"It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."  - Samwise Gamgee, in the Two Towers.

Light of Knowledge

"Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high. They can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ." Elder Richard G. Scott The Power of Scripture

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day Just go to the mirror and look at yourself And see what that man has to say. For it isn't your father, or mother, or wife  Whose judgment upon you must pass The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass. He's the fellow to please – never mind all the rest For he's with you, clear to the end And you've passed your most difficult, dangerous test If the man in the glass is your friend. You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass But your final reward will be heartache and tears If you've cheated the man in the glass.  - Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.

Be Grateful

In the December 2011 Ensign, President Henry B. Eyring talks about The Choice to Be Grateful.  He says that in order to better value our blessings, we must do two things.  First, we have to pray and ask for help to see our blessings amid our challenges.  Second, we have to help God bless others.  By offering service, we realize those things that we have to be grateful for.  This Christmas season is about gratitude, about being grateful for the greatest gifts we have been given through the Atonement of Christ.  We can best show our gratitude for anything by serving in return.  Mosiah 2:17 tells us that we serve God by serving others.  That's what Christmas is all about - serving God by serving others.

Fear Not

During the book of Numbers, the children of Israel are wandering through the Sinai desert.  Numbers 13 and 14 tell us the story of the twelve men who scouted out the promised land.  They found it full of good things, much better than the wilderness they were in.  But when they returned to report to Moses, ten of them allowed their fear ro get the better of them.  They convinced the people that the giant inhabitants of the land would be too hard to fight.  Joshua and Caleb, though, had faith that the Lord would help them.  But because of the doubt of the other ten, the people were too afraid to move forward.  Because of this fear, they wandered in the wilderness for forty more years.

First Act of Christ

The last thing that Christ did in his time on the earth was to die and become the Savior of the world.  But Christ helped people all through his life, and it seems as all too often we overlook the events of the Book of Mormon at Christmas time, yet one of the greatest of His miracles occurred there.  The first thing that Christ did was to save thousands of faithful Nephites from being killed.  3 Nephi 1:5-16 relates the story.  "But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.  And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.  And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.  But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.  Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.  Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful. 

And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers.  And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

'Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.'

And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.  And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand."

Look Up pt. 2

Numbers 21:6-9 says, "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."  Look up!

Titanic Failure

The Titanic was one of the most colossal failures in human history.  The largest passenger liner that had ever been built, the Titanic was touted as "Unsinkable".  Yet it sank, just four days into its maiden voyage.   What can be learned of economics from the demise of the Titanic?  The failure of the Titanic demonstrates that nothing is ever too big to fail.  

Nothing is too big to fail.  A bubble or boom that grows too large is going to crash.  It is going to crash hard, but it is going to crash eventually.  The only thing that we can change is how long it takes.  It can go quickly and be over with, or it can take a long and dramatic plunge, dragging out the crash over long periods of time.  The Titanic failed epically, but it failed, sunk, and people moved on.  While it was a while before people attempted something like that again, they did.  Ships today dwarf the Titanic, they are now more than one and a half times as long and more then twelve times the tonnage.  While the sinking of the Titanic was a temporary set back, it did not stunt long term growth.  Though things may seem bleak now, the future holds the promise of a brighter tomorrow.  

Blessings of a Mission

In the October 1995 General Conference Priesthood Session,  President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "I had been interviewed by a representative of the BBC Radio Worldwide Service. He had seen the missionaries and noted their youthful appearance. He asked me, "How do you expect people to listen to these callow youth?"

In case some of you do not know the meaning of callow, it means immature, inexperienced, lacking sophistication.

I replied to the reporter with a smile, "Callow youth? It is with these missionaries today as it was with Timothy in the days of Paul. It was Paul who wrote to his young companion, saying, 'Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity' (1 Tim. 4:12).

"The remarkable thing is that people do receive them and listen to them. They are wholesome. They are bright, they are alert, they are upstanding. They are clean looking, and people quickly develop confidence in them."

"Callow youth?" Yes, they are lacking in sophistication. What a great blessing this is. They carry no element of deception. They speak with no element of sophistry. They speak out of their hearts, with personal conviction. Each is a servant of the living God, an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their power comes not of their learning in the things of the world. Their power comes of faith, and prayer, and humility. As we have been reminded, the work is not easy. It has never been easy. Long ago Jeremiah said that the Lord would gather His people one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion and feed them with pastors after His own heart (see Jer. 3:14–15). In terms of the individual missionary, the harvest is not great in most instances, but in the aggregate it becomes tremendous. The work demands courage, it demands effort, it demands dedication, it demands the humility to get on one's knees and ask the Lord for help and direction.

I throw out a challenge to every young man within this vast congregation tonight. Prepare yourself now to be worthy to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary. He has said, "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" (D&C 38:30). Prepare to consecrate two years of your lives to this sacred service. That will in effect constitute a tithe on the first twenty years of your lives. Think of all that you have that is good—life itself, health, strength, food to eat and clothing to wear, parents, brothers and sisters, and friends. All are gifts from the Lord." Of Missions, Temples and Stewardship October 1995.

Run!

Genesis 39 tells us the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife.  Elder Hartman Rector, Jr. in the January 1973 Ensign, said, "Joseph did the very best thing he could do under the circumstances.  The scripture records, "... he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and or him out."  Or, in today's language, he ran.  Maybe it doesn't sound like a very sophisticated thing to do... Yet Joseph ran, and because he did, he was temporarily placed in prison, where he was shut out from society, but if he had not run, he would have been shut out from God perhaps forever, because he would not have been in condition to receive the necessary communications that made him the great prophet that he was." (Live above the Law to Be Free)  In Matthew 4:10 Christ says, "Get thee hence, Satan."  If you were to change this around, and speak to your self, it might be something like, "Get thee hence from Satan."  By our own actions we can get Satan out of our vicinity, even if we have to move ourselves away, leaving Satan behind.  In Galatians 5:7, Paul makes the statement, "Ye did well to run", but then poses the question, "Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?"  We are the only ones who can stop ourselves from running from Satan - running to Christ.

Intent

"How can we escape that nihilism that attends total attachment to the things of this world, and rejoice in goods of first intent without trespassing on religion, and how can we go that far without jeopardizing our religious freedom? The best education of the past has found an easy solution to that one, and it is to study whatever you study with real intent, Aristotle's spoudaiotes, "high seriousness." If you approach any study in a spirit of high seriousness, if you take it as a thing of first intent, your study, whether of science, literature, art, or philosophy, is necessarily a spiritual and a devout study." - Hugh Nibley Goods of First and Second Intent

Sacrifice Oratory

This is the text of my oratory on sacrifice:
Beginning in the book of Genesis and continuing throughout the old testament, God commanded his people to sacrifice.  Followers of God's command sacrificed the first of their flocks of fields - those things of greatest material worth.  The patriarch Abraham was even commanded sacrifice his son. 

In the Americas, the Aztecs and Incas sacrificed prisoners of war. Jews make burnt offerings. Muslims perform dahiba. Christians believe in the sacrifice of Christ.  Hindus perform yagya.  Fossil records even show evidence of animal sacrifice.  There is a ubiquitous presence of sacrifice across the world and throughout human history.  The reason for all this sacrifice?  Sacrifice defines value. 

Allow me to explain.  The famous English scholar William Tyndale lived for years in hiding, running from authorities, while translating the bible into English.  After he was captured and imprisoned for two years, he was declared a heretic. In 1536 he was burned at the stake.  Before he died, he cried out "Lord, open the king of England's eyes!"  He valued an English translation of the Bible more then his life.  Because of the great value he placed on the translation, other people saw its worth. A short four years after Tyndale's martyrdom, four translations of the bible were published in England. 

A more modern example is found in India.  A strict caste system, though outlawed in 1950, segregated the population there for nearly three thousand years, and is still a fundamental part of Indian society.  Narayanan Krishnan is a Brahman, a member of the highest caste. He was working as a chef in a five star hotel with plans to travel to Europe to work, when, in 2002, he visited his family in his home town. There he saw a starving man, an untouchable, lower than the lowest caste, eating human waste.  Shocked, Krishnan fed the man.  

He gave up his job at the hotel, and now works full time feeding the homeless and hungry in India. These people are considered worthless by many in India, yet Krishnan was willing to sacrifice his time and his career to serve them, demonstrating how valuable these people are to him. 

The value of an item, idea, or person is only as great as those ideas or things sacrificed for them.  Because sacrifice defines the value of ideals, looking at how a society applies the principle of sacrifice presents an image of what is valued. Unfortunately, this picture shows a disconcerting lack of worthy ideals in America.

God, Family, and Country have long been considered the three ideals of greatest worth, and have only recently been widely challenged.  We see the rising value of independence and individuality in the declining value of God, Family and Country.

A search for religious freedom motivated early American settlers to sail across the Atlantic ocean.  Thousands of people of a variety of religions came, and became the founders of America.  America was founded upon the concept of religion, but this value is fading in American society today.  According to Gallup, the number of American citizens who do not identify with any religion is 6 times as high as it was 50 years ago. 

 This is frightening.  Religion is losing value - to other, less worthy pursuits.  Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son because God commanded it. Yet people today are sacrificing their God on the alters of work, pride, or pleasure.  Organized religion requires attendance, service, and prayer, not to mention tithes and offerings.  The rise of "New Age", or "Unorganized" religions show the unwillingness of people to make these sacrifices.  Many people will tell you that God is the most important thing in their lives, even more than family. But this number is declining, as is the number of people who value family.

Most people have distinctive memories of their family, smells, quirks, traditions.  Perhaps the memories are fond, of waking up on Christmas morning, of traditional decorating, of lighting candles, or stringing popcorn.  The family provides a shelter where children can grow and learn about the world before they are on their own.

A family is founded upon the relationship between a husband and wife.  The more a husband is willing to sacrifice for his wife, the more he values her, and, if the wife values her husband as well, they have a successful marriage.  It is no coincidence that many marriages occur at an alter.   Once the couple begins to have children, they can apply this sacrificial principle to them as well. The more sacrifices that parents make for their children, the more they will value, or love them.  It is far more difficult to fall away from or grow tired of those people who are loved most.

Divorce arises out of an unwillingness to sacrifice for each other. By looking at divorce in our society today, we can how highly people value their marriage.  According to the National Center for Health Statistics, of the 2,000,000 couples who married in 2009, about half of them will divorce, finding something more desirable than their families.

As reported by the New York Times, a 2009 study performed by Professor Jeffery Dew at Utah State University found that couples who disagreed about finances once a week were over 30 percent more likely to get divorced than couples who disagreed only a few times a month.  The family is being sacrificed on the alter of money.  As the fundamental unit of society falls apart, people become disinterested in the larger institutions of society.  This trend is present in the unimpressive amount of participation in our political system.  

In 2008, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 71% of the eligible population was even registered to vote, and that only 65% of the eligible population actually voted in the presidential election. In our society, the ability to vote for the president is not really considered worthy of the effort. Families and marriage are looked down upon as requiring too much work, too much sacrifice to keep. God is considered a waste of time. 

This depraved image of our society is disheartening. It is unacceptable for humanity to continue without understanding their priorities. The things we sacrifice are not as valuable to us as the things we sacrifice them for! Yet the most worthy things in the world are continually sacrificed. 

It is time to change. It is time for everyone to look at their lives, and ask themselves what they are sacrificing to get where they want to go. Priorities must be examined! If found to be lacking, or out of order, our priorities must be changed.  God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, so that Abraham would learn that he valued his God more than anything else in the world. In the same way, we can sacrifice appropriately to change our values. Sacrifice bestows the value of the offering upon its alter.  

A close examination of your life will reveal actions motivated by values that do not align with what you believe.  By sacrificing these actions, you can change these values.  Lay your time on the alter of your Country, your pride on the alter of your Family, and lay your life on the alter of your God!

Look Up

Psalm 121 says, "I will lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."  We should look to the Lord when we need help.  It is also interesting to note that in scripture, the mountains are often a symbol of the temple.  Perhaps the hills mean the same thing in this instance.  In the 2011 October General Conference, Elder Carl B. Cook gave a talk called It Is Better to Look Up.  He talks about a time at the end of his first week as a general authority.  He was staring at the floor of the elevator, wondering how he was possibly going to do all that was expected of him.  The elevator stopped, and someone else got on.  He continued staring at the floor.  Then he heard someone whose voice he recognized ask, "What are you looking at down there?"  It was President Monson. Elder Cook mumbled, "Oh, nothing".  President Monson "smiled and lovingly suggested, while pointing heavenward, "It is better to look up!" As we traveled down one more level, he cheerfully explained that he was on his way to the temple. When he bid me farewell, his parting glance spoke again to my heart, "Now, remember, it is better to look up.""

Character

In his book Little Britches, Ralph Moody tells about a time when he lied to his parents.  His father chastened him by saying, "Son, there is no question but what the thing you have done today deserves severe punishment. You might have killed yourself or the horse, but much worse than that, you have injured your own character. A man's character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn't do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth."

Remember the "character house", and make sure your actions aren't tearing boards off of it.  

Light & Truth

In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord explains light and truth, and how we obtain more.  The Spirit "is the Spirit of truth; And truth is a knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come."  To have the Spirit with you is to understand, not only how things were and are, but how they will be.  Anything that "is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.  The Spirit of truth is of God."  "He that keepeth his commandments recieveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things."  If we keep the commandments, then we will be glorified in truth, and know all things.  Who would knowingly turn down that promise?  "The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth."  "And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers."  (D&C 93:21-40)  

This scripture clearly explains that knowledge is the glory of God.  Let us seek it out wherever we can find it.  Keep the "Spirit of truth" with you throughout your day, and you will be guided and receive greater light as you try to learn.  President David O. McKay said: "The Church stands for education. The very purpose of its organization is to promulgate truth among men. Members of the Church are admonished to acquire learning by study, and also by faith and prayer; to seek after every thing that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy. In this seeking after, they are not confined to narrow limits of dogma or creed, but are free to launch into the realm of the infinite." (In Conference Report, Apr. 1968, p. 93.)  Let us remember the admonition in the Strength of Youth - "Maintain an enthusiasm for learning throughout your life. Find joy in continuing to learn about yourself, other people, and the world around you."

Why Do We Serve?

With Christmas rapidly approaching, people turn their thoughts toward service to celebrate the birth of Christ.  In Matthew 22:36-40 and John 13:34-35, we are told to love our neighbors as ourselves, that true disciples of Christ love one another.  Because, "If ye love them which lover you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? (Matt. 5:46–47.)
We should, then, be serving out of love for others.  But is that always why we serve?  Elder Dallin H. Oaks lays down 6 reasons people serve, in his November 1984 Conference Address Why Do We Serve? They are, first, for riches and honor, second, a personal desire to obtain good companionship, third, a fear of punishment,  fourth, a sense of duty, fifth, hope for an eternal reward, and sixth, out of love.  
The first three are basically self interested.  The fourth is an unquestioning obedience to a law, duty or tradition (deontology). The fifth is a look forward at eternal consequences (utilitarianism).  The sixth, which Elder Oaks calls "the highest reason of all" is because of a Christ-like love of others (virtue). So as we serve this season, it may be beneficial to question our motives, and try to develop the pure love of Christ in our lives.  

House Cleaning and Scriptures

We have all heard that the Law of Moses is a lesser law, designed to prepare people for Christ's teachings.  So when I read Leviticus 14: 33-48; and it talked about healing a plagued house, I wondered how that applied to us.  I remembered something C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity.
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right, and stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably, and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?
The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of– throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
In Leviticus, it talks only of replacing the bad, of restoring the home to its former state.  This is the lower law of Moses, preparing the people of Israel to understand Christ's teachings.  As C.S. Lewis points out - Christ doesn't just want to make us normal.  He wants to make us better.  But unless we let Him work, He cannot make us into the palace He wants us to be. 

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