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Oaks - Spirituality - October 1985

2/2/2018

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President Oaks talks about how to be more spiritual in your everyday life.  He talks about some basic definitions about what it means to be spiritual.
  • We view our experiences in terms of eternity. As we draw farther from worldliness, we feel closer to our Father in Heaven and more able to be guided by his Spirit. We call this quality of life spirituality.
  • To be spiritually minded is to view and evaluate our experiences in terms of the enlarged perspective of eternity.

He uses several stories from the scriptures to illustrate spirituality.
  • This scripture reminds every Martha, male and female, that we should not be so occupied with what is routine and temporal that we fail to cherish those opportunities that are unique and spiritual.
  • The Roman soldiers of Pilate provided an unforgettable illustration of the different perspectives of the carnal mind and the spiritual mind. During a tragic afternoon on Calvary, a handful of soldiers waited at the foot of a cross. The most important event in all eternity was taking place on the cross above their heads. Oblivious to that fact, they occupied themselves casting lots to divide the earthly property of the dying Son of God. (See Matt. 27:35; Luke 23:34; John 19:24.) Their example reminds each of us that we should not be casting our lots for the things of the world while the things of eternity, including our families and the work of the Lord, suffer for our attention.

He illustrates another example from a BYU Devotional from years past.  This is one of my favorite stories and one that has lead and guided me as I raise my children in today's world.
  • Here is an example of a spiritual and a temporal evaluation of an everyday experience. In a BYU devotional several years ago, Elder Loren C. Dunn described how his father, a busy stake president in Tooele, gave his two young sons the responsibility of raising cows on the family farm. He gave the boys large latitude in what they could do, and they made some mistakes. These were observed by an alert neighbor, who complained to their father about what the young cow-raisers were doing. “Jim, you don’t understand,” President Dunn replied. “You see, I’m raising boys, not cows.” (“Our Spiritual Heritage,” in Brigham Young University 1981–82 Fireside and Devotional Speeches, Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1982, p. 138.) What a marvelous insight! What an example for parents who are inclined to view and evaluate their children’s performance solely in temporal terms.

President Oaks then gives us some everyday practical ways of looking at the world through spiritual eyes.  He starts by talking about priorities and serving others.
  • A spiritual person has no priorities ahead of God. A person who seeks or serves other objectives, such as power or prominence, is not spiritual.

He then speaks about money.
  • If allowed to become an object of worship or priority, money can make us selfish and prideful, “puffed up in the vain things of the world.” (Alma 5:37.) In contrast, if used for fulfilling our legal obligations and for paying our tithes and offerings, money can demonstrate integrity and develop unselfishness. The spiritually enlightened use of property can help prepare us for the higher law of a celestial glory.
President Oaks closes with a few words about seeking to find more spirituality in your life.  Spirituality is based on faithfulness.
  • We seek spirituality through faith, repentance, and baptism; through forgiveness of one another; through fasting and prayer; through righteous desires and pure thoughts and actions. We seek spirituality through service to our fellowmen; through worship; through feasting on the word of God, in the scriptures and the teachings of the living prophets. We attain spirituality through making and keeping covenants, through conscientiously trying to keep all the commandments of God. Spirituality is not acquired suddenly. It is the consequence of a succession of right choices. It is the harvest of a righteous life.

So much of my study over the past couple years has been on how to become a better disciple of Jesus Christ.  Spirituality plays a huge role in that because spirituality is the basis of strong communication with the Holy Ghost.  I have found in my life, as I do things to invite the spirit in, I am more likely to hear and follow the promptings of the spirit.  President Oaks gives us great examples of how to live our lives so we can be in tune with the spirit.  I am glad we have great men leading this church on earth that are focused on their spirituality so the instruction from Heaven can be given.  It is my hope that I can add things into my life that allow the spirit to be felt more often throughout the day.
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Ballard - In Response to the Call - October 1985

4/17/2017

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Elder Ballard is called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles in October 1985.  He shares a brief testimony of the work that he has been called to perform and the privileged it is to be called of God to go forth.
  • The past nine and a half years, as I have been sent on errands for the Lord throughout the earth, have caused me to know that this Church is filled with righteous, good, dedicated men. Each of us obediently learns that we will come forth as we are called, to try to do the very best we can in our callings, whether it be home teacher, whether it be stake president, or whether it be General Authority.

He shares his knowledge that this is God's church.  He also shares that Christ is close to the work that is being done within His church.
  • I have learned during the past nine and a half years that this is our Heavenly Father’s church. The errands that I have been sent on to act in the name of the Lord enable me to witness to you today that I know, as I know that I stand before you, that Jesus is the Christ, that he lives. He is very close to this work and very close to all of us who are asked to perform the work throughout the earth in his name.

He acknowledges those that have come before him in life and the effect they have had on his life.
  • The veil between here and the hereafter is rather thin. I acknowledge that it has been a great blessing in my life to be born of goodly parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who have given everything they have been asked to give to the building of the kingdom of God upon the earth.

He asks for faith and prayers on his behalf.  He expresses his love for this family and asks for prayers from the church members so he can serve in a way that is pleasing to God.
  • I would ask for an interest in your faith and prayers. I express my affection to my wife and my children, who sustain me in whatever the Lord might ask me to do. I am grateful for this abundant blessing and pray humbly that I might serve you, the membership of this Church, in a way that would be pleasing and acceptable unto our Heavenly Father.

Elder Ballard's call to the apostleship comes with much humility on his part.  You can read into the nervousness that he feels yet the confidence that God is in charge and he knows that with God, he can do what is being asked of him.  As we continue to study talks by Elder Ballard, I look forward to seeing how the prayers of the saints cause him to grow and become a great leader in the church.
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Hales - Lessons from the Atonement That Help Us to Endure to the End - October 1985

1/28/2017

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Elder Hales speaks as the Presiding Bishop of the church about things he has learned from the life of the Savior about enduring to the end.
  • In the gospel of Jesus Christ, there comes a point in time when we must stand accountable for who we are and what we are going to be. In the atonement of Jesus Christ, we have been given an example to follow—that of the eldest son of God the Father. I would like to talk for just a few minutes today about the atoning sacrifice and what it has meant in my life, from the perspective of a bishop, in helping us endure to the end.

He asks several questions and makes several observations about Christ and His example to us all.  Each question and observation teaches us important lessons about how we should be looking at our lives and how we can endure to the end.  The first lesson talks about pouring our heart out to the Lord in prayer, but not taking the time to listen for an answer after doing so.  We would be wise to take time to listen.
  • How many of us are sleeping when those around us are hurting and are in need? How many of us give our testimonies of the Lord, but then do not listen?

Each of us will need the help of friends along the path back to our Heavenly Father.
  • Do we not understand that we, too, will have moments in our lives when we will be brought to our knees, when we will need help to endure to the end? Even Joseph Smith showed impatience after being in jail for a few months and wondered why he could not get on with his mission. At that time the Lord said to Joseph, “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” The ways in which we handle our trials are part of the maturing of the physical and spiritual man.

While Christ was on the cross, he taught us about being concerned for others even during our trials.
  • Many lessons can be learned from the account of the Atonement. It is comforting to know that, though suffering, Jesus Christ was able to look down from the cross and be concerned for His mother, that she should be properly cared for, as He asked for the help of a disciple. This is one of the great messages we have heard this conference—that we turn some of our attention from our own trials and tribulations to concern and caring for others.

As Christ appeared after His death to Mary, He taught us that there can be hope and peace when loved ones die because of the resurrection that Christ gave to each of us.  We will be reunited with family and friends after this life.
  • The lesson we can learn is that when a loved one has died and sorrow and despair have taken over our hearts, we can have solace knowing the joy that will come when our loved ones are reunited and continue their eternal progression because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

We each need to build our own personal testimony of the Savior as each of us will have a personal accountability to the Lord for what we have done with the gift of life He has made possible for us.
  • Each one of us will someday, either in this life or in the life to come, have to give our testimony that He is truly the Son of God, the Savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ.

He speaks about feeling abandoned by God, how Christ felt the loneliness we sometimes feel, but that we need to take these moments and find peace that God is never far away and wants us to find peace and joy by coming to His feet for peace.
  • In the last moments upon the cross Jesus asked His Father a very simple question: “Why hast thou forsaken me?” Are there times in our lives when we think that we have been forsaken by God, or by our fellow men, or by our families? That is the moment when we have to turn our thoughts back to Christ and endure to the end. We know there is a great purpose in Christ’s suffering because this was an act of free agency. Jesus could have called upon legions of angels to bring Him down from the cross, but He did not. He endured to the end that we would have the benefits of the atoning sacrifice; that mercy could be brought into the world; that justice would be satisfied; that we might be resurrected; and that we might be able to earn, through our obedience, eternal life in the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ.

He shares a story of a father who needed to help his child learn some very difficult life lessons even through he could have saved them from the pain.  The lessons needed to be learned just as God needs to allow our actions to have consequences so we learn from them.
  • There are times that we, as parents, must be able to cut our own children loose in order that they may learn to make decisions for themselves and have the strength to stand on their own.

There are many lessons to be learned from the life of the Savior.  How we should live our lives has been demonstrated by His perfect life.  It is Elder Hales prayer that we can learn these lessons and follow the Savior.
  • I ask the Lord’s blessings to be with us, that we can understand the importance of the atoning sacrifice in our lives, that it is the greatest event in all history. In fact, the Atonement was the very purpose of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, coming to earth. Unfortunately, we sometimes deviate from that which we know.

The Savior's life is full of examples for each of us on how we should handle our trials and troubles.  We are blessed to have a Savior that leads us by His example and has allowed us to learn from our mistakes.  It is through our trials and troubles in life that we learn to grow and be more like the Savior.  As we take upon us the challenge to live more like Him, we will be blessed for our obedience and will be given strength to endure our most challenging trials.
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