Thank you for the Hope of Christ

 Brothers and sisters,

The Christmas season is in full force and I have been absolutely inspired by you and our congregation! There is beauty among us! I've met with many youth this week and I am awestruck by their faithfulness. I've seen countless members of our congregation glowing with the Spirit of Christmas. You absolutely inspire me. 

"A Bishop must... ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection... For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God."  I know I've said it before but I need you to understand so very clearly that I am neither of those things. My children are certainly not in subjection and I feel extraordinarily unqualified taking care of the church of God. My house is an absolute mess, our decorations are half up, I struggle to meet the needs of my children, I'm behind at work, and I'm confident that I've let more than one of you down in some way.  How often do you feel like you're trying your very hardest but seem to be coming up short? How often do you pray to be calm, but find yourself frustrated? How often do you beg the Lord to change your circumstances, yet they remain unchanged? How often have you prayed for faith, and felt unanswered? How often do you wish that you had more of the Christmas spirit? How often do you lament? How often do you come to the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit? How often do you come to the Lord?

Personally, I have a fairly unreasonable expectation of the Christmas season - I envision my house looking like the Griswolds', my wife thinking she's in a romantic Hallmark movie, and my children being angels on earth. However, that's just not that case. That was blatantly clear in the Kienzle household tonight, it wasn't good. I'm so thankful that I was able to stop by the church where, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, I was absolutely inspired by each of you and you reminded me that I'm not alone. I'm also thankful for the angel voices that were present and reminded me of the divine night when Christ was born. He was born 2000 years ago and He brought hope into the world for you and for me. He brought hope to remind us that all things are right as long as we have Him. He came to show us that His grace is sufficient and his Atonement is all encompassing. Hope in Him endures all things and is enough for even the greatest of struggles. 

If you feel alone, weak, betrayed, lost, or inadequate, know that you are not and remember that Christ was born, lived, atoned and now IS your REDEEMER. Come to the Nativity Festival and see that miracles are real. Come and be lifted up by the angels that are there and I promise you, there are angels in our chapel this weekend. If you seek an answer, I feel inclined to promise you that you find it there.

Finally, if you haven't invited every single one of your neighbors, please do so. Christ loves you and He loves them. He has placed you in your home and in your circumstances for a reason. I promise that the Lord will bless you as you share His Gospel and as you bring glad tidings and good cheer to others. 

He is our healer and our friend. He is our comforter and our King. He is our light and our life. He is the Joy of the World. He is the Light of the World. Through Him, you will find hope this holiday season and always. 

With love and adoration,

Bishop Kienzle

PS: Please, talk to me about getting ready to visit the temple on Jan 03. We will do baptisms at 6pm and attend the 6pm endowment session. However, no matter your circumstances, please just come and be with us. 

Email me if you're coming!!! <3

PSS: Sacrament meeting will be amazing for the next couple of Sundays (and forever) so also a really special opportunity to bring friends, co-workers, neighbors, distant neighbors, forgotten loved ones, strangers, gas station attendees, and anybody else to church. ;) 

PSSS: Love you so much. 

There is room in the Inn!

 Friends,

I want to share my thoughts with you from inspiration I received while at the temple with the youth last night. As we gathered together, I found myself reflecting on one of the topics of our sacrament meeting - making room in the inn for Mary, Joseph, and the Christ child. I think sometimes we forget that there is room for us in the inn. How often do we knock and ask to be let in? Because of Christ, there will always be room in the inn, His door will always be opened for you. Our Savior is the God of Miracles. And so, miraculously, the Lord has provided us with places of refuge, sanctuaries of safety, houses of holiness. He has opened his House to us and given us access to His Glory where we can visit with Him in His holy inn.

Brothers and sisters, there is always room for us in His inn. We will always find Him there, always find peace in his covenants, always find power in His ordinances. 

The youth last night were a POWERFUL example of that power. I want, more than anything else, for you to experience that beauty, unity, and light. The Lord can light our world as we we visit Him. And if we catch that light, we can light the world with His love.

Will you please come to the temple with us? January 03 will be the next temple night. It will start off our new year. Last night, I told the youth that there may come a day in their lives when they will be nervous to return to the temple because it has been so long. I begged them to remember this day when/if that day comes and to return, to not be afraid, to know that the temples' doors are always open and the Lords arms always outstretched. 

Please, please, please consider this my personal invite to you, Will you join me in the temple on January 03? You can do any of the following;
- Come to the baptistry with us (sit and watch or participate, we have a session reserved at 6pm)
- Just sit in the temple's internal waiting room or chapel
- Participate in invitatories
- Sit on the grounds with your family
- Participate in sealings or an endowment session

I love you all so much and look forward to seeing your beautiful, bright, shining faces tomorrow, every Sunday, and in the temple. I know that the Lord is blessing you for your righteous desires and you will receive all that was promised, none will molest you. You are heralding in the moment when Jesus will say to all Israel, 'Come Home". May we continue to be guided.


Sincerely with all the love and adoration I can muster,

Bishop Kienzle

PS: I really, really do love you all so much <3

Light the world

 Delightful Disciples,

Let's first talk about how wonderful our ward is! I'm so excited for the Missionary Blitz and Outreach tomorrow. This missionaries have worked so very hard into turning this into a powerful experience for our youth. The whole goal is to help them catch the fire of the Gospel. This activity is truly for all of us. Please feel free to come by the church tomorrow at 2pm and join the group. Ultimately, I'm inviting all of you to go out tomorrow afternoon to the families you minister to, to neighbors, and families that you have been inspired to minister to. Invite them to the Nativity Festival, invite them to the Ward Christmas Party, invite them to Church or the Temple (as appropriate). More than anything else, I personally invite you to be inspired, be prophetic.

This week, somebody was prophetic in my life, they received revelation and acted on it. I came home to find a card that had been written in by every member of a family in our ward. The purpose of the card was simply to help my family feel seen and loved. There were some personalized short, sweet messages from their family to mine. It filled me with light and hope. My heart swelled. I felt like I could see the light of our Lord's love. 

As I read Ether 6 this week, I felt inspired. I received new insight into that story that I'd like to share. I'll be short and sweet. Friends, I think that we are the rocks that can be touched by the Lord. We can bring light to the lives of others if we just allow the Lord touch our hearts and fill our souls with our light. We can shine brightly and be a source of light and security to our neighbors, friends, family/ward members so that no matter how much the storm of life rages, there need not be fear or darkness.

The season is upon us, let's light the world.

PS:

1) Please reach out to a member of the Bishopric or Brother/Sister Hubbards if there is a Christmas Hymn that is special to you. We would love to hear why it's special and possibly make it part of the Christmas Cantata on Dec 22.

2) You may not know, but Elizabeth Kienzle, is a joined the Church when she was 18. Recently, her younger sister reached out to us to let us know that she wanted to understand more. Subsequently, she decided to be baptized and asked us to participate in her program. The Kienzle family is out of town again this Sunday as we participate in her baptism. My heart is heavy to miss another Sunday but luckily you don't really need me ;). And I'm also soooo excited to be a part of such special moment in Alex's life. Love you all so much. Thank you again for your faith and for making miracles happen in our ward. 
- I promise this will be the LAST missed Sunday in a loooooooooong time. Don't judge me too harshly (a little is okay).