Good morning, brothers and sisters, and aloha! I am thankful that my wife Sharon is here with me today, and I appreciate her willingness to introduce me. She has shown incredible restraint to only disclose certain facts about me. I am grateful for her kindness and the many ways she has blessed and continues to bless our family.
I am happy to be here with you. I pray that the Spirit will be with us that as I share some of my thoughts, the Spirit will speak to your hearts.
I would like to speak about the great plan of happiness (also known as the plan of redemption) that our Father in Heaven has provided for us. He has provided a way to return to Him. In Alma chapter 22, Aaron, one of the sons of Mosiah, teaches the father of King Lamoni about the plan of redemption or plan of happiness:
“And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen.
“And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.
“And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.” (Alma 22: 12-14)
We have the opportunity to choose and to create our plan. We write the script of our life. I pray that as we talk for a few minutes together that you will listen as the Spirit speaks to you about what you can include in your plan now and in the years to come.
In a 1995 fireside address to young adults, President Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, said this:
“The course of our mortal life, from birth to death, conforms to eternal law and follows a plan described in the revelations as the great plan of happiness. The one idea, the one truth I would inject into your minds, is this: There are three parts to the plan. You are in the second or the middle part, the one in which you will be tested by temptation, by trials, perhaps by tragedy. Understand that and you will be better able to make sense of life and to resist the disease of doubt and despair and depression.
“The plan of redemption, with its three divisions, might be likened to a grand three-act play. Act 1 is entitled ‘Premortal Life.’ The scriptures describe it as our first estate. Act 2, from birth to the time of resurrection, is the ‘Second Estate.’ And act 3 is called ‘Life After Death’ or ‘Eternal Life.’
“In mortality, we are like actors who enter a theater just as the curtain goes up on the second act. We have missed act 1. The production has many plots and subplots that interweave, making it difficult to figure out who relates to whom and what relates to what, who are the heroes and who are the villains. It is further complicated because we are not just spectators; we are members of the cast, on stage, in the middle of it all!” ("The Play and the Plan," address to young adults, 7 May 1995).
Here we find ourselves. In the middle of our play, we are the cast members. What is our script? We have options. We can lead this play where we want it to go. Our Father in Heaven has provided guidelines in the scriptures and prophets and leaders to provide counsel and direction. What are we choosing? What script do we choose? I have been blessed to have the Spirit whisper to me many times, “He, Our Father in Heaven, writes a better Script than we do.”
I recently re-watched the movie Les Miserables with some friends who had not yet had the chance to see it. What a delight to share that powerful movie with them. It is such a tremendous story made possible with a rich and remarkable script. Because writing has never been my forte, it is amazing to me that individuals can collaborate and develop such a deep and meaningful script and, in the case of this movie, even set it to music. The characters portrayed are complex, their motivations clear, and the subjects covered are compelling.
Though not all of us may possess this particular gift of being able to write a complex and successful movie script, each of us do have the responsibility for determining and developing our own life script. We are in charge of our own life, we are responsible for the personal script that we choose to write, but you will find as you go through life you too might benefit from collaborating with others: parents, teachers, spouses, church leaders, etc.
I have observed many ways that our Father in Heaven improves on our scripts. Sometimes He works through us, and sometimes, it seems He works to improve our scripts in spite of us. I would like to address three ways we can maximize the impact that Heavenly Father can have on our scripts:
1. We use our efforts to exercise faith in our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness.
2. We follow the counsel of prophets, leaders, parents, etc.
3. We stay alert to observe and adjust as necessary when Heavenly Father is inviting us to modify our own script.
1. We use our efforts to exercise faith in our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness.
We had a wonderful experience with our son that taught us the importance of exercising faith in our Heavenly Father’s plan. He was about six or seven years old at the time. We were visiting with family for a few weeks and went for a drive with them to Park City, Utah. It was a beautiful winter day; we were seeing the sites and had stopped at one of the ski resorts. As we were walking, we noticed our son had climbed high on a nearby steep hill. His grandfather looked up the hill and asked, “JD, how did you get so far up that hill?” JD’s response (and he had to shout so we could hear him): “Grandpa, you just gotta believe!” That experience has been a good reminder to our family of the importance of exercising faith as you are lengthening your stride.
In my own experience, I had been active in attending church growing up and had a few experiences where the Spirit had touched my heart, and I was trying to do the right things. I guess you could say I was a work in progress. (I hope I still am a work in progress now.) As a young man, a new freshman at BYU in Provo, serving a mission was not in my plan. At the time, I didn’t know why someone would choose to serve a mission. I didn’t feel like I knew enough about the gospel to teach it to others. During my freshman year at BYU, I attended the two required religion classes for The Book of Mormon. During the classes, I read The Book of Mormon, all the way through, for the first time in my life. As I read, I prayed that I might know if The Book of Mormon was truly the word of God. I received clear answers to my prayers as the Spirit touched my heart and confirmed that The Book of Mormon is true. Knowing it was true stirred other feelings in my heart. I knew I needed to repent of my sins. As I read about Alma’s experience as he repented, it gave me hope that I could have my burdens lifted also.
Alma shares his feelings about the pains caused by our sins and the feelings of joy that come as we repent:
“And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
“Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
“And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
“And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
“Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.” (Alma 36:17-21)
As I felt that joy that Alma described, I now had a reason to serve a mission. I wanted to help others feel that same joy. After these experiences, my plan changed to include a mission. I am grateful for a kind, loving, patient Heavenly Father. I testify that He will meet us wherever we are. His arms are extended out to us today; He invites us back into His presence. He writes a better script that we do.
We start writing our own scripts very early in life. I have twin grandchildren Abby and Ben who are currently two and a half years old. They are very independent children. They know their own minds and what they want and will often do whatever it takes to get it. Unfortunately, they are often unaware of the possible consequences of their behavior, so their parents exercise faith in the plan of happiness to care for their children and help them learn. They are often exhausted by the end of the day as they help keep the twins safe and the house in repair.
2. We follow the counsel of prophets, leaders, parents, etc.
I remember as a child wanting a certain kind of bicycle. My parents were willing to give me a new bicycle for Christmas. My father took me to the store to look at bicycles. I saw the one I wanted, a silver Stingray. It was the fad at that time. My father asked me to also look at the more traditional models; he thought those might fulfill more needs. They were nice, but… they were not the Stingray. I told my dad I wanted the Stingray. Come Christmas morning, I saw the stingray near the Christmas tree. In less than one year, as the fad changed; I remember wishing I had made another choice. It was clear to me I would have benefited more from following the counsel my father had given me.
Recently, my daughter Kimberly called to ask me about buying a car. The one she has is several decades old, and she wondered if it was time to look for a replacement. She was concerned that her car might not last; it might cost more to repair than buying a newer car. I encouraged her to avoid a car payment, to save her money and then purchase a car with savings. She wrote her script; she decided to not buy a new car but to continue a savings plan to replace the vehicle in the future. Some months later, the car is running as good as ever, and she is focused on a savings plan for the future. She is a good example of how we harvest the blessings we choose. It doesn’t always work out just as we would like, but as we follow God’s plan and apply sound counsel, we make room in our lives for Heavenly Father’s blessings to shower down upon us. At times, the blessings will pour out until there shall not be room enough to receive them.
3. We stay alert to observe and adjust as necessary when Heavenly Father is inviting us to modify our own script.
When writing our own scripts, we often include those things that are honorable, even righteous desires. They might include things such as education at a certain graduate school, a specific job, marriage before graduation, or any number of good things. It may seem incomprehensible that a loving Father in Heaven would deny any of those things to you, especially when you are working so hard to be obedient to all His laws and commandments.
You may suffer monumental disappointment when your planned script seems to veer off course and prayers appear to go unanswered. As life progresses, you may find that those seemingly denied blessings actually resulted in greater blessings than you had previously imagined.
Remember these lyrics from Garth Brooks song “Unanswered Prayers” as you work on your life script:
“I thank God for unanswered prayers.
Remember when you’re talking to the man upstairs
That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care.
Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”
Along the same lines, remember that an answer of “not now” does not necessarily mean “never.”
After graduating from BYU in accounting, I applied to work for the Church. I didn’t get selected and began working for another firm in Utah. After a few months working for this new firm, they began laying off workers as the economy had softened a bit. My wife and I were thinking about purchasing a home, so before we took that step, I talked to my boss. I asked if he thought we should be prudent and wait a while to purchase a home since the company had been laying off workers. He said I didn’t need to worry since they weren’t expecting to have any more layoffs. We proceeded and purchased the home. The week the first payment was due, my boss called me into his office and indicated that he was sorry, but they had to lay me off of work. It was a Monday morning; I called my wife Sharon and told her I had good news and bad news. The good news, I would be home early. The bad news, I just lost my job. That same day, Sharon and I updated my resume and printed up some copies (no email at that time) and started to drop some off at nearby businesses. We were out most of the day, and when we got back to our home that evening, Sharon’s mother called. We had discussed that we wouldn’t tell her parents of our circumstance until we had a new job. Her mom had an ulcer at the time, and we didn’t want them to worry. Her mom asked where we had been that day; she had tried calling several times throughout the day and hadn’t been able to reach us (no cell phones at that time). Sharon replied, “Uh, uh, oh just out and about.” Her mom said that the Church had called to see if we were still interested in that job we had applied for earlier that year. Sharon, in tears, asked her mom, “Mom, do you know?” Her mom’s response: “Know what?” Sharon told her I had lost my job. Her mom’s classic response: “Oh, I guess you will want this phone number.” What a blessing! What makes this blessing even more of a tender mercy is this: I liked the job I had, and I think I was so full of pride that had the call come while I still had the job, I might not have been willing to change our script. What an incredible blessing it was for us to work for the Church for over 30 years in four countries. He writes a better script than we do.
My wife and I had the opportunity to serve as religious volunteers at the Utah State Prison. We, along with other LDS volunteers, would meet with the men housed in a small portion of the prison each Sunday for worship services and for a Sunday school class. We would also attend weeknight classes about Gospel related topics. We met many men who had made very serious mistakes and were trying to put their lives back together. They were staying alert to messages that Heavenly Father was sending them and trying to adjust their life scripts. There seemed to be two overriding messages that came to me in our time there:
The first message was to our friends in the prison: “You are not alone.” In our Sunday worship services, this message was whispered by the Spirit over and over. As these men continued in their efforts to attend their church meetings, there was a distinct difference that I felt, especially in these worship meetings. The witness of the Holy Ghost was as strong in these meetings, within the walls of a state prison, as in any similar worship meetings I have attended anywhere in the world. Our Savior will reach out to us wherever we are, whatever our circumstance, as we are seeking Him with real intent. The atonement of Jesus Christ is available to each of us to soothe our wounds. You and I are not lost. We are not alone; He reaches out to us still.
The second message we learned within the walls of the prison was to us as volunteers: “We are more alike than we are different.” Although these men were in prison, they essentially had the same opportunities we all have, to follow our Savior’s example of service to others. We all make mistakes. By ourselves, we are all lost. The answer for all of us, whether within the walls of a prison or free to roam as we wish, is the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our Savior Jesus Christ has paved the road for us to enter back into the presence of our Father in Heaven. We met men, who through consistent efforts, were able to harvest the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to reap the blessings our Savior has sown in our behalf. I invite each of us to take His outstretched hand and return to the wonder of our Savior’s arms.
Some years ago in a General Conference address, President Boyd K. Packer talked about the “Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness.” About the same time that Brigham Young led the first company of pioneers out of Winter Quarters, the Donner party came out of the Sierra Nevada Mountains into the Sacramento Valley. The Donner party had spent a ferocious winter trapped in snowdrifts below the summit. It was a miracle that any survived. President Packer shared the comments of fifteen-year old John Breen who walked into Johnson’s Ranch on the night of April 24.
Years later John wrote, “It was long after dark when we got to Johnson’s Ranch, so the first time I saw it was early in the morning. The weather was fine, the ground was covered with green grass, the birds were singing from the tops of the trees, and the journey was over. I could scarcely believe that I was alive.
“The scene that I saw that morning seems to be photographed on my mind. Most of the incidents are gone from memory, but I can always see the camp near Johnson’s Ranch.”
President Packer then commented, “At first I was very puzzled by his statement that ‘most of the incidents are gone from memory.’ How could long months of incredible suffering and sorrow ever be gone from his mind? How could that brutal dark winter be replaced with one brilliant morning?
“On further reflection, I decided it was not puzzling at all. I have seen something similar happen to people I have known. I have seen some who have spent a long winter of guilt and spiritual starvation emerge into the morning of forgiveness.”
Brothers and sisters, sometimes we may lose perspective on the purpose of life. Why we are here and how we can return to our Father in heaven. President Packer continues with these words which remind us of that brilliant morning of forgiveness: “The gospel teaches us that relief from torment and guilt can be earned through repentance. Save for those few who defect to perdition after having known a fullness, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no offense exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness.
“‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ That is, Isaiah continued, ‘if ye be willing and obedient.’” (Isaiah 1:18-19) ("The Brillian Morning of Forgiveness," General Conference, Oct. 1995)
Ours is the opportunity to apply the healing touch of the Atonement to our individual experience. Our Savior, Our Friend, Our Brother has paved the way for each of us if we will but follow Him. He writes a better script that we do.
Brethren and sisters, we write our own scripts. We create our own path. Our Heavenly Father helps us along the way. I testify that He writes a better script that we do. May we be blessed as we create our scripts to feel His guiding hands and let ourselves be guided to include His plan within our scripts so that our scripts become His scripts. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.