A talk I prepared for the first sacrament meeting of the new school year (on Sunday evening, August 31, 1975) in the BYU 11th Branch, Brigham Young University First Stake, where I was serving as first counselor in the branch presidency. Student congregations at this time were organized into branches rather than wards so that young counselors such as I (I was 26 years old at the time) could continue to serve as elders after leaving the university rather than being ordained high priests. This was about four and a half years before the consolidated meeting schedule was introduced, and sacrament meetings were usually held in the afternoon or evening separate from other Sunday meetings. For various reasons now lost to memory, I never actually gave this talk.
I’m going to try an experiment on you tonight. Never before in my life have I written a talk that I was going to give in church. In the work I do, I sometimes write for others, but I’ve never done it for myself. For a variety of reasons, which I won’t bother you with now, I’m doing it tonight for the first time—partly because there’s a lot I want to say and if I didn’t control myself I would take at least twice as much time as I should.
Let me tell you a bit about me and my family. I have a wonderful wife named Claudia and three precious little children—Michael Adam, who will be two the day after tomorrow; Rebecca, who turned one last week; and Rachael, who is just a little over three weeks old. Both Claudia and I graduated from BYU—she in elementary education, I in English and Portuguese. I served my mission about five years ago in what was then the Brazil North Mission.
For about the last year and a half, I have been working in Salt Lake City for the Presiding Bishopric. I guess my profession would be classified as a technical writer.
My family is very important to me. And I suppose I should mention right now at the beginning that we hold Monday nights sacred. For you home evening is supposed to be only one hour long. For us, because we are a real family, home evening is exactly that—all evening long, from 6:00 P.M., which is when I get home from work, until the next morning when I get up. What I’m saying is simply this: please do not call us on Monday nights. I’m happy to serve you any other day, at any other time, but please Monday night is sacred.
Now, after that little plug, let me get to my talk.
The late Richard L. Evans once said, “Meetings are where you go to learn things you already know but don’t have the time to do because of so many meetings” (quoted by President Harold B. Lee, Regional Representatives’ seminar, Apr. 3, 1969). Somehow I hope we don’t fall into that trap.
The Lord gave us some compelling reasons for being here tonight in sacrament meeting. In the Doctrine and Covenants we read: “And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go up to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day” (D&C 59:9).
Elsewhere we read: “And now, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that when ye are assembled together ye shall instruct and edify each other, that ye may know how to act and direct my church, how to act upon the points of my law and commandments, which I have given.
“And thus ye shall become instructed in the law of my church” (D&C 43:8–9).
So here are two reasons for our being here tonight. First, to partake of the sacrament and, second, to be instructed and edified. I would like to spend a few minutes on this second reason.
President Harold B. Lee made this statement: “One of our brethren who was asked to speak in a sacrament meeting made a statement I would wish could be trumpeted throughout this entire Church. The brother said: ‘No person has a right to occupy the pulpits of this Church in our sacrament meetings unless he is there to preach the gospel.’ I wish that could be understood—that the very purpose of the invitation is to preach the gospel” (Regional Representatives’ seminar, Oct. 3, 1968).
I mention this because throughout this coming year, during these next two semesters, most of you will have an opportunity to stand here to give a talk—either in Sunday School or sacrament meeting. The way we’ve handled it in the past, and we expect to continue again this year, is to invite each of the groups to prepare and provide the services each Sunday. Our experience over the past two years has been that we’ve had some marvelous, inspirational, and instructive meetings—the kind of meeting I think President Lee was referring to in this quote I just read.
One thing I’ve noticed is that often the best talks are those that draw heavily on personal experiences. In fact, it bothers me to have someone stand and excuse himself for using personal examples. I wonder if they’ve ever heard a General Authority speak. President Kimball, for example, has often masterfully used examples from his childhood or youth to teach the great lessons he has to teach. The most powerful witness of the gospel you can bear will grow out of your own struggles, your own confrontations, your own obedience to specific principles. That which you struggle with and overcome is that which the Spirit will bear witness of to you. So never feel ashamed to share yourselves, as the Spirit moves you, in teaching a gospel principle or in bearing witness.
I think one of the most moving experiences in my life came at the close of the October conference two years ago as President Lee was closing the conference. (And, incidentally, it was his very last conference address before he died.) This is what President Lee said:
“And so, in the closing moments of this conference, I have been moved as I have never been moved before in all my life. If it were not for the assurance that I have that the Lord is near to us, guiding, directing, the burden would be almost beyond my strength, but because I know that he is there, and that he can be appealed to, and if we have ears to hear attuned to him, we will never be left alone. . . .
“I thank the Lord that I may have passed some of the tests, but maybe there will have to be more before I shall have been polished to do all that the Lord would have me do.
“Sometimes when the veil has been very thin, I have thought that if the struggle had been still greater that maybe then there would have been no veil.”
And then he makes this powerfully humble statement: “I stand by, not asking for anything more than the Lord wants to give me, but I know that he is up there and he is guiding and directing” (Ensign, Jan. 1974, 129).
I think contained in that last sentence is a great lesson for each of us. “I stand by, not asking for anything more than the Lord wants to give me, but I know that he is up there and he is guiding and directing.” If we could all have that kind of faith! How often do we ask for that which the Lord, in His wisdom, is not yet willing to give us? I’m sometimes guilty of that.
It reminds me of Alma’s exclamation: “O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!” (Alma 29:1).
Now that certainly sounds like a righteous desire, especially today in light of President Kimball’s far-reaching and inspired vision of missionary work. But then Alma wisely and humbly adds this: “But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me” (Alma 29:3).
Now, if we can change gears a little, there are two other things I want to mention before I sit down. First is about the payment of fast offerings. My wife Claudia tells me that when she came here to BYU as a student it was well into her second year of school before it ever occurred to her that she was supposed to be paying fast offerings. She had grown up in the Church in an active, faithful home, where her parents were always faithful in paying their tithes and offerings. But growing up Claudia had never paid fast offerings herself.
So I hope this doesn’t come as a surprise to any of you. A minimal offering, and let me emphasize the word minimal, is defined as the cost of the meals that you don’t eat while you are fasting. If we fully understand the law of the fast, then we know that our fast is incomplete until we have given a generous offering to the bishop, who uses these sacred funds to care for the poor, the needy, and the destitute.
The Lord has said this about it: “I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.
“And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.
“But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.
“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare” (D&C 104:14–17).
And then to us who have been blessed with this abundance He mentions, the Lord gives this significant warning: “Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of the gospel, unto the poor and needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment” (D&C 104:18).
If we give according to the law of the gospel, if we give in the Lord’s own way, we will pay a generous fast offering—for that is the Lord’s way. There is no system of charity that I know of that is more selfless or more pure or more effective. In the first place, when we give to the poor by paying fast offerings no one ever knows who paid the money. Because the giving is in secret, the reward in heaven will be greater. Second, the system is so much more effective than any other charity on earth. I read in the news that some well-known charities in this country have an overhead as big as 60 percent or more. That means that 60 percent of the money I might give them does not go directly to the purpose for which I give it. Even the best charities have a 25 to 30 percent overhead. When I pay fast offerings, I can be confident that every single penny, without exception, goes to benefit the poor. There is no overhead.
President Kimball has said: “I think that when we are affluent as many of us are that we ought to be very, very generous. . . . I think we should be very generous and give, instead of the amount we saved by our two meals of fasting, perhaps much, much more—ten times more where we are in a position to do it” (General Welfare Services meeting, Apr. 6, 1974, 12).
Obviously, many of you are not in a position to do that. But listen to this promise President Marion G. Romney makes: “If we will double our fast offerings, we shall increase our own prosperity, both spiritually and temporally. This the Lord has promised, and this has been the record” (talk to the Priesthood Board, Mar. 6, 1974, 10).
I can personally bear record that that statement is true. Every time Claudia and I find that our budget is too tight, and we see no possible way to make ends meet, we just pay a little more fast offerings. We have never been failed; the Lord has stood by His promise every time, and we have always had enough somehow.
I mentioned that I had two other areas I wanted to discuss with you. Paying fast offerings was one of them. I’ll be brief on the second, since the time is running fast. President Lee a few years ago asked these questions in a Regional Representatives’ seminar, and I quote:
“Are you brethren continually increasing your testimony by diligent study of the scriptures? Do you have a daily habit of reading the scriptures? If we’re not reading the scriptures daily, our testimonies are growing thinner, our spirituality isn’t increasing in depth” (Regional Representatives’ seminar, Dec. 12, 1970).
And then President Romney has said this: “The older I grow in the service, the more I turn to the scriptures and try to understand the meaning of what the Lord has said. . . . It is worth our time to study the scriptures and see the depth, as far as we can, of the Lord’s teachings” (General Welfare Services meeting, Oct. 5, 1974, 12).
Scripture study is to the spirit what food is to the body. And some of us seem to be on spiritual diets. We can go days and even weeks at a time never feeding our spirits, and consequently our testimonies grow thinner and thinner until we find ourselves spiritually malnourished.
I can make this promise: If you will consistently and prayerfully search the scriptures for a few moments each day—for 15 minutes if that’s all the time you have—your testimonies will increase, your faith will grow, and you will understand more fully the meaning of what the Lord has said.
And remember, if you’re too busy to study the scriptures, you’re simply too busy.
Showing posts with label 1975. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1975. Show all posts
Friday, July 4, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
5. We Can't Do It Alone
A pastoral message written on Monday, November 17, 1975, and published in Heaven-11, the BYU 11th Branch newsletter on Thursday, November 20.
In the recent general conference of the Church, Elder Robert D. Hales quoted these lines from the poet Whittier:
Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee
And we'll both ascend together.
Those lines contain an idea that is important for all of us to understand and live: We need each other; we can't do it alone.
The Lord has said it in another way: "Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand?
"Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect" (D&C 84:109-110).
We have been given parents and families, the priesthood and the organization of the Church to help us return to our Heavenly Father. "The many missions which we have in life," said Elder Hales, "cannot be embarked upon successfully without the help of others. Birth requires earthly parents. Our blessing as a child, our baptism, our receiving the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, our receiving membership in his church, ordination to the priesthood, going on a mission, being married, having children of our own, blessings during illness and time of need—all require the help of others. And all these are acts of love and service which require the help of others and the giving of help to others" (Ensign, Nov. 1975, 91).
Brother Hales makes it clear that our interdependence works both ways. We need the help of others, and we need to help others. We need to both serve and be served. All of us, it turns out, really are needed.
As a branch presidency we have chosen, from among the many excellent suggestions we received, this message as the theme of our branch conference:
Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee
And we'll both ascend together.
You will likely be hearing more about it this weekend in the various sessions of the conference. In fact, the whole experience of branch conference will help us lift each other, allowing us all to ascend together. We invite you to attend, with a sense of anticipation and preparation, and you will experience a rich outpouring of the Spirit. You will be blessed and be a blessing to others.
In the recent general conference of the Church, Elder Robert D. Hales quoted these lines from the poet Whittier:
Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee
And we'll both ascend together.
Those lines contain an idea that is important for all of us to understand and live: We need each other; we can't do it alone.
The Lord has said it in another way: "Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand?
"Also the body hath need of every member, that all may be edified together, that the system may be kept perfect" (D&C 84:109-110).
We have been given parents and families, the priesthood and the organization of the Church to help us return to our Heavenly Father. "The many missions which we have in life," said Elder Hales, "cannot be embarked upon successfully without the help of others. Birth requires earthly parents. Our blessing as a child, our baptism, our receiving the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, our receiving membership in his church, ordination to the priesthood, going on a mission, being married, having children of our own, blessings during illness and time of need—all require the help of others. And all these are acts of love and service which require the help of others and the giving of help to others" (Ensign, Nov. 1975, 91).
Brother Hales makes it clear that our interdependence works both ways. We need the help of others, and we need to help others. We need to both serve and be served. All of us, it turns out, really are needed.
As a branch presidency we have chosen, from among the many excellent suggestions we received, this message as the theme of our branch conference:
Thee lift me, and I'll lift thee
And we'll both ascend together.
You will likely be hearing more about it this weekend in the various sessions of the conference. In fact, the whole experience of branch conference will help us lift each other, allowing us all to ascend together. We invite you to attend, with a sense of anticipation and preparation, and you will experience a rich outpouring of the Spirit. You will be blessed and be a blessing to others.
4. The Lord's Way of Caring for the Poor
A pastoral message written on Friday, October 31, 1975, and published in Heaven-11, the BYU 11th Branch newsletter on Monday, November 3.
We hear much these days about the world's faltering attempts to care for the poor in our society. "The great welfare debacle in this and other countries is only now coming to light," said Elder Hartmon Rector Jr. in the recent general conference. "For instance, New York City is currently facing a tremendous financial crisis, [where] fully 22 percent of this city's total budget goes for public welfare. This is more than is spent on police protection, health or hospitals, or education. More than a million New Yorkers are now receiving welfare payments, and the number is rising daily.
"The food stamp program which was initially designed to assist the poor . . . is totally out of hand, a monster that threatens us all. Over $6.6 billion will be spent for this program in fiscal year 1976. That represents over one-half of the total U.S. Department of Agricultural budget. Over 19 million people—almost one American out of eleven—are now getting food stamps.
"Welfare lists grow daily, and we now face the startling fact that we have third and fourth generations growing up on welfare. They have known nothing else. These people even strike and picket to get more sooner. Candidates for public office seem to be trying to out-promise each other in giveaway programs" (Ensign, Nov. 1975, 10-11).
There is a better way. The Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants has told us: "I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.
"And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.
"But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.
"For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare" (D&C 104:14-17).
And then to us who have been blessed with this abundance He mentions, the Lord gives this significant warning: "Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of the gospel, unto the poor and needy, he shall with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment" (D&C 104:18).
Those are strong words. And the question immediately comes to mind: What is the Lord's way? How are we to impart our portion, according to the law of the gospel, unto the poor and needy?The answer is a simple one: by paying our fast offerings.
A minimal fast offering (and let us emphasize the word minimal) is defined as the cost of the meals you don't eat while you are fasting. If we fully understand the law of the fast, then we know that our fasting is incomplete until we have given a generous offering to the bishop, who uses these sacred funds to care for the poor, the needy, and the destitute.
There is no system of charity that is more selfless or more pure or more effective. In the first place, when we give to the poor by paying fast offerings, the gift is entirely anonymous. No one ever knows who paid the money. Of this kind of giving the Savior said: "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
"Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
"But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
"That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:1-4).
Second, the system is so much more effective than any other charity on earth. Some well-known charities in this country reportedly have an overhead as big as sixty percent or more. That means that sixty percent of the money we might give them does not go directly to the purpose for which it is given. Even some of the best charities have a twenty-five percent overhead. When we pay fast offerings, we can be confident that every single penny, without exception, goes to benefit the poor. There is no overhead.
Third, we do not need to worry about our fast offering contribution going to the unworthy poor, to someone who doesn't really need it. We do not need to worry about fostering a welfare dole. We do not need to worry about abuses or excesses. The bishop, as the common judge in Israel, gives aid to the poor only after careful, prayerful consideration. He gives the aid in such a way that it helps the person to help himself.
President Spencer W. Kimball has said: "I think that when we are affluent as many of us are that we ought to be very, very generous. . . . I think we should be very generous and give, instead of the amount we saved by our two meals of fasting, perhaps much, much more—ten times more where we are in a position to do it. I know there are some who couldn't" (General welfare services meeting, Apr. 6, 1974, 12).
Listen to this promise President Marion G. Romney, of the First Presidency, makes: "If we will double our fast offerings, we shall increase our own prosperity, both spiritually and temporally. This the Lord has promised, and this has been the record" (Talk to the priesthood board, Mar. 6, 1974, 10).
We hear much these days about the world's faltering attempts to care for the poor in our society. "The great welfare debacle in this and other countries is only now coming to light," said Elder Hartmon Rector Jr. in the recent general conference. "For instance, New York City is currently facing a tremendous financial crisis, [where] fully 22 percent of this city's total budget goes for public welfare. This is more than is spent on police protection, health or hospitals, or education. More than a million New Yorkers are now receiving welfare payments, and the number is rising daily.
"The food stamp program which was initially designed to assist the poor . . . is totally out of hand, a monster that threatens us all. Over $6.6 billion will be spent for this program in fiscal year 1976. That represents over one-half of the total U.S. Department of Agricultural budget. Over 19 million people—almost one American out of eleven—are now getting food stamps.
"Welfare lists grow daily, and we now face the startling fact that we have third and fourth generations growing up on welfare. They have known nothing else. These people even strike and picket to get more sooner. Candidates for public office seem to be trying to out-promise each other in giveaway programs" (Ensign, Nov. 1975, 10-11).
There is a better way. The Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants has told us: "I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.
"And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.
"But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.
"For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare" (D&C 104:14-17).
And then to us who have been blessed with this abundance He mentions, the Lord gives this significant warning: "Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of the gospel, unto the poor and needy, he shall with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment" (D&C 104:18).
Those are strong words. And the question immediately comes to mind: What is the Lord's way? How are we to impart our portion, according to the law of the gospel, unto the poor and needy?The answer is a simple one: by paying our fast offerings.
A minimal fast offering (and let us emphasize the word minimal) is defined as the cost of the meals you don't eat while you are fasting. If we fully understand the law of the fast, then we know that our fasting is incomplete until we have given a generous offering to the bishop, who uses these sacred funds to care for the poor, the needy, and the destitute.
There is no system of charity that is more selfless or more pure or more effective. In the first place, when we give to the poor by paying fast offerings, the gift is entirely anonymous. No one ever knows who paid the money. Of this kind of giving the Savior said: "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
"Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
"But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
"That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:1-4).
Second, the system is so much more effective than any other charity on earth. Some well-known charities in this country reportedly have an overhead as big as sixty percent or more. That means that sixty percent of the money we might give them does not go directly to the purpose for which it is given. Even some of the best charities have a twenty-five percent overhead. When we pay fast offerings, we can be confident that every single penny, without exception, goes to benefit the poor. There is no overhead.
Third, we do not need to worry about our fast offering contribution going to the unworthy poor, to someone who doesn't really need it. We do not need to worry about fostering a welfare dole. We do not need to worry about abuses or excesses. The bishop, as the common judge in Israel, gives aid to the poor only after careful, prayerful consideration. He gives the aid in such a way that it helps the person to help himself.
President Spencer W. Kimball has said: "I think that when we are affluent as many of us are that we ought to be very, very generous. . . . I think we should be very generous and give, instead of the amount we saved by our two meals of fasting, perhaps much, much more—ten times more where we are in a position to do it. I know there are some who couldn't" (General welfare services meeting, Apr. 6, 1974, 12).
Listen to this promise President Marion G. Romney, of the First Presidency, makes: "If we will double our fast offerings, we shall increase our own prosperity, both spiritually and temporally. This the Lord has promised, and this has been the record" (Talk to the priesthood board, Mar. 6, 1974, 10).
3. Are Our Testimonies Growing Thinner?
A pastoral message written in Provo, Utah, on Thursday, October 9, 1975, and published in Heaven-11, the BYU 11th Branch newsletter on Monday, October 13. I was serving at the time as first counselor in the branch presidency. Gene Dalton was serving as branch president.
President Harold B. Lee a few years ago asked these questions in a Regional Representatives' seminar: "Are you brethren continually increasing your testimony by diligent study of the scriptures? Do you have a daily habit of reading the scriptures? If we're not reading the scriptures daily, our testimonies are growing thinner, our spirituality isn't increasing in depth" (Dec. 12, 1970).
If such counsel is necessary for seasoned and experienced servants of the Lord, men who are mature in the gospel, how necessary it must be for us then—those of us who are just beginning along the path—to read and study and ponder the scriptures every day.
It may be useful to remember that scripture study is to the spirit what food is to the body. And some of us seem to be on spiritual diets. We can go days and even weeks at a time never feeding our spirits, and consequently our testimonies grow thinner and thinner until we find ourselves spiritually malnourished.
Fortunately, the adult curriculum of the Church is designed to help us study the scriptures. This year we are studying the second half of the New Testament—Acts through Revelation. For priesthood bearers, the Melchizedek Priesthood study guide this year takes a doctrinal approach to these particular scriptures. For the sisters, the Relief Society spiritual living lessons are based in these same scriptures. And then for all of us, the Sunday School gospel doctrine lessons provide historical and other background to enrich our overall study of the New Testament. In addition, the Church magazines offer invaluable resource material.
With all this help, if we can't study the scriptures this year and understand them, when will be able to?
President Marion G. Romney, of the First Presidency, has said, "The older I grow in the service, the more I turn to the scriptures and try to understand the meaning of what the Lord has said. . . . It is worth our time to study the scriptures and see the depth, as far as we can, of the Lord's teachings" (General welfare services meeting, Oct. 5, 1974, 12).
As a branch presidency, we would like to challenge each of you to study the scriptures for at least fifteen minutes a day. And we can make this promise: If you will consistently and prayerfully search the scriptures, your testimonies will increase, your faith will grow, and you will understand more fully the meaning of what the Lord has said.
President Harold B. Lee a few years ago asked these questions in a Regional Representatives' seminar: "Are you brethren continually increasing your testimony by diligent study of the scriptures? Do you have a daily habit of reading the scriptures? If we're not reading the scriptures daily, our testimonies are growing thinner, our spirituality isn't increasing in depth" (Dec. 12, 1970).If such counsel is necessary for seasoned and experienced servants of the Lord, men who are mature in the gospel, how necessary it must be for us then—those of us who are just beginning along the path—to read and study and ponder the scriptures every day.
It may be useful to remember that scripture study is to the spirit what food is to the body. And some of us seem to be on spiritual diets. We can go days and even weeks at a time never feeding our spirits, and consequently our testimonies grow thinner and thinner until we find ourselves spiritually malnourished.
Fortunately, the adult curriculum of the Church is designed to help us study the scriptures. This year we are studying the second half of the New Testament—Acts through Revelation. For priesthood bearers, the Melchizedek Priesthood study guide this year takes a doctrinal approach to these particular scriptures. For the sisters, the Relief Society spiritual living lessons are based in these same scriptures. And then for all of us, the Sunday School gospel doctrine lessons provide historical and other background to enrich our overall study of the New Testament. In addition, the Church magazines offer invaluable resource material.
With all this help, if we can't study the scriptures this year and understand them, when will be able to?
President Marion G. Romney, of the First Presidency, has said, "The older I grow in the service, the more I turn to the scriptures and try to understand the meaning of what the Lord has said. . . . It is worth our time to study the scriptures and see the depth, as far as we can, of the Lord's teachings" (General welfare services meeting, Oct. 5, 1974, 12).
As a branch presidency, we would like to challenge each of you to study the scriptures for at least fifteen minutes a day. And we can make this promise: If you will consistently and prayerfully search the scriptures, your testimonies will increase, your faith will grow, and you will understand more fully the meaning of what the Lord has said.
2. Are We on Spiritual Diets?
A pastoral message from the BYU 11th Branch newsletter, Heaven-11, as a message from the branch presidency on February 2, 1975.
In the preface to His Book of Commandments, the Lord mentions one of the reasons He gives us scriptures: "That faith also might increase in the earth" (D&C 1:21). Obviously, our faith will not increase unless we read and study and ponder the scriptures. Scripture study becomes to the spirit what food is to the body.
President Harold B. Lee, speaking to the Regional Representatives of the Twelve, put it this way: "Are you brethren continually increasing your testimonies by diligent study of the scriptures? Do you have a daily habit of reading the scriptures? If we're not reading the scriptures daily, our testimonies are growing thinner, our spirituality isn't increasing in depth" (Regional Representatives' seminar, Dec 12, 1070).
Some of us seem to be on spiritual diets. We can go days and weeks at a time never feeding our spirits, and consequently our testimonies grow thinner and thinner until we find ourselves spiritually malnourished.
I was impressed when I recently encountered this statement by President Marion G. Romney, of the great prophets of this dispensation: "The older I grow in the service, the more I turn to the scriptures and try to understand the meaning of what the Lord has said. . . . It is worth our time to study the scriptures and see the depth, as far as we can, of the Lord's teachings" (Welfare session of general conference, Oct. 5, 1974).
If you will consistently and prayerfully search the scriptures for a few moments each day—for fifteen minutes if that's all the time you have—I can promise that your testimonies will grow, that your faith will increase, and that you will understand the meaning of what the Lord has said.
In the preface to His Book of Commandments, the Lord mentions one of the reasons He gives us scriptures: "That faith also might increase in the earth" (D&C 1:21). Obviously, our faith will not increase unless we read and study and ponder the scriptures. Scripture study becomes to the spirit what food is to the body.
President Harold B. Lee, speaking to the Regional Representatives of the Twelve, put it this way: "Are you brethren continually increasing your testimonies by diligent study of the scriptures? Do you have a daily habit of reading the scriptures? If we're not reading the scriptures daily, our testimonies are growing thinner, our spirituality isn't increasing in depth" (Regional Representatives' seminar, Dec 12, 1070).
Some of us seem to be on spiritual diets. We can go days and weeks at a time never feeding our spirits, and consequently our testimonies grow thinner and thinner until we find ourselves spiritually malnourished.
I was impressed when I recently encountered this statement by President Marion G. Romney, of the great prophets of this dispensation: "The older I grow in the service, the more I turn to the scriptures and try to understand the meaning of what the Lord has said. . . . It is worth our time to study the scriptures and see the depth, as far as we can, of the Lord's teachings" (Welfare session of general conference, Oct. 5, 1974).If you will consistently and prayerfully search the scriptures for a few moments each day—for fifteen minutes if that's all the time you have—I can promise that your testimonies will grow, that your faith will increase, and that you will understand the meaning of what the Lord has said.
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