President Tanner, President’s Council, Stake Presidents, Student Leadership, fellow students, Faculty, Staff and friends…ALOHA!
I am humbled to be with you today, especially when the semester is drawing to a close and you could be writing papers, studying or catching up with assignments. But you chose to be here, so thank you for your attendance. I want to thank my husband for that introduction and for taking the time to come from Utah to join us at this devotional. And I mostly want to thank my Heavenly Father for the many wonderful blessings I’ve enjoyed since being here at BYU–Hawaii and throughout my life.
My husband and I met here on this campus, as students, and this month we are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. It’s incredible to think how far we’ve come and how much this school impacted our lives. Our journey has taken us throughout the United States and the Pacific, for work and for family. Two of our six daughters graduated from this university, with a third one graduating this year. This school has been a tremendous blessing in our lives and served as a foundation for our family’s journey.
Contemplating the topic today and thinking of each of you in your personal journey, I can’t help but think back to the beginning of this earth’s journey when Adam and Eve were instructed to leave the Garden of Eden and start working by the sweat of their brow. Not a lot is written regarding their preparation for mortal life, but I know for a fact that the Lord didn’t leave them stranded. The Lord sent angels to administer unto and teach Adam and Eve and prepare them for their earthly journey. The Lord instructed Adam and Eve to till the earth and offer sacrifice. At the time, Adam didn’t understand why but he did it because the Lord commanded him to. In Moses 5: 6-7 we read:
And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Often, we don’t know or understand why we are told to do certain things. Especially when we were children, we didn’t understand why our parents wanted us to do our chores or make our beds. Making our beds, in the mind of a child, may be the one chore that makes the least amount of sense. We think, “but I’m just going to mess it right back up again.” Those with children, you may see that inability to understand in your own children today. Adam didn’t understand, but he obeyed; he didn’t question for he had faith the blessings will come by following the commandments given him. Adam’s journey started much like our own, where we don’t understand the plans the Lord has for us. However, if we simply obey, the blessings of the Lord will be apparent in our lives.
I started my journey 54 years ago in the Islands of Samoa. I was raised in Lona Fagaloa where I was taught and prepared with the necessary life skills. From a very young age, I learned to tend the crops in the plantation and to care for the pigs and chickens. In those days, Fagaloa was a small coastal community, cut off from the rest of Samoa, and our life was extremely rural. My chores, or “fe’au,” were tough for a little girl, but that was the life we knew. Little did I know the Lord was preparing me for the rest of my life; to learn how to work hard and face tough challenges.
I was raised in a Catholic family by parents who made sure I attended Sunday School and Mass each week. When I was a little older, my grandmother, Serafina, took me to visit the local convent every month. She wanted me to be a nun. As you can see, that didn’t quite work out, because the Lord had different plans for me. My younger years were spent with a father who was an alcoholic and was not very kind when he was drunk. Life in our family was a bit chaotic and, while I was still a young girl, my parents separated leaving me to move from relative to relative. My older siblings were old enough to fend for themselves, and my younger siblings went to live with our grandparents in American Samoa.
Despite the difficulties, it is clear to me today that the Lord was guiding my path. As most blessings come after a trial, mine came because of this rough period in my childhood. The Lord guided me to a family, my new family, the William Faasefulu Tenney family, who took me in, called me their daughter, and introduced me to the gospel. The missionaries taught me, in their home, about our Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ. Although I had learned in the Catholic Church about the Trinity; God and Jesus and the Holy Ghost, these teachings were very new to me. Jesus and God were not the same being? God has a body of flesh and bone? Despite it being different than everything I had learned before, it felt like I already knew it and it made sense to me. When I was old enough to be baptized, without my parents’ consent, I didn’t hesitate. Those in my family who knew what I had done, disowned me, and I kept the news from my grandmother for fear of reprisal. However, the Lord prepared the way there, as well, and my decision was eventually accepted by my family. To illustrate how great are the blessings of the Lord, as of today many of my siblings have also joined the Church and found the joy of the Gospel. Who would have known that from a broken family, and an unstable childhood, the Lord would guide the path of a young girl to His Gospel? Well, the Lord knew!
There are many examples of individuals in the scriptures who were guided on a journey far different than the journey they started on. If Joseph, the son of Jacob, had been given the choice, as a young man, to stay in his father’s tent or be led away as a slave into Egypt, having been sold by his brothers, I guarantee you he would have stayed with his parents. Or what of Moses? Do you think Moses ever dreamed, as a child, to leave his cushy life in the palace of Pharaoh, as a Prince of Egypt, to become an outlaw and a goat herder? Or even his mother, having to abandon him to the currents of the Nile River in an attempt to save his life? Unknown to them, they were all preordained for greater things, as long as they followed the path the Lord had set for them.
Some of our Biblical and Book of Mormon heroes were provided the choice on which path to take. Lehi had the choice to follow the directions of the Lord and lead his family into the wilderness. He chose what might be considered by some to be the tougher path, the Lord’s path. On at least five separate occasions, his own wife and children complained against him, all except Nephi, and more than once his two oldest sons even plotted to take his life. He was led into strange lands and his wife and son’s wives bore children in the wilderness. He was blessed with one son, Nephi, who committed himself to following the Lord and His prophet, no matter the cost. His commitment is recorded in scripture, in 1 Nephi 3:7.
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
Lehi could have stayed in Jerusalem, not heeding the warnings of the Spirit, but he chose the harder path and was spared by the Lord when the Israelites were taken captive into Babylon. His posterity also helped the Lord pave the way for the restoration of the Gospel. After all, it was Lehi’s descendent, Moroni, that delivered the Golden Plates to Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith is a perfect example of an individual whose life was very different than he probably imagined, as a young boy. We know the story of when he entered the grove of trees, how the outcome was unlike anything he had expected, and how his life would never be the same. In the Pearl of Great Price, in Joseph Smith – History 1:15-17, his experience is recorded. This is an excerpt of that history:
After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when…I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. …When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
Even after this, he didn’t understand the full meaning of what had happened. He didn’t know how much he would be hated and despised. You can hear the astonishment in his own testimony, in verse 25:
I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; …I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it.[i]
One of my favorite passages, that shows Joseph’s humility, is when he pleads to the Lord in Doctrine and Covenants, section 121. After so much suffering and pain, he begs the Lord, not for himself, but on behalf of his brethren and all the Saints, for relief. The Prophet Joseph was enduring horrid conditions in the Liberty Jail, and yet his thoughts were for his fellow Saints:
O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?
Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them? [ii]
The Lord’s response, shows His infinite wisdom and illustrates how our desires are not always His will and His plan for us is not always clear to our mortal minds. Doctrine and Covenant: 121: 7 and 8,
My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
And then, the Lord gives His eternal promises: Doctrine and Covenant 121: 26 and 29,
God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now; All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.[iii]
Chances are, none of us will be expected to sacrifice as Joseph Smith did, or as the other prophets throughout history, but the Lord will expect us to sacrifice, nonetheless. We will also each face trials in our lives through which we will be expected to endure faithfully. Our trials may come in the form of health problems, family issues, work challenges, unemployment or even death. President Russell M. Nelson said, “Even though the going is tough sometimes, we can endure, and enduring in faith will allow us to have that great blessing of life eternal with our Heavenly Father, with the Lord Jesus Christ, and with our families and loved ones, never to be separated from them.” [iv]
Our journey in life can throw surprises at us; choices that, at the time, may seem small, but can become major factors in the direction of our lives. My surprise came in the form of a third family that entered my life. After I graduated from the Church College of Western Samoa, I moved to American Samoa to live with my mother’s family, in Vailoa. My mom’s family were members of the La Mo Sa, the London Missionary Society, or Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa. Because Vailoa did not allow Mormons to proselyte, I kept my membership in the Church a secret from my family there and every Sunday, pretending to go to the village church, I would sneak off and attend the Mormon Church in Leone. With the help of some ward members, my family eventually learned of my membership and grew to accept my choice. While attending the community college, I took up a housekeeping job for an American couple who were there managing a small business as jewelers. Bill and Sharon McCarthy were good friends with my older sister and her husband. The McCarthy’s had no children of their own and gained an interest in adopting a child from Samoa. They asked my grandmother if they could adopt my youngest brother, Joe, but she offered for them to adopt me instead.
It seems like a whirlwind to me now, as I think about everything that happened in my life that year. The business the McCarthy’s were managing shut down, so, shortly after the adoption they made plans to move back to Hawaii. Even though the adoption was legal, and I was now known as Ivona McCarthy, they could not sponsor me into the United States because I was too old. My mom, Sharon McCarthy, brought high school and community college transcripts and put in applications at multiple colleges in Hawaii on my behalf, trying to obtain an I-20 for a student visa, but was unsuccessful until she called BYUH, the only school that was willing to accept my application. Not wanting to leave me behind, my new mom visited Nolan Reed, the Director of Admissions for Brigham Young University-Hawaii, and he immediately approved my application and visa for the upcoming semester, and in November 1983, I left Samoa for the first time making the journey to Hawaii.
Through this strange and uncertain time, I found myself receiving the blessings the Lord had in store for me and this experience solidified my testimony of prayer and fasting. When I was preparing to go on my mission, the McCarthy’s, being non-members, were not supportive of my mission, but the Lord sent another couple, to the Polynesian Cultural Center, whom I met while working in the Fijian Village, and whom, I found out later, sponsored me on my mission to North Carolina. I didn’t hear from the McCarthy’s throughout my mission, but at the end, it was them who helped me transition back to college life.
Although we think we know what we want, the Lord knows ALL. This story has one more twist, which shows how far-reaching and consequential the Lord’s plan is in our lives. My adopted mom, Sharon McCarthy, we found out later, was a member of the Church, after all. She had run away from her home in Arizona as a young lady and had been inactive for many years. It took our oldest daughter, Natahli, to bring her back to Church. Natahli was very close to her Grandma, and when she was a young girl she started asking her questions like, “Grandma, why don’t you go to church with us?” or “Grandma, don’t you know smoking is wrong?” Only Natahli could get away with asking her those questions, and soon enough, Grandma returned to full activity and eventually received her Temple blessings.
It is amazing the blessings that Lord has in mind for each of us. Every one of us has a path, and the Lord is ready to lead us down that path. The journey will not be easy, and there will be obstacles all along the way. If we fall, the Lord is always there to pick us up. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, at the October General Conference,
“Even when you stumble, even when you turn away from Him, God loves you. If you are feeling lost, abandoned, or forgotten fear not. The Good Shepherd will find you. He will lift you upon His shoulders. And He will carry you home. Please let these divine truths sink deeply into your hearts. And you will find that… you have an eternal destiny to fulfill.” [v]
Of course, it is up to us to do our part. With so many things competing against the Lord and drawing us away from Him, how do we keep ourselves focused on the journey ahead; the path the Lord would have us take? How do we even know the path? The Apostle Thomas asked a similar question in John 14:5-6:
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
May I offer just a few thoughts to aid in your journey?
COME UNTO HIM
Our first step along the path the Lord has laid out for us is Come unto Him. Believe in Him, Trust in Him, give ourselves to him and have Faith. I am reminded of the vision that Lehi had of the Tree of Life. The reward – the Love of God – was there waiting, but many wandered off into strange places through the mists of darkness or were shamed away from their faith by those who stood mocking in the Great and Spacious Building. The Lord has promised Eternal Happiness will be ours if we have faith enough not to be swayed by the voices of doubt and wickedness. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:9,
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
ANCHORED IN THE GOSPEL
Our next step along our journey is to keep ourselves Anchored in the Gospel. Lehi, in his vision, saw the key to our safety from temptations and the pride and vanity of the world. We have a hymn which describes wonderfully the vision that Lehi saw. It’s hymn number 274 in the Church Hymnbook, Hold to the Rod.
While on our journey here below, Beneath temptation’s power, Through mists of darkness we must go, In peril every hour.
And when temptation’s power is nigh, Our pathway clouded o’er, Upon the rod we can rely, And heaven’s aid implore.
Chorus: Hold to the rod, the iron rod; ’Tis strong, and bright, and true. The iron rod is the word of God; ’Twill safely guide us through.
Isn’t it interesting how the simplest of solutions can be the answer to the toughest questions? Holding on to our faith can be as easy as Daily Prayer, Scripture Study and attending Church. We are told of a similarly simple solution when the Children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness for forty years. To heal themselves from the bites of poisonous snakes, all they needed to do was look up at the top of a stick that Moses had planted into the ground. Many of the Israelites perished because of their pride and refusal to believe the cure was so simple, and yet, “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).
LIVE YOUR FAITH
The third step along our journey is to live your faith. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “Above all else, ultimate happiness, true peace, and anything even remotely close to scriptural joy are found first, foremost, and forever in living the gospel of Jesus Christ.[vi] ” We live our faith by doing our best to be obedient. President Russell M. Nelson said during the April 2011 General Conference,
“[The commandments of God] are given to bless His children and bring them joy. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them and keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith. Obedience allows God’s blessings to flow without constraint. He will bless His obedient children with freedom from bondage and misery. And He will bless them with more light.” [vii]
No one is perfect in keeping the commandments of God. We all make mistakes, and we shouldn’t allow our failings to govern our lives. Our task is to do the best we can, and if we fall short, remember, part of living our faith is repentance. Even as we follow the path the Lord has set for us, we will occasionally stray off the trail. It’s important to remember, the Lord has already paid for our sins and is willing to help us back onto the path so that we can continue our journey home.
SERVE OTHERS
Our fourth step in our journey is to Serve Others. King Benjamin taught, in Mosiah 2:17,
“When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” My journey in life would not have turned out the same were it not for the people who helped me along the way. From the Tenney’s who introduced me to the gospel to the Walkers who paid for my mission, and the many others too numerous to mention, I am who I am because of them. In turn, each of us are to help our brothers and sisters along their journey. There are many ways to serve others, but sincerity and love are the key. In a devotional address in 2009, President Thomas S. Monson taught,
“An attitude of love characterized the mission of the Master. He gave sight to the blind, legs to the lame, and life to the dead. Perhaps when we [face] our Maker, we will not be asked, ‘How many positions did you hold?’ but rather, ‘How many people did you help?’ In reality, you can never love the Lord until you serve Him by serving His people.” [viii]
The happiness we experience along our journey in life will be enlarged by our service to others. In days where you are feeling low, or it seems the world is collapsing around you, my promise to you is that you will find relief and comfort as you look outside yourself to help others.
BE HAPPY
The fifth step that I suggest is to Be Happy! Happiness is a choice. I know this is easier to say than to do, but we should welcome each trial with optimism. Happiness is ours to find.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland encouraged,
“In God’s plan we can do much to find the happiness we desire. We can take certain steps, we can form certain habits, we can do certain things that God tells us leads to happiness with the confidence that if we live in such a manner, [we are] much more likely to find happiness.” [ix]
In closing, I want to once again tell you how thankful I am for the Hand of the Lord in my life. All along the way, there were so many things that could have affected His plan for me, the biggest of which is my willingness to follow His will. Our lives are not by chance, and as you look over the journey you have taken thus far, purposefully look to recognize the Hand of the Lord in your life, even through the help of others. I can’t express how grateful I am for those who have helped me all along the way, especially my three sets of parents. For those of you just starting out, turn to those you can trust to help you in your journey; your Father in Heaven, your Church leaders and your own parents. If you are able, visit the temple often. You will feel peace and will find answers to questions you might have as you make your journey. Most importantly, trust in the Lord. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said in the General Women’s Session of the October conference,
“You have an eternal destiny to fulfill. The beloved Savior of the world gave His life so that you could choose to make that destiny a reality. You have taken upon you His name; you are His disciples. And because of Him, you can clothe yourselves with robes of eternal glory.” [x]
I bear you my testimony that I know this is the Lord’s church and this is His gospel. I know He has a personal invested interest in all of us and our journeys in life. I know this with all my heart, in His sacred name, even Jesus Christ, Amen.
[i] Pearl of Great Price; Joseph Smith - History 1:25 (excerpts)
[ii] Doctrine and Covenants 121:1-3
[iii] Doctrine and Covenants 121:7-8, 26, 29
[iv] Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Knowing God’s Plan Helps Us Endure in Faith” LDS.org
[v] President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Women’s Session, “Three Sisters,” Oct 2017
[vi] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU-Idaho Devotional, “Living after the Manner of Happiness,” Sep 23, 2014
[vii] President Russell M. Nelson, April 2011 General Conference, “Face the Future with Faith”
[viii] Thomas S. Monson, “Great Expectations” (Church Educational System fireside, Jan. 11, 2009)
[ix] Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU-Idaho Devotional, “Living after the Manner of Happiness,” Sep 23, 2014
[x] President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Women’s Session, “Three Sisters,” Oct 2017