As you know, Dad and I each spoke in stake conference yesterday. Dad spoke to the Melchizedek Priesthood leaders, and I in the general session. Thanks to Hannah and Scott, Nan, Patty and Allan who came and supported us (unfortunately, had to miss Dad). At Mom's request, here are our talks:
Stake Conference Priesthood Session
December 4, 2011
Good morning brethren.
I love the Christmas season and I love the members of the GP ward and this stake.
As I entered the Celestial room Thursday evening and saw so many people I know and love, the words of the familiar carol came to my mind, “Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.”
I honestly would not have wanted to be anywhere else in the world at that moment than with the faithful, joyful and triumphant people I saw in that sacred room in the temple.
I saw people who I knew well – well enough to have observed that they exhibit the attributes described in 2 Nephi 31 of those who have experienced the effects of the doctrine of Christ after exercising faith, repentance, renewing our baptismal covenants, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end:
Here are those attributes found in verses 19-20 of 2 Nephi 31:
· “Unshaken faith” in Christ
· “Press[ing] forward with a steadfastness in Christ”
· “having a perfect brightness of hope”
· Having “a love of God and of all men”
· “Enduring to the end”
The first person I saw in the Celestial room was Wayne Cannon.
· I will never forget his wife Alice and the remarkable talk Wayne gave at the time of her funeral. That talk lifted us all.
The next person I saw was Ted and Charlotte Jacobsen. I will never forget Ted’s faithful talk at his son Ben’s funeral.
One cannot feign the faith, hope, steadfastness, and love of God that Wayne and Ted and so many others have in this stake even in the face of the most difficult trials life can bring.
Last night I felt the same edifying spirit hearing the Christ-centered testimonies of Louise Hill, Spencer and Jody Glendy, President Jackson, and President McConkie.
Yet offsetting the joy I feel being around the faithful, joyful and triumphant members of this stake is a small pang of emptiness because many friends, neighbors and members of my ward, and even some in my family, do not feel the same joyfulness for the Gospel.
Therein in lies the challenge, how does the gospel and doctrine of Christ help us as priesthood leaders bring our family members, friends, neighbors and fellow ward and stake members to Christ.
The Lord promised us in 2 Nephi 31:13-14 that if we “follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of [our] sins [after baptism] then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost” which will enable us to “speak with the tongue of angels and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.”
Out first job as priesthood leaders is to repent ourselves and keep the commandments with full purpose of heart and without hypocrisy so that we will be worthy to receive the spirit and be instruments in the Lord’s hands.
How does the spirit help us perform our priesthood duties???
President Monson’s talk in October conference touched me greatly when he told of receiving inspiration to call a brother Peter Mourik to speak at the 1987 dedication of the Frankfurt, Germany temple. Elder Asay handed President Monson a note explaining that this brother was not in the temple. President Monson reported, “Trusting in the inspiration, however, I announced the choir presentation and the prayer and then indicated that our first speaker would be Brother Peter Mourik. As I returned to my seat, I glanced toward Elder Asay; I saw on his face a look of alarm.” As you recall, Brother Mourik felt inspired to quickly jump in a car and head to the temple. President Monson continued: “During the magnificent choir number, I glanced around, thinking that at any moment I would see Peter Mourik. I did not. Remarkably, however, I felt no alarm. I had a sweet, undeniable assurance that all would be well. Brother Mourik entered the front door of the temple just as the opening prayer was concluding, still not knowing why he was there. As he hurried down the hall, he saw my image on the monitor and heard me announce, “We will now hear from Brother Peter Mourik. To the astonishment of Elder Asay, Peter Mourik immediately walked into the room and took his place at the podium.”
A couple of days after conference I pondered over President Monson’s talk and my responsibilities as a rookie bishop. I had already gone through a sort of death bed repentance when I learned I would be called. But I recognized that I needed the spirit more than at any time of my life.
But the bar President Monson set seemed so high. How could I have the faith to receive on an ongoing basis inspiration in my calling. Later that day I found on a Mormon blog a stylized rendition of the image of President Monson to look like the revolutionary, Che Guevara, spray painted on the side of a building. But instead of the words “viva la revolucion” it said “viva la revelacion.” FOR THE NON SPANISH SPEAKERS, INSTEAD OF LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION, IT READ LONG LIVE REVELATION.
That night went I went to bed I prayed earnestly that I would have a tiny portion of the faith of President Monson to experience viva la revelacion. I specifically prayed that if the Lord had somebody in my ward who needed my help that I would be made aware of that person. Nothing came to me and I went to sleep.
But I was restless and awoke between 3:30 and 4:00 and could not sleep. I read some op-ed pieces in the NY Times for a few minutes to see if that would but me back in the sleep mode but it did not. It then occurred to me that perhaps I needed to pray again for Viva La Revelacion. I did so. Instantly the name of a sister came to mind. I wrote it down lest I fell back asleep and forgot the name.
I had no reason to believe anything was wrong but I felt some urgency to talk with her. I did fall back asleep but when I awoke I remembered to call her which I did no the way to work. I was disappointed that the day went by and she did not call. I started doubting myself.
After bishopric meeting that night I drove to her house and knocked. Nobody came to the door and I doubted myself even more. As I turned to walk away I decided to leave my business card with a note on it to call my cell phone. By the time she came home quite late the card had fallen to the ground but she somehow found it and called despite the lateness of the hour.
She asked what I wanted. I felt a little awkward because I did not know myself. I finally said that I felt like I should talk with her. She then pointedly asked if somebody had told me to talk with her and she named a few people. I insisted that nobody told me that she needed help but then I stopped myself to say that was not exactly right. I explained that the night before I could not sleep and I had prayed to see if anybody needed help and her name came to mind. She then asked me what time that happened. I told her that it was about 4:00 am. She then sobbed gently to tell me that she had not been able to sleep but had been pleading with the Lord at that exact same time for help with a problem that she felt she could share with anyone. I suggested that the Lord heard her prayer and wanted me to help her. She agreed and asked that I come over immediately.
I was so excited when she said this that I wanted to climb on top of my house and yell VIVA LA REVELACION!
I share this story not to hold myself out as some great example. On the contrary, this experience was only remarkable for me because I had not had this experience very much in my life. That is a shame because this is exactly what is suppose to happen when we seek the Lord’s spirit in performing our priesthood duties. Hopefully, viva la revelacion experiences will become routine for me and for all of us.
The second salient aspect of the doctrine of Christ that I would like to briefly touch on is the need to teach the doctrine of Christ to others.
President Boyd K. Packer taught: “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the Gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the Gospel.” CR, Oct. 1986, p. 20.
Rather than entertaining the youth and each other, we must teach the pure doctrines of Christ and the restored Gospel with the spirit, bearing personal testimony
Lastly, during my death bed repentance period in late August, I took time to read through the Handbooks 1 and 2. I was particularly impressed by the following discussion in Handbook 2, Chapter 3 on Ministering to Others:
The purpose of ministering is to help others become true followers of Jesus Christ. Ministering to others includes:
· Remembering their names and becoming acquainted with them (see Moroni 6:4).
· Loving them without judging them (see John 13:34–35).
· Watching over them and strengthening their faith “one by one,” as the Savior did (3 Nephi 11:15; 17:21).
· Establishing sincere friendship with them and visiting them in their homes and elsewhere (see D&C 20:47).
I was particularly impressed by the statement Loving them without judging them.
In explaining why we should be slow to judge others, Elder Neal A. Maxwell explained:
“Just as no two snowflakes are precisely alike in design, so the configuration of life's challenges differs also. Some of our experiences are not fully shareable with others. Thus, others, try as they may, cannot fully appreciate them. They must trust us, our generalizations and testimonies concerning these experiences. A few of our experiences should not even be shared. But it is useful to ponder the past examples of our partners on the pathway…. [O]nly the Lord can compare crosses!
As a missionary in Spain, we were often told at the door that the occupants were of a different religion. I knew that this probably meant that they were probably baptized as infants and most people attended mass on Christmas and Easter, if at all.
They did not consider themselves as “inactive” and they probably looked forward to attending church once or twice a year and they probably felt uplifted by the experience.
In contrast, members of our faith _____
It is my prayer that as Priesthood leaders we will learn to better live and teach the Doctrine of Christ.
Repentance
Bonneville Stake Conference
4 December 2011
(Grateful to be with you, thanks to stake . . . )
Brothers and Sisters, I’m grateful to be with you today, grateful for what the Lord has taught me in my callings in the stake Young Women Program--for my precious friends among current and former Young Women and Young Women leaders, and our shared adventures. I’m very grateful for the support of many kind, helpful priesthood leaders. These have been great gifts to me, and I thank you all.
I have felt to speak this morning about just one facet of repentance. For a fuller treatment of this principle, I recommend Elder Christofferson’s talk of this October Conference, and Elder Anderson’s of October 2009.
The call to repentance is a universal call, for all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. We have wandered down strange roads, and are lost. All we like sheep have gone astray.
It is a universal call because, whether our sins be as scarlet or we see them as something less severe, they have the same dreadful effect: they keep us from the presence of our Father, and a place in our forgotten Home. No unclean man or woman can enter his presence.
Thus, the Lord commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent.
We have heard that call. That is why we are here today.
How we repent is very important. When approached with true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Laurie has discussed, our repentance has the transforming power it is meant to have. When attempted as a do-it-yourself project, it is less effective.
The do-it-yourself model is easy to fall into. It involves keeping the Lord at bay while we fix up our lives through teeth gritting, goal setting and self-discipline, repeatedly trying to pick ourselves up by our own bootstraps. The results of this method are mixed. Some, like myself, are likely to find themselves back at square one frequently, frustrated and hoping the Lord wasn’t watching too closely. Some are good at muscling through attempts at self-building and achieve impressive successes on an outward level, but even this success is insufficient, and worse, it may give a false sense of security.
For at some point, we reach the limits of our own plan of salvation. We find that the way is too steep, and the air too thin, and our hearts are not changed.
I think of a young man we once knew. In a testimony meeting, he approached the podium of our New York City ward and began to tell us of his father, who had for years attempted to quit smoking. His smoking was the barrier keeping the entire family from being sealed together in the temple. Over and over he tried to quit, and over and over he failed. “Finally,” the young man reported with great emotion, “My father did it the right way—by prayer and fasting.” That was his tipping point. By prayer and fasting, he succeeded in doing what was impossible for him alone.
In this, he echoed an event in the ministry of the Savior wherein his disciples were frustrated by their failure to cast a devil from the son of a certain man. They were strongly rebuked by the Lord, who berated them for faithlessness and himself cured the boy.
Later when they had a private moment with him, Jesus’ disciples asked him why they were not able to do it. “Because of your unbelief,” he answered. “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed . . . nothing shall be impossible to you. . . this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” Matt 17:14-21
Spiritual achievements are accomplished by spiritual means. “Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.” 2 N 9:39
Ultimately, as forgiveness is a gift of the atonement, so repentance is a gift of the atonement. For a long time, I didn’t know that. But Alma the Younger knew it very well. After an abrupt angelic wake up call (brought on in part by the prayers and fasting of others), “For three days he was racked with torment . . . harrowed up by the memory of [his] many sins.“
Of course, in such a state, there could be no thought of saving himself. A message of hope entered his desperate mind, and he remembered something important: his father’s teaching of “the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.” Upon remembering, Alma’s first step was one of faith. He “cried within [his] heart, O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me.”
At that moment, Alma could remember his pains no more. “Yea,” he said, “I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!” (Alma 36:12-20)
That was Alma’s beginning on the road to repentance, one he traveled the rest of his life. He learned that the power of repentance was a gift of the atonement, combined with his own agency. No wonder that as a mature prophet he prayed before the leaders of the people of Ammonihah, “May the Lord grant unto you repentance.”
I remember a discouraging day many years ago. I was a young mother and a young Relief Society president in a Washington, DC area ward. One morning as I walked into sacrament meeting, I slumped into my bench in hopelessness. I felt that I could not accomplish all that the Lord expected me to do. I could not be what he wanted me to be. As I sat there, I cast my eyes over the congregation, and ungenerously thought, “And I don’t think a lot of them are going to make it, either.”
Then we began singing one of the shortest hymns in the hymnbook:
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.
He never will suffer the righteous to fall. He is at thy right hand.
Thy mercy, Lord, is great and far above the heav’ns.
Let none be made ashamed that wait upon thee. (Hymn 110)
As we sang those words, I experienced a searing message from the Lord. It was as if He said directly to me, “I am God. Salvation is my job, and I am very good at it. If you will just stick with me, I will save you. I will save you all.”
That experience changed me. I saw that my trouble was not primarily a lack of will power, but a lack of faith. Faith that I, weak and imperfect, could be transformed into a true daughter of Christ.
How do we employ our faith in Christ along our personal road of repentance? We may do it through sincere prayer and fasting, through seeking the voice of the Holy Ghost, which will tell us daily how to repent, and of what to repent, and will encourage us along the way. We may exercise our faith in the atonement by partaking of the sacrament mindfully and humbly, remembering Him in whom we have trusted.
We may believe the Lord when he tells us that the day of miracles has not ceased, not even the miracle of our transformation into sons and daughters of God.
“Come unto me, all ye that labor,” the Lord says, “and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ” Matt 11:28-30
“Come now, and let us reason together. . . .though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Is. 1:18
I testify that the Way of repentance is the Lord Jesus Christ. His is the only name by which we are saved. He is the only true guide on our individual road. With Him, we may repent, and return home to our Father.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
