Misc Metaphors, thoughts

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Stake Conference
Sept 7, 2003


A visit from the prophet
The stake next door to our west is called the Granger South Stake. Last year at their Stake Conference something remarkable happened. A friend was walking up to the stake center a little late. As he approached he saw several people come out of the doors running to their cars, or running down the street. He wondered what had happened. Was there a gunman in the church? Was there a fire? What would cause people to run away? It was the prophet who had come to visit…and people wanted to call friends to come and see the prophet.

Wow. As we prepared for this stake conference, I have thought a lot about that. How scary would that be, to have the prophet drop in today? In one sense it would make my talk easier to give – because you could pretty well be assured that no one would remember a word I said. They would be waiting for the prophet. On the other hand, it would be scary to talk with the prophet sitting right behind you, because you’d feel this need to say every word perfectly.

Then it occurred to me. In reality, we have someone even more important, even more wonderful than the prophet with us here today. And that is the Spirit of the Lord. He is mindful of each person here. He is listening to every word that we say – whether we are standing behind the podium, or in the farthest seat in the back. And He is going to speak to each of us today. Yet, what he says to you today, will be different than what he says to me. And just like if the prophet were here today, I suspect that what the Lord says to you, you will remember much longer than what I say to you.

We would like to honor and recognize the spirit that is here today, and thank God for it’s direction.

Think for a second about how the spirit speaks to you, and what does he say? We’re told in the scriptures how we know when the Spirit is speaking with us. Elijah was told to go out and the Lord would speak to him. And the experience was described like this…

11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:

12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still• small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?.

His voice is not like a strong wind, or an earthquake or a fire. But as a still small voice. Other prophets also have described to us how we can know when the spirit speaks to us:

· John teaches us that The Holy Ghost will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, John 14: 26. and that the Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth, John 16: 13.
· Nephi said of his experience in retrieving the plates, “ I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do,” 1 Ne. 4: 6.
· Enos describes the spirit speaking to him as The voice of the Lord came into my mind, Enos 1: 10.
· Moroni describes how we can discern between the voice of the Lord and the voice of the world, by teaching that Everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good is inspired of God, Moro. 7: 13-16.
· We can tell when the spirit is speaking to us because we feel a strong feeling of peace…for as he said to Joesph Smith, Did I not speak peace to your mind? D&C 6: 23.
· He also said to the Prophet, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, D&C 8: 2.
· My Spirit shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy, D&C 11: 13.
· It shall be given thee in the very moment what thou shalt speak or write, D&C 24: 6 (D&C 84: 85).
· The still small voice whispers through and pierces all things, D&C 85: 6.
· Perhaps my favorite example of the Lord speaking to us is when he appeared to the nephites in America –
3Ne8:20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could afeel• the bvapor• of darkness;

21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and ahowling• and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.
3, And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice• as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small• voice it did pierce• them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.

4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood• it not.

5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open• their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.

6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:

7 Behold my Beloved• Son, bin• whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him

IS this blessing of being directed by the spirit, something that only the prophets experience, or is this something which all of us are entitled to?

In the most recent Priesthood Leadership Broadcast, Elder Maxwell said in no uncertain terems that every member of the church who has received the gift of the holy ghost is entitled to regular inspiration and revelation from the Lord. He said that as a people we live far beneath our priviledges when it comes to receiving inspiration and revelation from the Lord. And that if we would listen more, we could bless and drive this church forward in greater ways.

I want to ask you a question. Besides family members, what is the most valuable possession you have that you would take out of the house in case of a fire? My answer is my set of black books. I have with me a book (this is number 5) that I carry with me everywhere I go. It’s black, has a leather cover, and starts out with about 300 pages of blank paper. After 6 months, it is filled with my llegible handwriting.

I carry it to church meetings. I have it with me during conference meetings. I take it to work. I have it in my car. I travel with it, and once left it on an airplane. When I got a call from the airline to come pick it up, they told me that I needed to have better handwriting so they could read it better. I told them that was my strategy. Many of you have seen me during a church meeting writing in it (when I’m not sleeping), and asked me, what I am I writing in that book?

Generally, I am writing the impressions of the spirit to me. Sometimes it is in alignment with what the speaker is talking about, but usually it is about some principle or concept that the speakers words causes me to think about.

These impressions and spiritual insights are some of the most precious things I have in my life. If nothing more in our lives – to capture these insights and inspirations so that you can ponder on them over and over, is one of the great blessings of my life.

I wanted to share with you few of the precious whisperings that have come to me over the last 6 months as I have heard your missionaries report their missions, as I have attended sacrament meetings around the stake, as I have attended general conferences, and as I have heard the spirit in my comings and goings.

I was visiting last Wednesday night, and President Adams told me a simple event – his pumpkins were not producing this year. Too hot, and too dry. I wrote this in my black book based on a thought that came to me…

1. President Adams grows pumpkins for his grandkids. He carves their names in it while it’s green and young, so when it’s done growing, the name shows through. This is a wonderful way for grandparents to be part of their kids lives. I need to make a list of other fun activities that grandparents can do for their kids. Let’s get on it Blaine and Kristi!

My father passed away recently. This event has been devastative for me, but more especially for my mother, who now finds herself alone much of the time. In trying to help her cope, the following thought impressed my mind.

2. Be your own best friend. Most all of us will spend a lot of time in our life alone. As a child, a teen, a young single adult, an older single adult, after a spouse dies. In leadership positions. At work situations. In school and in tests. These are all times when you’re too loosely connected to others to feel happy and good. It sure helps if you like yourself. You can tell who you are by what you do when you are truly alone. Live so that you like yourself. We come into the world alone, and we struggle through illness, trials, and death alone. But we are never really alone. Our past lives with us. Our future lives with us as well. . Live well, so that your future self won’t have to say “If I’d have known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.” The Lord is always with us. So be your own best friend by living well now, so that your future self will be proud to have known you

My wife and daughter went school shopping last week and were embarrassed when they went into Abercrombie and Fitch, and there were literally naked people hanging on the walls in larger than life posters. AF sells their catalog which literally had to be wrapped in plain paper because of the pornography inside. As you walked into the store two muscled people (boy and girl) with nearly nothing on welcomed them to the store. The sad thing is that the store was packed with people who were more interested in looking ‘cool’ than in being modest and supporting establishments that promoted modest standards. The thought that came to me, and has come to me numerous times is this:

3. We need to honor our YM and YW as the greatest. Many of them feel ugly, or uncool, or alone. They don’t feel like they fit in with the world around them. In reality that’s good. But to them, many feel left out. They don’t dress like their immodest friends at school. So why do we honor our youth? Because the lord doesn’t care about money, clothes, coolness, or popularity. Think about his life. He had none of those things. Yet he was everything. What does he care about? He cares about covenant making, covenant keeping, obedience, purity, faithfulness, righteousness. Our kids my not fit into the world – but they fit perfectly into the plan of God, and he loves them. In fact, he loves them so much that he reveals himself to them. He blesses them with strong testimonies. He gives them the gospel. He plants them in homes where they can grow and then serve missions or raise families. These are his choicest children and we need to honor and love them.

4. Elder Brough told us that President Hinkley wept when he heard the statistics of the saints in Utah. Point for point, he saw that we were not listening to his counsel. I need to re-evaluate my situation to ensure I am doing what the prophet asks us to do. Debt. Savings. Donations. Preparing for a mission. Temple-work. Family Home Evening. Scripture Study. Are all areas to focus on. Maybe send him a letter each year telling him how our family is doing on each of these. areas.

5. It’s one thing to catch the vision of the work, and to be inspired by it’s grand purposes. It’s another thing to do as hymn 223 says “wake up, and do something more, than dream of your mansions above. Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love.” Get more involved in doing – not just seeing the vision. Elder Brough said that prayer is not the words we speak, it is the lives we live. Our life is a prayer. Make it a prayer of action.

6. Death is real and is devastating. People don’t come back. It leaves all of the hopes and dreams of the individual, the family, and the friends unfulfilled. It leaves a huge chasm or hole for people to deal with and it doesn’t give anything back to hope for. Death of one changes how everyone else around the person lives. For most it is a devastating pain that never goes away – you just get used to the pain. It is to those who have known the heart breaking pain and continual darkness and despair caused by the death of a loved one, that resurrection is a miracle so grand so incredible, that it seems impossible to be true. Even when Christ died all around him grieved. They put his body in a tomb. They washed the body. They wept. Why? Because he had died – and people don’t come back from death. But he did. Of the millions and billions who have died and never come back, Christ has done it, and promised us that we too will come back. It is this kind of joy that Christ came to give. It is the miracle of miracles that leads the whole gospel to be known as ‘the good news’.

7. Work hard. The example of hard work by one man can change the destiny of nations. Ammon worked hard in the kings field which led to the conversion of the king of the lamanites. The king of the lamanites influenced his people to be converted. They were so converted that they buried their weapons of war. When they were killed by their enemies, they were true to their covenants. Their children entered a covenant to take up arms to protect their families. These children became the sons of helaman that we now honor in songs around the world. Hard work can make a difference.

8. Elder Rees reported that he learned that Repentance through faith in Christ is the most important thing we can learn. Those who are addicted to alcohol, drugs or other addictive substance, have also learned this great truth by trying to change on their own to no avail. They continue to sink into despair and sin. They don’t have the power alone to give up their sin. They must rely on the power of God to save them, or they are lost forever. Oh that we can learn to rely on the mercy of the Lord in our sins we have before we get to that sad state of the addicted. May we recognize that we are in the same boat just at a different level.

9. Why is faith in Christ necessary for true repentance – for true change?

a. Faith causes us to believe that we can change
b. Faith causes us to believe he will forgive us
c. Faith causes us to believe that he loves us, and wants us close to him. That closeness is what’s needed to comfort us and strengthen us when temptation hits.
d. Faith causes us to think with an eternal mindset – I have to either change now or later, it’s worth the pain now.
e. Faith causes us to know that there are no real secrets. He sees everything we do, when we do it. That lack of privacy helps keep us on the right track.
f. Faith helps us know that we can be with family forever, if we shoot for it.
g. Faith helps us know, that if we try harder, we’ll feel love faster. Lord loves us regardless. But we don’t feel that love unless we work for it.
h. Faith helps us see God for the greatness that he is, and the smallness that we are. This understanding of his greatness and our smallness enables us to conform our will, our appetites to meet his – knowing with faith, that by turning ourselves over to him, he will make us better than we could ever be alone.
i. Faith that he is there, gives us power to resist temptation – we can get through anything.

10. Christ’s atonement enabled all things to be fixed. It’s hard to repent when you do something wrong – especially the sins with a high degree of darkness. You feel unloved and unlovable. But Christ promises us – and through the irony of the atonement – demonstrates to us – that no sin is too big to get outside his power to heal and forgive.

11. Sleeping in church is nothing more than an exhibition of a clean conscious.

12. Peace can come from knowing that we are not in charge. The Lord is in charge and we’re not able to fix all the problems. But we do need to follow the lord and fix what we can.

13. The parable of the sower teaches us the things which will kill our own personal growth in the gospel – watch for these things.

a. Disbelief
b. Disobedience
c. Distraction
d. Death
e. Laziness
f. Stupidity

14. Once while flying on a Southwest jet at night, as we landed and the lights inside the plane were out, suddenly the flight attendant started singing over the microphone – he sang, “We love you, you love us, we’re much faster than the bus. If you come and marry one of us you’ll see, you will always fly for free.”

15. The parable of the olive tree in Jacob is soo great. It teaches us so much about the gathering of Israel and the way the Lord works. But it also teaches us about how important it is to the Lord that we bear fruit…good fruit. Because without good fruit, we are good for nothing except to be hewn down. So what is the good fruit the lord expects us to bear? It’s not just that we have a good job. Or that we provide a good income to our families? Or that we attend meetings. He wants us to accomplish some things. Temple work, covenants and baptisms of friends/family/self, missions, Geneology, Service. If we are doing those things regularly, then we can feel comfortable that we are producing good fruit. If not, if all we’re doing is diverting our time with entertainment and outings, then our fruits may dry up.

16. the Largest living organism in the world is a grove of aspens in Utah called… It grows because all of the roots of one tree are connected to all the roots of the others. So nourishment of one root or branch benefits all.

17. The world has the importance of sexuality all screwed up (so to speak.). They treat it as an end in itself. But in reality sexuality is just the beginning designed to bring two people together to create a family tree. The family is the grand wonder that all should see as important and worth sacrificing all to build. The tree and the fruit thereof are the wonder, sex, is just the root starter to get the whole thing moving. We need to keep our priorities clear.

18. Bishops see the ward in a whole new light. Before being called they knew that there were probably 10% of the people in the ward had problems but they figured that 90% were doing okay. After being called, they realized that the numbers were reversed.

19. Keeping covenants and contracts is critical. In old days people had integrity, and they understood that even if they had nothing above ground, their roots of integrity would keep them there to hold good to their contract. Today, there are too many people who look good to their word, but have no roots of integrity. So when problems arise, they roll away from their problems and break contracts until they find another place to put down roots…which never get deep enough to help them weather the storms ahead.

20. Freedom is the space you have to choose the degree to which you want to obey, and who you enlist to serve. No one is independent. Everyone serves either the Lord of Satan. So Freedom is not part of that – it is which and how much.

21. Everything is either good or bad. Nothing is gray. How can you tell which it is? By seeing if it leads you to Christ. But that seems strange, how do you tell if picking up the kids from school is leading you to Christ? How can you tell if watching the news is bringing you to Christ? Coming to Christ is a multi-step process, and everything falls within one of those steps. If it leads you towards Christ in that step it is good. What are the steps? Becoming aware of Christ, his covenants, his plan, his goodness. Arising to learn more about him. Committing to follow him. Press forward to start living the plan as he laid it out. Enduring to the end doing the things he needs you to do to build your family and teach them the gospel. Picking up kids from school? If it’s for the good of the family – It is enduring to the end of Christs plan for us….it’s good. Watching the news? If it raises in us an awareness of the Greatness of God and the Nothingness of Man, and causes in me a desire to hold to the rod, then it is probably good for me. If it causes in you a desire to hurt someone, to participate in some unrighteous cause, then it is probably not good.

22. Christ helps us get to a point where we like him are able and willing to help others deal with their problems. To stop trying to shield ourselves from our own pains, and to seek to support others in their pain.

23. Some of the more noble among us are like Christ. Rather than looking for ways to lift ourselves, and make our lives more wonderful and comfortable, they like Christ are looking for ways to step down into a more painful perhaps dark place to help lift them out. These people may never hold prominent positions or drive big cars, but they bear fruit everyday from the people they help.

24. To the degree that we are successful w/ the statement “be in the world, but not of the world” is the degree to which we are able to fight McWorld. To be “In” the world is to love standardization, high quality production, safety, wholesomeness for the masses. To be “of” the world is to love consumerism. To love popularity of the masses. To love rebellion of the forces that be.

25. Some are real, some are virtual. Wendy is real. People who suffer are real. Disneyland is virtual. People who never risk are virtual.

26. Being loyal to yourself is to “be all that you can be.” Try to realize your full potential.

27. Good metaphor for the gospel and missionary work, is if we were all in a huge school together. And what if in the process of giving lectures, the professor gave tests, but he only gave the answers to you. You would be responsible for passing the answers out as quickly as you could.

28. Raising the bar (for missionary work) is like high jumping. When you’ve reached one height, you raise the bar, to try and reach something a little higher. The time has come to reach higher goals.

29. The big battle in the gospel is not against the catholics or the Baptists. It’s against those who don’t care about religion at all. That feel like religion as a whole is a waste of time. That will kill missionary work. McWorld will kill the desire to align with a church or religion.

30. E Brough tells the story of when he was first sustained as a general authority. He was not planning on speaking until the next conference. But during the song, he received a note that said, “Elder Monson doesn’t feel up to speaking. You’re on next.” At our last Stake Conference, E Brough called on P Adams and I to bear our testimonies, and we weren’t prepared. When P Adams spoke, he said, now I know how E Brough felt, and from behind, E Brough said loudly – “No you don’t”.

31. In Farmington, we wanted to go bike riding. Kent’s family wanted to join us but they didn’t have enough bikes so he called a friend to borrow a bike. When we picked up the bike, we were embarrassed when we realized they were giving us their very best bike. It was a $1200 bike that had never been used. We tried to decline using it, but the kid said “this is a little thing for the person who helped me get my eagle scout.”

32. Why should I share the gospel with someone who is already happy?
a. The gospel can make anyone happier than they are. If knowing about heaven is good, knowing about the degrees of glory is even better.
b. Because everything changes. Their happiness will be shaken at some point, and unless they have a true and solid foundation, they will fall. The gospel gives everyone a more sure foundation.

33. “Ye know not that they shall repent, and I shall heal them”

34. If you are building others up, you are building the kingdom of God. If you are tearing others down, you are tearing down the kingdom of God.

35. Some laws should never be broken
a. Some words should never be spoken
b. Some thoughts should never be entertained
c. Some lines should never be crossed
d. Some vows should never be violated

36. In a congregation, there is an interesting political game that happens to keep quiet and to try and get the most from the speakers.
a. Bribery
b. Threats
c. Intimidation
d. Brute force
e. Distraction
f. Carelessness
g. Apathy
h. Taunt
i. Ministerial dignity
37. When struggling with sin, the Lord says, “Don’t worry about it, just get it taken care of.”

38. I don’t think the lord is concerned with money at all! I think he is concerned with how much fruit we are bearing. How many lives we’ve lifted. How many people we’ve comforted. How many people we’ve introduced the gospel to. How many services we’ve rendered. Whether we finished our home teaching. The Lord is trying to build something. It’s like if a builder got caught up focusing on nails or carpet or shingles. It is a thing that helps the building go up, but it’s not the building, nor the thing that happens in the building. So it is with money.

39. Money is not the root all evil. It is the love of money. But the same could be said that the love of sports, or the love of movies, or the love of anything is the root of evil for an individual. Because if we put anything before the Lord, that thing will be the thing that causes us to lose the Lord.

40. Giving up physical belongings isn’t hard. It is giving up our will that is hard. So if hanging onto physical things is in your will, then giving them up is hard because it’s your will that you’re giving up.

41. Freedom is the ability to choose what you do with what you have. If you are in debt, then you have no freedom because all you have is spoken for. If you have savings, then you have tons of freedom because you can choose.

42. It’s hard for rich to get to heaven because the rich have ‘found their place in the world’ and have learned to trust it. If we trust anything more than the Lord then we are frozen in a place where we can’t receive all that the father has.

43. We need to strive for an acceptable sacrifice. What is acceptable? Give till it hurts. And hurts enough that we have shown the Lord our love for him.

44. March 03, Pres Hinkley said to the BYU Daily Universe Editor staff, that he would be remembered as the prophet that no one listened to.

45. Benefit of sacrifice comes with the challenge it presents. Real sacrifices (like those of the pioneers) linger for generations providing strength. But when we do something and nothing hurts, then the sacrifice is meaningless. Like when we did a bike ride that was all downhill. Wendy felt the need to ride back up, so she knew she had done something.

46. God will need to burn Beverly hills Boulevard, or he’ll Sodom and Gommorrah an apology.

47. If you live as though you don’t believe in God, you better make sure you’re right.

48. Write a story about time. Some fruit doesn’t grow as fast as a decade or a generation. Some trees don’t bear fruit for generations.

49. All things are 2 in 1. Soberness – Joy. Sadness – Happiness. Peace – Turmoil. Time connects both ends. We should look for self induced soberness because know it will lead to joy. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst? Why? They will be filled. Blessed are the meek..why? They will possess the earth. Blessed are the peacemakers…why? They shall become the children of god.

50. Give a person a fish and feed him for a day. Teach that person to use the internet and they won’t bother you for weeks.

51. Much wisdom can be crowded into 4 words: in god we trust, this too shall pass, live and let live, still waters run deep, bad news travels fast, love laughs at locksmiths, nothing succeeds like success, charity beings at home, politics make strange bedfellows, nothing ventured, nothing gained, man proposes, god disposes. Let sleeping dogs lie, no pain no gain.

52. The older I get the more I become aware that for all the knowledge we accumulate in this new information age, there seems to be fewer and fewer people who are capable of extracting the truth from the data, putting 2+2 together, and acting with wisdom. Knowledge does not equal wisdom.

53. The mere stuffing of the mind with a knowledge of facts is not education – Joseph F Smith.

54. What we desperately need is to recognize and acquire that quality which converts knowledge into wisdom. Marion G Romney

55. I wish there was a knob on the TV that would turn up the intelligence level of the show I’m watching. There’s one called brightness, but it doesn’t work.

56. Light travels faster than sound, which is why some people appear intelligent until you hear them speak.

57. The trouble with ignorance is that it picks up confidence as it goes along. Norwegian proverb.

58.