Hello Brothers and Sisters,
I have been thinking that I might greet you all with a big Aloha. But I have never even been to Hawaii. Not yet, that is. We will be leaving one week from tomorrow.
A few of you might be saying, “who is he?” I’m not surprised if I don’t look familiar to you. We moved into the ward during the pandemic and spent much of our first year here watching church online. When restrictions relaxed a little and we were able to come to the chapel, we sat in the back in the cultural hall where there was more room for social distancing and because sitting on the wooden pews hurt Paula’s back and legs. So, I learned to recognize the backs of all your heads, but not many looked back to see us.
When restrictions were relaxed even more and we resumed second hour meetings, I was called to play the piano in Primary instead of going to priesthood meeting or Sunday School. So, I still didn’t get to know you very well. I’m not complaining about my calling, though. I have to say that playing piano in Primary is a fun job. There was one cute little boy whose answer to every question was “Jesus.” Who do you pray for? Jesus. What can we do to honor the Sabbath Day? Jesus. What is special day is coming up this week? Jesus.
One of the best parts of being the pianist is helping children learn the precious truths taught in the Primary songs. For example, “I know my father lives and loves me, too. The spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true.”
Anyway, I’m beginning to recognize most of you, now, but I don’t know very many names.
I have been thinking a lot about names lately. I am intrigued by the stories told by Jesus in the New Testament. I am especially interested in the stories that included unnamed people. These people are, instead, identified by some aspect of their personality or life circumstances, for example:
The woman at the well,
The prodigal son,
The rich young ruler,
The widow who donated two mites at the synagogue treasury,
The Good Samaritan,
The lame man at the pool of Bethesda,
The woman with an issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus’ clothes,
The leper who returned to Christ to offer thanks after being healed,
The daughter of Jairus.
These un-named people, and others, were all important and had identifying characteristics that teach us something about their souls.
Some of these people admitted that they were sinners and felt that they did not deserve the attention and gifts of Christ. Some were sick, through no fault of their own, but were healed so that the power of God might be made manifest in them. Some were rich, some were poor. Their financial status did not determine their worth in the sight of God, but the purity of their hearts and their faith is what made a difference.
There are similar stories from the Book of Mormon.
For one, there is the brother of Jared. We didn’t know his name until it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in about 1836 that his name was Mohonri Moriancumer. Now that could be the reason his name didn’t appear in the Book of Mormon.
And, if you think about it, there is nothing at all wrong with being identified by our relationship to another person, like the brother of Jared. I have been to more than one wedding reception or funeral where someone has said to me, “Oh, you must be Kathy’s brother.”
For most of our years in Ephraim my wife and I were most commonly referred to as “Adam’s parents, or Curtis’ mom and dad, or Drew’s father or Catherine’s mother,” rather than Mark and Paula Soderborg.
And, of course, what a blessing it is to be able to say, “I am a child of God.”
Another story in the Book of Mormon, about names is in Jacob chapter 1. We read about how the people loved Nephi so much that when he died, they decided that “whoso should reign in is stead were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth, according to the reign of the kings and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would.”
So, I have also been thinking about what we are supposed to learn from these stories of unnamed people.
One of those stories, The Good Samaritan, has intrigued me for years. Once, many years ago when I was a teenager, my dad taught a family home evening lesson wherein he asked the children to try to write a summary of the story, the Good Samaritan, in fewer words than were used in the original story in the Gospel of Luke. So, we all took paper and pencils and began to write. Surprisingly, all of our summaries of the story used more words than Luke’s full account in chapter 10. The story is so well-written and concise, that I am going to read it to you.
The story is prefaced with the account of a man trying to trick Jesus by saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?The man answered saying, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
But the man, looking to justify his question, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
And here is the story Jesus gave in response:
A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
In my little neighborhood, we do not often run across people who have fallen among thieves, been stripped of their raiment, were wounded and left half dead. But there are some people in my neighborhood and in my life who, like the Samaritan, are good neighbors.
I’m not going to mention any names – I prefer that you think of people who you know who might meet the descriptions and who have influenced you for good.
Paula and I have neighbors who will bring us fresh produce from their garden or still-warm-from-the-oven baked bread for us to enjoy. We have neighbors who will, if we are not quick enough ourselves, pull our garbage cans off the street on Tuesday morning and set them by our garage door. Some of these things I could do for myself – well, not bake the bread – but someone else chose to do these things for me.
I have one friend who tells me that I am a renaissance man, who can do anything. There is a member of the ward who tells me that I am his best friend. I know that neither of these things is actually true, but it is so nice to hear it from someone who cares about me.
Paula and I have had ministering brothers and sisters who go out of their way to check on our well-being and brighten our day even when their own situation may have been difficult.
I would say that these people are performing incredible tasks, but I think it is probably more accurate to say that over the years they have developed habits that bring them and others close to Christ.
Just about a month ago, the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square performed a special concert titled Love thy Neighbor. As part of the concert the choir sang a beautiful song called, I Would be True.
Some of the lyrics are as follows:
I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.
I would be friend of all—the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up, and laugh, and love, and lift.
A couple of weeks ago, my wife asked me why I want to go on a mission. My answer came quickly because I have thought about this quite a bit. I want to be able to make a difference. I want to help someone draw closer to Christ and be more like him.
So, my question for us all today is how would we like to be identified if were to be mentioned in the scriptures, or when the angels open the book that contains the story of our lives.
Well, for one thing, since we are all here together at this sacrament meeting, we can be identified as members of the American Fork 11th Ward and the American Fork Stake. That is quite a blessing in and of itself, don’t you think, bishop, and president.
We have members of the ward who might be identified as accomplished artists, musicians, scholars, pilots, teachers, businessmen and just plain stinkin’ cute babies that we can brag about.
But, as some of my children like to say, “enough about you, let’s talk about me.” “How will people identify me?” I can imagine that they might say “that old guy that doesn’t talk much.” I have a career full of performance reviews that say “He’s very quiet.” Some would probably say, Oh, that’s Paula’s husband, which is fine with me. Or, again, they might just say, Who is that?
But, in the end, I hope, and I think that we all hope that people will see us as those who love their families, love the Lord, and have a testimony that God knows us and loves us.
There is a song in our hymnbook that I didn’t used to like very much, but I have grown quite fond of the lyrics lately. It is Have I done any good. These are the lyrics:
Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?When they needed my help was I there?
[Chorus]
There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love’s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.
Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.
Doing good is a blessing, and we are blessed by doing good.
A couple of weeks ago in our 5th Sunday meeting for Sunday School, the bishop asked us all what blessings we have received that have come through missionary work. At first, I thought to myself, I’m not really doing this for me. I am doing this because I want to participate in what President Nelson calls the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil. But, in that meeting, Brother Kessler mentioned one blessing that has been foremost in my mind – that is, forgiveness of sins.
The specific blessings I want to focus on today are the ones promised to those who bear testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. In section 62 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord said; “Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have born is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon, and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.”
That promise is repeated in Section 84 verse 61. “For I will forgive you of your sins with this commandment – that you remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer, in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated unto you.”
And finally, in section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we read that “The field is white already to harvest, and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perish not, but bringeth salvation to his soul.” What a wonderful promise to those who will take the challenge and accept the responsibility of preaching the gospel.
I don’t know exactly how or why these promises work, but I think we can get an idea when we look at the value and eternal consequences of preaching the gospel. Section 18 of the Doctrine and Covenants teaches us about how important it is to our Father in heaven that his children hear and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verses 10-16 read:
10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
11 For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.
12 And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance.
13 And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!
14 Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.
15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
And in John chapter 3 verse 16 we read that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
It is my belief that when we bear humble testimony, we are submitting ourselves completely to the Lord, denying the natural man and, in return, receiving forgiveness of our sins.
I have a testimony of missionary work. It often begins with being a good neighbor – developing that gospel habit that draws us closer to Christ.
It was as a missionary that I first felt the powerful burning in my bosom that is described in the scriptures. I believe that this is what Paula and I should be doing right now, and I know that we and our family will be blessed.
Since we won’t be seeing most of you for a year and a half, I’m going to leave you with a couple of phrases Paula and I have learned in Hawaiian. A hui hou, malama pono. Until we meet again, take good care, and Ke Akua Pu, May God be with you.”
I leave you these things and bear my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
***
Gospel Habits that Bring us to Christ – Sister Soderborg
Our assignment today is to speak about gospel habits that bring us to Christ. I’ve been thinking about this topic for a couple of weeks. It has been a time when I have had a lot of emotions as I have prepared for our mission. I have been nervous, excited, anxious, worried, I’ve felt inadequate and unprepared. As I have tried to worked through all these emotions, I was always comforted when I pause to feel God’s love for me.
So, I have decided on three gospel habits to share today that involve God’s love for us and our love for him. The three gospel habits I will talk about are
Recognizing God’s love in our lives, Worship and Consecration
Recognizing God’s love
I’ll start with God’s love. I’ve spent weeks trying to think of a way to express this first objective to recognize God’s love. Finally, I reread the talk that Elder Bednar gave in April conference 2005 about tender mercies. This was such a monumental talk. It gave us the words to use to talk about those moments when we have manifestations of God’s love.
Elder Bednar used the words discern and acknowledge. I love that. This is exactly what I want to call my first gospel habit. Discern and acknowledge God’s love.
First, we have to discern when we have feelings or emotions that help us feel God’s love. We need to be aware when something happens that is a tender mercy.
Elder Bednar describes tender mercies as
very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
So why is it important for us to know that God loves us. Let’s read Sister Porter’s words for October’s general conference. She says,
Brothers and sisters, do you know how completely God, our Heavenly Father, loves you? Have you felt His love deep in your soul?
When you know and understand how completely you are loved as a child of God, it changes everything. It changes the way you feel about yourself when you make mistakes. It changes how you feel when difficult things happen. It changes your view of God’s commandments. It changes your view of others and of your capacity to make a difference.
Sister Porter
We know of His love when we receive strength beyond our own and when His Spirit brings peace, comfort, and direction. At times it may be difficult to feel His love. We can pray to have our eyes opened to see His hand in our lives and to see His love in the beauty of His creations.
Elder Bednar says:
We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live.
I feel that once we discern instances of God’s love we need to acknowledge or give words to it. It can be as simple as just saying it in our minds. Or we could share it with someone or write it in a journal. Or it could be sung. Most importantly, we can say it in prayer as we thank the Lord. It just needs to be acknowledged in some way.
I think the authors who wrote this primary song beautifully acknowledged their feelings.
I feel my Savior's love
In all the world around me.
His Spirit warms my soul
Through ev'rything I see
Ok – so I realize that I am using God’s love and the Savior’s love interchangeably here. If we read further on in Sister Porter’s talk it helps us understand how they work together.
She says….
The prophet Nephi was shown in a vision the most powerful evidence of God’s love. Upon viewing the tree of life, Nephi asked to know the interpretation thereof. In answer, an angel showed Nephi a city, a mother, and a baby. As Nephi looked upon the city of Nazareth and the righteous mother Mary, holding the infant Jesus in her arms, the angel declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!”2
At that sacred moment, Nephi understood that in the birth of the Savior, God was showing forth His pure and complete love. God’s love, Nephi testified, “sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men.”3
We can picture the love of God as light emanating from the tree of life, shedding itself abroad over all the earth into the hearts of the children of men. God’s light and love permeate all His creations.4
Worship
My second gospel habit is very much connected to the first. We’ve talked about feeling God’s love now I want to talk about worship.
Worship is a way of showing our love for God and Christ. It shows our commitment.
Other words for worship are love, reverence, service and devotion.
Worship goes beyond just filling callings or completing assignments. It’s not just coming to church or doing our callings. It is a different level.
By Bishop Dean M. Davies gave a talk in the October conference 2016 about worship. He points out that we are really good at doing our assignments, but sometimes we lack the element of worship. If we do that we are missing an “incomparable spiritual encounter with the infinite—one we are entitled to as children of a loving Heavenly Father.” I’d like to quote more from his talk. He says:
Far from being an accidental, happy occurrence, worship is essential and central to our spiritual life. It is something we should yearn for, seek out, and strive to experience.
When we worship God, we approach Him with reverent love, humility, and adoration. We acknowledge and accept Him as our sovereign King, the Creator of the universe, our beloved and infinitely loving Father.
We respect and revere Him.
We submit ourselves to Him.
We lift our hearts in mighty prayer, cherish His word, rejoice in His grace, and commit to follow Him with dedicated loyalty.
True worship transforms us into sincere and earnest disciples of our beloved Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. We change and become more like Him.
We become more understanding and caring. More forgiving. More loving.
I learned that even if we are exceptional managers of our time, callings, and assignments—even if we check all the boxes on our list of the “perfect” individual, family, or leader—if we fail to worship our merciful Deliverer, heavenly King, and glorious God, we are missing much of the joy and peace of the gospel.
We ponder God’s word, and that fills our souls with light and truth. We comprehend spiritual vistas that can be seen only through the light of the Holy Ghost.10 And thus, we acquire faith.
As we worship, our souls are refined and we commit to walk in the footsteps of our beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. And from this resolve, we acquire charity.
When we worship, our hearts are drawn out in praise to our blessed God morning, noon, and night.
We hallow and honor Him continually—in our meetinghouses, homes, temples, and all our labors.
When we worship, we open our hearts to the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Our lives become the token and expression of our worship.
How do we worship
worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth” Sister Garner
- Join in fellowship with others
- Priesthood ordinances – sacrament and temple
- Tithes and offerings
- Use our talents and means for building the kingdom
- Study the gospel ponder the scriptures
- Sing songs of praise
Most of all we worship through prayer.
I feel my Savior's love; Its gentleness enfolds me, And when I kneel to pray, My heart is filled with peace.
Consecration
My final gospel habit is consecration. This is a continuation of worship. To consecrate something means to dedicate it to a sacred purpose
When we go to the temple we make a covenant to consecrate our talents, time, and resources to God.
I think it is important to distinguish between to sacrifice and to consecrate. We think of sacrifice as giving up something. We may sacrifice our time teach a primary lesson. We may sacrifice our talents as we fill our callings or plan an activity. We may sacrifice our resources as we pay fast offerings. But sometimes the word sacrifice can have a negative feeling. Bishop L Todd Budge explains
When our sacrifices on behalf of others are viewed from the perspective of “giving up,” we may see them as a burden and become discouraged when our sacrifices are not recognized or rewarded.
He goes on to explain the difference between giving up and giving to or consecrating. He says,
However, when viewed from the perspective of “giving to” the Lord, our sacrifices on behalf of others become gifts, and the joy of generously giving becomes its own reward. Freed from the need for love, approval, or appreciation from others, our sacrifices become the purest and deepest expressions of our gratitude and love for the Savior and our fellow men. Any prideful sense of self-sacrifice gives way to feelings of gratitude, generosity, contentment, and joy.13
By consecrating our actions, we blessed more deeply.
I'll share my Savior's love
By serving others freely.
In serving I am blessed.
In giving I receive
I have two beautiful quotes by Elder Maxwell about consecration
“The submission of one’s will [or heart11] is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. … However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him!”12
Those who sincerely consecrate their talents, time, and resources to the Lord ultimately consecrate themselves to Him. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught: “We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up, when divinely directed, our material possessions. But ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God” (“Consecrate Thy Performance,” Ensign, May 2002, 36).
Let me read another verse from the song
I feel my Savior’s love. And know that he will bless me. I offer him my heart; My shepherd he will be. He knows I will follow him, Give all my life to him.
I feel my Savior's love
In all the world around me.
His Spirit warms my soul
Through ev'rything I see.
I feel my Savior's love;
Its gentleness enfolds me,
And when I kneel to pray,
My heart is filled with peace.
I'll share my Savior's love
By serving others freely.
In serving I am blessed.
In giving I receive.
I feel my Savior’s love
And know that he will bless me.
I offer him my heart;
My shepherd he will be.
Tongan Ward Sacrament Meeting Talk - Elder Soderborg
In the last General Conference, President Oaks spoke about giving, both by the church and by other people of faith. Sister Soderborg and I have been asked to speak about President Oaks’ talk in church.
I will focus in the idea of anonymous giving.
President Oaks said, and I quote”
“A few months ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported for the first time the extent of our humanitarian work worldwide.1 Our 2021 expenditures for those in need in 188 countries worldwide totaled $906 million—almost a billion dollars. In addition, our members volunteered over 6 million hours of labor in the same cause.”
If my calculations are correct that means that the church has been providing humanitarian services to those in need for 192 years. And much of that has been offered anonymously, or at least it has not been broadcast to the world to receive any kind of recognition.
President Oaks also said, “I will also speak of similar giving by other good people. Giving to those in need is a principle in all Abrahamic religions and in others as well.”
He said that we are not alone in our service and quoted Elder Orson F. Whitney who said back in 1928, “God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of his great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous, for any one people” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1928)
President Oaks continued with: “Those figures are, of course, an incomplete report of our giving and helping. They do not include the personal services our members give individually as they minister to one another in called positions and voluntary member-to-member service.” I doubt that when the church compiled these statistics, someone came around to the Hau’ula 6th ward to check on all the service performed by its members.
I think this is probably one of the areas where Saints in this culture and saints in this area and in this ward shine. Maybe, as missionaries, we just get special attention, but my wife and I have been the recipients of much service. We have had neighbors bring us food to our house, we have had shop owners give us free merchandise, food vendors give us free meals, and just last week members of the ward provided a feast at the Tongan missionary reunion at the beach. I have no doubt that such activities occur all the time to more people than just missionaries.
Christ taught about this kind of service or charitable giving during his mortal ministry. One example is the story about the Good Samaritan. I’m going to read it to you because it is short and has a powerful message:
Luke 10:25-37
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
The Samaritan was likely not a follower of Christ, but rather just someone who recognized a need and wanted to serve God by serving another child of God.
President Oaks said that the 2021 report makes no mention of what our members do individually through innumerable charitable organizations not formally connected with our Church.
Some of those organization not connected to the church are the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to which the church donated US$32 million — the faith’s largest one-time contribution to a humanitarian organization — to help fight what the WFP calls a “seismic hunger crisis.”
“We are so grateful to collaborate with the World Food Programme because we know they will get food to those who need it most,” Presiding Bishop Budge said. “And we thank Latter-day Saints and friends of the faith whose financial sacrifices have made this gift possible. Such giving makes God’s children a little happier and all of us a little holier.”
Some of the other organizations that the church has worked with are the Red Cross, Red Crescent Catholic Relief Services, Muslim Aid, Israid and others.
And it is not just large organizations that make significant contributions. President Oaks mentioned a husband and wife from the United Arab Emirates who personally serve more than 30,000 humanitarian meals every weekend to anyone who enters their doors, regardless of religion or race. They said, We believe that all are one, we are children of one God, and we are here to serve humanity.”
Another Syrian American critical care physician founded MedGlobal which organizes medical professionals to volunteer their time, skills, knowledge, and leadership to help others in crisis.
I did a search for the word “give” in all the conference talks this past conference. These are some of the phrases I found that contain the word give or giving:
Dallin H. Oaks
The saints give and do for the poor and distressed
Denelson Silva
God gives us the opportunity to do what he would do if he were here today
Paul V. Johnson
The atonement provides life-giving change
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Partaking of the sacrament gives us a special connection with Christ
Kristin M. Yee
Living in faith gives beauty for the ashes of your life
Elder Gong
The Lord gives us divine opportunity to become more like him
James W. McConkie III
Elder Wirthlin promised transformative blessings to those willing to give time and place to Jesus Christ.
Jonathan S. Schmitt
Don’t ever give up on Jesus – He will never give up on you.
Joseph Sitati
The Lord affirms, “And again I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived. . . “
Henry B. Eyring
All who succeed in giving encouragement to those struggling upward on the path to their heavenly home, are putting Jesus Christ first.
Gerald Causse
Of all achievements, none can equal the experience of becoming cocreators with God in giving life or in helping a child learn, grow and thrive.
Kevin W. Pearson
Jesus willingly eases our burdens, calms our fears, gives us strength, and brings peace.
Russell M. Nelson
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Isaac K. Morrison
Jesus told Joseph to endure it well and promised that if he did, all these things would give him experience and would be for his good.
Sister Soderborg and I were talking last night about all that we have been given and just hope that we remain worthy of these gifts.
I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
***
Center for Academic Success devotional - Elder Soderborg
President Howard W. Hunter said:
It was said of the young and valiant Captain Moroni: “If all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” (Alma 48:17.)
What a compliment to a famous and powerful man! I can’t imagine a finer tribute from one man to another. Two verses later is a statement about Helaman and his brethren, who played a less conspicuous role than Moroni: “Now behold, Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni.” (Alma 48:19.) In other words, even though Helaman was not as noticeable or conspicuous as Moroni, he was as serviceable; that is, he was as helpful or useful as Moroni.
Obviously, we could profit greatly by studying the life of Captain Moroni. He is an example of faith, service, dedication, commitment, and many other godly attributes. I could spend all of the brief time we have tonight speaking of this magnificent man, but instead I have chosen to focus on those who are not seen in the limelight or do not receive the attention of the world, yet are “no less serviceable,” as the scripture phrased it.
Unless I miss my guess, some of you are going to feel a little lost this coming year, perhaps a little lonely and forgotten. That may be especially true of the freshmen or maybe those just back from missions or those facing other changes in their patterns of life. Not everyone at school is going to be the student body president or the Relief Society president or the teacher of the elders quorum. Not all of you are going to be like Moroni, catching the acclaim of your colleagues all day every day. No, most will be quiet, relatively unknown folks who come and go and do their work without fanfare. To those of you who may find that lonely or frightening or just unspectacular, I say you are “no less serviceable” than the most spectacular of your associates. You, too, are part of God’s army.
The great prophet Nephi, mentioned in the book of Helaman, had a brother named Lehi, who is seemingly mentioned only in passing but is noted as being “not a whit behind him [Nephi] as to things pertaining to righteousness.” (See Hel. 11:18–19.)
If you feel that much of what you do does not make you very famous, take heart. Most of the best people who ever lived weren’t very famous, either. Serve and grow, faithfully and quietly. Be on guard regarding the praise of men. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
“Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
“But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
“That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”
We have some family members who recently served a senior mission. They told us that they had a slogan or motto for their children and grandchildren. It was something like, We know it’s true or we wouldn’t leave you. I was trying to think of a motto for our family and I kept coming back to this song. “I feel my Savior’s love”. I experienced a tender mercy as I realized the verse of the song correspond to the three gospel habits I picked today. I would like to read the song again.
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Things As They Are and As They Should Be
Elder Soderborg
I have enjoyed talking about parables in my devotionals, so I decided to try again. Since I didn’t have a specific one in mind, I googled the word parable in the church web site and came up with the bible dictionary explanation of the word parable. It says, “The parable draws a picture of life as it is, not as it ought to be, and compares certain points in this picture with heavenly doctrine.”
So, I thought, “Life as it is and not as it should be.” That rang a bell in my mind. For most of my life growing up my parents and siblings would quote memorable phrases from movies, songs, books, or jokes whenever the occasion seemed to warrant it. For example, in the original tv movie Cheaper by the Dozen, Mr. Gilbreth is trying to load his twelve children into his car, when a many walks by and says, “Are these all yours, or is this a picnic?’ Mr. Gilbreth replies, “They are all mine, and believe me, it is no picnic.”
There were only seven of us children in my family, but my dad loved to use that line.
But this definition of parable – life as it is and not as it should be - reminded me of another quote that is popular among my family members. It comes from the book Don Quixote De La Mancha, by Miguel Cervantes. In the book, the character Don Quixote is accused of being a lunatic. This is how he responds to the accusation:
“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
So, instead of talking about a parable which describes life as it is, I’m going to talk about some scriptures that talk about life as it should be.
In Mosiah 2; 40, 41, King Benjamin says:
40 O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand my words, for I have spoken plainly unto you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression.
That is life as it is.
But, the next verse is life as it should be.
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out cfaithful to the end they are received into dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
A side note of that scripture leads us to Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus says:
28 ¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (that sounds like life as it is)
29 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.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Life as it should be)
Another scripture that speaks of how things can be and should be instead of how they usually are is
4 Nephi 1:15–18 in the Book of Mormon
15 And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.
16 And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.
17 There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
18 And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land.
When I think about us working with students, sometimes we see all the challenges and difficulties they encounter and we can get so caught up in the drama of their lives that we also become sad and depressed. Their ‘life as it is’ is not so great.
What we want to do, though, is try to help them do what King Benjamin said, that is, to consider on the blessed and ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; (Again, life as it should be)
I like being able to tell students things like this. In our previous life, we couldn’t explain eternal principles to students without fearing some pushback.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf is well-known for saying “For members of the church, education is not merely a good idea—it is a commandment.”
Of course, the idea was not new to Elder Uchtdorf; Speaking specifically to women, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “You must get all of the education that you possibly can.”4 And Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “We make no distinction between young men and young women in our conviction about the importance of an education and in our commitment to providing that education.”
President Nelson said: “Your mind is precious! It is sacred. Therefore, the education of one’s mind is also sacred. Indeed, education is a religious responsibility.”
And finally, from D&C 29.34, we learn that “all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal.” It seems to me that no matter how temporally useful an education is to us and to our students, it is equally importantly for our spiritual selves.
It is my testimony that when we do our jobs correctly, we are not only helping the student stay here to finish their education and getting a degree, we are also helping them obtain a degree of spirituality that will continue on with them for a lifetime.
ITNOJCA
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Center for Academic Success Devotional December 7, 2022
My parable for today comes from Matthew 19:16-22
Matthew writes:
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which?
I wonder how serious this young man was about following Jesus’s instructions. I imagine him saying to himself, “Surely he can’t mean all the commandments, which one am I supposed to keep?
Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
So, he had great possessions. That must be why he is referred to as the rich young man.
So, how can this apply to our work with the students.
We can imagine them saying, “Good Master (well, not good master, but maybe good teacher), what good thing shall I do to attain another semester?
We might respond, "follow all the rules of being good student."
And they say back to us,
“I’ve been a student most of my life and my study habits have taken me this far. What’s the problem now? What lack I yet?
Hopefully, this is where we fit in. We can help them see what is missing in their routine. What practices they should value instead of just the ones that have always served them in the past.
In the second to last verse of this parable, Jesus says, “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”
I can’t exactly go to students and say “If thou wilt be perfect, attend class and do your homework.” But I can say “attend class and do your homework and you will be blessed.”
Some of the students do respond like the rich young man, hanging their head and walk away thinking , that is too hard.
We are certainly not perfect, like Jesus was, but we are a little more experienced than our students.
Most of the blessings we and our students hope for are subject to obedience to some law or principle.
It seems that every problem we encounter can be solved by one simple step -- obedience.
So, how can we apply this parable to ourselves? I doubt that any of us are in the same position as this man who had great possessions. I mean, we all worked in education. That pretty much takes us out of the wealthy category.
I wonder to myself, suppose I were the one Jesus was talking to. I could tell Him, like the rich young man did, that I don’t murder or commit adultery or steal or bear false witness. I could even say that I pay my tithing, attend my church meetings and say “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?”
That is where I would probably run into trouble. Jesus knew that the rich young man’s weak spot was his wealth and possessions. He would surely know my weaknesses and vulnerable points. He would probably know that I am pretty fond of my recliner back home. I like my weekends free. And there are a whole lot of things I should be doing or doing better. I’m not going to mention all those here, but I frequently wonder what those things that I’m failing at are keeping me from becoming.
But instead of turning away sorrowfully, like the rich young man, I can resolve to rid myself of those weak spots and make myself worthy of eternal life.
Since this is Christmas time, maybe what I can do for Christ is to try to be a little more perfect. I think it would make both of us happy.
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