And A Little Child Shall Lead Them, Story 3

In 1998, Elder Henry B. Eyring came to Japan.  He spoke at the Japan Missionary Training Center.  Here is a part of what he said:

“I testify that in Japan, the Lord will dramatically establish the church and provide guidance for its expansion. For many months and years, it appears that things are stalled in the same situation. But in reality, the Lord is laying the foundation. And upon this foundation, miracles will occur. These miracles will happen in the form of great changes occurring in the hearts of members of the Church in Japan. This has just now started to happen although it may not be easy to see. The day will come when members of the Church will consider it a privilege to speak to colleagues at work and people in their neighborhoods about the Church.

”Your children will live in a Japan which is very different from the Japan you see now. This is because the Church will begin to achieve a marvelous expansion. It will obtain a prominent place and people will want to know about it. They will be interested and come. Your children will grow up not feeling embarrassed to testify of Jesus Christ in their schools and in their regional societies. They will tell their friends they go to school with and even their teachers that they are Latter-day Saints. They will have no fear.   Not everyone will join the Church, but many will become members.

“You are only seeing the beginning. You wonderful missionaries here will only see a portion of the miracles. Those in the next generation will be the ones who will really see them. But it will begin now. This will be realized because the Lord will change the message of the Church from what it has been in Japan. The day will come when members of the Church in Japan will rejoice in their Church membership and will gladly urge people to learn the gospel from the missionaries.

“But even if the Lord changes the hearts of those outside the Church so they hold feelings of respect for the Church, unless (Church members) decide they want to introduce their friends to the missionaries and their actions show the gospel is true so the people around them will turn their ears to the teachings of the Lord, the work of the Lord will be retarded in its progress.”

In this blog, we would like to focus on the second paragraph of this great prophecy.  "Your children will grow up not feeling embarrassed to testify of Jesus Christ in their schools and in their regional societies.  They will tell their friends they go to school with and even their teachers that they are latter-day Saints.  They will have no fear."  

If we give the missionaries who were listening to Elder Eyring time to serve their missions, come home and get married, and start having children,  those children would now be about 10 years old and younger.  We would like to introduce you to one of the children in the Japan Nagoya Mission who is fulfilling that prophecy:

Setting the Example

Rento is front and center, in yellow with his family.
Elder Hollister on left, and Elder Ikeda on right.

Rento Enami, 8, Kasugai Ward, Nagoya East Stake

Rento loves Family Home Evening.  As the oldest of three children, eight-year-old Rento sets a good example by singing songs, saying prayers, and even helping with the lessons.  One day at school, Rento wrote about his experiences with Family Home Evening.  His teacher was very curious.  She asked Rento about Family Home Evening, so he taught his teacher all about the prophets’ instructions to have Family Home Evening every week.  He even invited her to attend a Family Home Evening sometime, but unfortunately, she could not attend.  But Rento was not discouraged!  When the missionaries taught Rento’s family about inviting friends to activities, Rento followed their instruction.  He invited many friends and his teacher to the ward Christmas party.  They had a fun time at the Christmas party, but Rento was still not done.  Rento learned all about the Book of Mormon at church, so he decided to be like the missionaries in his ward and share the Book of Mormon.  He gave a copy of the Book of Mormon to not only his friends at school, but also his teacher!  He continues to share his testimony with them every day by setting a wonderful example at school. 

Someday, Rento would like to serve a mission, so he is practicing sharing the gospel now.  Through these experiences, Rento has learned that it is easy and fun to share the gospel with friends and even teachers.