Follow The Prophet (11/30/2009)

Last night I performed in a multi-stake production of Handel's Messiah. The orchestra has been rehearsing the various numbers for about two months now, and overall I think it is safe to say that we felt pretty comfortable with the music. At least until the performance.

The orchestra alone starts the piece with an overture, then almost everything else is either vocal soloists or choral pieces. The overture last night began just fine, but about a quarter of the way through it, the first chair first violinist stopped playing. Others in her section continued, but it was not long before it was evident that they were not with the rest of the group. This in turn confused other players, and to make a long story short, I am not sure whether the orchestra or the audience was more relieved when the piece mercifully ended.

I have obviously thought quite a bit about this since it happened. The one idea that keeps occurring to me is how much we in an orchestra rely on each other. While it is true that we musicians should follow the director and count through the different measures of the music, I often find myself relying more on audible cues from other sections of the orchestra to know where I am supposed to be. The down side to that is that when other musicians become lost, then I do as well.

I think that the same thing can happen in the Church as well. We have a leader in President Monson who tries to direct us in the way we should go. Sometimes, however, I think that we place stock in the testimony of others, so when they get lost, we too wind up losing our way. I hope that we will look to the one individual who has been called and set apart to lead us today so that no matter what else goes on around us, we will still know where we should be.

Gratitude (11/20/2009)

"A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves." -Henry Ward Beecher

I love this quote for the fact that it makes me reflect upon my own actions to determine how proud I am. If I feel as though I have been cheated out of something that I have not earned or is not mine to begin with, then I need to adjust my course to be thankful for the things I do have. King Benjamin actually put it best when he said:

"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another — I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants." (Mosiah 2:21)

When I think of it in those terms, everything I have down to my most basic breath is a gift. Since gifts from our Father are freely given whether we choose to reciprocate or not, it might well be said that everything we receive is more than we deserve. I hope that as we enter this week of Thanksgiving that we will renew our commitment to actively demonstrate our gratitude to our Father for the myriad of gifts that are ours.

Escaping the Doldrums (11/19/2009)

"I have learned that where there is a prayerful heart, a hungering after righteousness, a forsaking of sins, and obedience to the commandments of God, the Lord pours out more and more light until one finally has power to pierce the heavenly veil and to know more than man knows." - President Spencer W. Kimball

I think that I found this quote for today by inspiration. It is easy for me to get lost sometimes with all that I have going on, and when I am lost, I tend to set aside the things I know I should do. Some might tell me to just "snap out of it" when I start feeling sad that things are not going the way that I think they should, but I know that President Kimball's advice here is a more sure way to escape the doldrums that might steer us away from the path we should follow.

Peace and Freedom (11/17/2009)

In the news today, there is a story about a woman who gave her 9 month old baby to her drug dealer "because she was homeless, addicted to meth and unable to care for the child." As a parent, it is difficult for me to imagine something so compelling in my life that it would take precedent over my children, yet here is evidence that such things do happen. I feel for this woman and for her child. It is evident that a series of choices have been made in the mother's life that have led her to a place where I am sure she would rather not be.

President Hinckley told about a conversation he once had with a young man who sought freedom and peace through the ways of the world. After his account, President Hinckley observed: "Today there are persons numbered in the millions who, in a search for freedom from moral restraint and peace from submerged conscience, have opened a floodgate of practices that enslave and debauch. These practices, if left unchecked, will not only destroy these individuals but also the nations of which they are a part."

Our Father in Heaven has stated through His prophets that His goal is to help us gain Eternal Life (see Moses 1:39) - the greatest peace that anyone could want to achieve. Satan also makes a counterfeit offer of peace, yet his ultimate goal is to make us just as miserable as he is (see 2 Nephi 2:27) by having us surrender our agency to things that stimulate the senses, such as pornography or drugs. So while the world would have us break the moral fetters that keep us from doing whatever we want in life, I hope that we will be aware that those who accept Satan's offer of "peace" run the risk of losing everything, just as this mother's choices led her to lose her child.

The Restored Gospel (11/16/2009)

"The Restoration responds resoundingly and reassuringly to the key human questions and provides the firm framework of our faith. Do we actually live in an unexplained and unexplainable universe? Is there really purpose and meaning to human existence? Why such unevenness in the human condition? Why so much human suffering?

"The marvelous truths of the Restoration respond to these questions and are highly global, highly personal, and even galactic in their dimensions! Identity exists amid immensity. We are enclosed in divine purposes! There is no need for despair! No wonder the restored gospel is such 'good news.'" - Elder Neal A. Maxwell

One of the things I often express gratitude for in my prayers is how the Gospel gives me an understanding of the big picture. It is so easy to get caught up in the little things that don't go right in life, yet when I stop and think about how my time here is just a step along a much longer path, it makes everything else easier to manage. I am thankful for the prophet Joseph Smith and for the truth that he restored so that we can all know what we need to do in order to inherit eternal life.

Following the Savior (11/12/2009)

I have volunteered to play in an orchestra for a neighboring stake that is performing Handel's opus The Messiah. I don't know what it is about the music that gets stuck in my head, but I have heard in my mind many of the passages over and over lately. One of the verses that I have heard lately comes from Isaiah:

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

"Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

"All we, like sheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all." (Mosiah 14:3-6; see also Isaiah 53:3-6)

How often do I "hide my face" from my Savior, favoring what the world would have me do instead of what I should do? How far have I, like a sheep, gone astray from the loving Shepherd? Jesus Christ did everything He could to make it possible for us to return to live with our Father again. He atoned for the mistakes we would make, He showed us a more perfect way, and He calls to each of us to follow Him. I hope that we can all come to a greater understanding of what the Savior did for us, and that we will be more diligent in heeding His call.

The Last Days (11/11/2009)

"You will live in the midst of economic, political, and spiritual instability. When you see these signs - unmistakable evidences that his coming is nigh - be not troubled, but, 'stand... in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come.' (Doctrine & Covenants 87:8) Holy men and holy women stand in holy places, and these holy places include our temples, our chapels, our homes, and the stakes of Zion, which are, as the Lord declares, 'for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth' ((Doctrine & Covenants 115:6).

"Heed the Lord's counsel to the Saints of this dispensation: 'Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.' ((Doctrine & Covenants 133:10) This preparation must consist of more than just casual membership in the Church. You must learn to be guided by personal revelation and the counsel of the living prophet so you will not be deceived." - President Ezra Taft Benson

These prophetic words uttered by President Benson almost 20 years ago become more manifest every day. It is frightening to me to think of the events that will precede the Lord's coming, yet as we see the prophecies fulfilled, I hope that we will remember that these things are given to us as a testimony that what the prophets say is true. Things might look grim now, but as we see the events of the last days happen, it gives us reason to hope that the prophesies of a better future will also come to pass.

The Pain of Death (11/9/2009)

This past weekend, a friend of mine experienced a great tragedy when his 15 month old daughter was run over and killed by a dump truck driven by his friend. As I was up late Saturday night mulling this event over in my mind, I thought what I could say to Gary that could somehow ease such a sudden blow. It is easy being removed one step from the situation to say that everything will work out fine, and that he and his wife will have the chance to see their daughter again one day, but I don't know how much that helps someone who is actually suffering at that moment.

While I was thinking along those lines, it occurred to me that as tragic as this death was, there is a worse kind of death that we can suffer. Gary and Amber know that they will be able to see their daughter again one day, and that hope has helped see them through this ordeal. Our Father in Heaven, however, risks the chance of losing us to death as well, but the spiritual death that we experience means that we might be lost to Him forever.

I think that many play near spiritual dump trucks without ever realizing the danger that they pose. Whether those are things like drugs, alcohol, pornography, or whatever, they might seem like an interesting and even fun place to play, but unfortunately there will come a time when that dump truck moves and can crush the individuals around it. Perhaps this is why the prophets counsel us to stay as far away from sin as we can.

As deep as our love is for our children, and as much as a loss like the one suffered by my friends must hurt, I can only imagine how much more our Father hurts when one of His children that he loves with a perfect love is lost. I hope that I can live my life in such a way that my Father in Heaven will not have to hurt on my account.

Repetition (11/4/2009)

President Heber J. Grant once stood in priesthood meeting and said, "I have a letter from a man who made a suggestion concerning what subject I should address at conference. This man said he felt I had spoken too many times concerning the Word of Wisdom and strongly urged me to speak on a different topic. That is one man who obviously needs to hear more about the Word of Wisdom, and therefore I shall address that topic tonight."

Our leaders remind us in every General Conference that we need to study the scriptures. They remind us to seek out that which is good and wholesome, and strongly counsel us to avoid that which is not. These warnings must keep coming because there are still members of Christ's church who not doing what we have been commanded.

I see the same thing as I parent. For example, if my children keep their rooms clean, I do not have to harp on them to get it done and we can move on to other activities. Only when they do not do what they are asked do they get incessantly nagged by me and their mother to complete their chores, and they don't get the time to do the things they want to do. I hope that we can be more diligent in doing those things that we have been commanded so that we can receive more of the instruction that we will require to achieve our eternal goals.

Equals (11/3/2009)

A friend recently told me how they had interviewed for another job in their organization. This individual was afraid that they would not get the job, however, because the area that was hiring did not view the department this person works for in a favorable light. So in spite this individual's "can do" attitude and work ethic, because one group of people feels as though they are better than another, my friend may get passed over for the better job.

All this got me to thinking about how King Benjamin reminded us that we are all equal. He counseled his people "For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?" (Mosiah 4:19)

How much better would our homes, our wards, our places of business be if everyone could view each other as equals? How much more effective would we be if instead of viewing others as being inferior - or superior, as the case may be - to ourselves if we could look at each other as children of God instead of "that guy in the biker jacket who smokes" or "that neighbor who is snotty to me every time I try to talk to them?"

Yes, I realize that we are all individuals, and that as such, there will be parts of our character that do not blend well with others in our life. I hope, however, we can work to get to the point where we will view others in the same way that our Father in Heaven does, as His children.