A final bishopric message written for the April 2001 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette. Two months later—on Sunday afternoon, June 10, 2001, I was released as the eighth bishop of the Bountiful 20th Ward, Hyde Frederickson as first counselor, and Lionel Farr as second counselor. Hyde Frederickson was sustained as the ninth bishop of the ward with Keith Riley and Trevor Austin as counselors.
Forty years ago this month—on Sunday, April 30, 1961—the Bountiful Twentieth Ward was created with Jack White as the new bishop. Three months earlier John F. Kennedy had become president of the United States. David O. McKay was president of the Church. George D. Clyde was the governor of Utah. Bountiful, according to the 1960 census, had a population of 17,039 (compared to 41,301 in the 2000 census).
Four months later—in August 1961—the Soviet Union began building the Berlin Wall, that enduring symbol of the Cold War. At the October conference the Church announced that all its programs were to be correlated through the priesthood to strengthen the family and the individual. A significant shift. It would be nearly a year later before John Glenn in February 1962 would become the first American to orbit the earth. Vietnam had not yet entered into the national consciousness, the Beatles were unheard of, and the social upheavals of the late 60s were still years away.
The priesthood brethren of this new ward still did ward teaching (home teaching wouldn’t be introduced until nearly three years later). The reemphasis on family home evening was nearly four years away. Stake conferences—morning and afternoon sessions—were still held four times a year. General conferences in April and October lasted three days each. And there was a June conference for the Mutual Improvement Associations. And road shows and dance festivals and all-Church tournaments and Gold and Green Balls.
The children (and there were a lot of them in those days) went to Primary on a weekday afternoon, the sisters to Relief Society on a weekday morning, not on Sundays as we do now (the revised schedule wouldn’t consolidate meetings into a single three-hour Sunday block until 1980).
We still subscribed to The Improvement Era and The Relief Society Magazine and The Children’s Friend. And paid for our own building projects and raised ward budgets and held Relief Society bazaars.
Eight bishops presided over the ward during these four decades:
- Jack White (1961–1967)
- Keith Beazer (1967–1972)
- Glen Taylor (1972–1977)
- Don West (1977–1980)
- Jay Anderson (1980–1985)
- Delbert Strasser (1985–1991)
- Gail Anger (1991–1996)
- And now Dean Cleverly (1996–present)
We have seen a lot of change these past forty years: The Church has grown and matured. Man walked on the moon. The Cold War ended. Iron curtains fell. Presidents and prophets have come and gone. The economy flourished. Our society and culture changed. Computers and the Internet and other manifestations of technology became such a part of our lives. There were comings and goings. Births and missions and marriages and deaths. A new century and millennium dawned. And through it all we are reminded, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
And yet there have been constants too: Our community is still a peaceful haven where families keep struggling with the enduring problems of life, neighbors keep caring and serving, children keep learning and growing, the fruits of the Spirit are still evident, and the love of God is still manifest. And through it all we are reminded, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Showing posts with label A pastoral message. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A pastoral message. Show all posts
Saturday, April 19, 2008
32. Happiness, the Object of Our Existence
A bishopric message written on Monday, January 1, 2001, for publication in the January 2001 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
“Happiness,” taught the Prophet Joseph Smith, “is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it” (History of the Church, 5:134).
All of us want to be happy. It is the way we were programmed. It is our nature and our inheritance if we seek it in the right ways and in the proper places. The path that leads to happiness, the Prophet continued, “is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God. . . . In obedience there is joy and peace unspotted” (History of the Church, 5:134).
At the dawn of this new year, I have no greater desire for you whom I love than the simple wish that you find true happiness, the peace and the joy that come as precious gifts from a loving Father to all the obedient. That desire is my invocation upon the year and my blessing upon you and your families, as I bear my witness that God lives, that He is our Father, that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son, our Savior and Redeemer, and that Joseph Smith was and is His prophet, through whom the knowledge and power and authority were restored that allow us to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.
May that be our happy lot during this new year and always.
“Happiness,” taught the Prophet Joseph Smith, “is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it” (History of the Church, 5:134).
All of us want to be happy. It is the way we were programmed. It is our nature and our inheritance if we seek it in the right ways and in the proper places. The path that leads to happiness, the Prophet continued, “is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God. . . . In obedience there is joy and peace unspotted” (History of the Church, 5:134).
At the dawn of this new year, I have no greater desire for you whom I love than the simple wish that you find true happiness, the peace and the joy that come as precious gifts from a loving Father to all the obedient. That desire is my invocation upon the year and my blessing upon you and your families, as I bear my witness that God lives, that He is our Father, that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son, our Savior and Redeemer, and that Joseph Smith was and is His prophet, through whom the knowledge and power and authority were restored that allow us to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.
May that be our happy lot during this new year and always.
31. Glad Tidings of Great Joy
A bishopric message written on November 28, 2000, for the December 2000 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
Christmas. What a glorious time of year! A time when love and hope and light fill our darkened world for a brief moment. A season when generosity and good will and charity enlarge our souls just a little more.
And all this because a baby was born. In every age the glad tidings of great joy center in one pivotal truth: “the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world” (D&C 138:3).
To the shepherds of ancient Judea: “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11).
To the prophets of ancient America: “I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. . . . For behold, the time cometh . . . that with power, the Lord Omnipotent . . . shall come down from heaven” (Mosiah 3:3–5).
The witness of the resurrected Christ Himself: “This is the gospel [literally the good news, the glad tidings] which I have given you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father” (3 Nephi 27:13).
And in our own day: “This is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of heaven bore record unto us—That he came into the world” (D&C 76:40–41).
Why? “To be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might be saved” (D&C 76:41–42). “That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved” (D&C 138:4). Good news indeed!
I close this message, my witness that Love Personified came into the world that first Christmas 2000 years ago, with a little Christmas poem I wrote some years ago:
He came,
The one bright perfect Light,
He came
To chase away the misted darkness of the night
And make my narrow pathway plain.
He died,
The sinless Son of God,
He died
To ransom me from sin's exacting, heavy rod,
And death, my death to set aside.
He lives,
The wondrous name of Love,
He lives
Who lifts my earth-stained soul, now cleansed, to home above,
And glory there forever gives.
Christmas. What a glorious time of year! A time when love and hope and light fill our darkened world for a brief moment. A season when generosity and good will and charity enlarge our souls just a little more.
And all this because a baby was born. In every age the glad tidings of great joy center in one pivotal truth: “the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world” (D&C 138:3).
To the shepherds of ancient Judea: “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11).
To the prophets of ancient America: “I am come to declare unto you the glad tidings of great joy. . . . For behold, the time cometh . . . that with power, the Lord Omnipotent . . . shall come down from heaven” (Mosiah 3:3–5).
The witness of the resurrected Christ Himself: “This is the gospel [literally the good news, the glad tidings] which I have given you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father” (3 Nephi 27:13).
And in our own day: “This is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of heaven bore record unto us—That he came into the world” (D&C 76:40–41).
Why? “To be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; that through him all might be saved” (D&C 76:41–42). “That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved” (D&C 138:4). Good news indeed!
I close this message, my witness that Love Personified came into the world that first Christmas 2000 years ago, with a little Christmas poem I wrote some years ago:
He came,
The one bright perfect Light,
He came
To chase away the misted darkness of the night
And make my narrow pathway plain.
He died,
The sinless Son of God,
He died
To ransom me from sin's exacting, heavy rod,
And death, my death to set aside.
He lives,
The wondrous name of Love,
He lives
Who lifts my earth-stained soul, now cleansed, to home above,
And glory there forever gives.
30. Remember Him and Keep His Commandments
A pastoral message written on Friday, September 1, 2000, as the bishopric message for the September 2000 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
Members of our family traveled this summer to parts of the Midwest and the East Coast. We marveled at the beauty and diversity of this vast country, a land we believe is “a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands” (2 Nephi 1:5). And we were reminded of the rich heritage we enjoy as American citizens and of the cost paid by those who went before us in founding our nation and defending our freedoms and bringing us to these mountain valleys we call home.
A warning issued to ancient Israel as they entered their promised land applies in principle to us in our day: “And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
“And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
“Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deuteronomy 6:10–12).
Each of us, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, has been purchased out of bondage, has been redeemed out of slavery, and has been blessed with a multiplicity of blessings we neither earned nor deserve. We cannot afford to forget the Lord and what He has done for us.
“Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him” (Deuteronomy 6:13) was the command anciently as the remedy for not for-getting the Lord, and it still applies in our day. A recurring theme of the Book of Mormon, which was written to our day, is that we remember the Lord and His divine deliverance. Each week as we partake of the emblems of His body and blood, we witness afresh and covenant anew to “always remember him and keep his commandments” (D&C 20:77).
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Members of our family traveled this summer to parts of the Midwest and the East Coast. We marveled at the beauty and diversity of this vast country, a land we believe is “a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands” (2 Nephi 1:5). And we were reminded of the rich heritage we enjoy as American citizens and of the cost paid by those who went before us in founding our nation and defending our freedoms and bringing us to these mountain valleys we call home.
A warning issued to ancient Israel as they entered their promised land applies in principle to us in our day: “And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
“And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
“Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deuteronomy 6:10–12).
Each of us, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, has been purchased out of bondage, has been redeemed out of slavery, and has been blessed with a multiplicity of blessings we neither earned nor deserve. We cannot afford to forget the Lord and what He has done for us.
“Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him” (Deuteronomy 6:13) was the command anciently as the remedy for not for-getting the Lord, and it still applies in our day. A recurring theme of the Book of Mormon, which was written to our day, is that we remember the Lord and His divine deliverance. Each week as we partake of the emblems of His body and blood, we witness afresh and covenant anew to “always remember him and keep his commandments” (D&C 20:77).
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
29. Deliverance and Redemption
A pastoral message written on Tuesday, May 30, 2000, as the bishopric message for the June 2000 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette. The same thought was also printed as “A Final Word” in the June 2000 issue of the Cleverly Newsletter. It was also posted on June 4, 2008, on the blogsite The Dawning of a Brighter Day.
When the Lord God brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of Egypt into the promised land, He reminded them that He was giving them cities which they had not built, houses full of good things they had not filled, wells they had not dug, and vineyards they had not planted (see Deuteronomy 6:10–11). Sort of like us today at the dawn of the 21st century.
“Beware,” He cautions them, “lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deuteronomy 6:12).
“And thou shalt remember,” He says unto them later, “that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee” (Deuteronomy 15:15).
This pattern of remembrance runs throughout the scriptures: We are in bondage and the Lord delivers and redeems us. And we are to remember that deliverance and redemption.
Indeed, an important purpose of the scriptures is that “they have enlarged the memory of this people . . . and brought them to the knowledge of their God” (Alma 37:8).
We are enjoined in many places throughout the scriptures to remember the Lord our Redeemer and what He has done both for our fathers and for us. The word “remember,” in some form or another, appears 454 times in the scriptures.
The summer that spreads before us is strewn with opportunities to remember our past, to recall what the Lord has done for our fathers, to recount what blessings we enjoy at His hand.
This past Monday was Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember specifically those who sacrificed their lives in the defense of freedom and more generally all loved ones who have passed on to the other side.
In another ten days is Flag Day, a chance to remember the symbol of our God-given freedoms, a chance to reflect on the opportunities and responsibilities of living in this “sweet land of liberty” (Hymns, 339), “the land of the free and the home of the brave” (Hymns, 340). The Lord Himself referred to it as “a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth” (Ether 1:42).
Three weeks later, on the Fourth of July, we celebrate the birthday of our country and remember again that the Lord has particular designs for the destiny of this nation. He declared, “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I have raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (D&C 101:80).
And finally, we celebrate Pioneer Day, a wonderful commemoration of the great migration of our forebears to these western valleys. We remember their sacrifices, their devotion, their faith as they fulfilled the ancient prophecy that “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1) as the Lord “set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people” (Isaiah 11:11; 2 Nephi 21:11).
Deliverance and redemption. May each of us remember. And may each of us declare, as did the Psalmist anciently, “I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old” (Psalms 77:11).
When the Lord God brought our fathers, the children of Israel, out of Egypt into the promised land, He reminded them that He was giving them cities which they had not built, houses full of good things they had not filled, wells they had not dug, and vineyards they had not planted (see Deuteronomy 6:10–11). Sort of like us today at the dawn of the 21st century.
“Beware,” He cautions them, “lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deuteronomy 6:12).
“And thou shalt remember,” He says unto them later, “that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee” (Deuteronomy 15:15).
This pattern of remembrance runs throughout the scriptures: We are in bondage and the Lord delivers and redeems us. And we are to remember that deliverance and redemption.
Indeed, an important purpose of the scriptures is that “they have enlarged the memory of this people . . . and brought them to the knowledge of their God” (Alma 37:8).
We are enjoined in many places throughout the scriptures to remember the Lord our Redeemer and what He has done both for our fathers and for us. The word “remember,” in some form or another, appears 454 times in the scriptures.
The summer that spreads before us is strewn with opportunities to remember our past, to recall what the Lord has done for our fathers, to recount what blessings we enjoy at His hand.
This past Monday was Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember specifically those who sacrificed their lives in the defense of freedom and more generally all loved ones who have passed on to the other side.
In another ten days is Flag Day, a chance to remember the symbol of our God-given freedoms, a chance to reflect on the opportunities and responsibilities of living in this “sweet land of liberty” (Hymns, 339), “the land of the free and the home of the brave” (Hymns, 340). The Lord Himself referred to it as “a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth” (Ether 1:42).
Three weeks later, on the Fourth of July, we celebrate the birthday of our country and remember again that the Lord has particular designs for the destiny of this nation. He declared, “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I have raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood” (D&C 101:80).
And finally, we celebrate Pioneer Day, a wonderful commemoration of the great migration of our forebears to these western valleys. We remember their sacrifices, their devotion, their faith as they fulfilled the ancient prophecy that “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1) as the Lord “set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people” (Isaiah 11:11; 2 Nephi 21:11).
Deliverance and redemption. May each of us remember. And may each of us declare, as did the Psalmist anciently, “I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old” (Psalms 77:11).
28. Come unto Christ or Perish
A bishopric message that appeared in the March 2000 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
“For we labor diligently to write,” wrote Nephi in the Book of Mormon, “to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. . . .
“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25: 23, 26).
The Book of Mormon, which we are studying again this year in Sunday School, is drenched in Christ. It is, as President Ezra Taft Benson taught some years back, the keystone of our religion and therefore the keystone of our understanding of Christ, the keystone of our faith in Christ, the keystone of our testimony of Christ. There is no more powerful witness of Him and His goodness to be found anywhere.
The overriding message in the Book of Mormon, in my opinion, could be summarized in five simple words: Come unto Christ or perish.
We must come unto Him, give our whole souls unto Him, be reconciled to Him. “Yea, come unto Christ,” concluded Moroni at the very end of the record, “and be perfected in him, . . . and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32).
My humble prayer is that each of us may do exactly that: Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.
“For we labor diligently to write,” wrote Nephi in the Book of Mormon, “to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. . . .
“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25: 23, 26).
The Book of Mormon, which we are studying again this year in Sunday School, is drenched in Christ. It is, as President Ezra Taft Benson taught some years back, the keystone of our religion and therefore the keystone of our understanding of Christ, the keystone of our faith in Christ, the keystone of our testimony of Christ. There is no more powerful witness of Him and His goodness to be found anywhere.
The overriding message in the Book of Mormon, in my opinion, could be summarized in five simple words: Come unto Christ or perish.
We must come unto Him, give our whole souls unto Him, be reconciled to Him. “Yea, come unto Christ,” concluded Moroni at the very end of the record, “and be perfected in him, . . . and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32).
My humble prayer is that each of us may do exactly that: Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.
27. Devoting Our Best Efforts
A bishopric message that appeared in the November 1999 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
In a message addressed earlier this year to members of the Church throughout the world, the First Presidency wrote, “We call upon parents to devote their best efforts to teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles which will keep them close to the Church.” This same statement was repeated in a second letter just last month.
The commandment to teach and rear children is not new. Parents have always had that responsibility (see, for example, D&C 68:25–28; 93:40–49; and Mosiah 4:14–15). Our prophets seem to sense some urgency, however, in our getting about the task. “We counsel parents and children,” the First Presidency continued in both their February 1999 and October 1999 letters, “to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities.”
In the February letter, they also added, “However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform.”
We are to give highest priority to these things. There are some things that only parents and families can perform to survive what must surely lie ahead and to go where the Lord wants us to go as we enter the new century and the new millennium. Both parents and children need to be wise in not letting other activities and demands, however worthy and appropriate they may seem, divert them from focusing on these stated family duties (family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities).
“Husbands and wives—fathers and mothers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations,” we read in the proclamation on the family. “We warn that individuals . . . who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”
As we approach the holiday season, may each of us may find the joy, happiness, and fulfillment in our family associations that the Lord intends us to enjoy. May we take our leaders’ counsel seriously when they call upon us to give these things our highest priority. And may the Lord bless us as we do so.
In a message addressed earlier this year to members of the Church throughout the world, the First Presidency wrote, “We call upon parents to devote their best efforts to teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles which will keep them close to the Church.” This same statement was repeated in a second letter just last month.
The commandment to teach and rear children is not new. Parents have always had that responsibility (see, for example, D&C 68:25–28; 93:40–49; and Mosiah 4:14–15). Our prophets seem to sense some urgency, however, in our getting about the task. “We counsel parents and children,” the First Presidency continued in both their February 1999 and October 1999 letters, “to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities.”
In the February letter, they also added, “However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform.”
We are to give highest priority to these things. There are some things that only parents and families can perform to survive what must surely lie ahead and to go where the Lord wants us to go as we enter the new century and the new millennium. Both parents and children need to be wise in not letting other activities and demands, however worthy and appropriate they may seem, divert them from focusing on these stated family duties (family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities).
“Husbands and wives—fathers and mothers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations,” we read in the proclamation on the family. “We warn that individuals . . . who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”
As we approach the holiday season, may each of us may find the joy, happiness, and fulfillment in our family associations that the Lord intends us to enjoy. May we take our leaders’ counsel seriously when they call upon us to give these things our highest priority. And may the Lord bless us as we do so.
26. Let Us Live the Gospel in Our Homes
A pastoral message written on Monday, July 26, 1999, as the bishopric message for the August 1999 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette. The same thought was also printed as “A Final Word” in the July 26, 1999, issue of the Family Journal.
In the last general conference President Gordon B. Hinckley urged, “Let us live the gospel in our homes. Let there be an honest manifestation of love between husbands and wives, between children and their parents. Control the voice of anger. Be absolutely loyal one to another” (Ensign, May 1999, 51).
Simply put, that is the message of the Lord to us in our day. It comes from our prophet. It is fully consistent with what apostles and prophets have been teaching us for many years.
In His preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord declared, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).
How are we doing at hearkening to the voice of the Lord through His servants? How are we doing at living the gospel in our homes, the place where surely it matters most? These are thought-provoking questions that deserve our honest attention. Every husband and father, every wife and mother, every son and daughter might ponder such additional questions as these:
• Am I doing my part to make my home a nice place to live?
• Am I carrying my fair share in the chores and responsibilities of the home?
• Am I spending the time I should with each family member?
• Do I take part in daily family prayer?
• Do I study the scriptures alone and with my family?
• Do I participate willingly in a weekly family home evening?
• Do I contribute to the success of that home evening?
• Do I control my anger?
• Do I show love and respect to the members of my family?
• Am I willing to forgive and forget the offenses, real or perceived, of other family members?
• Am I loyal to the members of my family?
“No other success,” taught an earlier prophet, “can compensate for failure in the home” (David O. McKay, in Improvement Era, June 1964, 445). That is not just nice sounding rhetoric or a trite cliché. It is literally true.
Another prophet said, “The greatest of the Lord’s work you brethren will ever do as fathers will be within the walls of your own home” (Harold B. Lee, in Ensign, July 1973, 98). The truth in that simple declaration surely applies to the sisters as well.
May the Lord preserve, protect, and bless our families—fathers, mothers, children, all of us—as we seek to follow the Lord by living the gospel in our homes.
In the last general conference President Gordon B. Hinckley urged, “Let us live the gospel in our homes. Let there be an honest manifestation of love between husbands and wives, between children and their parents. Control the voice of anger. Be absolutely loyal one to another” (Ensign, May 1999, 51).
Simply put, that is the message of the Lord to us in our day. It comes from our prophet. It is fully consistent with what apostles and prophets have been teaching us for many years.
In His preface to the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord declared, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).
How are we doing at hearkening to the voice of the Lord through His servants? How are we doing at living the gospel in our homes, the place where surely it matters most? These are thought-provoking questions that deserve our honest attention. Every husband and father, every wife and mother, every son and daughter might ponder such additional questions as these:
• Am I doing my part to make my home a nice place to live?
• Am I carrying my fair share in the chores and responsibilities of the home?
• Am I spending the time I should with each family member?
• Do I take part in daily family prayer?
• Do I study the scriptures alone and with my family?
• Do I participate willingly in a weekly family home evening?
• Do I contribute to the success of that home evening?
• Do I control my anger?
• Do I show love and respect to the members of my family?
• Am I willing to forgive and forget the offenses, real or perceived, of other family members?
• Am I loyal to the members of my family?
“No other success,” taught an earlier prophet, “can compensate for failure in the home” (David O. McKay, in Improvement Era, June 1964, 445). That is not just nice sounding rhetoric or a trite cliché. It is literally true.
Another prophet said, “The greatest of the Lord’s work you brethren will ever do as fathers will be within the walls of your own home” (Harold B. Lee, in Ensign, July 1973, 98). The truth in that simple declaration surely applies to the sisters as well.
May the Lord preserve, protect, and bless our families—fathers, mothers, children, all of us—as we seek to follow the Lord by living the gospel in our homes.
Friday, April 18, 2008
25. Looking for the Good
A thought written on Monday evening, April 26, 1999, for publication in the May 1999 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette. Henry Haurand served as a counselor in the stake presidency when F. Michael Watson was president of the Bountiful Utah South Stake. Later he served as president of the Frankfurt Germany Temple.
President Henry Haurand spoke in our sacrament meeting a little over a month ago. He shared tender feelings about the Savior, recounting some of the pivotal events from that final week of the Lord’s mortal life. He also mentioned some experiences from the three years he and Sister Haurand served in the Frankfurt Germany Temple.
In the late 1980s, before his call to serve in our stake presidency, President Haurand had been in Germany supervising construction of the Frankfurt Temple, little realizing that a decade later he would return there as temple president.
He once shared an experience he had in 1987 in the not-yet-completed temple: “President and Sister Carlos E. Asay visited the temple. As we were standing in the celestial room Elder Asay asked me if the workers could feel the spirit of the sacred work they were performing. I answered that I did not think so. It is my experience that when you go through the temple looking for things that are not completed yet, that still need to be cleaned up, you cannot feel the Spirit of the Lord. But when you look with your spiritual eyes and see how it will look when it is completed, then you can feel the Spirit. Elder Asay said this is an eternal principle. When you look for fault, you can not have the Spirit of the Lord, but when you look for the good, then you can.”
This principle, President Haurand observed, is true in marriage, with our children or friends, with our neighbors and coworkers. When we look for fault, we cannot have the Spirit of the Lord, but when we look for good, we can.
The Prophet Joseph Smith may have had this same principle in mind when he penned the thirteenth Article of Faith: “. . . If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (emphasis added).
President Henry Haurand spoke in our sacrament meeting a little over a month ago. He shared tender feelings about the Savior, recounting some of the pivotal events from that final week of the Lord’s mortal life. He also mentioned some experiences from the three years he and Sister Haurand served in the Frankfurt Germany Temple.
In the late 1980s, before his call to serve in our stake presidency, President Haurand had been in Germany supervising construction of the Frankfurt Temple, little realizing that a decade later he would return there as temple president.
He once shared an experience he had in 1987 in the not-yet-completed temple: “President and Sister Carlos E. Asay visited the temple. As we were standing in the celestial room Elder Asay asked me if the workers could feel the spirit of the sacred work they were performing. I answered that I did not think so. It is my experience that when you go through the temple looking for things that are not completed yet, that still need to be cleaned up, you cannot feel the Spirit of the Lord. But when you look with your spiritual eyes and see how it will look when it is completed, then you can feel the Spirit. Elder Asay said this is an eternal principle. When you look for fault, you can not have the Spirit of the Lord, but when you look for the good, then you can.”
This principle, President Haurand observed, is true in marriage, with our children or friends, with our neighbors and coworkers. When we look for fault, we cannot have the Spirit of the Lord, but when we look for good, we can.
The Prophet Joseph Smith may have had this same principle in mind when he penned the thirteenth Article of Faith: “. . . If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (emphasis added).
24. That Ye May Not Remember Your Guilt
A bishopric message published in the February 1999 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette. On February 28, 1999, Kevin Thueson was released as my first counselor. Hyde Frederickson moved from second to first counselor, and Lionel Farr became the new second counselor.
A few weeks ago I had to go to LDS Hospital to have my esophagus dilated. I have had the procedure done a few other times over the years and was not looking forward to the unpleasant experience. Although partially sedated, I could not be put all the way out because I had to cooperate with the doctors during the procedure by swallowing the tube they stuck down my throat.
This time, however, they used a new type of sedative that actually made me forget the whole experience. Although I was apparently awake for the entire procedure, I remember absolutely nothing from when the medication went into my arm until I was being walked back to the recovery area. Pretty nice.
It occurred to me that there is one type of pain that is even more excruciating than physical pain and that is the pain that results from sin. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some way to induce amnesia to forget that type of misery? Fortunately, there is. It’s called repentance.
Notice what Nephi says about not remembering our sin at the day of judgment: “Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness” (2 Nephi 9:46).
The only way that happens is to repent of our sins before that great and dreadful day. That’s the only way to prepare our souls so that it will be a glorious day. Otherwise, we will remember our guilt most exquisitely.
If we do repent, however, the Lord promises that even He Who knows all things past, present, and future will forget our transgression: “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42). The choice is ours.
A few weeks ago I had to go to LDS Hospital to have my esophagus dilated. I have had the procedure done a few other times over the years and was not looking forward to the unpleasant experience. Although partially sedated, I could not be put all the way out because I had to cooperate with the doctors during the procedure by swallowing the tube they stuck down my throat.
This time, however, they used a new type of sedative that actually made me forget the whole experience. Although I was apparently awake for the entire procedure, I remember absolutely nothing from when the medication went into my arm until I was being walked back to the recovery area. Pretty nice.
It occurred to me that there is one type of pain that is even more excruciating than physical pain and that is the pain that results from sin. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some way to induce amnesia to forget that type of misery? Fortunately, there is. It’s called repentance.
Notice what Nephi says about not remembering our sin at the day of judgment: “Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness” (2 Nephi 9:46).
The only way that happens is to repent of our sins before that great and dreadful day. That’s the only way to prepare our souls so that it will be a glorious day. Otherwise, we will remember our guilt most exquisitely.
If we do repent, however, the Lord promises that even He Who knows all things past, present, and future will forget our transgression: “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42). The choice is ours.
23. Confess His Hand in All Things
A bishopric message published in the November 1998 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
In a few weeks we will celebrate another Thanksgiving. As we think about the Lord’s goodness to us, as we contemplate the abundance He has bestowed upon us, as we marvel at the blessings and opportunities that are ours, we have every reason, as the Psalmist has written, to “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4).
With this poetic invitation before us, we are reminded of the everlasting goodness of our God: “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
Few things, however, bother Him more than the ingratitude of His children: “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments” (D&C 59:21).
Rather, we are to do all “things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances” (D&C 59:15). And if we “do this, the fulness of the earth is [ours], . . . for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; . . . to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul” (D&C 104:16, 18, 19).
“For the earth is full,” the Lord reminds us, “and there is enough and to spare; . . . therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment” (D&C 104:17–18).
The Lord is really quite serious about this matter of our sharing with others. Indeed, if we hope to retain a remission of our sins, we are required to “impart of [our] substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally” (Mosiah 4:26), as many among us do so very well.
At this season of the year, we thank you for the goodness of your lives. We thank you for being the kind of decent, Christian neighbors you are supposed to be. We thank you for all that you do to enrich and bless and lift those about you. May God grant you the joy and peace that come from having grateful hearts, from confessing His hand in all things, from sharing your substance with those less fortunate, and from keeping His commandments.
In a few weeks we will celebrate another Thanksgiving. As we think about the Lord’s goodness to us, as we contemplate the abundance He has bestowed upon us, as we marvel at the blessings and opportunities that are ours, we have every reason, as the Psalmist has written, to “enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name” (Psalm 100:4).
With this poetic invitation before us, we are reminded of the everlasting goodness of our God: “For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
Few things, however, bother Him more than the ingratitude of His children: “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments” (D&C 59:21).
Rather, we are to do all “things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances” (D&C 59:15). And if we “do this, the fulness of the earth is [ours], . . . for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; . . . to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul” (D&C 104:16, 18, 19).
“For the earth is full,” the Lord reminds us, “and there is enough and to spare; . . . therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment” (D&C 104:17–18).
The Lord is really quite serious about this matter of our sharing with others. Indeed, if we hope to retain a remission of our sins, we are required to “impart of [our] substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally” (Mosiah 4:26), as many among us do so very well.
At this season of the year, we thank you for the goodness of your lives. We thank you for being the kind of decent, Christian neighbors you are supposed to be. We thank you for all that you do to enrich and bless and lift those about you. May God grant you the joy and peace that come from having grateful hearts, from confessing His hand in all things, from sharing your substance with those less fortunate, and from keeping His commandments.
22. Bishopric Changes
A bishopric message in the September 1998 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette, which was also published as “A Final Word” in the August 31, 1998, issue of the Family Journal. Larry Young had been released as my first counselor in the bishopric to be sustained as ward mission leader. Kevin Thueson was moved from second to first counselor, and Hyde Frederickson was called as the new second counselor.
Words do not begin to express the love and appreciation I feel for Larry Young, who two weeks ago was released as first counselor in the bishopric to serve as our new ward mission leader. He has been a capable and faithful servant of God. He has ably served the Lord and each of you. I am confident that he and Iris will do well as stake missionaries.
The inspiration behind Larry’s new call came clearly, obviously by surprise, and in a manner reminiscent of the calls to Barnabas and Saul described in the second verse of the 13th chapter of Acts. I relied heavily on Larry in my administration of the ward, and I suspect the Lord had to intervene so directly to overcome my natural reluctance to give up my right arm, as it were.
I am grateful for Kevin Thueson’s willingness to continue his service in the bishopric, serving now as the new first counselor. Kevin is an uncommonly sensible person, sound in his counsel and judgment, devoted to your welfare. He is a faithful warrior, something like a Captain Moroni, who “was a strong and mighty man; . . . a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and freedom of his country; . . . a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people; . . . a man who was firm in the faith of Christ” (Alma 48:11–13).
And I am thankful that the Lord has called Hyde Frederickson to serve as the new second counselor in the bishopric. I look forward to working with him.
Larry and Iris replace Clyde and Carol StClair, who for the past three years have served with distinction as stake missionaries. The StClairs have patiently, quietly, and effectively gone about proclaiming the gospel and in marvelous ways have touched hearts, blessed lives, and brought souls unto Christ. They are rightly regarded by some as though they were “like unto angels of God” (D&C 42:6).
The gratitude and affection I have expressed concerning these few people is the same I feel for all of you who seek in your respective assignments to magnify your callings and bless the lives of those about you.
My earnest prayer is that each of us may live to merit the Divine approbation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
Words do not begin to express the love and appreciation I feel for Larry Young, who two weeks ago was released as first counselor in the bishopric to serve as our new ward mission leader. He has been a capable and faithful servant of God. He has ably served the Lord and each of you. I am confident that he and Iris will do well as stake missionaries.
The inspiration behind Larry’s new call came clearly, obviously by surprise, and in a manner reminiscent of the calls to Barnabas and Saul described in the second verse of the 13th chapter of Acts. I relied heavily on Larry in my administration of the ward, and I suspect the Lord had to intervene so directly to overcome my natural reluctance to give up my right arm, as it were.
I am grateful for Kevin Thueson’s willingness to continue his service in the bishopric, serving now as the new first counselor. Kevin is an uncommonly sensible person, sound in his counsel and judgment, devoted to your welfare. He is a faithful warrior, something like a Captain Moroni, who “was a strong and mighty man; . . . a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and freedom of his country; . . . a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people; . . . a man who was firm in the faith of Christ” (Alma 48:11–13).
And I am thankful that the Lord has called Hyde Frederickson to serve as the new second counselor in the bishopric. I look forward to working with him.
Larry and Iris replace Clyde and Carol StClair, who for the past three years have served with distinction as stake missionaries. The StClairs have patiently, quietly, and effectively gone about proclaiming the gospel and in marvelous ways have touched hearts, blessed lives, and brought souls unto Christ. They are rightly regarded by some as though they were “like unto angels of God” (D&C 42:6).
The gratitude and affection I have expressed concerning these few people is the same I feel for all of you who seek in your respective assignments to magnify your callings and bless the lives of those about you.
My earnest prayer is that each of us may live to merit the Divine approbation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
21. All Things Bear Record
A bishopric message written on Monday and Tuesday, July 27–28, 1998, and published in the August 1998 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
Summer is passing quickly—a little too quickly for those who enjoy the longer days and warmer temperatures. And yet the passing of the seasons, as the earth makes its annual orbit about the sun, reminds us that “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).
The Savior, in His premortal role as the Lord Jehovah, declared that “all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me” (Moses 6:63). That doesn’t leave much out.
“Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ,” wrote the prophet Nephi, “and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi 11:4).
A later Nephi testified concurrently, “Ye have received all things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true” (Helaman 8:24).
Recently we celebrated Pioneer Day. Those of us who have traveled to other parts of this great country or even to distant parts of the earth know that there is much of beauty and goodness and opportunity across the face of the earth. Yet, we are privileged to live in a peaceful, blessed area that was preserved by the hand of God for His peculiar purposes.
This desert area, in fulfillment of ancient prophecy, has blossomed as a rose. Among other things, that should remind us ever and always that we are the Lord’s covenant people, the sheep of His pasture. It should remind us that the Lord God Almighty has set His hand again to gather scattered Israel and bring them home. It should remind us that He keeps His promises, all of them, and that nothing will ever fail of all His goodness toward us if we keep the covenants we have made with Him.
May we “with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances” (D&C 59:15), always be found among “those who confess . . . his hand in all things, and obey . . . his commandments” (D&C 59:21).
Summer is passing quickly—a little too quickly for those who enjoy the longer days and warmer temperatures. And yet the passing of the seasons, as the earth makes its annual orbit about the sun, reminds us that “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).
The Savior, in His premortal role as the Lord Jehovah, declared that “all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me” (Moses 6:63). That doesn’t leave much out.
“Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ,” wrote the prophet Nephi, “and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi 11:4).
A later Nephi testified concurrently, “Ye have received all things, both things in heaven, and all things which are in the earth, as a witness that they are true” (Helaman 8:24).
Recently we celebrated Pioneer Day. Those of us who have traveled to other parts of this great country or even to distant parts of the earth know that there is much of beauty and goodness and opportunity across the face of the earth. Yet, we are privileged to live in a peaceful, blessed area that was preserved by the hand of God for His peculiar purposes.
This desert area, in fulfillment of ancient prophecy, has blossomed as a rose. Among other things, that should remind us ever and always that we are the Lord’s covenant people, the sheep of His pasture. It should remind us that the Lord God Almighty has set His hand again to gather scattered Israel and bring them home. It should remind us that He keeps His promises, all of them, and that nothing will ever fail of all His goodness toward us if we keep the covenants we have made with Him.
May we “with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances” (D&C 59:15), always be found among “those who confess . . . his hand in all things, and obey . . . his commandments” (D&C 59:21).
20. Springtime
A bishopric message written on Monday, April 27, 1998, and published in the May 1998 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
Springtime. What a glorious time of year. A time of rebirth and renewal. A time of hope and promise. A time when the very earth bears record of Him who made it (see Moses 6:63; 2 Nephi 11:4 Alma 30:44; and Helaman 8:24).
Although in concert with the rest of the Christian world we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus at Christmas time, we believe from latter-day revelation that it really happened in the spring of the year, during that season when shepherds would be “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8).
It was also in the spring of the year, at the season of Passover, when the Lamb of God worked out what Elder Neal A. Maxwell has called “the awful arithmetic of the atonement,” causing the Savior “to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19:18) that He might take upon Him the pains and the sicknesses and the infirmities and the sins of His people (see Alma 7:11–13).
It was also on an early spring morning, the first day of the week, when faithful women arrived at an empty tomb to become the first witnesses of His glorious resurrection.
And it was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of 1820 that the boy Joseph walked into a grove of trees near his New York farmhouse and, in answer to his humble prayer, saw the Father and the Son in that glorious vision that opened the dispensation of the fulness of times.
These and a score of other springtime events associated with the gospel of Jesus Christ—such as the restoration of the priesthood in May 1829 and the organization of the Church in April 1830—all remind us of “the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world; that through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, [we] might be saved” (D&C 138:3–4).
May God bless us, as we enjoy this season called spring, to remember always these evidences of His love.
Springtime. What a glorious time of year. A time of rebirth and renewal. A time of hope and promise. A time when the very earth bears record of Him who made it (see Moses 6:63; 2 Nephi 11:4 Alma 30:44; and Helaman 8:24).
Although in concert with the rest of the Christian world we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus at Christmas time, we believe from latter-day revelation that it really happened in the spring of the year, during that season when shepherds would be “abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8).
It was also in the spring of the year, at the season of Passover, when the Lamb of God worked out what Elder Neal A. Maxwell has called “the awful arithmetic of the atonement,” causing the Savior “to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19:18) that He might take upon Him the pains and the sicknesses and the infirmities and the sins of His people (see Alma 7:11–13).
It was also on an early spring morning, the first day of the week, when faithful women arrived at an empty tomb to become the first witnesses of His glorious resurrection.
And it was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of 1820 that the boy Joseph walked into a grove of trees near his New York farmhouse and, in answer to his humble prayer, saw the Father and the Son in that glorious vision that opened the dispensation of the fulness of times.
These and a score of other springtime events associated with the gospel of Jesus Christ—such as the restoration of the priesthood in May 1829 and the organization of the Church in April 1830—all remind us of “the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world; that through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, [we] might be saved” (D&C 138:3–4).
May God bless us, as we enjoy this season called spring, to remember always these evidences of His love.
19. The Only Day We Have Is Today
A bishopric message written on Wednesday, January 28, 1998, and published the following Sunday in the February 1998 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
The passing of loved ones—as has happened in recent weeks to a couple of people in our neighborhood—is a fresh reminder to each of us of the transitory nature of this mortal life. We are here for such a brief moment.
A loving Heavenly Father has sent us here to this earthly boarding school to obtain our physical bodies, to gain experience, to learn to use our agency to see if we will “choose . . . this day, to serve the Lord God who made you” (Moses 6:33). As the Book of Mormon reminds us, “this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God” (Alma 12:24).
Our Father designed an excellent test for us here in this mortal curriculum. The nature of that test is to see how we will use our agency to make it through life. Every day we are confronted with choices. We make decisions. We determine how we will use our time, our talents, our opportunities. Since there is never quite enough time to do or have or be everything we want, the nature of our choices reflects what we really desire out of life. Day by day we are selecting what we really deep down inside want to become.
“There is only one day that you and I have to live for,” said Harold B. Lee, “and that’s today. There is nothing we can do about yesterday except repent, and there may be no tomorrow. The thing for us to do when we arise from our beds, as God gives us a new day, is to take whatever comes to our hands and do it to the best of our ability.”
That sounds like good advice to me, as does this bit of counsel from the Old Testament: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
The passing of loved ones—as has happened in recent weeks to a couple of people in our neighborhood—is a fresh reminder to each of us of the transitory nature of this mortal life. We are here for such a brief moment.
A loving Heavenly Father has sent us here to this earthly boarding school to obtain our physical bodies, to gain experience, to learn to use our agency to see if we will “choose . . . this day, to serve the Lord God who made you” (Moses 6:33). As the Book of Mormon reminds us, “this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God” (Alma 12:24).
Our Father designed an excellent test for us here in this mortal curriculum. The nature of that test is to see how we will use our agency to make it through life. Every day we are confronted with choices. We make decisions. We determine how we will use our time, our talents, our opportunities. Since there is never quite enough time to do or have or be everything we want, the nature of our choices reflects what we really desire out of life. Day by day we are selecting what we really deep down inside want to become.
“There is only one day that you and I have to live for,” said Harold B. Lee, “and that’s today. There is nothing we can do about yesterday except repent, and there may be no tomorrow. The thing for us to do when we arise from our beds, as God gives us a new day, is to take whatever comes to our hands and do it to the best of our ability.”
That sounds like good advice to me, as does this bit of counsel from the Old Testament: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
18. None Other Object
A bishopric message published in the November 1997 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
Near the end of his life, after blessing his sons, Father Lehi said, “I have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls” (2 Nephi 2:30). What a marvelous sermon in only fourteen words!
As your bishopric, we echo that same sentiment: We have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls.
Would that that would be the desire of every home teacher and visiting teacher in our ward. Just think how we might treat the individuals we are assigned to visit if we had none other object than the everlasting welfare of their souls. Just think of the lessons we might teach them. The service we might render. The love and compassion and tenderness we might show.
Is not our Heavenly Father’s and our Savior’s objective the same? “This is my work and my glory,” the Lord declared, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:37). Everything They do in our behalf is to help us return home, if we desire it enough, to enjoy immortality and eternal life with Them. Clearly, They have none other object than the everlasting welfare of our souls.
Should not each of us—regardless of where we serve, whether as a teacher or a quorum president, as a pianist or an adviser, as a member of an auxiliary presidency or a secretary—desire the same for the people we are called to serve? Is not that what it means to have “an eye single to the glory of God” (D&C 4:5), as we seek to do the same work the Savior does?
May the Lord bless us so to do.
Near the end of his life, after blessing his sons, Father Lehi said, “I have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls” (2 Nephi 2:30). What a marvelous sermon in only fourteen words!
As your bishopric, we echo that same sentiment: We have none other object save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls.
Would that that would be the desire of every home teacher and visiting teacher in our ward. Just think how we might treat the individuals we are assigned to visit if we had none other object than the everlasting welfare of their souls. Just think of the lessons we might teach them. The service we might render. The love and compassion and tenderness we might show.
Is not our Heavenly Father’s and our Savior’s objective the same? “This is my work and my glory,” the Lord declared, “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:37). Everything They do in our behalf is to help us return home, if we desire it enough, to enjoy immortality and eternal life with Them. Clearly, They have none other object than the everlasting welfare of our souls.
Should not each of us—regardless of where we serve, whether as a teacher or a quorum president, as a pianist or an adviser, as a member of an auxiliary presidency or a secretary—desire the same for the people we are called to serve? Is not that what it means to have “an eye single to the glory of God” (D&C 4:5), as we seek to do the same work the Savior does?
May the Lord bless us so to do.
17. Remembering the Past
A bishopric message written on Monday, June 23, 1997, for publication in the August 1997 issue of the Newsette, the monthly newsletter of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward. Some of our children, 18-year-old Anna, almost-16-year-old Camilla, and 14-year-old Eliza, represented our family June 11–14 in the stake Pioneer Trek referred to in the second paragraph. (Michael and Rebecca had participated in a similar trek experience six years earlier, when they were 17 and 16.) Our family visited the Wyoming handcart sites mentioned in the third paragraph in mid-July, just a week before the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first pioneer company into the Salt Lake Valley. And all of us participated in the 150 hours of service our ward donated on July 19 (my 48th birthday) at Bountiful Elementary School, paying back in very small measure for the twenty years the school has benefited the children of our family.
This sesquicentennial year has been a wonderful season of remembrance for us. We have been enriched, strengthened, and inspired by the examples of faith, courage, and perseverance of those who have gone before.
The youth who participated in the stake Pioneer Trek in early June had life-changing experiences that will, if they keep them in remembrance, forever alter the way they think about themselves, their families, their ancestors, and (most important of all) the long-suffering goodness and tender mercies of their God.
Others have had the privilege of standing on the desolate and windswept highlands of Wyoming—at places like Martin’s Cove and Devil’s Gate and Rocky Ridge, places that are hallowed because of what the Martin and Willie handcart companies experienced there in late 1856. Many gave their lives for the cause they had espoused, while the survivors in the hour of their extremity came to know their God.
Many of us also participated two weeks ago, in concert with fellow Saints across the face of the earth, in giving community service as a part of the worldwide Pioneer Heritage Service Day. In the words of the First Presidency, inviting us to this effort, “As modern-day beneficiaries of the sacrifices made by pioneers who have gone before, we [were able to] show our gratitude by unitedly rendering charitable service to others in our community.”
A common theme in all the Lord’s dealings with His people in every age of the world’s history has been the importance of remembering the past and, in particular, remembering Him and His doings.
• For example, from the beginning of time a book of remembrance was kept among those who called upon the name of the Lord (see Moses 6:4–5).
• The scriptures help enlarge the memory of the people (see Alma 37:8).
• From the days from Moses until the coming of Christ the children of Israel were to keep the Passover and the other revealed feasts as a two-way remembrance: The types and shadows and signs, the ordinances and commandments and performances were all designed to remind them, first, of their past deliverance from Egypt, and second, of their future deliverance at Gethsemane and Golgotha.
• In the meridian of time, at the hour of that promised deliverance, the Savior instituted the sacrament as a memorial—in remembrance of His body and His blood—to help us “always remember him” (D&C 20:77, 79).
• Alma posed challenging questions to the church in his day: “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?” (Alma 5:6).
• Helaman gave his sons the names of their ancestors, telling them “that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works” (Helaman 5:6).
And so in that same pattern of remembrance, stretching from the very beginning of recorded time, we in 1997 have been remembering our pioneer forebears.
“We have been reminded that ours is a great inheritance,” said President Gordon B. Hinckley at the April general conference. “The past is behind us. It is the future with which we must be concerned. We face great opportunities and great challenges. . . . We have nothing to fear and everything to gain. God is at the helm. We will seek His direction. We will listen to the still, small voice of revelation. And we will go forward as He directs” (Ensign, May 1997, 83).
Seventeen years ago—as we celebrated another sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of the organization of the Church—another prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, declared in similar fashion concerning the future, “One of the best ways to celebrate righteous history is to make more of it, make more righteous history!” (Ensign, May 1980, 4).
In a spirit of love and appreciation for all that you already do, that would be our invitation to each of you: Look to the future, go forward, and make even more righteous history.
This sesquicentennial year has been a wonderful season of remembrance for us. We have been enriched, strengthened, and inspired by the examples of faith, courage, and perseverance of those who have gone before.
The youth who participated in the stake Pioneer Trek in early June had life-changing experiences that will, if they keep them in remembrance, forever alter the way they think about themselves, their families, their ancestors, and (most important of all) the long-suffering goodness and tender mercies of their God.
Others have had the privilege of standing on the desolate and windswept highlands of Wyoming—at places like Martin’s Cove and Devil’s Gate and Rocky Ridge, places that are hallowed because of what the Martin and Willie handcart companies experienced there in late 1856. Many gave their lives for the cause they had espoused, while the survivors in the hour of their extremity came to know their God.
Many of us also participated two weeks ago, in concert with fellow Saints across the face of the earth, in giving community service as a part of the worldwide Pioneer Heritage Service Day. In the words of the First Presidency, inviting us to this effort, “As modern-day beneficiaries of the sacrifices made by pioneers who have gone before, we [were able to] show our gratitude by unitedly rendering charitable service to others in our community.”
A common theme in all the Lord’s dealings with His people in every age of the world’s history has been the importance of remembering the past and, in particular, remembering Him and His doings.
• For example, from the beginning of time a book of remembrance was kept among those who called upon the name of the Lord (see Moses 6:4–5).
• The scriptures help enlarge the memory of the people (see Alma 37:8).
• From the days from Moses until the coming of Christ the children of Israel were to keep the Passover and the other revealed feasts as a two-way remembrance: The types and shadows and signs, the ordinances and commandments and performances were all designed to remind them, first, of their past deliverance from Egypt, and second, of their future deliverance at Gethsemane and Golgotha.
• In the meridian of time, at the hour of that promised deliverance, the Savior instituted the sacrament as a memorial—in remembrance of His body and His blood—to help us “always remember him” (D&C 20:77, 79).
• Alma posed challenging questions to the church in his day: “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?” (Alma 5:6).
• Helaman gave his sons the names of their ancestors, telling them “that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works” (Helaman 5:6).
And so in that same pattern of remembrance, stretching from the very beginning of recorded time, we in 1997 have been remembering our pioneer forebears.
“We have been reminded that ours is a great inheritance,” said President Gordon B. Hinckley at the April general conference. “The past is behind us. It is the future with which we must be concerned. We face great opportunities and great challenges. . . . We have nothing to fear and everything to gain. God is at the helm. We will seek His direction. We will listen to the still, small voice of revelation. And we will go forward as He directs” (Ensign, May 1997, 83).
Seventeen years ago—as we celebrated another sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of the organization of the Church—another prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, declared in similar fashion concerning the future, “One of the best ways to celebrate righteous history is to make more of it, make more righteous history!” (Ensign, May 1980, 4).
In a spirit of love and appreciation for all that you already do, that would be our invitation to each of you: Look to the future, go forward, and make even more righteous history.
16. Put Our Trust in God
A bishopric message published in the May 1997 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
There is much to be grateful for as we look around and count our blessings—starting with our very lives, our health, our friends and families, our homes, this peaceful community in which we live, our citizenship in this great land of America, our faith, the talents and gifts and blessings a gracious Father has showered down upon us. The list could go on and on.
Appropriately, we are pausing this year to commemorate the sacrifices of our pioneer ancestors. As we reflect on the faith and courage of those who have gone before, we realize that in all the history of the earth, never has a people been blessed with such temporal and spiritual opportunities as we are.
Yet, for some people (and for nearly all of us at certain times in our lives) life can also be full of heartache, disappointment, and hassle. Sometimes there is injustice and hurt. And even death. And things may not seem fair. That’s simply the way life works. It is clearly a part of the test we agreed to before we came here to this earthly school. And, oh, what a test it is at times!
We find a nugget of insight in the Book of Mormon: “For I do know,” Alma taught his son Helaman, “that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 36:3).
Note that our trust in God does not eliminate our trials, troubles, and afflictions. The people of God have always had their full share of them. They are indeed a fact of life. But our trust in God and His purposes allows Him to support us in those very trials, troubles, and afflictions we are called upon to endure. And, if we endure them well, that same trust allows Him to lift us up at the last day.
“My son, peace be unto thy soul,” came the tender words to the Prophet Joseph Smith, who knew more of trials, troubles, and afflictions than any of us will ever likely know. “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” (D&C 121:7–8).
Our challenge then is to endure and to trust and, at times, to simply hold on. And to be filled with kindness and gentleness and love unfeigned. And to help and lift and bless those around us. And to live in thanksgiving daily.
There is much to be grateful for as we look around and count our blessings—starting with our very lives, our health, our friends and families, our homes, this peaceful community in which we live, our citizenship in this great land of America, our faith, the talents and gifts and blessings a gracious Father has showered down upon us. The list could go on and on.
Appropriately, we are pausing this year to commemorate the sacrifices of our pioneer ancestors. As we reflect on the faith and courage of those who have gone before, we realize that in all the history of the earth, never has a people been blessed with such temporal and spiritual opportunities as we are.
Yet, for some people (and for nearly all of us at certain times in our lives) life can also be full of heartache, disappointment, and hassle. Sometimes there is injustice and hurt. And even death. And things may not seem fair. That’s simply the way life works. It is clearly a part of the test we agreed to before we came here to this earthly school. And, oh, what a test it is at times!
We find a nugget of insight in the Book of Mormon: “For I do know,” Alma taught his son Helaman, “that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 36:3).
Note that our trust in God does not eliminate our trials, troubles, and afflictions. The people of God have always had their full share of them. They are indeed a fact of life. But our trust in God and His purposes allows Him to support us in those very trials, troubles, and afflictions we are called upon to endure. And, if we endure them well, that same trust allows Him to lift us up at the last day.
“My son, peace be unto thy soul,” came the tender words to the Prophet Joseph Smith, who knew more of trials, troubles, and afflictions than any of us will ever likely know. “Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” (D&C 121:7–8).
Our challenge then is to endure and to trust and, at times, to simply hold on. And to be filled with kindness and gentleness and love unfeigned. And to help and lift and bless those around us. And to live in thanksgiving daily.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
15. Faith in Every Footstep
A bishopric message published in the February 1997 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette. The year 1997 was the sesquicentennial celebration of the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the valley of the Great Salt Lake.
Throughout this year we have a marvelous opportunity to celebrate the pioneer sesquicentennial, which marks the 150th anniversary of the July 1847 arrival of the first pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. “Faith in Every Footstep” is the theme of the year-long celebration.
Reflecting that tens of thousands of those hardy pioneers walked virtually half-way across the continent to reach the Great Basin, the “Faith in Every Footstep” theme reminds us that the pioneering spirit is alive and well across the earth today as hundreds of thousands of new converts each year take the courageous steps necessary to leave the world behind—often at great sacrifice, sometimes alienating family and friends—by taking the name of Jesus Christ upon themselves in the waters of baptism.
Whether or not we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether or not our own ancestors came across oceans and plains during that pioneer era, each of us here in our own little corner of Bountiful is blessed by the legacy of faith the pioneers left for us. Each of us is benefited by the great inland commonwealth they established here in the tops of the mountains for us now to enjoy.
One of my wife’s distant ancestors—in a letter written to his son nearly two hundred years ago, more than a decade before the restoration of the gospel—wrote an important admonition that every righteous parent would wish for his or her children and grandchildren: “See that you outstrip us in purity of heart and holiness of life.”
This admonition reflects the Apostle John’s sentiment: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4).
What greater way could we honor our pioneer heritage than making sure that we walk in truth, with faith in every footstep, and that we outstrip those who have gone before in purity of heart and holiness of life?
Throughout this year we have a marvelous opportunity to celebrate the pioneer sesquicentennial, which marks the 150th anniversary of the July 1847 arrival of the first pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. “Faith in Every Footstep” is the theme of the year-long celebration.
Reflecting that tens of thousands of those hardy pioneers walked virtually half-way across the continent to reach the Great Basin, the “Faith in Every Footstep” theme reminds us that the pioneering spirit is alive and well across the earth today as hundreds of thousands of new converts each year take the courageous steps necessary to leave the world behind—often at great sacrifice, sometimes alienating family and friends—by taking the name of Jesus Christ upon themselves in the waters of baptism.
Whether or not we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether or not our own ancestors came across oceans and plains during that pioneer era, each of us here in our own little corner of Bountiful is blessed by the legacy of faith the pioneers left for us. Each of us is benefited by the great inland commonwealth they established here in the tops of the mountains for us now to enjoy.
One of my wife’s distant ancestors—in a letter written to his son nearly two hundred years ago, more than a decade before the restoration of the gospel—wrote an important admonition that every righteous parent would wish for his or her children and grandchildren: “See that you outstrip us in purity of heart and holiness of life.”
This admonition reflects the Apostle John’s sentiment: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4).
What greater way could we honor our pioneer heritage than making sure that we walk in truth, with faith in every footstep, and that we outstrip those who have gone before in purity of heart and holiness of life?
14. A Thanksgiving Message
A bishopric message published in the November 1996 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.
As we approach another Thanksgiving season, we express our thanks for the Lord’s tender mercies in all our lives. He has greatly blessed us as a people. We are witnesses of His enduring goodness and grace. We feel of His love and peace.
Each of us, of course, experiences our individual share of life’s challenges, heartaches, and disappointments. Sometimes we feel we are hit with more than our share when severe illness strikes or loved ones die or our hopes and dreams and aspirations seem to go unrealized. And yet, through it all, we really know—or can come to know if we don’t already—that it all has purpose, that it’s part of the Lord’s tutoring plan for our growth and development, that it’s a part of the schooling we signed up for before we came here. And so, once again, we have cause to be thankful and rejoice.
With the Psalmist, we can declare, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
As your bishopric, we also say thanks to each of you for your support, your prayers, your love, and your friendship. They mean a lot to us. We love you. We pray for you constantly. And we invoke the blessings of heaven upon you as you seek to love and serve one another, knowing full well that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).
May God bless you ever and always.
As we approach another Thanksgiving season, we express our thanks for the Lord’s tender mercies in all our lives. He has greatly blessed us as a people. We are witnesses of His enduring goodness and grace. We feel of His love and peace.
Each of us, of course, experiences our individual share of life’s challenges, heartaches, and disappointments. Sometimes we feel we are hit with more than our share when severe illness strikes or loved ones die or our hopes and dreams and aspirations seem to go unrealized. And yet, through it all, we really know—or can come to know if we don’t already—that it all has purpose, that it’s part of the Lord’s tutoring plan for our growth and development, that it’s a part of the schooling we signed up for before we came here. And so, once again, we have cause to be thankful and rejoice.
With the Psalmist, we can declare, “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
As your bishopric, we also say thanks to each of you for your support, your prayers, your love, and your friendship. They mean a lot to us. We love you. We pray for you constantly. And we invoke the blessings of heaven upon you as you seek to love and serve one another, knowing full well that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).
May God bless you ever and always.
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