstable tree trunk. The trunk was about to break, but there was another stable tree trunk not far away from the other person who was with him. My father asked him to give him a hand as he jumped over. The other person didn’t understand what he had said and didn’t reach out to help, so my father got stuck and was hanging on the tree trunk. He then exerted all of his strength to climb up by himself, firmly grasping the tree trunk until he pulled himself up safely. His newly-purchased clothing was torn, and his leather shoes were broken. They endured hunger in the cold night, and waited, listening to the howling of wolves.

More than an hour had passed when the car came for them again. They jumped inside, thinking that their adventure was finally over. Not long after they got going, the driver told them to get out of the car once again and switch to another large truck full of boxes of plantains, where they would hide underneath. When my father saw the plantains, he realized that if the trestles under the boxes were to fall apart, the person underneath would surely be crushed. But they had no other option, so they went in as they were told. Other drivers and co-workers worked together to cover them up tightly with the remaining plantains. My father described that he couldn’t move his hands and feet, and had difficulty breathing due to the weight and lack of oxygen. They endured this hardship until they arrived in Caracas, Venezuela. My father’s cousin met him as he got off the truck and drove him to his house for a temporary stay. Finally, he could eat, change clothes, take a shower, and go to bed. He slept all day and night for about a week.

为了还清$8,330的债务，很快地就找到了在工厂里的工作，经常加班。那段时间，他每个月都会给家里写信，告诉家人，在还清债务之前，他不能寄钱回家。这样连续四年后，他终于还清了债务。

Later on, my father moved to St. Maarten to work in a Chinese department store for a fellow who was from the same village. He was also responsible for making lunch and dinner for the man’s family. Unfortunately, the man would complain that my father didn’t cook enough, while the man’s mother would complain that he cooked too much. This caused them to quarrel against each other more and more over time. The man’s wife believed that my father was the cause of the disputes in the family, so she kicked my father out of the house one night. He wandered penniless for three days until another kind man took him in to work in a restaurant. He let my father sleep in the corner of the restaurant. Due to the heavy workload, he felt exhausted to the point that he decided it wasn’t working out.

His former employer eventually reappeared and begged him to go back to work in the department store, so my father went and worked for him again. But a few months later, the man’s wife still didn’t like my father and kicked him out again. Soon, he found another job in a supermarket, where he was mistreated and abused physically and verbally by the wife of his boss.

Sometime later, a wealthy man named Afoo, who passed by the supermarket daily, noticed that my father was an extraordinarily hard-working man. Afoo offered to hire my father to work for him. Because of my father’s diligence, Afoo looked after him and offered help wherever needed. He increased his salary over time, which enabled my father to send more money home, and even helped many family members to come to the island, including my mother, brother, uncles, aunts, and other relatives from both of my parents’ families. Eventually, Afoo sold one of his restaurants to my father. With that opportunity, he was able to open up more businesses. He provided sufficiently for my grandparents and his four children so that we no longer lived in poverty.

Finances were not the only blessing. Because of his success in business, my father had the ability to support my sister and me as we attended college in the Netherlands. During the first year of college, we both wanted to find a church to do voluntary work, hoping to live a more meaningful life in addition to studying. One day, my sister met the missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who invited her to attend the church services and we both did that Sunday.

当我一踏入教堂，和传教士们打过招呼后，有一个难以忘怀的瞬间，我至今仍然记得很清晰，当时我感觉好熟悉、好温暖、我可以感觉到光芒充满了我全身，深入了我的脑海，穿透至我的内心，我感觉到莫名的快乐。我的人生中一直因对死亡的恐惧和怀念过去而缺少了真实的快乐, 这促使了我每周与传教士们见面，试图抓住这份前所未有的快乐。后来我意识到，很明显神是活着的的，祂是我们的天父，祂很爱我们，所以忍痛割爱地派遣了祂的爱子耶稣基督来为我们的永恒的快乐而做了无限的牺牲，同时祂也让我经历了多年的不快乐而谦卑下来明白，在世间再大的快乐都会有结束的时候，而祂是唯一一个能使快乐持续不断的源头。我从此认识了祂的道路，最终于2016年6月洗礼加入教会。

In February 2019, I was doing an internship in England. I had the opportunity to attend a local church meeting one Sunday. I ran into a missionary and learned that she was younger than me, and a more recent convert. Because she insisted on serving a mission, her parents didn’t talk to her. The story was very sad, but at the same time, her bright countenance and calm smile were unforgettable. In an instant, some impressive words appeared in my mind, as was described in the scriptures, “notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center… It did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn” (3 Nephi 11:3). That voice said to me, “Are you not in easier circumstances than her? What reason do you have to not to go on a mission?” It was very obvious that Heavenly Father was calling me to serve a mission through the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

I didn’t want to hurt my family, so I kept telling Heavenly Father in prayers the many reasons why it wasn’t necessary for me to serve a mission. Every time I had an excuse, I was convinced otherwise by the example of a missionary. This became a pattern and happened four times in three weeks. Finally, my sister and I fasted in the temple to gain clarity on this matter and asked Heavenly Father if it was His will. We got the same answer at the same time, that I should go.

After we left the temple on our way home, I received a shocking message from my father saying, “I just woke up and felt nervous and uneasy. Don’t tell me that you are going on a mission!” In order to not worry him, I told him that I was not. After a while, my parents told me that a fortune teller in China told them that something was preventing me from continuing my studies, so they spent a long time convincing me to concentrate on my studies and not get distracted by anything else. Even so, I still filled out mission papers. I was told that because I have a Chinese passport, I needed to have parental consent. Many people thought that would be impossible, including my sister and other Church friends.

This situation lasted until May. One day in the temple, I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to tell my father about going on a mission and was reassured that everything will be all right. At that time, I was accompanied by an elderly couple, the Gouts, who had given me great support and care in many aspects of my life. On May 4th, after dinner with the Gouts, I video-called my father from the dining table, telling him that I was going on a mission. His reaction was just as I had imagined. My decision brought him heartache like a knife through his heart.

My father’s perspective was that he had suffered much hardship to raise me up to this point, and now I was leaving to serve a God who was unknown to him. He was thoroughly disappointed in me like he had lost a daughter. He even said, “I don’t know how to be a father anymore.” I could see that it was so hard for him; he had no more energy to speak and ended the call. Although the Gouts couldn’t understand anything that was said, they also felt my father’s pain and became emotional because there were no words that could help my father understand the situation. They fasted and prayed a lot for me. I cried to Heavenly Father every night; there was a great spiritual battle in me trying to resolve the will of Heavenly Father and my own father.

一个星期过后，爸爸发了40多分钟的语音信息给我，当他向我表达他的感受时，每一句话都让我十分难受，我真的知道他有多在乎我，我却不能按照他的渴望去做。在他说话的最后5分钟里，他却说“但是，我知道你也被夹在我和神之间，神要你去传教，我却要你继续挣钱或念书，你还是听祂的吧，因为我也不知道未来会发生什么。” 靠着他勉强的同意，我的传道申请终于可以顺利进行。

However, my family did not stop mocking me for my decision. I felt like I was worthless in my family and had only brought them harm. At the same time, I was suffering from a serious illness and was taking medication that made me feel dizzy all the time. I had to give a presentation on my thesis in order to graduate before going on a mission. A miracle happened as I began to present, I felt perfectly fine as I wasn’t sick at all until the end of my presentation. I was also worried about my visa issues. Even so, I still felt calm, and I believe Jesus Christ was carrying me and sharing my burdens.

After graduation and leaving the Netherlands, I had about two months left before going on my mission. I felt the need strongly to go to Zhejiang, China, and stayed at my friend’s house. It was necessary to avoid any potential obstacles that might prevent me from going on a mission, to apply for an American visa, and to keep going to church on Sundays. The night before I left, my family spoke to me in a negative way, causing me to fall on my knees and cry to Heavenly Father. One image came vividly to my mind: Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane the night before he was crucified, as he knelt and prayed to his Heavenly Father, and learned that he had no other way but to endure the cross to save all mankind. He said, “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). This gave me so much strength. I stood up and wiped away my tears as though nothing had happened. With renewed commitment, I was ready for departure.

During my mission, some unfortunate things happened at home, which made it more difficult for my family to understand why I was out helping others and not them. However, after returning home, I could see that my father began to have a new view of our Church, as he saw the blessings and changes that the mission had brought me. He began to see how the gospel could help him, being a man full of anxiety. My father has always put family first, and what he cares most about is that our family should always be united. Jesus Christ has given us this opportunity to be with our families forever. My father began to realize that he really felt peace as he studied the Gospel with missionaries, which was an obvious contrast to his troubles in his career and family matters.

我曾经以为我和姐姐，作为归信者，在莫家开始了第一代基督教徒。现在回想起来，这也要靠上一代，爸爸妈妈在身体上和精神上做出了巨大的贡献，勇敢地走出了那个村庄，还有一辈子的饱经风霜后，才让我们有机会出国，遇到传教士，认识神，去传教，让来自耶稣基督的平安逐渐渗入我们的家和朋友之中。

把两代的先驱者连接起来使我明白先驱者的前面，还有先驱者，多代的先驱者是有连贯性的，我们只是继续前一代先驱者的道路，为了神永恒的目的而延伸至旅程的另一个端点。每一个人，只要愿意为好的事情而做出牺牲，都会成为之中的一部分。需要付出的有时候是汗水、泪水、血、身体上或精神上的折磨，但是这样苦尽甘来的快乐是永不止息的。