Brothers and Sisters, Aloha!
President Tanner, thank you for the opportunity to speak to the BYU-Hawaii Ohana this morning. In my world, some things are considered beyond reach and until a few weeks ago, standing here as the devotional speaker was one of them. This is made more remarkable and daunting when I consider the possibility that I am standing here speaking to a world-wide audience as this proceeding is being streamed live this morning. I have attended many devotionals as a student and employee for the past 30 years, and never thought that I would ever be the speaker behind the microphone, so fa’afetai tele lava and vinaka vaka levu again for this opportunity.
This morning, I seek the Lord’s help and all of your prayers so that I might in some small way inspire, motivate and reinforce your commitment to your educational success and your desire to be valiant disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here at BYU-Hawaii, our mantra to Learn, Lead and Build is ultimately a call to assist the Lord in building up Zion wherever we are called to serve. This is our institutional mission that has come to us from inspired leaders under the direction of prophets, seers and revelators. BYU-Hawaii is our training ground before we launch into the world. The world you will enter was described by Elder Anderson of the quorum of the twelve in a speech to Religious educators earlier last year.
“Just as President Monson and other prophets before him have testified, the times prior to the Savior’s return include days of deceit, iniquity, commotion, and confusion.” (Elder Neil Anderson, February 28, 2014)
We see this confusion all around us. Just within the past month, major terror attacks have occurred around the world, and there are ongoing debates about the fates of thousands of refugees from war-torn countries; here in the United States mass shootings have become a regular occurrence. Even within the church, many members are currently caught up in confusion and questioning about updated church policies and the role of women in the church. Despite all of these tumultuous issues, Elder Anderson reassures us that":
“Our days are not unexpected days, and the Lord has provided for our spiritual safety and for the safety of our students. As evil increases in the world, there is a compensatory power of revelation and spiritual gifts given to the righteous. The Lord gives us added power as we are willing to remain righteous in a wicked world.” (Elder Neil Anderson, February 28, 2014)
The scripture teaches us that we can gain access to this righteous power to combat the evils of the world if we cultivate faith, hope, and charity. In D&C 4:5, it reads,“And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.”
In this scripture, Joseph Smith reveals that developing these attributes “qualify” us for the work of building Zion. President Uchtdorf said recently:
“To put it simply, having charity and caring for one another is not simply a good idea. It is not simply one more item in a seemingly infinite list of things we ought to consider doing. It is at the core of the gospel—an indispensable, essential, foundational element. Without this transformational work of caring for our fellowmen, the Church is but a facade of the organization God intends for His people. Without charity and compassion we are a mere shadow of who we are meant to be—both as individuals and as a Church. Without charity and compassion, we are neglecting our heritage and endangering our promise as children of God. No matter the outward appearance of our righteousness, if we look the other way when others are suffering, we cannot be justified.” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Conference with Missionaries in Salt Lake City, Utah, December 4, 2015)
As you may recall during the inauguration of President Tanner several weeks ago, President Eyring gave him the charge to “help the Lord build a Zion community here.” President Eyring then said, “President Tanner knows from observation and long experience how difficult the task before us will be, and how much the Lord needs us to do our part. Time and again, the Lord has asked his people to establish a Zion community. As always, the greatest challenge has been in the hearts of the people.”
President Eyring also said that a Zion university will not necessarily bring equal outcomes for everybody.
“There will not be dead-level equality in all things. But God will help us to love each other so well that we will feel one another’s pains and joys as if they were our own. That would bring the end of selfishness. That miraculous change in hearts will not come easily…. When it comes, even for a moment, you will have had a taste of Zion.” (President Henry B. Eyring, November 10, 2015)
I hope and pray that you will do all you can while you are here to learn, lead and build so that you can effectively utilize your talents and resources to follow President Eyring’s call to build up Zion.
What does it mean to build Zion? In modern revelation Zion is defined as “the pure in heart.” Moses taught that the Lord called his people Zion because“…they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” (Moses 7:18)
As we work to become a Zion community, we can earn the Lord’s very special commendation and admonition as recorded in Matthew 25:34-40:
“… Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
“For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
“Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
“When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
“Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, In-as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
These scriptures emphasize the importance of relationships and taking care of each other as an integral part of a Zion community. In order to achieve being of “of one heart and one mind,” we have to have faith in each other and most especially in the Lord. Today, I want to share some stories of individuals who cultivated these attributes of faith, hope, charity, love, and “an eye single to the glory of God” as they helped to build Zion. It is my hope that their stories will give us inspiration about how we can emulate their examples to build Zion right here on campus, in our work, in our studies, in our relationships, and in our callings. The first story that I would like to share is about a person who is special to me. This person is my mother.
My mother’s name is Emma Broederlow Lobendahn. She was born in Savai’i, Western Samoa on August 14, 1921. As a young child, she was sickly and at the age of 13 became gravely ill, bedridden and in pain for months. Despite many visits to the doctors, nothing seemed to be working so my grandmother went to the Branch President and asked him to give my mother a blessing. The branch president sent a message to the members and asked them to fast for my mother the next day. My mother shared this about the blessing:
“I remember the branch president laying his hands on my head to give me a blessing. As he prayed he blessed me with many things – the one thing that I remember are these words: ‘Emma, you are not going to die yet – the Lord has work for you to do.’” (Grant Underwood, Pioneers of the Pacific)
As a result of the fast and blessing, my mother was completely healed in two weeks. She was never sickly again, and to this day remains physically strong at the age of 94. It is her testimony that she was preserved by the Lord for an important work that she would do later in her life in Fiji.
Before I share that with you, I want to touch on several things about this healing account that are important. First, this story shows the faith of my grandparents, who believed in the power of the priesthood and trusted the authority of the Branch President. Second, it shows the faith and obedience of the Branch members, who all gathered together to fast and pray for one who was seriously ill among them. This is a powerful example of members qualifying to receive blessings through unified service “with one heart and one mind.”
Continuing my mother’s story, she moved to Fiji in 1943, where she was married and started a family. Back then, the church had not yet been established in Fiji, and she has shared that she missed attending church meetings. Over ten years later, in 1954, the first LDS missionaries to arrive in Fiji held a meeting to organize the church in Suva, my mother, my two older brothers and myself attended. This is what she has shared about that meeting:
“There were fourteen of us at that meeting. The meeting was wonderful – it felt good to be among members of the church and I was happy. Something dear to my heart was finally happening. I was going to be able to renew my baptismal covenants every Sunday during the blessing and passing of the Sacrament. I was going to have the church in my children’s lives. (Grand Underwood, Pioneers of the Pacific)
The missionaries who organized the meeting and began the work of the church in Fiji were Elder Boyd Harris and Elder Sheldon Abbott. A few weeks after the church was organized, they went to see my mother and asked her to be the Relief Society President. After not attending church services for the previous decade and without much formal education, she felt inadequate to accept the calling. She said,
“I told them that I could not do it – that the responsibility was too much for me. I was afraid that I would make mistakes – the thought of being a Relief Society President scared me.” (Grant Underwood, Pioneers of the Pacific)
Over a period of several days, the Elders came back a second and then a third time to extend the calling to her. I want you to listen carefully to how she responded, despite her fears:
“When the Elders came back the third time I knew that I had to do something different. I had to take my fears and worries to the Lord. When they told me that the Lord wanted me to be the Relief Society President – I felt different – a peaceful feeling came over me and my mind went back to a place and time in Samoa when I was a young girl who was very ill and thought that I would die. I fondly remembered the blessing that my Branch President gave me: “Emma you are not going to die, the Lord has work for you to do.” I told Elder Harris and Elder Abbott that I would accept the calling and I wanted to serve to the best of my ability. Once I said “yes” followed by diligence and sacrifices, the Lord blessed me by helping me with good health and strength and above all with His spirit to do my best. (Grant Underwood, Pioneers of the Pacific)
During one of our many sharing times, she proclaimed: “Accepting the call as Relief Society President was one of the best things that I have ever done.”
Even though she felt fear and personally unqualified to take on this calling, her faith qualified her for the work. My mother served as Relief Society President of the Suva Branch of the Fiji Suva Mission from 1954 to 1977, a total of 23 years. As her daughter, I remember many of the things that she did as part of that calling, which she held for my entire childhood, teen, and early adult years.
She fed the labor missionaries who had been brought in from her native Samoa meals regularly while they built the first chapel in Fiji. She organized bazaars for the women in the branch to sell goods and fundraise money to support their families. There were times I remember vividly just the two of us would be present for Relief Society meetings, where she would sing an opening hymn, say an opening prayer, read the lesson aloud to me, sing a closing hymn and say a closing prayer. When I got older, she would often use me as her visiting teaching companion during her travel sometimes requiring several days to fulfill her leadership assignment. All of this was done with four of her own young children to care for.
My purpose in sharing these virtues and accomplishments is to emphasize the extraordinary transformation in my mother from being fearful and lacking confidence in her abilities, to someone who was an effective leader exercising faith, hope and charity with an eye single to the glory of God.
President Monson has taught:
“Now, some of you may be shy by nature, perhaps feeling yourselves inadequate to respond affirmatively to a calling. Remember that this work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord’s work and we are entitled to the Lord’s help. Remember that the Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it.”
Another way that the Lord helped my mother to fulfill her calling was by blessing our family. My father was not a member of the church, and while he tried hard as a husband and father his life-style often clashed with my mother’s values and LDS standards. She would never compromise her standards, but neither did she compromise her responsibilities and obligations as a wife and mother. As a direct blessing of her faithful service, dad ran out of things to criticize and blame her and the church for. My mother was more efficient and received added capabilities, so that she could successfully multi-task at home and church to keep everything in proper balance. This is another lesson learned from my mother that I will never forget.
Other aspects of her character, like persistence and hard work, are compelling testimonies of faith and charity, which I witnessed throughout her life. How many of us here today are like my mother, at times filled with fear or inadequacies? How can we prove our dependability to the Lord so that, like her, we may receive added capability, courage and wisdom to fulfill our church and academic responsibilities, our work and family commitments? How can we be more faithful, charitable, and Christ-centered to qualify for the work?
The next story that I would like to share with you is related to the first, and demonstrates the power of faith and hope when building Zion even when we don’t immediately see the fruits of our labor.
In 2004 my oldest daughter was called to serve in the Utah Provo Mission and she was assigned to the St. George Temple Visitors’ Center. At one point in her mission she remembers pleading with Heavenly Father to help her understand why she got called to the Utah Provo Mission.
One day shortly after she and her companion were knocking on doors in a retirement community in St. George, an elderly gentleman opened the door and invited them in. He introduced himself and my daughter and her companion introduced themselves. He was pleasantly surprised when he found out that my daughter was from Fiji and began speaking to her in Fijian. He told her that he served his mission there many years ago. After a few minutes of conversation, my daughter realized that this was Elder Abbott, the same missionary who with his companion Elder Harris organized the church in Fiji and called my mother, Emma, to be the first Relief Society president in 1954. He quickly went and got his missionary Book of Mormon to show my daughter. He had the names and signatures of the 14 members of the church that attended the first meeting in Fiji. He then told my daughter that while on his mission he never had one convert baptism – and it was hard for him. All these years he felt his “mission” was unsuccessful. My daughter saw the sadness in his eyes.
It was at that precise moment that it became very clear to her that one of the reasons she was sent to the Utah Provo Mission and assigned to the St. George area was for this elderly man who felt that his mission was unsuccessful. My daughter noticed four names on the list in Brother Abbott’s Book of Mormon and she pointed to them and said the following:
“Brother Abbott: This person, Emma Lobendahn is my grandmother. These two people – Brian and Elliott Lobendahn are my uncles. This person, Irene Lobendahn is my mother. I am her eldest child.”
She told him that he was the missionary who gave her mother (me) a baby’s blessing; that he was the missionary who extended the call to her grandmother, and gave her a special blessing to help her fulfill her calling as the Relief Society President; and that she served faithfully in that calling for 23 years, long after he returned home from his mission.
My daughter told him how her father, my husband Brother Meli Lesuma, joined the church in 1973. He served a mission in 1977, and converted his whole family. His three younger brothers and now his four children have all served missions. She told him that Fiji now has a temple, four stakes, one district and many wards and branches. She told him that the church membership in Fiji is over 12,000. She then said,
“Brother Abbott, because of you and your work as the first missionary in Fiji, you accomplished many great things and I and my family will always be grateful to you. Your work has brought thousands of people into the church in Fiji.”
When my daughter finished sharing these details, Brother Abbott was in tears. He was grateful for my daughter’s timely visit, and no longer felt that his mission was unsuccessful.
My first reaction when I heard this story was to reflect on what a loving Heavenly Father we have, who knew to send help and reassurance to this man. I spoke with Brother Abbott on the phone, he said that when he called my mother to be the Relief Society President, he knew that she was the one the Lord wanted to help build Zion in Fiji, and that all she needed to do was to get rid of her fears.
A lot of us have fear. During the days of Christ’s ministry here on earth, his disciples witnessed His majestic power and mighty miracles. He healed so that the blind could see and the lame could walk. They witnessed Jesus feeding five thousand people with five fish and two loaves of bread. Why then, after seeing these miracles, did they fear? I think we can ask ourselves the very same question. I am confident that many of us in this building have felt of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s love for us and have even witnessed their tender mercies, our very own miracles. Yet, when the winds come and we are tossed at sea, our faith is blown to and fro and, like the disciples, we let our fear overcome us. My mother felt that fear and declined the Lord’s call two times before she finally accepted. Brother Abbott feared for decades after returning home from his mission that he was “unsuccessful”.
I would like to share one last story with you today that illustrates the importance of cultivating faith and charity as we strive to become a Zion community. This is the story of Rebekah, which is found in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament. In a Conference broadcast, Bonnie Parkin described Rebekah as, “[a woman] whose daily efforts reflected charity. With [her heart] filled with the pure love of Christ, [she] responded to needs quickly and effectively.”
As we all know, Rebekah eventually became the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau, blessed in Genesis chapter 24 verse 60 to become, quote, “the mother of thousands of millions.”
Rebekah qualified herself to fill this important role in building Zion through faith and charity long before she knew her calling and role in the church. In Genesis chapter 24 we read that Abraham gave his servant several general directives in order to find his son, Isaac, a wife. First, he was not to choose a Canaanite from the land where they lived, but should travel to find a woman from among the Lord’s covenant people. He also asked his servant to convince the woman to leave her home and travel to Canaan to marry Isaac without meeting him first. What Abraham did not do is give his servant any specific details. I’m sure that this servant wondered how he would find the right woman to fill the sacred role of Isaac’s wife, let alone convince her to leave her family and homeland with a complete stranger!
However, Abraham’s servant had faith in his calling, which qualified him to find Rebekah and bring her back. Upon arriving at the city of Nahor, his very first act was to say a prayer of faith:
“And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:
And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.
And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out.” (Genesis 24:12-15)
This account of the faith and devotion of Abraham’s servant is a wonderful example of how the Lord listens to and answers our righteous desires. With no way to know how he was supposed to find the important woman chosen to be Isaac’s wife, he turned to the Lord to guide him. Notice how quickly the Lord answered the servant’s prayer, and how quickly the man acted in faith, once he saw Rebekah:
“And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.
And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.
And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.
And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels." (Genesis 24:17-20)
The servant had ten camels with him. I imagine that it took Rebekah many trips to and from the well before she had drawn enough water to satisfy them all. I’d like to draw your attention to Rebekah’s actions in this account. First, she was willing to give water to a stranger. I’d like to think that most of us would be willing to do the same, and help someone that asks us for a small favor. However, her offer to also take on the hot, dusty, and time-consuming job of watering the camels reveals why the Lord chose her to fill such an important position in Zion. She did not know that this man was the servant of her uncle Abraham, that he was looking for her, or had prayed to find her. All she saw was a person in need, and “hasted” to fill that need.
Sister Parkin said of this act,“Rebekah loved with worthiness and willingness as a daughter of God. From her we learn that charity, though often quantified as the action, is actually the state of the heart that prompts us to love one another. She offered water. It was in the offering that charity was manifest.”
Rebekah’s example teaches us that in order to increase in charity, we must cultivate a state of heart that prompts us to love and serve one another.
The Guide to the Scriptures defines charity as “the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love”. It is the pure love of Jesus Christ. As we learn of Jesus Christ and strive to become like Him, we will begin to feel His pure love in our lives and be prompted to love and serve others as He would. The world often defines charity as giving to the poor or needy in order to meet their physical needs. It is certainly that, but the description of Zion as a community with “no poor among them” also applies to the poor and needy in spirit. President Thomas S. Monson has defined what it means to charitably fill spiritual needs. He said, “Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others.”
Take a minute to think about the people you interact with every day. Your roommate, your friends, coworkers, professors and classmates, your family. Can you be more patient with them? More accepting, loving, and forgiving? How will you treat them differently so that you can join them in “one heart and one mind” to build Zion together? Who can you reach out to, that might be struggling in spirit? Is there someone that you need to forgive, or ask for their forgiveness?
These are not always easy questions to act upon. Some are as simple as offering the seat next to you during Sunday School or at the cafeteria. Others, like forgiveness, can be much more difficult to accomplish. However, the Lord has asked us to do them so that we can become a Zion people.
Brothers and Sisters, as we strive to create a Zion community here on campus, remember that “faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify [us] for the work.” I hope that the stories I have shared with you today about my mother, Brother Abbott, and Rebekah have inspired you to reflect upon your daily acts, motivated you to do better, and reinforced the importance of cultivating these key attributes. It is my prayer that each of us will learn to rely on the Lord to help us with our problems, and that we will also have open eyes and willing hands to be the answer to others’ prayers of faith. With our hearts knit together in righteousness, charity, and love, we can exercise our faith and hope to build the Lord’s kingdom here at BYU-Hawaii and wherever .
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.