Sometimes We Get It Right

 

Anthony Smith is a four year old that has no hearing in one ear and only limited hearing in the other ear.  You probably wouldn't be surprised to know that he decided that he doesn't like wearing his hearing aid.  Sounds like a kid.  He told his Mom that he wouldn't wear his "blue ear" hearing aid because, superheroes don't wear hearing aids.

That makes perfect sense for a four year old.  It also revealed what was important to him, for example, superheroes are currently his mentors, he is interested in that job possibility in the future and wants to prepare for that eventuality now, and obviously he is thinking of his future and wearing a "blue ear" didn't fit his vision.

Anthony's Mom apparently was not an expert on superheroes so she wisely consulted with someone who was.  She emailed Marvel comics and ask if there was a hearing impaired hero and they responded that Hawkeye was indeed hearing impaired.

But Marvel didn't stop there and before they were done they sent some drawings as you can see below.


 
Isn't it nice that people can come through for others once in a while?  Isn't great that a company that exists to make money and produce entertainment can see more than the masses and can see the needs of one little boy and come through for him?  And that Super Heroes not only sometimes need a hearing aid but that every super hero needs a Mom to lead him in the right direction?  Hurray for Mom's who help us find reasons why we CAN reach our potential instead of let us be satisfied with reasons that keep us from being our best selves.  Thanks Mom!

Temples: the great leveler

Orlando Temple

I attended a funeral today for Ruby Alderson.  She used to live in our ward many years ago.  She was a gentle and kind person, always willing to serve and to help others.  When she lived here she was a member while her husband attended another church.  He would make sure she made it to church and then attend his own church.  After they both retired they moved to a retirement community in Orlando Florida.  While there they continued that arrangement until Ruby had a stroke.  At that point her husband became her caretaker and on Sundays he would take her and stay with her at her church.  In the funeral today it was said he did this because "her religion meant more to her than his did to him".  He knew she wanted to attend church despite her physical infirmity after the stroke.

Preston England temple

After attending church for a while with her he decided he wanted to be baptized and so he was.  Immediately their goal was to go and get sealed in the temple.  A few months into preparing to get sealed in the temple her husband became sick and he called his daughter for help and she came out, took him to the ER and got him help.  They immediately moved back to Virginia to live with their daughter so she could provide the help they both needed at that point.  Within two weeks of the move he died.  So Ruby realized that she would need a proxy for him so they could be sealed in the temple.  While preparing for that Ruby worsened and got so she couldn't travel.  Now Ruby has died and their wish to be sealed for eternity in the temple has not occurred...yet.

Washington DC temple

That is one great thing about the temple.  It is the great leveler.  It equalizes everyone, able to provide necessary ordinances even if they died before they could be done on their own.  Possibly before they had the chance or before they even had the opportunity to make a decision about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Today many argue whether this doctrine or that doctrine is really of Christ.  Some don't even care anymore what Christ taught or has revealed through his prophets deciding that they will do what they want anyway and hope that all will be accepted by the Savior in the end.

San Diego Temple

 The temple gives all mankind a chance to have the saving ordinances done and then they individually will have the opportunity to accept or decline for themselves.  God is fair and gives opportunities to his children when they didn't have them in life.  Situations in this world that seem unfair are made right-in the temple.  That is what temples are for, to level the "playing field" so to speak so that all can have access to Christ's greatest blessings.  Who can deny that the temple is necessary for that purpose, to make things fair and to repair hopes that were dashed or never even conceived.  People through many ages of the world have yearned to understand or to have things be fair.  The temples do that.

Freiberg Germany Temple

So our part is of service.  We can provide service to those that have not had these ordinances done for them by being worthy to act for them in the temples to assure that they have a choice that will guide their future, or to be "imprisoned" as it were, by "the luck of the draw" and fickle fate.  Our energy and service is needed to be the hands of God to bless these people with a choice, a real choice, and not lock them into decisions made or a lack of opportunities based on ignorance or unavailability in their life here on earth.  I vote for choice.

Provo Utah Temple

 Let's do the work that gives all of God's children the opportunity to be blessed according to their desires and not their circumstances.  

Mexico City Temple

Rugby star choosing mission over millions

As I mentioned in The LDS rugby connection (click here) Will Hopoate is setting aside millions of dollars to serve a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It is always impressive when it clicks in our young men's heads about how important the gospel is.  More important than these millions of dollars in Will Hopoate's case to play rugby. 

Most young men don't have that particular temptation to consider when it is time to serve a mission for the Lord, but there is always something.  Whether it is a girlfriend, a job, a car, schooling or fear or any number of other things, there is always something that will try to keep a young man from serving a mission.  I've talked to a number of men as they made their decision and they have something to keep them rooted to home and away from the great learning and opportunities that a mission brings.  So it is always fun to see the young men make a good choice and follow the voice of the prophet and to serve. 

Here is a video about Will, interestingly as I understand from his father on this video, his father chose not to serve and regretted it.  Good for Will that he decided to serve.  Congratulations to all the young men and women who make that choice to serve a mission for their Savior Jesus Christ. 

Pictures of missionaries serving:

Young women serve as Sister Missionaries. 

Young men serve as Elders, which is an office in the Priesthood, missionaries. 

Older couple also serve as missionaries.



Magnify your calling: The Story of Father Damien

In the church we have a great phrase "magnify your calling" or for the men we often say "magnify your Priesthood".  Of course many of us have used a magnifying glass to look at things.  For example my Dad used to have a good magnifying glass to look at coins when he was trying to determine the value of a coin.  A coin's value is determined by it's condition which typically means how worn it is.  The less worn, then the more worth.  The more worn the less worth.  So a magnifying glass helped a collector be able to see the coin more clearly and determine, based on certain criteria what the worth of the coin was. 

Parable of the talents

In a way we might be able to determine how valuable the Priesthood is to us by seeing what condition our Priesthood is in.  When we see that we use it rarely and don't try to understand it or maybe even pretend we don't have it, then we can see that it has little value to us.  Reminds me of the parable about the talents--the man who buried his talent to "protect" it learned that wasn't the point.  Similarly we should use the Priesthood.  If the Priesthood is magnified then it is enlarged or improved--similar to the other recipients of talents in the parable.  They increased their talents which was what the Lord wanted them to do.  Do we magnify our Priesthood?  Do we use it every chance we get?  Do we ask others if we can use it on their behalf.  In the case of the Priesthood the value may not come in what we do to or for the Priesthood but rather what we allow the Priesthood to do with us.  If we grow, mature and purify ourselves that may be how we magnify the Priesthood, by magnifying our righteousness. 

In October 2010 conference Pres. Monson said: "The priesthood you bear is a special gift, for the giver is the Lord Himself. Use it, magnify it, and live worthy of it."  I think magnifying is to find ways to use it and to make it of worth to others and also when we allow the Priesthood to inspire us to put forth the effort to purify and better ourselfs--the bearers of the Priesthood.

I've wondered about this "magnify" in this context in the past.  I've wondered if the danger wasn't that we would make too big a deal of it, or rather think we are great because we have it.  That we might try to do things that were not part of our responsibility and try to take over other people's responsibilities thinking to enlarge or magnify our calling.  So when I heard the following phrase by Kathleen Hughes back in 2004 I understood her concerns and appreciated what she taught us. 

"I, like many of you, have had numerous callings in the Church. Some have been easier for me than others, but I have tried to magnify each one. But does the phrase “magnify your calling” ever make you nervous? It has worried me! Recently I read a talk in which President Thomas S. Monson said on the subject: “And how does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it” (Kathleen Hughes, “Priesthood Power,” Liahona, Jan. 2000, 60; Ensign, Nov. 1999, 51).

In other words, don't bury it or do nothing with it, or avoid opportunities to use it but do the service that is part and parcel with it.  When we magnify the call then we call upon God to magnify us as Henry B. Eyring mentions in the following quote: "Just as God called you and will guide you, He will magnify you. You will need that magnification. Your calling will surely bring opposition. You are in the Master’s service. You are His representative. Eternal lives depend on you. (Oct. 2002 Conference)  So we get magnified when we accept and follow through on the responsibility. 

I recently heard and then read a little about a man who surely magnified his call.  He was not a member of the church but rather was a Catholic Priest from Belgium.  Father Damien was a young man who was a priest like his older brother.  Father Damien wanted to be called to be a missionary and prayed for that regularly.  However, his brother received the call to be a missionary to Hawaii.  At the last minute his brother was sick and Father Damien was asked to go in his stead.  It seems his prayer was answered. 

Eventually Father Damien volunteered to serve the 816  lepers who were quarantined and not allowed to mix with the population who didn't have the disease.  The place where the lepers lived had become a real ghetto with "drunken and lewd" behavior becoming the norm.  He arrived and turned things around.  In addition to building a church and helping the lepers recognize they needed to keep their morals despite their disease, he served the lepers by dressing their wounds, building houses and beds for the lepers, and coffins and buried them when they died.  He returned a cooperation and the rule of law to the group and his encouragement led to schools being built and started to educate the lepers.  Surely he must have thought frequently about the story of the Master healing the ten lepers and wished he could do the same. 

Something he wrote to his brother in 1873 showed the seriousness he took in his work with that population.  "...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ."  Doesn't it sound like something Paul would have said?  Eleven years later, Father Damien, did indeed contract the disease and five years after that died at the age of 49 literally having taken on the illness of those he had served. 

In a later year Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a letter chiding a detractor of Father Damien:  "But, sir, when we have failed, and another has succeeded; when we have stood by, and another has stepped in; when we sit and grow bulky in our charming mansions, and a plain, uncouth peasant steps into the battle, under the eyes of God, and succours the afflicted, and consoles the dying, and is himself afflicted in his turn, and dies upon the field of honour - the battle cannot be retrieved as your unhappy irritation has suggested. It is a lost battle, and lost for ever. One thing remained to you in your defeat - some rags of common honour; and these you have made haste to cast away."

Maybe we could learn from Father Damien to jump in and do the service that is required for our calling and our Priesthood.  Even if it requires our energy, our effort and even our life.  And then maybe we could share our gratitude with God for the opportunity.

Ten healed lepers, one of which expresses his gratitude.

Manly Man Training #16 : Bless others

I was in church Sunday and the teacher in Priesthood was exhorting us to use our Priesthood more, specifically to give blessings more often to those in need, particularly the ladies.  He was encouraging us to honor our Priesthood and to magnify it by using it to bless others.  It is interesting that when we honor the Priesthood it means we recognize its value and do not "put it on the shelf" to ignore it or forget that we have it and disrespect it by not using it.  Then we ourselves are saying "amen to the priesthood of [this] man", even if we are worthy.  All the good it could be doing to help others and influence our own life for good is being lost.   

Let me give you a story that will help you understand.  A good friend of mine was called to a leadership calling in the ward.  He mentioned that having accepted that calling made him a better man.  I asked in what way he was referring to.  He said now that he was in a leadership position and getting calls to help others regularly at potentially any time that he treated his wife better and was kinder to her because he knew he could have some woman call and complain about her husband doing something like what he might have just done to his own wife.  So he had to be better so he was prepared to help those that needed it, whenever they needed it.  He was letting his Priesthood calling have a good influence on him by letting it influence him for good. 

When we recognize the importance of our role as Priesthood holders and the value that we are to others around us that do not have the Priesthood (or even if they do have the Priesthood, they can't give themselves a blessing) then we learn quickly that we must be better, and we want to be better so as not to diminish our opportunities and so we can be prepared when we are called upon to give blessings.  As an example I was thinking a few weeks ago that I did not have many opportunities to give people blessings very often.  This came after a period in my life where I did have many opportunities and so I was feeling like I was missing something.  Well about two weeks ago suddenly I was asked three days in a row to give blessings to different individuals.  I love to be able to do that service for people. 

The lesson in Priesthood reminded me of a time when I learned an important lesson from a situation that was a little tense but seems funny as I look back on it.  When I was young, it was my Father's and my practice to often purchase some fries from a fast food place when we were out doing things together.  Dad might be driving me to an activity or we might be doing some errand or whatever.  This particular night he stopped at a place close to home and gave me a twenty dollar bill to pay for the two fries I was to order.  I ran in and ordered and it seemed they were a bit slow.  That was notable because I knew my Dad had little patience for being slow.  But after they took my money they became really slow.  I begin to get concerned that Dad would be pretty irritated.  I noted they took the bill to the back and being young I had no idea what was going on or what to do about it.  Finally after what seemed a long time the guy came out and gave me change and explained they thought the bill was fake and that was why it took so long.  My Dad was indeed irritated despite, or perhaps because of my explanation.  As we pulled out of the parking lot he said something like, "I hope they close down!"

I didn't think any more about it until a couple weeks later my Dad and I were once again driving somewhere together and we glanced over and that place had indeed closed down.  He looked at me a little sheepish and said, "I guess you have to be careful what you say when you hold the Priesthood!"  I can laugh a lot about that now but nevertheless I learned an important lesson: I may not have the power to close restaurants on a whim, but I do need to be careful what I say because I am a Priesthood holder. 

Sometimes we don't like to have it known that we are willing to give blessings as a Priesthood holder.  If you are like that maybe this will change your mind:  we once had a family that was poor and made frequent poor decisions as well.  The kids seemed to get the brunt of a lot of things with a mother and father that got angry a lot.  Despite their reputation and actions I would be respectful and kind like I tried to be to everyone.  One day that father asked if I would give him a blessing.  I was surprised but agreed and learned one of the greatest lessons from the experience of giving him a blessing.  When I put my hands on his head and started the blessing I had a sudden influx of feelings that I understood was a small portion of the love that Heavenly Father had for that man.  It was strong and definitely had my attention.  The man was sometimes ill mannered and didn't have the greatest clothes but if Heavenly Father loved him that much then I knew it was my job to learn to love him as well. That lesson has stuck with me and helped me professionally as well.  The Lord doesn't look on the outward appearance but on the inner person.  That man and I became friends and over the years since he has moved away, he calls me from time to time to tell me what is going on in his life.  Most recently of his great pride and pleasure in seeing his son serve a full-time mission. 

So that lesson Sunday served to remind me of how important it is that we do what the Lord wants with his power, by using our Priesthood to bless others.  So give those blessings to those in need, not only to those who ask.  You need the opportunity to serve so you can grow and become what Heavenly Father wants you to become, and the people need the power of the Priesthood to be engaged and focused on their needs to help them through the trials and difficulties. 

Manly Man Training #6: Prepare to lift

As men we are often called upon to lift things.  It is true that all of us are not strong physically but generally speaking we are the ones with the most strength to lift what needs to be lifted.  I remember as a youth going to help move members of the ward frequently.  I enjoyed that, possibly because moving to me was a good thing since we had done it so much in my family due to my father's serving in the military for many years. 

One time I remember moving someones dryer with a man in the ward.  I wrapped my arms around it and lifted and took a few steps and noticed that the other fellow wasn't there, it was just me moving it.  I didn't know until then that I could move something of that size by myself.  It helped my confidence. 

Much more important than lifting furniture or boxes of things is when the Lord calls upon us to lift another person.  That is to help them grow to a higher level of understanding. Lifting others is different than lifting things in that it requires a sensitivity to the Spirit and a spiritual preparation rather than strength and a reasonably functioning body. The sensitivity to the Spirit is required to direct us to the person and the method to use to lift or aid someone.  The spiritual preparation allows us to have the Spirit and get those directions from the Lord. 

President Harold B. Lee said, "You cannot lift another soul, until you are standing on higher ground than he is. You must be sure, if you would rescue the man, that you yourself are setting the example of what you would have him be.  You cannot light a fire in another soul unless it is burning in your own soul" (April Conference 1973).  [On the flip side of things you can see that one of the difficulties in accepting help from someone would be to accept that they are on "higher ground", and you on lower ground, needing the help.]


So we must develop ourselves spiritually which is to stay stand on higher ground in order to be able to lift another.  Which of course means we have to be ready to climb and exercise ourselves spiritually.  We must be constantly looking up and desiring to grow and move upward and forward.  Then we are positioned to lift others and bring them up to where we are. 

Sometimes this will be a friend, an acquaintance or even a stranger the Lord will bring to us because He can trust us to bring them up.  Probably more often this will be a ward member or a family member that we need to lift up, to strengthen, love, have and help them have confidence in not only themselves but also in the Lord.  It is impressive how the Lord will use us when we show Him we are willing and able. 

The Lord will give us opportunities to grow.  Many will occur through the training in church.  Church attendance, service, and callings will give us opportunities to grow and develop.  Other opportunities will be outside the church in our work and recreation.  Probably the largest area where we will receive growth opportunities is through our family relationships.  Getting along with our wife, understanding and raising children and maintaining and creating relationships with our families of origin and the in-laws.  These experiences will help us immensely to be trustworthy to the Lord. 

As we do our part and develop ourselves and lift others we need not worry about ALL the lifting that needs done or how to do ALL the spiritual work that needs to be done.  Instead we just need to do our part. 

Elder Uchtdorf mentioned in a talk in conference how each person doing his part will get all the work done that the Lord needs doing. 

"Some years ago in our meetinghouse in Darmstadt, Germany, a group of brethren was asked to move a grand piano from the chapel to the adjoining cultural hall, where it was needed for a musical event. None were professional movers, and the task of getting that gravity-friendly instrument through the chapel and into the cultural hall seemed nearly impossible. Everybody knew that this task required not only physical strength but also careful coordination. There were plenty of ideas, but not one could keep the piano balanced correctly. They repositioned the brethren by strength, height, and age over and over again—nothing worked.

As they stood around the piano, uncertain of what to do next, a good friend of mine, Brother Hanno Luschin, spoke up. He said, “Brethren, stand close together and lift where you stand.”

It seemed too simple. Nevertheless, each lifted where he stood, and the piano rose from the ground and moved into the cultural hall as if on its own power. That was the answer to the challenge. They merely needed to stand close together and lift where they stood...

You may feel that there are others who are more capable or more experienced who could fulfill your callings and assignments better than you can, but the Lord gave you your responsibilities for a reason. There may be people and hearts only you can reach and touch. Perhaps no one else could do it in quite the same way.

Our Heavenly Father asks that we represent Him in the noble work of reaching out and blessing the lives of His children. He asks us to stand firm with the power of the priesthood in our hearts and souls and give the calling we have at this moment our best efforts.

Brethren, as strong as you are, you cannot and you should not lift a piano by yourself. Likewise, none of us can or should move the Lord’s work alone. But if we all stand close together in the place the Lord has appointed and lift where we stand, nothing can keep this divine work from moving upward and forward.

Brethren, may we cease to aspire and cease to retire!

May we always remember this profound lesson: that we are banner bearers of the Lord Jesus Christ, upheld by the Holy Spirit of God, faithful and true to the end, each one devoted to give our all to the cause of Zion and bound by covenant to stand close together and lift where we stand." (October conference 2008)

Often our lifting will be done with our wife and what is required will not always be as effortless as lifting one little child between the two of us. 

Be prepared to serve and love it!

Manly Man Training #2 Use our "liberty" for service

Todays training comes from Galations chapter five.

Galations 5:13-14  "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

Here we have Paul talking directly to the men of the church and telling us to use our "liberty" which I understand to be free time/discretionary time to be of service to others.  We are warned not to use our "liberty" as "occasion to the flesh" in other words avoid everything from sexual sins to violence (these tend to be free time activities since we manage to mostly avoid them when we are busy with something worth doing).  He gives a good list of things that are "the works of the flesh" in verses 19-21 that of course we are to avoid. 

He also tells us to follow the Spirit as the Spirit is opposed to the flesh and will lead us to do good things and away from the sinful harmful free time activities already mentioned. Ultimately anything that takes us from the Spirit will lead us into all kinds of problems but if we follow the Spirit it leads us to all kinds of good including "loving thy neighbor as thyself" (v. 14).

So I'm thinking what are some of those free time killers today that harm us and "lusteth against the Spirit" (v. 17) keeping us from "do[ing] the things that you would" (v. 17).  In other words what are modern activities (which interestingly enough all the ancient bad choices tend to remain available but now we have some additional high tech ones) which keep us from developing our sensitivity to the Spirit and don't allow us to do what we really want to do?  [Note: I might add that the ancient good choices remain available along with some high tech good choices as well.]

What are some of those free time and Spirit killers?  Could violent video games, pornography, movies and TV shows that generate sexual feelings in us or are gory and violent, those things harm the Spirit.  What about sports that we feel so strongly about that we get angry or depressed when things don't go our way?  What about Internet activities that make us unhappy with our lives and circumstances such that we envision or fantasize about doing unkind or mean things to others? Things that encourage us to "be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another" (v. 26)?  

With the Spirit we engender "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (v. 22-23) which are things we would want to have more of in our life, wouldn't we?  That's the definition of a 'manly man' so I hope so.  With these positive attributes we would attract people to us who do similar activities and people who want to have and be what they see us being.  Undoubtedly that would give us plenty of service and missionary opportunities.   

Okay, lets get to the nitty gritty.  Sometimes we as men don't get enough opportunities to do service.  Actually it is more correctly said that we don't serve enough.  Have you ever noticed how much harder it is for the Elders quorum to have a service project than for the Relief Society?  Or ever noticed the difference in the turn out?  Maybe that explains a reason that the males have the Priesthood which is all about service.  If indeed males are naturally less likely to serve as I have heard some opine, then of course Heavenly Father would help us with that weakness by the gift of significant service responsibilities.  Hey! that's what the Priesthood is!  Sounds like an opportunity to make a strength out of a weakness!

Which reminds me of this quote by Pres. Kimball: "I have learned that it is by serving that we learn how to serve.  When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen [and lets not think that leaves out the ladies], not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective.  When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves.  In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus, that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves" (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 254).  When we serve we end up making something of ourselves that we otherwise would miss out on.  Since this is vital in having the Spirit lets use our manliness to be of service to others.