I am blessed to have had the opportunity to hear from my favorite living apostle this weekend. The Stanford 2nd Ward put on another mid-singles Silicon Valley LDS Education Conference, and invited Elder Jeffrey R. Holland to come and speak to us.
Here are my notes from the fireside, glean any good you can, but please don't blame the speakers if any of it sounds off. It is all hearsay - as in, what I heard, and scribbled down, and then tried to decipher from my chicken scratch. Elder Holland spoke for almost an hour and a half, I couldn't capture even a fraction of what was said, and I'm sure plenty has been lost in my translation.
But, I tried. :)
March 22, 2013
Elder Robert N. Packer – (Area Authority)
You exude light – hold it up that it may shine to the
world. I was a child during the cold war,
amazed in the 1980’s when the iron curtain fell. The president of the Finland Helsinki temple
was tasked to find a city in the region opened up behind the iron curtain where
the LDS church could be added as a religion.
The town council was very negative toward church, and when it came time
to vote didn’t think it would pass. But
it attracted a great deal of media attention, and just prior to the vote they
asked an American reporter about the LDS church. He said he was not a member, but he knew a
family that was Mormon, and he said they were true to their word, and lived
their lives exactly as they believed.
The vote passed. Be open, true to
your word, be an example, and it will open more doors than you know. That family probably never knew the influence
they had. The Lord loves you, live to
always have the Holy Ghost as your constant companion.
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Elder Richard J. Maynes – (Presidency of the 1st
Quorum of 70)
Junior companion to Elder Holland for 16 years. President Eyring just wrote a new book –
“Choose Higher Ground”, haven’t read it yet, but there was a quote on the
jacket “let us do whatever required to qualify for Holy Ghost as companion, go
forward fearlessly to have power to do whatever the Lord would have us
do.” Remain worthy of and sensitive to
the Holy Ghost, decisions you make need to be inspired decisions. 3 Nephi 18 – Savior teaches how to pray, to the
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Whatsoever you ask for which is right, believing that you shall receive, shall be given. Rare recorded words of the Savior’s prayer – Father, thanks for gift of the Holy Ghost to the people, because of their
belief in me have I chosen them out of the world. All three members of the Godhead mentioned in
the prayer. Need to be worthy of and
sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
Told a story about mission president in Texas, inspired to put two Utah
cowboy missionaries together as companions.
And widow woman who ran a Texas ranch, who took a vacation to a Dude
ranch in Montana, owned by LDS member.
She had a wonderful time, sent a $50 bonus check. Dude ranch owner sent the check back, told
her he was buying an hour of her time with her own check, and if two
missionaries ever showed up at her ranch for her to listen to them. She accepted the challenge, never having seen
missionaries there before, and the foreman on her ranch told her they’d put her
on a list. The two cowboy missionary
companions came knocking doors not too much later, this amused the foreman, and
he took them to see the woman. She
learned there was no “list” and in a few months joined the church, taught by
the two perfect teachers for her. All of
us woven into stories just like that, only we don’t know. Do not want to ever be the missing link in a
story like this. Our responsibility to
be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost affects many people, not just
ourselves. God has plans for people to
bless them, and we can only be a part of these stories if we are worthy of the
Holy Ghost and ready at all times to do what the Father needs us to do.
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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland – (Quorum of the 12 apostles)
I’ve been thinking about you, I just want to talk, I have no
text, I want to be that personal, as if we were in a living room together, and
talking one on one, that I could get to know you. Can’t get to know all of you individually,
but generally, I know some things about you without knowing the specifics. I want to talk about hard times.
Quote Rabbi Harold Kushner – “Expecting the world to treat
you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to
charge you because you are a vegetarian”
There is a book called “Night” begins with a story of boy as
his family was taken to Auschwitz during WWII, men and women were separated and
lined up on either side of the camp.
This was the last time he saw any members of his family in this
life. Watching the profile of his mother
as night fell – it was when the lights went out in his life.
Night is going to come from time to time in our lives, and
sometimes go on and on. Welcome to
life, mortality, to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
What do we do when hard times come –
1. Remember, remember
that God must love broken things: dreams, hopes, righteous desires, true good
things. Things don’t happen the way that
they said in Laurel class. Just hang on
through the brokenness of things because God can fix them all.
It takes broken clouds to make rain, broken earth to grow
grain, broken grain to make bread, and broken bread to nourish us.
It’s said we shouted for joy in heaven to come down to earth
for mortal experience. Quoted Elder Neal
A. Maxwell who said “what was all the shouting about?” Need to have FAITH in Him, and Heavenly
Father, and Holy Ghost, and angels, and truth, and your ancestors on the other
side of the veil rooting for you. I plead
with you to live the way you believe. Broken things are in the system, let go and
trust in the Lord, it takes a leap of faith especially in the beginning. There is a return on investment of faith, on seemingly
broken things - just hang on and give it its season. Lord requires broken heart and a contrite
spirit – temple reminds us the children of God always have obligation of
sacrifice. When Adam leaves Garden of
Eden, first thing offered a sacrifice and was asked by the angel what he was
doing. Adam said, I don’t know. We won’t always know why things are happening
to us or why we are doing things. Trust
in the Lord.
Don’t flee your chance to make your sacrifice. Don’t look for it, trouble will find you,
when it comes please see it through, don’t go through life trying to avoid a
broken heart, believe it has meaning, there’s a plan, and you will get your
sacrifice back! Place it on the altar as
God, time, and angels will require, and trust with all your soul that you will
be healed, you will be better – perfected in the process. Don’t flee, don’t panic, sacrifice when
pushed, far enough that it will break your heart. Don’t miss your chance to make your offering.
We say we’re true disciples of Jesus Christ – what does that
mean? Volunteer to walk where He walked,
feel what He felt, will do and feel if necessary, and tears He shed, we are
willing to shed. Don’t give up, give in,
and be committed to discipleship. Do
what Heaven force us to do – put our 2&1/2 minute talk where our theology
is, walk the walk. “The only way out is
through” - Robert Frost. The road to salvation
always runs through Gethsemane.
We all need to walk through the garden and take a few steps up to
Calvary. Know what He was as a man of
sorrows and happiness. Do not fail to
follow when times get difficult. We sign
up to be disciples through it all.
2. When sacrifice happens – when in the middle of days and
nights, Virgil “Endure and save yourself for days of happiness ahead.” And there will be days of happiness
ahead. In the middle of trials, we
forget the good times, but remember there have been good times and there will
be good times ahead. If you think your
life is all bad, give me a break! You’ve
been happier than sad, had more blessings than trials. This is the Church of Happy Endings. Inherent in the Atonement and
Resurrection. All will be good in the
end. Be big people. Pull up your socks. When you are too tired to walk, and can’t
carry your burden – do it anyway. You’ll
learn you are a lot stronger than you thought you were, and you do have the
seeds of divinity and godhood within you.
You can carry on. Remember that even the Lord begged and pleaded in the
midst of the Atonement for another way, ANY other way that He could fulfill His
purpose. You learn you are stronger than you thought you were. How else are you going to find out who you
are?
Everything else is line upon line, precept upon precept, work your way through grace and mercy to salvation – can’t get there without. Live life to get there. How do you learn patience? Want magical faith? Charity? You are given the opportunity to exert and manifest traits. How learn to forgive? Don’t resist when God gives you the chance to acquire godlike virtues. “He being reviled, reviled not” Peter.
1. Accept this is a mortal and Telestial world, chipped and broken, all will get fixed
2. Be strong and endure, see it through, someday, light will break in the east
3. Don’t – I forbid you - when hard times come, from saying what you will be tempted to say, then I guess “God doesn’t love me.” This is ABSOLUTELY BLASPHEMOUS. God does nothing but work at the happiness, and safety, and love of His children. He gave His most precious gift, His only perfect Son, for the rest of us who are not perfect.
You may not love Him, but
He ALWAYS loves you. If suffering means
you are not righteous, and God does not love you – what does that say about the
scriptures and the prophets? Scripture
stories are filled with pain. If we measure
the lack of God’s love by the amount of our troubles, then Jesus was in real
trouble. We are TOO CAVALIER in our view
of the suffering of the Savior and the Atonement… well, maybe not. But you can’t say it, you can’t THINK it,
Blasphemous! Maybe the more you suffer,
maybe God loves you more then.
He loves you and your effort, it’s not a losing cause, and
ALL His promises will be fulfilled. I
know what it is like to look out the window at 3am and believe the sun will
never come up for me. I broke a rule once
and went to the private home of the Bretheren.
Went to visit President Hunter when he was dying, with President Faust, to
say goodbye. Wife opened the door and
unearthly scream heard. Said to her that
we shouldn’t have come, wanted to say we love him, and left. Pres Hunter was tormented with the pain of
cancer raging throughout his body and scream of the dying. We made it as far as Heathrow airport, and
turned right back around to attend the funeral services of President Hunter. Even every prophet has his pain and trials. We must walk this path until we get it right,
like the Son of the living God.
I want to share my favorite scripture tonight, it will be different
tomorrow. Mark 4:35-41 “And the same day, when the
even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away
the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also
with him other little ships.” A phrase I love, you know Mark is the author. “And there arose a great
storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder
part of the ship, asleep on a pillow:” another Markian phrase. I’m thankful He had a pillow, I want to meet
the person who provided the pillow.
They
were on the ship in a tempest so violent that Peter, James, and John, who had
lived on the lake since they were six and knew it like the back of their hand, experienced
fishermen, were terrified for their lives! How tired was the Lord to sleep through
that? I wouldn’t want to be the one who
waked Him. “And they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that
we perish? And
he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the
wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it
that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly,” Now they were afraid for a different
reason. You probably glossed over
the beginning, I do sometimes, the Lord said “let us pass over to the other
side.” Did they think the Son of God was
going to drown? “and said one to another, What manner of man
is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
Don’t you think God can fix it? Don’t you think He can take your little life
and fix it up dandy? Why are we so
fearful? And how is it we have so little
faith? He can fix anything, including
making sure the sun/Son will come up in your life. Revelation 21:4 – “And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away.” That after night comes the
Son, the “bright morning star” - Revelation 22:16. The sun always rises, this is truth, God does
live and loves and loves and loves us, He cannot do otherwise, He would not be
God.
I testify that this is the Church
of Happy Endings. The gospel of
peace. Storms calm, winds subside, they
make us better, and stronger, so work on having less fear and more faith.
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Elder Holland then requested change in closing Hymn, to 165 “Abide with Me; ’Tis Eventide”
