First Chrismas (In the Mission Field)

Each Christmas Eve the California San Jose Mission had a mission wide Christmas Conference -- every missionary in the mission gathered at Cherry Chapel, the LDS meetinghouse on Cherry Avenue in San Jose.  Each zone would perform a skit or a musical number.  The Christmas Conference in 1988, when I had been out about a year, was my first.

My zone sang Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains and I Stand All Amazed in Spanish.  The zone leaders of the Eastside San Jose Zone were Span Ams (Spanish speaking elders) and according to at least one of them, I Stand All Amazed is tons better in Spanish.

After each the performances of each zone, we broke for lunch.  My trainer, and an elder who was with us in my first apartment, came and sat with me and my current companion.  My trainer and I had not gotten along very well when we were together, but a few weeks before Christmas he sent me a card in which he thanked me for what he learned from our time together.  That Christmas Eve at lunch we had a nice conversation; I couldn't get over how friendly he was being.  Meanwhile, as part of reaching for a goal I had set to become more outgoing, I tried to take advantage of the opportunity to make conversation.

After lunch we had a surprise speaker, President Howard W. Hunter, who had some family in the area.  President Hunter had an informal, friendly chat with us about some of the neat things that are going on in the church.  For example, while the church did not have official recognition in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), some citizens in that country had found a priesthood leadership manuel and some other church materials and wanted to organize a branch inside the country.  Because the church was not recognized by the government, they could not baptize these people or organize a branch, but the church was looking for ways to help these individuals without breaking they laws of Myanmar.

After his remarks, those of us who wished to lined up to shake his hand.  When I shook his hand I had the feeling that he would be the next president of the church.  At the time, President Hunter was in a wheelchair due to some health issues he was experiencing; at recent General Conferences he gave his addresses while sitting down.  Some of my fellow missionaries were not sure when I told them of the impression I had recieved.  Nonetheless, a few years after I came home from my mission, President Hunter did become president of the church.  While he was the president only a short time, his example and teachings were endearing to many.  President Hunter would pass away not long after the dedication of a temple in my hometown, Bountiful, Utah.

The Christmas Conference was an opportunity to talk to missionaries I had not seen in awhile, from old companions and apartment mates, to some elders who were with me in the MTC.  After the conference, my companion and I went to a dinner appointment with a family in the ward we were assigned to.  After dinner we play Pictionary with the two older daughters who slaughtered us . . . seriously, it was not pretty.

The next morning, Sunday and Christmas Day, we went a combined Sacrament Meeting for three wards.  After the meeting we stopped by the home of the ward mission leader and watched his family open their presents; they found a few candy bars to give to us as presents.  Then it was off to lunch with another member family.  After eating we played another game, Whatzit, where you try to guess names or phrases from jumbled up images.  I had a difficult time with this game because it helps to talk it out as you try to guess, and I'm just not that verbal.  Otherwise, a fun time was had by all.  After dinner that night, with yet another member family, we stopped by the bishop's home on our way back to our apartment.

All in all, it was a good Christmas.

How Deep is Our Commitment to the Gospel?

In the Book of Mormon we read about a dream which was had by the prophet Lehi, in which he partook of the fruit of the tree which represented the love of God.  In his dream, Lehi saw "numberless concourses of people" following the path to the tree only to wander off and lose their way when a mist of darkness arose.  A second group of people was more fortunate as there was a rod of iron next to the path, which the people did cling to as they pressed forward through the darkness.  These people were able to reach the tree and partake of the fruit, but then things went wrong for them; "they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed."  Why did they do this?

In his dream, Lehi saw a "great and spacious building" in which there were people who "were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come . . . and were partaking of the fruit."  The people of the second group then "fell away into forbidden paths and were lost."  They had partaken of the fruit, "which was most desirable of all other fruit", yet they were unable, or unwilling, to "endure to the end."

Lehi then saw a third group which not only reached the tree successfully, but which also did not fall away after partaking of the fruit.  These people had pressed "forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree."  Elder Kevin S. Hamilton of the Seventy said in the October 2013 General Conference of the LDS Church that "The rod of iron represented for this group of people the only safety and security that they could find, and they held fast continually; they refused to let go, even for something as simple as a Sunday afternoon ride in the country."

Elder Hamilton then quoted Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve in regard to this third group: "The key phrase in this verse is 'continually holding fast' to the rod of iron. . . .  Perhaps this third group of people consistently read and studied and searched the words of Christ. . . .  This is the group you and I should strive to join."

In the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we can find stories similar to the experiences of the second and third groups in Lehi's dream.  Some such stories occurred during the Kirtland period of the church where the saints experienced difficulties in building up the Kingdom of God and then enjoyed the Pentecostal experience at the dedication of the Kirtland temple, only to have some then wander off in forbidden paths.  Others went through the same experiences, but remained faithful through the trials that followed in Missouri and Illinois.

I have written before about my great great great grandfather Frederick G. Williams, who joined the church in Kirtland, Ohio, and traveled with Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer Jr., Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson on their mission to the native Americans living in the Indian territories (http://thewholemissionary.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-mission-to-lamanites-and-conversion.html).  Williams was later called to be the second counselor in the First Presidency, he donated land to the church for the construction of buildings to further the work of kingdom, and he saw an angel at the dedication of the Kirtland temple -- the angel was also identified as the Savior.  But there were also trials; there were disagreements regarding his role as a justice of the peace, an argument with the prophet Joseph Smith regarding business affairs of the Kirtland Safety Society, and his daughter married a man who would be less than faithful to the church.

Despite the trials, it could be said that President Williams had success, prominence and spritual fulfillment in Kirtland.  When he left Kirtland, he would lose almost everything.  At a conference in Missouri, members refused to sustain him as second counselor in the First Presidency and he lost this position.  An invalid son, whose healing had been promised if he and his wife remained faithful, passed away.  His son-in-law became involved with other members turning against the church and collaborating with its enemies. Finally, Williams would be excommunicated from the church as the saints departed for Illinois.

A descendant of Frederick G Williams would speculate that he suffered guilt by association as he tried to mediate with his son-in-law and others who were turning against the church, trying to persuade them to return to the fold.  Additionally, Williams was absent when the saints were making the trek to Illinois, and many who were absent at that time were excommunicated.  Williams may, however, have been absent because of his work in settling an estate belonging to a member of the church, for which he spent three days in court in Far West in March 1839.  The business of settling the estate allowed Williams to visit Joseph Smith who was then in Liberty Jail.  In later years, Brigham Young appeared to admit a mistake had been made when he would teasingly ask Frederick's wife Rebecca if she had forgiven him yet.

It is certainly possible that Williams had committed an offense worthy of being excommunicated, but no documentation can be found regarding what that offense might have been.  Even so, when Joseph Smith arrived in Illinois, he counseled Frederick G. Williams to submit himself before the church and ask for forgiveness.  Williams did so in April 1840, and was received back into the fellowship of the church.  There may have been some hard feelings, however, as Dr. Williams chose to set up his practice in the town of Quincy, rather than in Nauvoo.  Still, Williams remained faithful until his death in October 1842, at the age of fifty-four.

Frederick's wife, Rebecca, and his son, Ezra, would cross the plains to settle in the valley of the Great Salt Lake.  Ezra Williams would establish the first hospital west of the Mississipi in 1852, when the Williamses converted their spacious two-story, seven room adobe home, which stood at 44 East North Temple in Salt Lake City.

Despite everything he had lost, despite the difficulties he had experienced, Frederick G. Williams remained faithful to the end.  Whatever disagreements he may have had, even emotional scars, what mattered to him was that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon was the word of God.  His commitment to the gospel was deep enough that he died full in the faith.

Will we be able to say the same thing?  We live in a world, it seems, where personal attacks are okay, but standing up for your beliefs is not.  In the church, "he said/she said" disagreements or other actions by imperfect people drive others from the church because they are offended.  Others, despite such wounds, choose to remain faithful, to continue holding fast to the rod of iron.  What will we do?  How deep is our commitment?


Sources:

Williams, F. G. (2012). The Life of Dr. Frederick G. Williams: Counselor to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Provo, Utah: BYU Studies.

Hamilton, K. S. (2013). "Continually Holding Fast. Ensign, vol. 43 (11).
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/continually-holding-fast

Not For Sale

"What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

This was the rousing finish to the now famous speech given by Patrick Henry in St. John's Church, Richmond, Virginia, on March 23, 1775.  Henry was speaking to men who hoped to avoid war between the colonies and Great Britain.  "Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace, but there is no peace," Henry declared. "The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms!"  He was very nearly right, for in less than 30 days the "shot heard round the world" was fired at Lexington in Massachusetts.

A few thousand years ealier, a prophet of God explained that we have the ability to choose between liberty and death:

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man.  And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself" (2 Nephi 2:27).

Few, if any, would consciously choose captivity and death, but we often face choices that could lead us into captivity.  We may even think we are choosing liberty, when in fact we are choosing the opposite.  Another prophet has warned us that we may be flattered or lulled into choosing captivity instead of liberty.

"For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.  And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well -- and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.  And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none -- and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance" (2 Nephi 28:20-22).

Patrick Henry's words may echo, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?"  Is anything we may find desirable worth such a price?

For McKay Christensen, the answer was no.  Mckay expected to attend college, serve a mission, and work for his family's business, but all that changed during his senior year.  On the baseball diamond he found unexpected success, batting .500 and stealing 62 bases in 62 attempts.  He was named to the all-American team and was rated among the three or four best athletes in the baseball draft.

When Mckay told the scouts that he wanted to serve an LDS mission, they told him that he would be among the first few players chosen in the draft and at least one team then offered him a million dollar signing bonus to skip his mission.  McKay Christensen answered by saying "My mission is not for sale."  Most major league teams turned their attention elsewhere, but the California Angels took Mckay with the sixth pick and offered him a two year break in which to serve his mission.

While he was serving his mission in Japan, the Angels traded Mckay.  After returning home, the once hot prospect would play for three different major league teams over four seasons.  As the Lord said in 1 Samuel 2:30, "for them that honor me I will honor."

Most of us will not have an opportunity as great as playing a major league sport.  But there will be other challenges and temptations.  Some may have a hard time leaving their girl behind to serve a mission.  Others may settle for a less than honorable person in order to avoid a life of loneliness.  We would do well to remember what Patrick Henry and McKay Christensen said about the choices they faced.


Sources:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600159905/Closer-to-home-Christensen-hangs-up-cleats-joins-family-business.html?pg=all

http://www.history.org/almanack/life/politics/giveme.cfm

"Let George Do It"

In the Spencer W. Kimball talk I linked to in yesterday's post, Elder Kimball said that at some point missionaries need to speak up when they see other missionaries breaking the rules.  "This is not the program," or, "This is my mission, too."  There was a time early in my mission when I wish that I had spoken up.

One of the rules of my mission prohibited exercising with free weights, which, it turns out, quite a few missionaries wanted to do.  One elder, who hoped to play football at BYU after his mission, wrote to then-head coach Lavell Edwards and asked for a letter that he could show the mission president on the importance of weight training.  Coach Edwards wrote back to say that the elder should obey all mssion rules, including the one against the use of free weights.  I don't know why my mission president instituted this rule when he took over the mission, but, then, I didn't have to know.

While I was still in my first area, at least two of my apartment mates were among those elders who didn't like the weightlifting rule.  A member, who lived close to our apartment, had a home gym and invited us to use it whenever we wanted.  One night, the other three elders decided that they were going to start going to this home gym every night after our 9:30 check in call.

They also decided that I would be the one to make the phone call to the zone leaders to report that we were in for the night – one of our zone leaders was also acting as our district leader at this time.  There is a tradition in the U.S. Navy of having the most junior officer in the wardroom do the menial, even dirty, tasks.  The other officers will say “Let George do it,” George being the nickname for the junior officer.  Well, in this case at least, I was George.

So, I made the call and then we all went over to the member’s home gym.  I went only because I could not be at the apartment alone -- well, maybe I could have, except that my older RM brother had advised me just before I got on the airplace to never leave my companion.  Unbeknownst to us, while we were out the zone leaders had called back, and when we got back to the apartment they were there waiting for us.  While I believed I was in a position where I had had little choice, I still had to admit to the zone leaders that I had lied.

Did I have a choice?  Well, of coure, we always have a choice.  My problem was that for several reasons I didn't have much confidence.  I was allowing myself to feel intimidated by other elders just because they had been out longer than I had been.  I'd had a rough time with my MTC companion, and when I got to my first area was in a mood to be more cautious, so I became even more introverted, which caused problems with my trainer.  When my third companion and our two flat mates wanted to go to the home gym after we were supposed to be in for the night, I believed there was nothing I could do to stop them.

Not long after this I had a conversation with one of my zone leaders, I think he knew that things haden’t been going too great for me. I told him how I felt, that I was discouraged and had a confidence problem. I said that I had come into the mission field with an inferiority complex because I had grown up with heavy persecution in school, in the neighborhood, and even at home. I said that I didn’t know who I was.  My zone leader told me that he, too, had faced a lot of persecution, and that everyone comes out not knowing who they are. He said the best thing I could do is share my feelings with others, particularly my companion. He said that I would learn more just talking about myself with them.

We then went out into the living room to join my companion and the other zone leader, and I told them what I had just told the first zone leader.  The three elders made some comments, presented some good ideas, and even paid me some compliments. They said I had a good jump shot, and if I had enough time I would usually make the shot. One zone leader also complimented my mind; he said I was a good thinker and had a good memory. I didn’t think anybody noticed such things.

Two weeks later we had a zone conference, and during the afternoon testimony session, I got up to speak.  I started by reading 1 Nephi 3:7, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

Then I turned to Helaman 10:4-5, “Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou has not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.”

I then said that I had committed with myself before coming out to live the mission rules. In the MTC that had been easy, but when I got out in the mission field I was timid of what others might think, so I had not been diligent in keeping my commitment and I considered that to be a transgression. I blamed myself for the lack of anything going on in the area I was assigned to. I apologized to the mission president and then committed with him to live the mission rules. I said that it didn’t matter to me what others thought because I knew that I would be blessed in the long run.

I was worried that some of the missionaries might think I was brown-nosing, but mostly I got comments saying that what I did took guts. My flat-mates said I did a good job, and the mission president thanked me and said that he knew I would hang in there.

Lock Your Heart

While on a mission tour in Latin America in 1968, then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball gave a rather stern talk to a group of missionaries.  If you haven't read this before, read it now.  If you have read it, read it again.

http://missionaryhelper.com/talks/lockheart.html

This advice to lock your heart is important, not just on a mission, but also after you get married.  Certain activities may seem innocent, but if persisted in they can lead to trouble.

One of my district leaders told me a story one day.  When he arrived in the mission field, and had his first interview with the mission president, he found a name tag stuck in the couch in the president's office.  The elder it belonged to had been the highest number of baptisms in the mission, yet he was sent home early for an indiscretion.  This elder had engaged in activities which initially seemed innocent and harmless, but as he persisted he soon found himself in a situation that quickly got out of hand.

Godly Sorrow

I said last week that "Repentance is always possible, but it is not easy, and it would be better to avoid, if possible, making the mistakes that would then require our penitence" (http://thewholemissionary.blogspot.com/2013/11/when-i-have-grown-foot-or-two.html)

Because we are human, mistakes are inevitable, yet some mistakes can be avoided.  General Charles Krulak, the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps in the late 1990s, defined a mistake as an error made when, in the attempt to do something right, someone makes a wrong choice.  God has given us council, in the scriptures and through church leaders, on dangers such as drugs, alchohol and pornography.  If we heed this council, and give it our best effort, we can avoid these pitfalls.

What would not be a mistake is to deliberately make a wrong choice in the belief that one can repent later.  In this case the individual is choosing to do something they know that they should not do.  Rather than a mistake, this would be a willful act.  Repentance is still possible, but in this case it would be more difficult than if an individual, doing their best, fell short because of human weakness.

In his first epistle to Corinth, Paul called the people to repentance, which caused them sorrow.  Paul acknolwedge this in his second epistle to the Corintians:

"For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same espistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.  Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.  For godly sorrow worketh repentence to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death" (2 Corinthians 7:8-10).

There are two things to take from this scripture: first, the Corinthian saints felt godly sorrow and repented of their sins; second, godly sorrow for sin leads to repentance, while worldly sorrow leads to spiritual death.  It is not enough to be sorry for our sins, we have to find this godly sorrow.  It is also not enough to just stop doing that which we need to repent from doing.  Worldly sorrow, ironically, leads us to spiritual death because it keeps us from true repentance.

“It is not uncommon," said President Ezra Taft Benson, "to find men and women in the world who feel remorse for the things they do wrong. Sometimes this is because their actions cause them or loved ones great sorrow and misery. Sometimes their sorrow is caused because they are caught and punished for their actions. Such worldly feelings do not constitute ‘godly sorrow.'"

President Benson went on to say,  “Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering. Our sins caused Him to bleed at every pore. This very real mental and spiritual anguish is what the scriptures refer to as having ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit’ (Doctrine & Covenants 20:37). Such a spirit is the absolute prerequisite for true repentance” 

Look again the image above of Christ in Gethsemane and consider your contributions to the agony and suffering he endured.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said that "Godly sorrow inspires change and hope through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Worldly sorrow pulls us down, extinguishes hope, and persuades us to give in to further temptation.  Godly sorrow leads to conversion and a change of heart. It causes us to hate sin and love goodness. It encourages us to stand up and walk in the light of Christ’s love. True repentance is about transformation, not torture or torment. Yes, heartfelt regret and true remorse for disobedience are often painful and very important steps in the sacred process of repentance. But when guilt leads to self-loathing or prevents us from rising up again, it is impeding rather than promoting our repentance."

President Uchtdorf said further, "When we make mistakes, when we sin and fall, let us think of what it means to truly repent. It means turning our heart and will to God and giving up sin. True heartfelt repentance brings with it the heavenly assurance that 'we can do it now.'”

Watch this video (at LDS.org) and consider the concept of godly sorrow:

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2012-06-2350-godly-sorrow-leads-to-repentance?lang=eng 

Sources:

New Testament Video Guide.  Accessed at LDS.org. http://www.lds.org/manual/new-testament-video-guide/chapter-16-2-corinthians-7?lang=eng

Benson, E. T. (1988). Teachings of President Ezra Taft Benson.  Salt Lake City: Bookcraft.

Uchtdorf, D. F. "You Can Do It Now." Accessed at LDS.org. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/you-can-do-it-now?lang=eng&query=godly+sorrow

"They that Go Down to the Sea in Ships"

In May 1943, the submarine USS Jack (SS-259) was in transit from the Panama Canal to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, when she encountered some bad weather.  For several days the sub slowed her pace as she rode out the storm.  Jack was a new boat, on her way to war in the Pacific, and many of her crew had not experienced weather like this at sea, thus many became seasick.

Ensign James F. Calvert, fresh out of the Naval Academy at Annopolis, and submarine school at New London, Connecticut, was not troubled too badly by the storm, at least not initially.  On the first night of the big storm, Calvert was determined to not miss a meal, but when he reached the wardroom, where the officers ate, he was suprised to find only one other officer in the cramped compartment.

Lieutenant Miles Refo* was an experienced sailor, having served in the fleet for two years before going to sub school, and his surprise at seeing Calvert was "more than mild."  Calvert stuck it out long enough to get through the main dish of pork roast, but he skipped the apple pie desert.  Even so, he won respect from Refo.

"Day after day the storm went on," wrote Calvert many years later.  "Our speed of advance was well below plan; we were going to be at least a day late getting to Pearl.  Slowly but surely, however, our seasick casualties were getting their sea legs and returning to their watches, despite the continuing storm."

Clavert went on to say, "I have always been blessed with a strong stomach, and seasickness has not been one of my problems.  But there is such a thing as sea-weariness.  You're not sick, but you are so tired of hanging on, so tired of being unable to sleep without being tossed out, or nearly out, of your bunk that you wonder if the storm will ever abate -- and if you will ever feel normal and energetic again."

Calvert pulled out his Bible and read from Psalms 107:

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep.  For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits end."

According to Calvert, the psalmist could have written that passage after a walk through Jack during the storm.  "It was strangely comforting for me," he would write, "to read those words, for they reminded me that men of the sea have been going through such storms for centuries -- and most of them survived in ships not nearly as sturdy as ours."

As with the storms of the sea, so with the storms of life.  Men and women have been experiencing adversity for centuries, and most of them survived as well.

"Finally, as will all storms," wrote Calvert, "this one began to subside.  The gray skies, which seemed to have been there forever, began to break and show patches of blue; the wind swung around to the east (a good sign in that part of the Pacific) and eased to a pleasant ten or twelve knots."

Again, so it is with life.  The moments of adversity we experience end.  Sometimes we are called upon to experience an intense challenge of a relatively short duration, while at others the challenge may be less intense it may last much longer.  Whatever their nature, the storms of life will subside sooner or later, though they may be succeeded by other storms.

"Life at sea," wrote Calvert, "is not filled with diversions comparable to those ashore.  Any break in the daily routine is welcome -- even a storm.  But there is nothing, absolutely nothing, so wonderful as the feeling of having weathered a truly bad storm and come out the other side with the ship in good condition, all hands surviving without injury, and normal routine reestablished.  Things are made shipshape once again below.  Wet clothes are dried out and restowed.  Best of all, the platform under your feet once again is nearly stable.  If that experience does not lift your spirits, then they are not liftable -- at least not at sea."

Source:

Calvert, J. F. (1995). Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

*Calvert does not give Refo's rank, only states that he was Annapolis class of 1938.  I presume that Refo was at least a Lieutenant (junior grade), particluarly as he did not like the idea of ensigns without prior sea duty serving in submarines.

"When I Have Grown a Foot or Two"

I have written before about the missionary prep program I attended during the eight months before I left on my mission.  In addition to classes on Sunday mornings at the Bountiful High seminary building, each Tuesday night we met in the home of one of the prep instructors for a less formal meeting.  After four or five months I took the opportunity one Tuesday night to bear my testimony.

I talked about how impressed I was that some of the rebel-types I knew from high school were now attending prep and getting ready to serve missions.  I compared it to the passage in Alma when the Sons of Mosiah return from their mission to the Lamanites and meet up with Alma the younger (see Alma 17).  The joy that Alma had that his friends were still his brethren in the Lord was somewhat like the joy I felt as we prepared to serve our missions.

Then I talked about how my mission was something I had been anticipating for a number of years.  I used an analogy that had me in a dark hallway with a light at the far end.  The light was my mission and was my ultimate destination; yet there were other hallways shooting off from this main hallway and occasionally I strayed down one of them.  But I always came back to the main hallway and now I was on the homestretch.

"I hope they call me on a mission, When I have grown a foot or two", these were words we sang in primary as kids.  "I hope by then I will be ready, To teach and preach and work as missionaries do."  Rather than just hoping to be ready, I was working to prepare by faithfully attending the missionary prep meetings, and taking as many opportunities as I could to teach mock discussions.  I had faced adversity in this effort, I had been tested, I had perservered, and now the light grew brighter with every passing day.

In addition to the primary song above, I can recall being given a savings banks for coins to save for a missionary fund.  There were other moments that pointed me toward a mission as the church sought to encourage young boys to prepare to serve.  "We [were] as the army of Helaman, we [had] been taught in our youth, we [would] be the Lord's missionaries, to bring the world his truth."

"We know his plan, and we will prepare, Increase our knowledge through study and prayer. Daily we'll learn until we are called To take the gospel to all the world."

Then we got older, we entered high school, we encountered temptations, we made mistakes.  But because of the sacrifice of the Lord whom we would serve, we could repent and return to the path that would prepare us to serve.  Repentance is always possible, but it is not easy, and it would be better to avoid, if possible, making the mistakes that would then require our penitence.

In October 2002, Elder M. Russell Ballard said that they church was "raising the bar" on missionary standards.   "The day of the 'repent and go' missionary is over," Elder Ballard said.  "Some young men have the mistaken idea that they can be involved in sinful behavior and then repent when they're 18 1/2 so they can go on their mission at 19. While it is true that you can repent of sins, you may or you may not qualify to serve." 

Elder Ballard went on to say,  "This isn't a time for spiritual weaklings. We cannot send you on a mission to be reactivated, reformed, or to receive a testimony. We just don't have time for that."

In the two years following Elder Ballard's address on rasing the bar, the number of missionaries serving fell from near 62,000 to about 51,000.  Yet, this effort to raise standards may only have been a prologue.  Several years after raising the bar, the church lowered the age of eligibility for missionaries, and since then the number of missionaries serving has increased to 80,000.

If I had been called at 18 to serve, I would not have been ready, though I was better prepared then than when I was 17.  At 17, in the summer before my senior year in high school, I started reading the Book of Mormon for the first time, upon completion I started reading the book again, finshing it just before leaving on my mission.  I have said that there were lessons that I needed to go on a mission to learn, but there were lessons I had to learn before I was ready to go.

Last May I posted a video of Elder Russell M. Nelson discussing how every home can become a mini-missionary training center.  Perhaps one thing parents can do to help their children prepare to serve, especially as teenagers, would be to sit down with them at the beginning of each year to discuss what they can do over the next 365 day to prepare for their missions and then helping them set goals.  For example, at age 16 a goal might be set to start and finish reading the Book of Mormon.  At age 17, a goal may be set to study from the Preach My Gospel manual, to make lesson plans and teach mock discussions.

Now is the time to prepare, not the day you enter the MTC.

Sources:

Facts and Statistics, Mormon News Room.org.  http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-stats

Ballard, M. R. (2002). The Greatest Generation of Missionaries. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2002/10/the-greatest-generation-of-missionaries?lang=eng&query=

Stack, P. F. (2005). Unintended Consequences of Church's 'Raising the Bar'. Salt Lake Tribune. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2890646

Cox, D. P. (2013). Every Home Can Be a Mini-Missionary Training Center. The Whole Missionary. http://thewholemissionary.blogspot.com/2013/05/every-home-can-be-mini-missionary.html

Primary songs:
I Hope They Call Me On a Mission
We Will Bring the World His Truth (Army of Helaman)

The First Discussion

(The photo on the right is of the LDS chapel on Middlefield Rd in Palo Alto)

I had been in Palo Alto for two months and had just gotten a new companion, and this particular morning he asked me to pick the streets we would tract.  I got on my knees to pray for guidance and then picked two streets that I felt good about.  Off we went.

A teenage girl answered the third door on the first street and my companion gave his door approach: "We are sharing a message about Jesus Christ today and if you have 15-20 minutes we were wondering if we could come in and share that message with you.”  The girl said “Uh, yeah, I guess” and then she let us in.

My companion and I hadn't discussed what we would do if we got in a door, so I just tried to follow his lead.  He started by telling her about a few of our beliefs about Christ and then he introduced the Book of Mormon giving a brief overview up to Alma.  He turned it over to me and I talked about Christ’s visit to the people on this continent and then turned to Moroni’s Promise.  After I read the scripture and bore my testimony, my companion told the story of Joseph Smith's fisrt vision -- and I wondered if that was what he had expected me to do when it was my turn.

In any case, we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and left.  We had given her most of the first discussion, so my companion said we could count it on our weekly report.  I had my reservations because of what we didn't talk about, but I kept them to myself.  Regardless of what we put on the report that week, I never counted this as a discussion and that meant that I was still waiting to teach my first dicussion in the mission field.

The area we were in was extremely slow, and those few times my previous companion and I had gotten in a door we just gave a short presentation on the Book of Mormon.  I think that's why I continued talking about the Book of Mormon when it was my turn in this girl's home.  In retrospect, I should have counted this experience as a discussion because it would be a month and a half before I got the chance to teach another one.

At some point in the previous two months, my trainer and I had tracted into Leslie who lived on a street called Corina, which was at the far end of our area.  She was busy the day we first knocked on her door but asked us to come back another day.  When we did so a few weeks later, Leslie was busy again, so we gave her some pamphlets and promised to return.  The following week we rode all they way done to Corina to give her a copy of the Book of Mormon.  This time she had a few minutes and we gave her the short presentation about the book -- I didn't understand why we didn't take a few minutes more to give her first discussion.

But it gets better, because we didn't have a marked copy of the Book of Mormon -- during the first year of my mission we were supposed to be giving copies of the book that had several passages marked -- so we didn't actually give Leslie a copy of the Book of Mormon that day.  For the next couple of months I would go down to Corina with my next two companions only to find that she was either not home or too busy.  Finally, my last Thursday in Palo Alto, my third companion in the mission field and I got the chance I had been waiting four months for.

At first, it seemed like another missed chance when we arrived at Leslie's house only to find that she was not at home.  Feeling a little dejected at getting dogged, we crossed the street to sit down in some shade.  It came to pass, when we were about to get up and ride off, that Leslie suddenly drove up.  This time I took the first two principles of the discussion, which were about God and Jesus Christ, then I taught her the steps of prayer.

When my companion started teaching her about the Book of Mormon, we found out that Leslie had an anthroplogy degree.  Naturally, she had some concernes with the story of Lehi and whether Native Americans are his descendants.

Because of this my companion figured it would be at least three months before she would be baptized, if at all, and neither of us would be there for that.  My companion went home the following week, having completed his two years, and I was transfered down to Seaside.  None of that mattered, however, for I had finally taught a full discussion to a real investigator, thus closing the frustrating chapter that was Palo Alto.

One final note, one the way back to our apartment, my companion got a flat tire.  It took us 90 minutes to walk home.

The Subline Transfer

One particular Friday, early in my mission, I got a phone call from the mission office.  Well, the caller claimed he was in the mission office, I was pretty sure it was another elder in the district who had covered the phone's mouthpiece with some tissue to disguise his voice.  The caller said I in for "subline transfer," whatever that meant.  I asked my companion, who had been with me for a couple of weeks, what a subline transfer was and he said it was a special transfer.  So why not just call it a special transfer?

In any case, the caller said they were going to pick me up at 9:00 p.m. on Monday and they would take me to Seaside apartment, wherever that was.  I was pretty sure that this was a joke, but the term "subline" made it sound official.  If it wasn't real I would end up packing for nothing, but if it was real, and I didn't pack. . . .  A real Catch 22.

On Sunday evening, when my companion and I got back from our ward meetings, one of the other elders in the apartment said that the mission president had called.  The both of us, according to him, were now being transferred.  I thought I could trust this elder because we had been in the same apartment for the past two and a half months, were from the same hometown, and we got along well together.  Well, that clinched it for me and I started packing.

About an hour later, the other two elders in the district stopped by our apartment.  When they heard that I was packing they started laughing.  They said that it was all a joke, and that they had made up the term "subline transfer."  I had been had.

After unpacking I sat on the edge of my bed and sulked.  I could hear the other elders laughing out in the living room.  That's when it hit me that I had been taking things too seriously, not just the joke, but a lot of the comments made by other elders.  It occurred to me that I had a choice; I could sit there and feel sorry for myself, or I could lighten up.  I went out to the living room, admitted that they had gotten me, and then I laughed with them.  As I laughed I felt as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

When you get a bunch of 19-20 year old kids together -- let's face it, that's what we were -- you can expect some practical jokes and other hijinks.  One pair of elders were wrestling in their apartment one day and broke their couch.  In another apartment, in another area, my flat mates decided to have a water fighter one evening -- inside the apartment!  While I chose not to participate, I still had to have a sense of humor about it.  One of the most important pieces of survival equipment for a mission, and life in general, is a sense of humor.  If you can laugh at things that otherwise might worry you or cause you stress, then life becomes more enjoyable.

About two and a half weeks after the subline transfer joke, there was a real special transfer.  The other elder in the apartment who was from the same hometown, was transferred to the office and a new elder was transferred in.  With the change we asked permission to make other changes, switching the companionships around with the result that the new elder coming in was now my companion.  This switch ended up being one of the best things to happen to me on my mission.

Three weeks later I was transferred to a new area.  The ward I was assigned to was called the Carmel Ward even though it was actually in a town called Seaside, which was sandwiched between Monterey and Fort Ord, a military base long since closed.  While most of the ward was in Seaside, there was a rural area called Carmel Valley that was also part of the ward, and that is how it got its name.  Carmel by the Sea was actually part of the Pacific Grove Ward.  So, ironically, I ended up in Seaside apartment anyway.

"If Thy Brother Hath Ought Against Thee" Or, "If Thou Hath Ought Against Thy Brother"

I have written before about how much I loved my mission president, but two of the worst moments during my mission involved him.  The first bad moment was when I knew that I had disappointed him one evening when my companion and I got home later than we were supposed to -- the one evening he had been calling, trying to reach me.  The second bad moment was during one of our every-other-month interviews.

I usually had something to talk about going into these interviews, but this time I did not, which in retrosepct was a mistake.  My mission president started asking me questions about the area I was serving in, and for reasons that were not all my fault, I didn't have good answers.  The questions then became more pointed, and I began to feel defensive even as I simply ran out of answers.  I think I felt some loyalty to my previous companion, who had just been transferred out, because we had got along so well during the three months we were together.

I left this interview hurt and angry, and it wasn't long before my new companion noticed that something was bothering me.  When I told him about it he suggested I call the mission office and set up an appointment with the mission president.  I took his adivce and set up another interview.

When I went in, I wanted to apologize and set the record straight.  Because I was one of a hundred missionaries in the mission, I suggested that he might not remember what happened.  I also expressed a concern that I might have put a black mark on my record, but my mission president said that I had not.

We ended up spending 45 minutes together, discussing what had happened, the area I was serving in, and other things.  At one point he told me that I would soon have the opportunity to "call the shots" in my own companionship and I was blown away.  I had been hoping for quite sometime to become a senior companion.

The lesson here, besides always having something to talk about in an interview with the mission president, is that when you feel hurt or offended you should go to the other party to talk about it.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior said, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).  I think this principle can work both ways; if you are hurt and offended, you need not wait until the other party comes to you; for one thing, you might end up waiting a long time, for another, they might not even be aware that there is a problem.

An unfortunate occurance, which appears to happen often, takes place when an individual chooses to separate themselves from the rest of their family over an offense given or perceived to have been given by another individual.  In refusing to be near the "offender", the other, innocent, family members are also denied the presence of the "offended".  These other family members may themseleves feel hurt and offended, and further rifts in the family may be opened.  As the poet wrote, "No man is an island."

These things ought not to be, not when it is possible to prevent these breaches by going to the offender or the offended and discussing what happened, what was said, or what was done.  Whether we are the offended or the offender, we need to swallow our pride and do whatever is necessary to make things right.  The Lord will forgive who he will forgive, but of us it is required that we forgive everyone (see Doctrine & Covenants 64:34-35).

So what do we do when the other party refuses to talk?  The simple answer is that we have to accept their decision, at least eventually.  You have to know when to weary the unrighteous judge (see Luke 18:1-5), and when to walk away, at some point the law of diminishing returns takes effect.  We can receive peace from the Lord even as we accept the other party's decision not to talk; it may take time, but we can have that peace. 

What if the offender refuses to or does not change?  When family is involved, it is my humble opinion, that we should not avoid family events in order to avoid the offender -- unless they are downright abusive and it would be unsafe to be around them.

The Germans were Never In the Abbey

The allies landed at Salerno, Italy, in September 1943, and Naples was captured in the first days of October.  After that the allies marched into the mountais south of Rome, which the Germans used effectively for defense to hold up the allied advance until the spring of 1944.  The most significant obstacle in the German Gustav Line centered around the town of Cassino, and the mountain that rose above it.  It was atop Monte Cassino, in 529 A.D. that St. Benedict of Nursia established a monestary, which became the source of the Benedictine Order.

With it's gleaming white walls, the two story Abbey drew the gaze of every soldier on the front line.  As the battle on the Gustav line devolved into a stalemate, the Abbey soon became the object of blame.  Surely, said the infantrymen below, the Germans had to be occupying the Abbey and using it as an observation post.  The Germans, with the advantage of commanding the heights, had almost unlimited visability and could call down artillery on any movement made by the allies.  But the Germans didn't need to be in the Abbey to have this commanding view, they needed only to occupy the ground outside of the monestary.

Even so, the Abbey became the fixation of every allied soldier.  A general claimed to have spotted the sun flashing off German binoculars on the second floor.  Even pilots flying over the Abbey claimed to see Germans inside it.  As every move to penetrate the Gustav line and make it into the Liri Valley -- with a straight shot to Rome -- was thwarted, some soldiers called for the destruction of the Abbey by air attack and artillery.  Other soldiers countered that bombing the Abbey would give no advantage, that, in fact, the Germans could make better defensive use of the ruins.  Though some of the first soldiers knew those other soldiers were right, the pressure mounted to bomb the Abbey.

And so, in February 1944, the allies bombed the Abbey, and the Germans moved into the ruins, and continued to thwart allied efforts to break the Gutav line.  Perhaps what is more remarkable, is that the allies repeated the same mistake just a month later when they bombed the town of Cassino.  In the fight that followed, the New Zealander infantrymen faced such difficulty that they soon began to call the town "Little Stalingrad" after the monumental urban battle on the Russian front in 1942.  Eventually, the Kiwis admitted that they could not drive the Germans out of Cassino, and the stalemate continued.  The good news, if you can call it that, is that eventually spring would come, the allies would break the Gustav line, and race up the Liri Valley to capture Rome on June 5, 1944.

I have been reading an excellent book on the campaigns in Italy, The Day of Battle by Rick Atkinson, and a few days ago I watched a movie called The Story of G.I. Joe.  The movie follows war correspondant Ernie Pyle, played by Burgess Meredith, who at times meets up with a company commanded by Bill Walker, played by Robert Mitchum, a charcter based on a real soldier who was killed during the battles on the Gustav Line.  In the film, the soldiers of Walker's company become fixated on the Abbey atop Monte Cassino and cheer when it is bombed, but then Pyle notes the irony of war in that the Germans made good use of the ruins.

As I have been thinking about Monte Cassino, I have thought about things I have at times become fixated on, that later turned out to not be as I had supposed they were.  In aerial combat there is something called target fixation; in chasing or bombing a target, the pilot becomes so fixated that he has tunnel vision, and sometimes the result is that he flies into the target.

It seems that we often have such fixations: if we could buy that house then all our problems would be solved; if we could ask a certain girl out, then life would be wonderful.

Often we become fixated on the weaknesses we see in others.  We want to remove the sliver in another's eye and we become so fixated on it that we miss the telephone pole in our own eye.  At other times we become fixated on a perceived slight, and we cannot let go.  And sometimes we become fixated on having things done our way, and if they are not, we become dissaffected.

Whatever our fixation, we should remind ourselves that the Germans were never in the Abbey.

Honset, Hard-Working and Loyal: A Monument to Faith

In the news today is the passing of techno-thriller author Tom Clancy.  He has been called the creator of the techno-thriller; it's not stricly true, but he did perfect the art.

Some 23 years ago, when I returned from my LDS mission, I learned that a movie based on Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October was soon to be released. So I bought the book and read it.

After Red October I read Red Storm Rising and really enjoyed it, then Patriot Games which I struggled a bit with -- at least the first half after Ryan breaks up the attack in London, then the attack on the highway in Maryland propelled me through the rest of the book. I waited awhile before reading Cardinal of the Kremlin and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

I didn't like Clear and Present Danger as much and The Sum of All Fears took a long time to get to the action. But I really enjoyed Debt of Honor and Executive Orders.

Clancy was one of the best, he will be missed.

Two things really impressed me about Clancy. First, there were times when I would stop reading just to marvel at how good his writing was. Second, his LDS characters, though usually minor, were real people rather than charactures.

In Clear and Present Danger as Ryan is struggling to decide what to do about the illegal secret mission in Columbia, he is driving along the beltway and sees the Washington Temple, which leads him to recall members of the church in government who have acted with integrity. In Without Remorse the F-105 pilot shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese was LDS, and I could find no fault with how Clancy developed the character or how he presented LDS beliefs.  The pilot even taps out "all is well; all is well" in Morse code to another prisoner.

I have posted before about integrity, with that in mind, here is an excerpt from Clear and Present Danger (Jack Ryan is being driven along the Washington beltway):

Jack looked out the window as they passed the Mormon temple, just outside the beltway near Connecticut Avenue.  A decidedly odd looking buidling, it had grandeur with its marble columns and gilt spires.  The beliefs represented by that impressive structure seemed curious to Ryan, a lifelong Catholic, but the people who held them were honest and hard-working , and fiercly loyal to their country, becuase they believed in what America stood for.  And that was all it came down to, wasn't it?  Either you stand for something, or you don't, Ryan told himself.  Any jack[wagon] could be against things, like a petulant child claiming to hate an untasted vegetable   You could tell what these people stood for.  The Mormons tithed their income, which allowed their church to construct this monument to faith.  Just as medieval peasants had taken from their need to build the cathedrals of their age, for precisely the same purpose.  The peasants were forgotten by all but the God in Whom they believed.

The cathedrals -- testimony to those beliefs -- remained in their glory, still used for their intended purpose.  Who remembered the political issues of that age?  The nobles and their castles had crumbled away, the royal bloodlines had mostly ended, and all that age had left behind were memorials to faith, belief in something more important than man's corporeal existance, expressed in stonework crafted by the hands of men.  What better proof could there be of what really mattered?

Jack knew he wasn't the first to wonder at the fact, not by a very long shot indeed, but it wasn't often that anyone perceived Truth so clearly as Ryan did on this Monday morning.  It made expediency seem a shallow, emphemeral, and ultimately useless commodity.  He still had to figure out what he would do, and knew that his action would possibly be decided by others, but he knew what sort of guide, what sort of measure he would use to determine his action.  That was enough for now, he told himself.

Source: Clancy, T. (1989). Clear and Present Danger. New York: G.P Putnam's Sons. Pg. 498.

Missionary Prep Student Manual Online

I was looking for a quote by President Gordon B. Hinckley and stumbled upon something I thought I would pass along.  There is some good news for prospective missionaries who may not have been able to find the Missionary Preperation Student Manual, it can be found in its entirety at LDS.org.  Here is the link:

http://www.ldsces.org/manuals/missionary-preparation-student-manual/

"Don't You Dare Give Up"

Diane Ellingson-Smith was an All-American gymnast at Utah before battling back from a devastating accident that left her paralyzed for the rest of her life. From 1978-81, Ellingson-Smith was a three-time All-American on the uneven parallel bars and finished second in the 1981 National Championships. She was co-captain of the 1981 national-title winning team, the first of 10 national titles the Utes would win over the next 22 years.

After her college career ended Ellingson-Smith joined a Professional Gymnastics Tour. While practicing on the vault before her first meet, she over-rotated and landed on her neck. She fractured a cervical vertebrae and was paralyzed from the chest down. Although confined to a wheelchair, she finished her degree at Utah in elementary education and spent seven years teaching third grade. The Diane Ellingson award is given yearly to the most inspirational Ute gymnast.

Ellingson-Smith now spends her time as a motivational speaker. She is the founder and president of a sales, motivation, leadership and achievement company. She is also the subject of the best selling biography "Don't You Dare Give Up!" Diane is married to Scott Smith, a former clown with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. She has four stepchildren.

Here is an inspirational video presenation, in two parts, of Ellingson-Smith's story:

Ellingson-Smith was inducted into the University of Utah's Crimson Club Hall of Fame in 2003.

http://utahutes.cstv.com/genrel/041603aaa.html

"Go Forth and Serve" -- Go For It

I came across an excellent blog post last week from a recent convert to the LDS Church in which the author sought to encourage young men and women who are considering serving a mission.  Link:

http://lemmonythings.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/go-elder-message-to-pre-missionary/

"I don’t have brothers, or sons . . . So I don’t know the complete psyche of the young men in this matter.  But I have enough guy friends and enough girlfriends who have served to know how it may feel when your toes are to the edge of the cliff–ready to jump into midair–and ready to serve a mission somewhere you’ve never been. But, I also know why you should jump."

Avoiding Pride

Another good conference talk for this week is one given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in October 2010.

"Every mortal," President Uchtdorf warned, "has at least a casual if not intimate relationship with the sin of pride. No one has avoided it; few overcome it."

After referencing another talk on Pride, President Ezra Taft Benson's in 1989, President Uchtdorf noted that the word "pride" almost became taboo in the church.  Members wondered if they could say that they were "proud" of their children, or if they could take "pride" in their work.  "In the scriptures we find plenty of examples of good and righteous people who rejoice in righteousness and at the same time glory in the goodness of God. Our Heavenly Father Himself introduced His Beloved Son with the words 'in whom I am well pleased.'"

President Uchtdorf then said, "I believe there is a difference between being proud of certain things and being prideful. I am proud of many things. I am proud of my wife. I am proud of our children and grandchildren."

So what is the difference between being prideful and having pride in certain things?  "Pride is sinful, as President Benson so memorably taught, because it breeds hatred or hostility and places us in opposition to God and our fellowmen. At its core, pride is a sin of comparison, for though it usually begins with 'Look how wonderful I am and what great things I have done,' it always seems to end with 'Therefore, I am better than you.'"

When we are filled with this pride we are in danger of violating the two great commandments.  "Instead of worshiping God and loving our neighbor, we reveal the real object of our worship and love -- the image we see in the mirror. Pride is the great sin of self-elevation. It is for so many a personal Rameumptom, a holy stand that justifies envy, greed, and vanity."

Pride can lead to other sins, as well.  "Pride is a deadly cancer. It is a gateway sin that leads to a host of other human weaknesses. In fact, it could be said that every other sin is, in essence, a manifestation of pride.  This sin has many faces. It leads some to revel in their own perceived self-worth, accomplishments, talents, wealth, or position. They count these blessings as evidence of being 'chosen,' 'superior,' or 'more righteous' than others. This is the sin of 'Thank God I am more special than you.' At its core is the desire to be admired or envied. It is the sin of self-glorification. For others, pride turns to envy: they look bitterly at those who have better positions, more talents, or greater possessions than they do. They seek to hurt, diminish, and tear down others in a misguided and unworthy attempt at self-elevation. When those they envy stumble or suffer, they secretly cheer."

President Uchtdorf went on to discuss pride and sports"

"Perhaps there is no better laboratory to observe the sin of pride than the world of sports. I have always loved participating in and attending sporting events. But I confess there are times when the lack of civility in sports is embarrassing. How is it that normally kind and compassionate human beings can be so intolerant and filled with hatred toward an opposing team and its fans?

"I have watched sports fans vilify and demonize their rivals. They look for any flaw and magnify it. They justify their hatred with broad generalizations and apply them to everyone associated with the other team. When ill fortune afflicts their rival, they rejoice.

"Brethren, unfortunately we see today too often the same kind of attitude and behavior spill over into the public discourse of politics, ethnicity, and religion.

"My dear brethren of the priesthood, my beloved fellow disciples of the gentle Christ, should we not hold ourselves to a higher standard? As priesthood bearers, we must realize that all of God’s children wear the same jersey. Our team is the brotherhood of man. This mortal life is our playing field. Our goal is to learn to love God and to extend that same love toward our fellowman. We are here to live according to His law and establish the kingdom of God. We are here to build, uplift, treat fairly, and encourage all of Heavenly Father’s children."

How, then do we counter the impulse to be prideful?

"In this, as in all things, Jesus Christ is our perfect example," said President Uchtdorf. "Whereas Lucifer tried to change the Father’s plan of salvation and obtain honor for himself, the Savior said, 'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.'  Despite His magnificent abilities and accomplishments, the Savior was always meek and humble."

We should be humble and full of love:

"It is almost impossible to be lifted up in pride when our hearts are filled with charity. 'No one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love' (Doctrine and Covenants 12:8). When we see the world around us through the lens of the pure love of Christ, we begin to understand humility."

President Uchtdorf then tells us what humility is and is not:

"Humility does not mean convincing ourselves that we are worthless, meaningless, or of little value. Nor does it mean denying or withholding the talents God has given us. We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. It comes as we go about our work with an attitude of serving God and our fellowman. Humility directs our attention and love toward others and to Heavenly Father’s purposes. Pride does the opposite. Pride draws its energy and strength from the deep wells of selfishness. The moment we stop obsessing with ourselves and lose ourselves in service, our pride diminishes and begins to die."

President Uchtdorf then concludes:

"My dear brethren, there are so many people in need whom we could be thinking about instead of ourselves. . . .  My beloved brethren, let us follow the example of our Savior and reach out to serve rather than seeking the praise and honor of men. It is my prayer that we will recognize and root out unrighteous pride in our hearts and that we will replace it with righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, [and] meekness'” (1 Timothy 6:11).

Source:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/pride-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng#27-PD50021411_000_3040

No One Can Make Us Angry

This seems appropriate for the week of the Utah-BYU football game:

At the October 2009 General Conference, President Thomas S. Monson quoted Lawrence Douglas Wilder as saying that "Anger does not solve anything; it builds nothing."

President Monson went on to say, "We’ve all felt anger. It can come when things don’t turn out the way we want. It might be a reaction to something which is said of us or to us. We may experience it when people don’t behave the way we want them to behave. Perhaps it comes when we have to wait for something longer than we expected. We might feel angry when others can’t see things from our perspective. There seem to be countless possible reasons for anger."


Finding reasons for anger appears to become a simple matter when participating in or just watching sports.  But the Apostle Paul asked, "Can ye be angry, and not sin? let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26 of the Joseph Smith Translation).  And in eleventh chapter of 3 Nephi we read:


“There shall be no disputations among you. … For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away” (verses 28-30).

President Monson then warned that "To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible."


After relating the story of two men who lived in a one room cabin that had been divided in half by a chalk line, which neither crossed as they passed 62 years without speaking a word to each other, President Monson counseled, "May we make a conscious decision, each time such a decision must be made, to refrain from anger and to leave unsaid the harsh and hurtful things we may be tempted to say."


Source:


https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/school-thy-feelings-o-my-brother?lang=eng

The Right Way

The night was coming on and it was getting cold, at least for northern California.  I had less than a month to serve on my mission, and Christmas was just around the corner; we were working hard, but were not having much success.  On this particular day, two teaching appointments stood us up -- "We got dogged," as we always said -- but on the positive side we did get in a door while tracting to teach a discussion.  Now, as the shadows of the evening fell, we had a chance encounter with a teenage boy named Eric.

Eric had been tracted into recently by the Span Ams -- the Spanish speaking elders -- and expressed some interest in learning more about the church.  My companion and I each bore our testimonies and encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon, but it seemed to have little effect.  Eric said he was part of a youth group that did Bible study and that he would need to fast and pray to find out if he should read the Book of Mormon.  Naturally, we encouraged him to both fast and pray.  He then said that he was concerned that we are not Christians.

I answered by saying that we are Christians, that we believe in Jesus Christ and worship him.  Then I opened my mini-quad to 2 Nephi 25 and read verse 29: "And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out."

I could think of no better expression of the centrality of the Savior in the LDS faith, yet Eric seemed unimpressed.  He again expressed reluctance to read the Book of Mormon.  We had been talking in his driveway for an hour and the day was past and gone.  It had been in the light of a streetlamp that I had read the scripture.  It was cold, and we knew the ride back to our apartment on our bikes would be even colder.  Again we bore our testimonies and encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon, and then we departed.

Perhaps a seed had been planted, and perhaps it grew, but soon I would be flying home and leaving the work I loved so much behind.  Thanks to Eric, we completed that week with thirty-one hours of teaching and tracting, and it was our third week in a row of at least thirty hours.  Most of the hours were spent tracting; that week we had scheduled eleven appointments only to get dogged by nine of them.

I felt a little like Nephi, "For we labor diligently . . . to persuade . . . our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23).  "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophecy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (verse 26).

The twenty-fifth chapter of 2 Nephi is a powerful chapter -- perhaps in part because it follows the twelve Isaiah chapters -- as Nephi prophecies with plainness of Jesus Christ.

"But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors of wars; and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.  Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God.  Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name" (verses 12-13).

Then Nephi speaks of our day: "And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state.  Wherefore he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.  Wherefore, he shall bring forth his words unto them. . . ." (verses 17-18.)

"And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err.  And as the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them, and also gave him power that he should smite the rock and the water should come forth; yea, behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby men can be saved" (verse 20).

"And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand.  And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law" (verse 28).

We have the opportunity to participate in the marvelous work and a wonder, not just as full time missionaries, but as member missionaries.  Greater success in spreading the gospel is found when the members work with the missionaries to help them find people to teach.  And our testimonies may be added to Nephi's that the right way is to believe in Jesus Christ and deny him not.