Per my dear sweet mother's request, here's a copy of the talk I gave in sacrament meeting yesterday.
I love looking out the plane window when I’m on a flight. The beauty of the fields, streams, rivers, forests, mountains and even the well laid out subdivisions keep me ever entertained and in awe of all we have on this beautiful Earth. I can remember seeing the Mississippi River from above and thinking how grand and vast it was. The following year we drove rather than flying; I was shocked at how brown and dirty the water was as we drove by. Trash lined the banks and questionable objects floated near the small number of boats in the river. How is this like our lives here on Earth?
I catch myself spending copious amounts of time stressing about the little things. Some are within my control, others are not. What is it that makes me so pre-occupied with the little things, which most times only bring me despair? Especially the little things I have no control over. Often we’ve heard “be in the world, but not of the world”. I would say the bigger challenge may lie in being “in church, and of the gospel”. My mother plans and coordinates parties beautifully. Fortunately for me, she passed this talent on to her daughters. My sisters and I have planned and brought to fruition numerous events for family and friends. We work very hard to bring our vision to life. We enjoy the hours we spend laboring over perfectly formed petit fors and rows of plates, napkins and flatware an Army sergeant would be proud to claim. And at the end of the planning and preparing, most usually the few very short hours before the event begins, things inevitably start to pop up and cause a bit of hysteria among us. Rolls left in the oven a bit too long, the wrong color frosting for the cupcakes because the food coloring has run dry, paper jams in the ancient printer my parents lovingly call “old failure”. My mother always sighs at this point and says “the devil is in the details”. You see, she taught each of her children along the way, there are going to be certain things you cannot control; however, we were not to despair because we could control the most important thing, our attitude towards the failing product, the unset timer, or forgetting to check the pantry for full food coloring bottles. We could have a breakdown or an argument, or we could choose to band together and come up with unique solutions and if no solution was to be found, we could smile our way through it and come out triumphant. How true this lesson is in this mortal life and the eternities. When we step back and take in the bigger picture, how quickly the debris and muddy waters disappear. When we choose to let go of the uncontrollable events occurring in our lives and forget the little things causing disarray and stress, we open ourselves to the beauty of accepting the things we cannot change and adjusting our attitudes to help us cope.
You know my mother was so right, the devil truly lies in the details. He works to cause anger and contention with minute and unworthy snippets of action. He relies on stress and confusion. He acts with compulsion to lead many away from the truth of the gospel through small misunderstandings and circumstance. The devil quietly slips the smallest of ideas into our mind to lead us astray. He watches and waits to see when we are most vulnerable. He loves to be in the details that distract and cause despair.
When we place our focus on a great attitude and blatantly disregard a hurt feeling or misunderstanding, our lives become vastly enriched with the happiness the gospel helps to bring. The debris still lines the banks of our lives and the muddy waters still churn in a few places, but our focus is far enough out, we are able to move on and appreciate all we’ve been given.
So in moving on past the small and uncontrollable details, there will be mountains we must climb. Sometimes, we will find ourselves at the base of the mountain, very aware of the climb ahead of us. Other times, we will have begun the ascent unknowingly and become ever more aware of the depleted oxygen and the steeper inclines as we continue. And further yet, we may find ourselves in the climb, only to face storm after storm when we’ve almost made it to the top. In General Conference, President Henry B Eyring talked about having the faith to endure to the end and be able to climb our spiritual and sometimes very physical mountains. He talks of being roused in a session of general conference by President Spencer W. Kimball’s request of Heavenly Father to ‘Give me this mountain, give me these challenges.’ President Eyring’s faith was stirred and he went home to humbly ask the same of Heavenly Father. I fear my courage is not that of President Eyring’s or President Kimball’s. However, President Eyring has enduring faith and has overcome many mountains which have strengthened his faith of the Lord and His Gospel evermore. Something which struck a chord with me is when President Eyring points out our brother and Savior, Jesus Christ, suffered all things. He recounts the story of Joseph Smith asking in withering pain from his jail cell, “When I have tried all my life to be good, why has this happened to me?” The Lord answers Brother Joseph’s question:
“And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
“The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
“Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever.”
President Eyring goes on to say, “There seems to me no better answer to the question of why trials come and what we are to do, than the words of the Lord Himself, who passed through trials for us more terrible than we can imagine.”
Our mountains to climb are put into place not to break us down, but rather to build us up. The building process begins with that small seed of faith, which we must grow into a mighty tree of knowledge, where the branches and leaves are the gospel of Jesus Christ, with all the covenants, ordinances and principles. The further we endure to the end, exercise our faith in the Gospel principles by living them and persistently serve God with a happy heart and good intent, the higher our spiritual trees stretch and the greener and stronger the branches grow.
Teaching the sunbeams is such an enlightening experience. These little children know so much and understand more than we ever realize. Once we had a Sunbeam who was struggling with the idea of baptism. He did not like thinking about having to go all the way under the water. I asked what he would do when he turned eight and he was ready to be baptized if he was still scared of the water. His logical and true response, “It won’t matter, Heavenly Father will help me.” He’s 7 now, and his faith will surely help him overcome his fear when his 8th birthday comes.
Moroni beautifully describes the blessings which will come to pass as we exercise our faith:
“And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
“For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him...
“But because of the faith of men he has shown himself unto the world, and glorified the name of the Father, and prepared a way that thereby others might be partakers of the heavenly gift, that they might hope for those things which they have not seen.
“Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith.”
Giving up the details and focusing on building our faith so we can glimpse a little longer into the wonder of Heavenly Father’s plan for us, should be our goal and challenge during our short time on Earth. President Thomas S Monson helped me understand the importance on focusing on the important things in life during general conference. He spoke of trivial questions that sometimes rule our world such as what color the living room should be painted or what we will have for dinner. Then, when hardship and crisis arise, when our family or friends are injured or hurt, when sickness threatens to dim or darken life’s candle, our thoughts become focused and we are easily able to determine what is really important and what is merely clutter and unnecessary detail. When he recounted the woman’s story of spending much time cleaning her house to perfection, filling it with beautiful furnishings and working monthly on her wardrobe, I was greatly humbled. The woman tells of how her family did not come over often due to her concern over her beautiful possessions being broken or otherwise harmed. Then she was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease and quickly changed her tune and attitude, knowing the most important thing was to spend as much of her limited time on Earth with them. How often I find myself being so engrossed in wiping baseboards and arranging decor at the perfect angles and following the little hands of nephews, wiping and re-arranging as they play at my home. Instead, I should be actively involved in loving them and playing with them and telling them how grateful I am they are here with me. Showing them what Christ would; pure love, adoration and appreciation.
President Monson goes on to speak of The Apostle Paul likening life to a race. “Let us lay aside...the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” The prize, President Monson explains, belongs to him who endures to the end. He says “Our Heavenly Father did not launch us on our eternal voyage without providing the means whereby we could receive Him guidance to ensure our safe return.” President Monson then turns to the details within the Gospel which lead us ever so carefully and safely back home to our Father in heaven. Prayer, the still small whisperings of the Holy Ghost, the scriptures. They are tried and true. They are the power to communicate with our Father in heaven, the guidance to make the right choice, the word of the Lord and words of the prophets. We are so blessed to live in the latter days. To know a living prophet’s council and divine direction. To have missionaries bringing the Gospel to those ready to receive it. To have so easily the words of our prophets, if we will but listen and act.
I know I need to find the courage to be 'in church and of the gospel'. To put aside the temptation to give in to the mindless details which so often mandate my actions and time. To spend the majority of my efforts expounding the details of the gospel instead. To grow my small seed of faith into a mighty tree of knowledge and endure to the end, not merely by growing old, but by ever practicing and improving the effect of the gospel in my life.
I know our Heavenly Father lives. I know our brother and Savior, Jesus Christ, was resurrected and lives. This church is true. It is the true church of Jesus Christ. Thomas S Monson is a living, loving prophet of God. Joseph Smith was a prophet and he dedicated his life to the work of the Lord. The scriptures are true and invite us to learn of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know we are greatly blessed to be in the latter days and we must do all we can to throw out the messy details, grow our faith, climb our mountains and endure to the end.
It's a bit of a read, I know. When I was told I could give my talk on anything I wanted as I was inspired and guided, I thought it would be easy, not so. Revelation is a funny thing. It comes when you need it most, when you've pondered and prayed and been thinking about what to say. Allison, a sweet girl in our ward gave her talk before me and her talk was all about focus, faith and confidence to stay focused on the gospel. We even both referred to President Eyring's most recent General Conference talk. It was so humbling to see 'the stars align' so perfectly, and our talks coincide so wonderfully together. Heavenly Father knows each one of us individually and He knows exactly what we need to hear and feel compelled to accomplish.
