Ethics and Honesty, Elder David B. Haight, October 1987

I was surprised about the direction of this talk. There seems to be a trend appearing in this general conference focused around the Constitution and what we must to do preserve it and this nation. 

Before I jump into the thick of it, I had to laugh when Elder Haight was expressing his concern over the fading moral compass of the general public as evidenced by the headlines back then. If he thought it was bad then, I can't imagine how he would respond to the headlines today! I had to laugh at the thought.

Throughout this talk, Elder Haight mentioned the examples of children and how they have learned principles of honesty and virtue. As a parent of a small child, it makes me realize how many of these principles need to be taught early and consistently throughout a child's life. Sometimes being a parent is a little more than intimidating, but then I remember that if I am living my life the way I should, I won't forget any of these important principles to teach my kids. 

One of my favorite lines from the talk is the following: "Only in an atmosphere of freedom and trust could values like honesty and integrity truly flourish and thus encourage others to pursue their rights to liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It's even more interesting when you put it next Elder Haight's later message about how people need to be able to trust, "in their institutions and in their leaders. A great need today is for leadership that exemplifies truth, honesty, and decency in both public and private life." One of the most frequent commentaries I hear about our government from faithful latter day saints are "I've given up on our country. God will abandon us soon." and "what's the point? We are too broken to be able to fix our problems." I always cringe when I hear these and similar sentiments. Are we as latter day saints do everything we can to promote good citizenship in our communities? Are we making our voice heard beyond that Facebook status? Are we actively engaged with our community leaders, our congressman, our senators? I bet the answer for most people is "no, I am not." Just a few talks earlier, president Ezra Taft Benson reminded us that the Constitution will hang by a thread. Yes, I think things are bad now, but I get the feeling it has to get a whole lot worse before it will get better. We've only begun to see the unraveling of the Constitution, and sooner or later both active latter day saints and the righteous citizens of this nation must rise together and save the cornerstone of our country.

The other main point I appreciated was Elder Haight's commentary on right and wrong. Shades of grey seems to be the new black and white. It would be so easy to fall into this mindset that we can't ever know anything for certain, but rather there is only strong likelihood that something is or isn't so. Yet, there is a line, some things are black and white. As Elder Haight says, in giving the ten commandments, the Lord says "thou shalt not" instead of "thou shalt not except when thou justifies rationally thou shall." We can know things for certain, and there is a great comfort in that. I know the church is true. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that families are eternal. I know that the Lord loves me. I don't need to justify it, I don't need to prove how I know. As Joseph Smith said, I know it, and I know God knows it. Granted, this doesn't excuse me from going out and learning as much as I can and growing as a person. Just knowing that I can be certain of my testimony is a feeling of peace and comfort that seems to be fading in this world where everything needs to be justified and we are expected to have the answers to everything.

The concluding paragraph really had a wonderful message that stands on its own and doesn't need any additional commentary from me.

"From the beginning to the end of His ministry, Jesus asked His followers to adopt new, higher standards in contrast to their former ways. He asks nothing less of those who follow Him today."

Looking Beyond the Mark, Dean L. Larsen

This talk is challenging me a little more than the previous two talks. While the message is clear and well written, I find that I have to exercise a little more thought in discovering what I personally want to take away from this article. 

The scriptural focus of this talk comes from Jacob 4:14, "They despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall." The speaker then goes on to state, "I have wondered what was actually in Jacob’s mind as he wrote of 'looking beyond the mark' in describing a failing that was common to ancient Israel." For Elder Larsen, looking beyond the mark brought up memories of track and field. I then couldn't help but wonder what I see when I hear those words. For some reason I keep coming back to learning archery in middle school gym. It took a lot of discipline and focus to figure out how to get the arrow to not only be in the general direction of the target, but also have enough power to stick to the target. It was also interesting because it was at that point in time I learned that my left eye is dominant even though I am right handed. I then had to adjust everything, but once I figured out that small fact it became a lot easier to learn how to shoot. 

I liked the direction the talk then went to. The main point I think Elder Larsen was trying to drive home is that we cannot lose our faith in the details (you know, the whole seeing the forest through the trees concept). This isn't to say it's not good to ask questions or to learn more information, in fact it is IMPERATIVE that we ask questions and discover truths for ourselves. However, we must spend and equal, if not greater, amount of time strengthening the foundation of our testimony and understanding of basic elements of the gospel. My father always taught me that as a coach, he could always identify the strongest players on a team because they were the ones who regularly practiced and utilized the fundamentals. Over the years, I've heard about the many reasons people fall away, including those who have drifted away because of doctrinal or historical information. What I didn't understand is why I'm not in the same boat. I love reading about the doctrine and history of the church, good and bad. I found that the church's ban on African Americans having the priesthood through a large portion of church history particularly embarrassing and hard to understand, to be frank. I think this article helped me to see that because I understand and trust in the fundamentals of the gospel, I can objectively look at these items. If I were to allow myself to get caught up in just the details and forget the context and foundation, I'm sure I would end up far away from the church as well. (as a side note, my opinion is the people of the church were not mature enough to handle a higher law. After all, that happened a ton throughout the history of the world. Remember Moses and the Ten Commandments?)

I loved the last two paragraphs of Elder Larsen's talk. It's so good it deserves to be in its own font and bold type!

"Too often we permit the narrow demands of our daily routine to dull our appreciation of the beauty of God’s creations and the refining influences that are all about us. We fail to experience the fulfillment that comes from developing the gifts and talents with which we have been endowed. We do not draw close enough to the Lord to know him and feel of his redeeming love.

In today’s complicated world with its diversity of demands and sometimes distracting voices, it is so important for us to keep our eyes upon the basic things that matter most and that will have the greatest eternal consequence for us."

One of my goals for this year is to watch less TV so that I can spend more time on items I've always wanted to do like learn to play the piano, spend quality time reading a book, keeping this blog up to date and actively reading church materials, taking Jonah (my son) outside and let him discover all that is there, and maybe some not so great items like keeping a clean apartment and staying on top of the laundry. This isn't to say that all TV is bad, I'm just beginning to see how much of a distraction it can be in my life. That first paragraph really reiterated that happiness comes from expanding our talents and acting on opportunities presented to us rather than letting our daily routine dominate our existence. 

I guess I took more away from this talk than I thought I did. See, active reading at work! 

Never Give Up, Joseph B. Wirthlin - October 1987

I'm still working on the Federalist papers. It's a much longer read than I expected. Since it's been several months since my last post, I've decided to continue on with the conference talks.

The message of this talk is of great comfort. While Elder Wirthlin discusses the importance of perseverance and different examples throughout history of true perseverance, really what I drew from this talk was that all of the hardship that can come while persevering to do what's right is worth it, and, as the title suggests, we should never give up.

One point of interest came earlier in the talk. "The book (of Job) suggests that affliction, if not for punishment, may be for experience, discipline, and instruction." I've never really thought about my trials from this perspective before. There have been a few trials, one in particular, that I struggled to understand why I had to go through it. I never felt like I was being punished, but these trials were hard to bear and I couldn't see why I needed them. I may not completely understand the why behind these things, but now that I am able to look back instead of just forward, I can see how I have gained all three of these things Elder Wirthlin described.

Another point I appreciated is the following: "They succeeded not only because the Lord had endowed them with gifts, as He has each of us in varying degrees, but because they applied themselves steadfastly." My husband just started his PhD program at Wake Forest, and I know he has concerns about his ability to keep up with the coursework. It's nice to know that it's not just raw talent that enables someone to succeed, but rather the discipline to refine that talent and become better.

The last point I really took home was at the very end of the talk. "Probably few of us will face opposition and obstacles like those encountered by the great ones I have mentioned. However, we each have our own challenges and trials to overcome as we strive to keep on the right course. Often the most important trials are those we must face and subdue privately within our own hearts." I don't talk much about my trials, well, at least my really big trials. I've always felt as though my really big trials are internal struggles that creep on me day after day. I also felt silly for feeling this way because trials are supposed to be eventually overcome, and some items never seem to go away. Yet Elder Wirthlin is telling me that I'm not the only one to feel this way and that these truly are great struggles.

As I mentioned, this talk is one of comfort, but also I think it is one of hope. Elder Wirthlin is like a personal cheerleader, telling each of us that we can make it, that we should want to make it, and that we should do everything we can to make it. Or, as he put in a more straightforward way, "We must never give up, regardless of temptations, frustrations, disappointments, or discouragements." Sometimes it's nice to have a cheerleader on our side.

Our Divine Constitution - Ezra Taft Benson, October 1987

First off, I found it incredibly interesting that the first talk of this blog is essential to the problems our society is experiencing today. One of the big discussions of today in the Supreme Court is whether or not the Constitution has jurisdiction over the definition of marriage. I have been reading about the church's stance on marriage and trying to determine what my own views and opinions will be. This talk brought to light the importance our church places on the Constitution and how we as Latter Day Saints must defend the liberties it provides for all people in this country.

Much of what I took away came at the end of the talk. President Benson declares, "For centuries our forefathers suffered and sacrificed that we might be the recipients of the blessing of freedom. If they were willing to sacrifice so much to establish us as a free people, should we not be willing to do the same to maintain that freedom for ourselves and for future generations?" Many Latter Day Saints have heard that the Constitution will "hang by a thread." We are commanded by the prophet to act in the following manner:

1. We must be righteous.

    Much of the Book of Mormon is a warning to us of what happens when a civilization does not follow the commandments of God. It is a reminder that in order to continue to enjoy the blessings of this free nation, we must be obedient. 

2. We must learn the principles of the Constitution in the tradition of the Founding Fathers.

    I hear a lot of arguments of how the Constitution is based upon Christian values and the opposite view that the Founding Fathers were not actually religious but merely acting within the dominating cultural influence of the time, which happened to be Protestant religious values. I do believe that there is some foundation for both arguments, but the distinction is that while not every individual who helped create and sign the Constitution was completely religious, the main influences and the inspiration for the Constitution was guided by the hand of the Lord. The Lord even says so in Doctrine and Covenants 101:8 ("I established the Constitution of this land by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose."). 

    That being said, President Benson asks us several important questions:

        a) Have we read the Federalist papers? 

        b) Are we reading the Constitution and pondering it? Are we aware of its principles, abiding by these principles, and teaching them to others?

        c) Could we defend the Constitution? 

        d) Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound?

        e) Do we know what the prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it?

    I am somewhat embarrassed to say that my answer for almost all of these questions is, "no, I could not." I'll probably spend my next many blog posts working to address each question and change my answer from "no" to "yes."

3. We must become involved in civic affairs to see that we are properly represented.

    I voted for the first time since I was 18 this past year, much in part to the importance of the presidential race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney (though living in New York meant my presidential vote for Mitt Romney didn't count for much more than a show of support). My older brother, Jacob, called me up a few weeks prior to my vote and told me how much he enjoyed researching the local candidates and the satisfaction he felt at being a conscientious voter. He inspired me to do the same, and I also was surprised at the satisfaction I felt after casting my vote. When push comes to shove, how can we criticize our government actions if we are not doing our part to share what our opinion on what the government should be doing?

4. We must make our influence felt by our vote, our letters, our teaching, and our advice.

    As stated by President Benson, "We must become accurately informed and then let others know how we feel." I am so grateful for that first emphasis on becoming accurately informed. With the availability of the internet and so much information at our fingers, we must be careful and learn how to distinguish fact from fiction. For example, Snopes if one of my favorite websites because it is devoted to bring to light internet scams/pranks from truth and debunks much of the popular nonsense that proliferates on website like Facebook. 

    As mentioned, I felt incredible satisfaction in being active in the voting process this past year, but I rarely follow the rest (sending letters, teaching others, giving advice). As mentioned in this past general conference (April 2013), we should not be afraid to share our testimony and our religion through such mediums as social media and blogging, which is something I am very guilty of. I have always been of the opinion that such matters are between me and the Lord, but the words of the prophets speak otherwise. What I find interesting is that we should not only be sharing our religion, but our informed opinions as well. I suppose I should add another item to the list of things I should be improving about myself.

The closing of the talk contains the most important information, though. President Benson makes the following two statements: "It (the Constitution) will be saved by the righteous citizens of our nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this church - among others - men and women who understand and abide the principles of the Constitution... I testify that the God of Heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it."

I've always felt that there would be a few prominent members of the church that would come forth and be instruments that the Lord will use to defend and preserve the Constitution. After seeing the results of this past presidential race and reading the words of President Benson, I have come to realize that it is the responsibility of every American Latter Day Saint to know and defend the Constitution and not the responsibility of just a few. The Lord needs us all to stand together with other righteous citizens of this nation in order for the Constitution, now more than ever.