September Talk

Up till now I have tried when speaking in church to study before hand, obviously, make some notes, maybe write an outline but not write a complete formal talk. The theory being that by not being overly prepard the spirit could more easily effect what came out of my mouth. History shows however that my theory did not consistently hold true. Due more to my weakness than anything else I'm sure.

In reviewing what talents I have been given & with significant imput from my lovely wife it has been determined that I am a far better writer than speaker (So if you don't like my writing imagine how you'd feel about my speaking, ouch). What follows is a talk given in the spanish ward last week. I wrote it in english first then used an online service to translate it. My spanish is not nearly good enough to have done it any other way.


Good afternoon brothers & sisters. Speaking to you is for me a difficult but worthwhile & enjoyable task. You need to know that you are loved. Loved not only by our father in heaven but by your ward & stake leaders. They plead regularly with the Lord that they might know how to best serve you. They are a blessing in all our lives.
Our Heavenly Father loves to bless us. He has given us everything. I was in Lake Tahoe last week & thrilled to the sights of huge trees, large fish &, clear emerald waters. The beauties of this world are certainly a blessing from God. There are a myriad of ways in which he can choose to bless us. Today I will speak briefly of two.
In a world full of uncertainty, where we are left to discover so much on our own I feel it a true blessing to be instructed specifically in the way to live our lives. The lord leaves no question as to right & wrong, virtue & vice, good & evil. Although narrow, his path is clear & straight. In D & C 82:8 He explains why he gives us commandments. He said, “I give unto our a new commandment, that you may understand my will concerning you;” & so that there is no misunderstanding he restates his will in verse 9 “or in other words, I give you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation.” He sets the standard that we must reach for. If we want to find lasting happiness we will follow his plan for us.
In mosiah 2 king benjamin reminds us of how generous the lord is to us & our responsibility in return.
Mosiah 2:21-24 “…if ye should serve him who has created you from he beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move & do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another – I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servents. And behold all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promissed you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land…therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you & prosper you. In the first place he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye arfe indebted unto him. Secondly he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And you are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever….”
It is a cyclical thing. As asked we keep the Lords commandments for which we are blessed. In return we recommit to keep the commandments, for which he doth immediately bless us. And so it goes. We can never repay our debt to him because every time we give him some small thing we are rewarded for our obedience. And thus we remain (mosiah 2:34) “eternally indebted to (our) heavenly father, to render to him all that (we) have and are”. King Benjamin continues (mosiah 2:41) “consider on the blessed & happy state of those that keep the commandments, blessed spiritually & temporally.” If we want to find peace & joy we need to do only one thing. To be obedient.
Among the many commands given us by God is the council to follow the prophet. Prophets too are a blessing from the lord. They teach & instruct us concerning gods will for us. They tell us his will concerning us, today. D & C 1:38 “...whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servents it is the same.” I asume that many of you are like me & struggle sometimes to receive & correctly interpret the promptings given us by the holy ghost. I am so greatful that I can listen to a living prophet & know that what he says is (D&C 68:4) “...the will of the lord,..the mind of the lord,..the word of the lord,..the voice of the lord and the power of god unto salvation.” What a blessing this is.
Brothers & sisters we have great opportunity before us. In the coming weeks we have the privilege of receiving the lords will for us directly from the mouths of the living prophets. In just two short weeks Elder bednar from the quorum of the 12 apostles, who we sustain as prophets seers & revelators, will be here in Eagle Mountain for our Stake conference. I have lived in Utah & been a regular attendee at conferences my whole life & this is the first time I have been blessed to here an apostle in such an intimate setting. I am very very excited to attend. In addition 2 weeks later we are privilaged to experience general conference, where the prophet will address the world. I love the Saturday sessions of conference. I have come to cherish the opportunity to sustain my prophet. I love him! I believe him!! Brothers & sisters do not take lightly these oportunities. Please come with me & listen to a prophet’s voice.
As we attend these conferences & hear the word of god, how will we react? How will we respond to the word of god? I recently read again the story of Alma’s mission to the zoramites where a relative few converts heard & followed the lords will when alma & amulek preached repentance unto them. We read earlier that amulek had left behind all of his gold, silver & precious things for the lord, “being rejected by those who were once his friends & also by his father & his kindred.”(Alma 15:16). I would be surprised if there are not some among you that have not acted similarly, choosing the church over past associations. I commend you. This portion of the story however is not what touched me this time around. I was intrigued by Alma’s observation at the end of their mission. In Alma 35:15, near then of the verse we read that the people’s hearts “began to wax hard and”, this is the part that intrigues me “that they began to be offended because of the strictness of the word...” Have I everresponded in such a manner? Have I ever rationalized my actions in spite of a profetic statement or warning? When the prophet warned us against the evils of gambling did we listen? When he speaks of the maliciousness of pornography do we give heed? When he tells us as priesthood holders to rise up & be men, to accept & magnify our role of father & husband do we make the necessary changes in our habits & lives? This statement by Alma made me think about the whining of Laman & Lemuel when they told Nephi that “Thou hast declared hard things unto us, more than we are able to bear.” They did not like having their life style challenged. Neither do any of the rest of us. We do not like being told we need to change that we are not living up to our potential. However if we are sufficiently humble we will recognize the truth of Nephi’s reply when he said that “the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center. ..If ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it... then ye would not murmur because of the truth & say: thou speaketh hard things against us.” I hope that any remorse or guilt that we may feel in listening to the prophet will not harden our hearts but motivate us to improve our lives & follow more closely the teachings of our savior.
I worry that too many of us go through the motions, manifesting a “form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” We wrestle with the spirit & kick against the pricks. What are we afraid of? Do we fear men? The hoards of which fill the great & spacious building to overflowing. Or are we afraid that it all might actually be true, that the lord really dose know us, that he knows our needs & has a plan for us? Why do we hesitate to trust the lord?
When Alma’s people were enslaved by the lamanites they were laden with overwhelming burdens. In response to their prayers the lord made the load light, “yea the lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease..” He can & will do the same for us. The lord dose not give commands to restrict or limit us. When we submit to his will he strengthens us. We become more worthy of his spirit & that spirit gives us wings.
In his book “twelve tests of character” Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote that “Some Christians carry their religion on their backs. It is a packet of beliefs & practices which they must bear. At times it grows heavy and they would willingly lay it down, but that would mean a break with old traditions, so they shoulder it again. But real christians do not carry their religion, their religion carries them. It is not weight; it is wings. It lifts them up it it sees them over hard places, it makes the universe seem friendly, life purposeful, hope real, sacrifice worthwhile. It sets them free from fear, futility, discouragement & sin – the greatest enslavers of mens souls. You can know a real christian, when you see him, by his buoyancy.”
May we all attend our conferences prepared to listen, to learn & to follow.