Repentance and Hope

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday afternoon session of the October 1999 conference.

I listened to all of the talks this morning while I did the dishes from yesterday. We have a vintage dishwasher, me! All of the talks were great, but I especially felt drawn to Elder Eyring's and Elder Holland's talks because of some challenges a son is facing. I think the two talks dovetail perfectly.

Elder Eyring spoke of not procrastinating our repentance. One of the reasons he gave for promptly repenting is so that we don't miss out on blessings and service. He spoke of a man who began to smoke at age 12 and after a few years left both his small hometown and the church. He worked construction jobs, married, had a family, but ended up divorced and estranged from his family. In fact, he ended up quite alone living in boarding houses and out of a single trunk.

One night as he was lightening his load he found a Book of Mormon in the bottom of his trunk. He never knew how it got there, but he read it through and knew through the Spirit that it was true. He realized that all those years ago he had walked away from the true Church of Jesus Christ. 

This now old man and a young Elder Eyring were district missionary companions. Elder Eyring was teaching a lesson and told the people of the power of the Atonement to give a new heart and wash away sins. Later the older man rebuked Elder Eyring saying: ". . .that while God was able to give him a new heart, He had not been able to give him back his wife and his children and what he might have done for them. But he had not looked back in sorrow and regret for what might have been. He moved forward, lifted by faith, to what yet might be."

That struck me as a parallel to my life for reasons I won't go into here. I have a firm testimony of the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to pay for sins and to heal sorrows, but the one thing it cannot do is to change the consequences of sin. If we delay our repentance, procrastinating, or worse, refuse to repent, we will suffer the full and unalterable consequences of our sins, both in this life and the life to come.

Elder Eyring ends on such a sweet note: "Those in our families who love us, on both sides of the veil, would say as we consider whether to humble our hearts and repent, 'Please, do not delay.' That is the Savior's invitation and His plea."

Elder Holland's talk focused on the promise of the Savior's role as "An High Priest of Good Things to Come."

In the entire history of the world no one has ever loved so purely or served so selflessly--and been treated so diabolically for His effort. Yet nothing could break His faith in His Father's plan or His Father's promises. Even in those darkest hours at Gethsemane and Calvary, He pressed on, continuing to trust in the very God whom He momentarily feared had forsaken Him.

Because Christ's eyes were unfailingly fixed on the future, He could endure all that was required of Him, . . . Because He knows that for the faithful, things will be made right soon enough.

This is the talk in which he told the story of his young family moving to the east to go to graduate school and their dilapidated car breaking down twice in the same place. Such a tender story! Elder Holland ends with his testimony of the Father and the Son saying, ". . .They will sustain us in our hour of need--and always will, even if we cannot recognize that intervention."

Repentance and Hope! One leads to the other. And they are sorely needed in today's world, especially by me. 

Nana Rozy and grandbaby #3

 

Families

First, a little PSA: Please remember the lessons we learned during the pandemic and do not bring sick children to church! Thank you!

(I've been sick three times since September from the children in my Primary class. NO MORE!!)

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the October 1999 conference.

Each year I choose a "word of the year", something that I want to work on in my life. This year's word was contentment. But I decided that has been the wrong word. In one sense I need to be more content with the things that I can not change, but in another sense I can't be content to remain as I am. So the part of me that wants to be and do better is more active in my brain, and it spills over into everything; hence, the tendency to complain, murmur, criticize, etc. 

What does this have to do with Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk, Prophets and Spiritual Mole Crickets? Glad you asked. I was surprised to find this talk in this week's reading because I remember this talk and didn't realize it was so long ago. My how the years fly swiftly by.

This talk was about listening to and acting upon the counsel from the prophets and apostles. He relates an experience when a neighbor warned him of mole crickets in his lawn, but when he looked around he couldn't see any evidence. What he didn't know was that they were underground, and only active at night. By the time he noticed the results of the infestation it was too late to do anything about it, except through the huge expense of replacing all the sod.

Elder Andersen, then of the Seventy, told of a letter from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve sent to every member of the church, earlier that year, regarding families. 

We counsel parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities. 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.

Perhaps we need another reminder for the current generation of parents of young children. Of the seven families represented in my Primary class, only two families study the scriptures daily with Come Follow Me. A few more have Family Home Evening, and some pray at least once a day. All of the children are sent to public schools, which I think is the scariest part of the whole situation. But that's another topic. 

How can parents send their precious children out the door without the spiritual armor and inoculation that comes from daily feasting on the word of God, without a prayer for protection and guidance, without making family time the highest priority? 

Of course, there are no guarantees to parents, because our children have agency too and when they are old enough they exercise it. But the promised blessings are real. He quotes the First Presidency from 107 years ago (84 at the time of the conference):

"If the Saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influences and temptations which beset them."

I recently asked our oldest, a daughter what she remembers about Family Home Evening. She said she couldn't remember any specifics, just that we had it and we enjoyed it. I asked if she remembered it being, as others have described it "the only family fights that open and close with prayer"? No, she didn't remember it that way at all. Neither do I, but I wanted to check that my memory wasn't selective. I remember having good times and it being rather enjoyable with lots of laughter. 

All of our five children are adults. Two chose not to be active in the church after they left home. They are not antagonistic, they just leave it alone. I hope that someday the teachings of their childhood will be brought to their remembrance and their hearts will be changed. In the meantime, we do have the blessing of increased love. It is a joy to get together. My boys all call me with their good news, engagements, promotions, awards, etc. They call me for help with recipes or household questions, or just to talk. 

It is my firm belief that the more time a family spends together, especially in spiritual pursuits, the closer the family will be no matter what. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. We have most of those in spades!

 

Sacrament Meeting Talk

One of the (few) benefits of moving around is that I have been able to recycle talks I've given.  Today I gave a talk from eight years ago (2014). Writing that talk was an intensely spiritual experience and I enjoy sharing it with others. 

If you're new to my blog or would like to read it again here is the blog post where I have posted it.

Like A Flame Unquenchable

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday afternoon session of the April 1999 conference.

Sunday afternoon usually has such great talks, I wonder why anyone would skip out on this session. In this particular session, Elder Eyring gave a fabulous talk about teaching doctrine. You can read more about it over at Light in Leaves by Marilyn. I want to share Elder M. Russell Ballard's talk about keeping covenants.

Too many of our young men and women are succumbing to the pressures imposed by a world saturated with evil messages and immoral behavior. Lucifer is waging a vicious ware for the souls of young and old alike, and the casualty count is climbing. The standards of the world have shifted like the sands of a windblown desert. That which was once unheard of or unaccepted is now commonplace.

Doesn't that sound like it was given last month? Think of how much worse things are today than they were twenty-three years ago.

But one thing is certain: the commandments have not changed. Let there be no mistake about that. Right is still right. Wrong is still wrong, no matter how cleverly cloaked in respectability or political correctness. We believe in chastity before marriage and fidelity ever after. That standard is an absolute standard of truth. It is neither subject to public opinion polls nor dependent upon situation or circumstance. There is no need to debate it or other gospel standards.

But there is a desperate need for parents, leaders, and teachers to help our youth learn to understand, love, value, and live the standards of the gospel. Parents and youth must stand together in defense against a clever and devious adversary. We must be just as dedicated, effective and determined in our efforts to live the gospel as he is in his efforts to destroy it--and us.

 

Elder Ballard discusses at length four ways we can build a fortress of faith.

First is gospel information. Knowledge that we are God's children and that He provided a Savior for us. Knowledge that will build a strong testimony. He talked about making covenants and gave the example of Brigham Young asking the people to covenant to give aid and assistance to bring all those who wanted to leave Nauvoo and move west, but were unable to because of poverty. 

We often hear of the suffering and the sacrifice those early Saints endured, and we ask ourselves, How did they do it? What was it that gave them such strength? Part of the answer lies in President Young's powerful words. Those early Latter-day Saints had made covenants with God and those covenants burned like unquenchable fire in their hearts.

He goes on to say that ". . . there is no spiritual power in living by convenience. The power comes as we keep our covenants. . . . We need to become so deeply converted to the gospel of Christ that the fire of the covenant will burn in our hearts like flame unquenchable. And with that kind of faith we will do what is necessary to remain true and worthy."

Second is communication. "Nothing is more important to the relationship between family members than open, honest communication."  He gives some instruction about how to increase communication in the family too.

There are powerful moments of communication through regular family prayer and through family scripture study. The scriptures help define family values and goals, and talking together about them will assist family members to learn to become individually secure, spiritually strong and self-reliant. This requires time, and so we need to counsel together about how much television, how many movies, videos, video games, time on the Internet, or out-of-the home activities should be allowed.

Third is intervention. "It is the parents' duty to intervene when they see wrong choices being made." This doesn't refer to taking away a child's agency, rather to make sure the children understand appropriate behavior and the consequences that will follow if they pursue a wrong course.

Make your home a haven of peace and righteousness. Don't allow evil influences to contaminate your own special spiritual environment. . . . When one of our youth stands at a moral crossroad in life, almost always there is someone--a parent, a leader, a teacher--who could make a difference by intervening with love and kindness. 

Fourth is example. "We cannot expect them to avoid those things that are inappropriate if they see their parents compromising principles and failing to live the gospel.

As parents, teachers, and leaders, it is our solemn duty to set a powerful, personal example of righteous strength, courage, sacrifice, unselfish service, and self-control. These are the traits that will help our youth hold on to the iron rod of the gospel and remain on the straight and narrow path."

Elder Ballard acknowledges that even focusing on information, communication, intervention and example doesn't guarantee a perfect family with no straying children. But he does promise that doing these things will make it easier to work through the challenges that come to every family.

I enjoy hearing from Elder Ballard, he comes across as a wonderful man, father, and grandfather; humble and loving, strong and kind.

 

 

A Prophet's Testimony

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the April 1999 conference.

As a child I never liked when General Conference and Easter occurred on the same Sunday. Rather like Christmas on a Sunday. But as an adult I've come to appreciate the spirituality of celebrating a big holiday on a holy day. It seems totally appropriate to gather together and worship our Savior on the days of His most important events, birth and resurrection.

On this Easter morning, then current prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley shared his fervent witness and testimony in a beautiful way. He began by expressing gratitude.

It it plainly evident that the gospel, when lived, makes people better than they otherwise would be. . . . How deeply grateful I am for the devotion and the loyalty of the members of the Church throughout the earth who respond to every call, no matter the inconvenience, no matter what comfort they must forgo.

 

 And he continues, "But of all the things for which I feel grateful, I am most grateful this Easter morning for the gift of my Lord and my Redeemer. This is Easter, when, with all of Christendom, we commemorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ."

I can't think of anything more important or more impressive than the fact that Jesus Christ overcame death and rose again. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about this, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." (1 Cor. 15:19-20) In the margin of my scriptures I wrote, 'Like the hopeless masses mourning their losses on 9/11/01.' I vividly remember feeling such sorrow for those who didn't know that they would see their loved ones again, that this life is not the end.

Another thought I had as I listened to President Hinckley was about those who claim that we are not Christians. They would benefit from listening to this talk, as there is no plainer declaration of our discipleship than one from a prophet who knows the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to the Almighty. His glorified Son broke the bonds of death, the greatest of all victories. As Paul declared, 'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' (1 Cor. 15:22)

He is our triumphant Lord. He is our Redeemer, who atoned for our sins. Through His redeeming sacrifice all men shall rise from the grave. He has opened the way whereby we may gain not only immortality but also eternal life.

As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I bear witness and testimony of these things this Easter day. I speak in solemnity and reverence and gratitude, . . . 

 

At the end of the talk my final thought was, "I really miss President Hinckley!" Just like I miss my Grandpa Joe, and my Nana Rose. I'm grateful I'll be able to meet them again. I'm so thankful that there is purpose to this life and that we all will live again! Death is not the end of our existence. Jesus Christ won the victory over the grave. As we approach the season of celebrating His birth it is wise to remember that without the completion of His mission, to atone for our sins and rise from the grave, His birth would have been just another of the billions of anonymous babies born on this earth. But, praise God, He successfully completed His mission and did all that His Father asked of Him. That is truly the best gift of all.