Sacrifice

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood session of the October 2001 conference.

President James E. Faust quoted a friend of his, James S. Jardine, from a book titled Consecration and Learning, On becoming a Disciple-Scholar,

When we sacrifice our talents or our earthly or academic honors or our increasingly limited time on the alter to God, the act of sacrifice binds our hearts to Him, and we feel our love for Him increase.

When we render any service in the kingdom--be it teaching a . . . lesson or dry pack canning at Welfare Square--it will be of much less value to us if we only see it as a 'To Do' item . . . But if we visualize ourselves laying on the altar to God our talents or our time commitment, such as in attending an inconvenient church meeting, then our sacrifice becomes personal and devotional to Him. 

Most of the time I remember this and do fairly well at putting God first. But in those times when it is hardest I know that I'm missing out on blessings and inspiration by not sacrificing my time, talents, and feelings to serve. This is one of those quotes I can make a small poster of and hang up to remind me. 

 

 

Spiritual Development

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday afternoon session of the October 2001 conference.

What a wonderful session with some really great talks. How to choose? Well, I can't narrow it down to just one, so I'll just recap some principles that spoke to my heart.

First, a funny. Elder David B. Haight said, "A few years ago, when Arturo Toscanini was musical director . . . " I looked it up, it was 65 years ago, at that time in 2001. I guess when you're as old as Elder Haight it probably seems like just yesterday.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin spoke of persevering in our journey through life. ". . . if we will consider the blessings we have, we will forget some of our worries." Wise counsel for any time. He told of a blind man scaling the heights of Mount Everest by taking ". . . each day step by step," and likened it to our climbing higher spiritually.

Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us and understands that this process of climbing higher takes preparation, time and commitment. He understands that we will make mistakes at times, that we will stumble, that we will become discouraged and perhaps even wish to give up and say to ourselves it is not worth the struggle. . . . We don't have to be fast; we simply have to be steady and move in the right direction. . . . We don't have to be perfect today. We don't have to be better than someone else. All we have to do is to be the very best we can. . . . it is my testimony to you that you will be happy and content if you only do your best.

 

Elder L. Whitney Clayton spoke of developing faith.

Each day we decide what we will do and what we will not do, among myriad alternatives. When we choose to obey the commandments cheerfully as our first priority, neither murmuring about nor measuring the things He commands, we become the handmaids of the Lord and fishers of men and cast our nets on the right side of our own ships. We simply go and do the things the Lord has commanded, even when we are weary, trusting that He will help us to do exactly as He asks. . . . These must do things include making room first for the minimum daily requirements of faithful behavior: true obedience, humble prayer, serious scripture study, and selfless service to others. No other daily vitamins strengthen the muscles of our faith as fast as these actions We must remember that genuine fasting fosters strong faith. This is especially important as we faithfully seek to fix deeply embedded character flaws which go "not out but by prayer and fasting."

Elder Walter F. Gonzales added to this theme saying that ". . . maintaining the gospel in our hearts is an ongoing task which requires time. Knowledge alone is not enough. We must take time to apply the principles in our lives. . . . Sometimes we recognize that a principle is true, but we don't change our priorities to make time to live the principle. . . . Making time in our lives to learn, to ponder, and especially to practice gospel principles will bring us the joy and peace which come from the Spirit."

These principles are important to me because I'm still a work in progress. I still need to improve; I still want to climb higher! With the Savior's help I can, and that gives me hope and motivation to keep putting one foot in front of the other, however slowly, to make progress on my mortal journey to the promised land.

Conference is a Guide for Our Journey

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the October 2001 conference.

Conference opened with an address by then prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley titled Living in the Fulness of Times. He talked of the mighty miracles of our modern times and reminded us that along with all that, "the Lord has restored His ancient priesthood. He has organized His Church and Kingdom during the past century and a half. . . . We have seen only the foreshadowing of the mighty force for good that this church will become. . . . Our strength is our faith in the Almighty. . . .The Lord has given us the goal toward which we work. That goal is to build His kingdom, which is a mighty cause of great numbers of men and women of faith, of integrity, of love and concern for mankind, marching forward to create a better society, bringing blessings upon ourselves and upon the heads of others."

Building on that theme then Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of sharing the gospel which begins with desire, and then . . . "love for God and for all of His children. . . . The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion." He said, "The most effective missionaries, member and full-time, always act out of love." When explaining how to do it, he said, "We begin by beginning." Sometimes I'm guilty of planning too much and acting too little. I remember President Spencer W. Kimball's teaching to "Do it!" Elder Oaks cautions, "We must be sure we act out of love and not in any attempt to gain personal recognition or advantage." He testifies that, "The gospel of Jesus Christ is the brightest light and the only hope for this darkened world."

All of the talks in this session were so timely and inspiring! Elder Charles Didier spoke of building a bridge of faith ". . . for crossing and overcoming the walls of unbelief, indifference, fear, or sin. Our mortal life is the time for men to meet God by building a bridge of faith, opening the door into immortality and eternal life."

Sister Sheri L. Dew, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, spoke of marriage. Her message is much needed today. "Lucifer is determined to devour marriages and families, because their demise threatens the salvation of all involved and the vitality of the Lord's kingdom itself. Thus, Satan seeks to confuse us about our stewardships and distinctive natures as men and women. He bombards us with bizarre messages about gender, marriage, family, and all male-female relationships. He would have us believe men and women are so alike that our unique gifts are not necessary, or so different that we can never hope to understand each other. Neither is true."

Elder Henry B. Eyring gave a beautiful sermon on prayer, concluding with this promise: "If you ponder the scriptures and begin to do what you covenanted with God to do, I can promise you that you will feel more love for God and more of His love for you. And with that your prayers will come from the heart, full of thanks and of pleading. You will feel a greater dependence on God. You will find the courage and determination to act in His service, without fear and with peace in your heart. You will pray always. And you will not forget Him, no matter what the future brings."

President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency finished the session with a masterful sermon on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. "Our salvation depends on believing in and accepting the Atonement. Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it more fully. . . . All of us have sinned and need to repent to fully pay our part of the debt. When we sincerely repent, the Savior's magnificent Atonement pays the rest of the debt."

He quoted President J. Reuben Clark Jr., "I feel that [the Savior] will give that punishment which is the very least that our transgression will justify. I believe that he will bring into his justice all the infinite love and blessing and mercy and kindness and understanding which he has. . . . And on the other hand, I believe that when it comes to making the rewards for our good conduct, he will give us the maximum that it is possible to give, having in mind the offense which we have committed." This gave me great comfort as I ponder what will happen to our son who took his own life. James had so many good qualities and was loving, kind and generous, often going without to give to others. He was such a good son and brother. I'm relying on the grace and mercy of the Savior's Atonement to make things right with James. I wish I could have taught him better to look to the Savior for help and redemption. Perhaps this is why we should allow our children to experience little failures and disappointments early in life so we can teach them who to look to for support, strength to overcome and forgiveness for mistakes. "The evil influence of Satan would destroy any hope we have in overcoming our mistakes. He would have us feel that we are lost and that there is no hope. In contrast, Jesus reaches down to lift us up. Through our repentance and the gift of the Atonement, we can prepare to be worthy to stand in His presence."

Listening to and reading the conference talks each week has given me so much strength to carry on in the face of tragedy. I'm so grateful for prophets and apostles, both ancient and modern to guide me on my journey through the wilderness of life to my Promised Land of eternity.

What Are Your Talents, Skills, and Gifts?

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women session of the April 2001 conference.

"Spirituality is learning how to listen to the Spirit and then letting it govern our lives." So said Sister Carol B. Thomas, First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency. It brought to my mind President Nelson's Let God Prevail in Your Life talk.

I feel frustrated when I hear sisters in the church say they can't do this or that when talking about spirituality and gospel knowledge as if it is gifted to us fully developed. The fruits of the Spirit, and knowledge of the gospel come to us gradually as we work at developing them just as we would any other talent or skill such as playing an instrument, speaking another language, or being proficient at a sport.

I know this to be true because of what I have experienced in my own life. Most recently, at the first of this year I felt an urgency to get back to more serious prayer and scripture study after slacking off for a time. There was no one to blame except myself and letting other things interfere. It was a struggle to remember prayer in the morning; it was hard to know what to say in the evening. (I often feel like I'm whining and begging, something I abhor.) But I kept at it, even if I just knelt by my bed and tried to form words. It got easier. I kept up the habit of writing in my gratitude journal each night. Some days I could hardly think of anything special to be grateful for (I know, how unobservant of me). But I kept the habit going. I made a greater effort to read the scriptures and follow the Come Follow Me lessons. I found a YouTube channel that resonated with my learning style to learn things new to me and understand deeper meanings and connections in the scriptures. General Conference at the beginning of April was wonderful. I concentrated on spiritual preparation rather than the usual lavish physical preparations. I felt that I was making progress moving off a plateau I'd been on for a long while.

Then the crisis came. Our son took his life and we were devastated. That first night was totally sleepless; but as I tossed and turned for hours I felt wave after wave of gratitude. It was an intensely spiritual experience. The habits paid off and I benefited from the "talent" I'd developed. First I felt so grateful for a Savior and Redeemer. Then I'd feel a wave of thanksgiving for the privilege of being James's mother. It was a horrible, joyful night. I believe those feelings were a gift from God after all the preparation of the preceding months. I had practiced gratitude, and I had studied the life of the Savior in greater detail than I ever had, since my missionary days.

Sister Thomas said, "Now that you have learned how the Spirit works and how you as young women can use it to bless your families, it is our prayer that you will let spirituality become you. Heavenly Father is eager to unleash this great power."

I'm grateful for the unleashing of God's power when I needed it most. My hope is that I can be a light to others in their time of need.