Thanks to my sweet and lovely wife of 36 years. Although we have shared the podium many times in our lives, this is the first time that she has introduced me. Thank you, sweetheart, for your love and devotion and for your kind words.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is wonderful to be here with you today! We have heard much over the years about this beautiful place, but this is the first time we have visited. We are honored that you would be here with us this morning.
It is also a blessing to be here with President and Sister Wheelwright. They are long-time friends. Cathy and I first met them when we were newly married and moved to Boston to attend graduate school 35 years ago. Recognizing our compelling need for income, they kindly asked Cathy and me to tend their children from time to time when they traveled out of town for a day or two. We came to love them and their family as if they were our own. As our own family grew, two of our children and two of theirs went to the same schools and became life-long friends. Since they have been here in paradise with you, we have not seen them much, so we are glad for this opportunity to be with them. I know that they are a great blessing to this university and to each of you individually, because they have been that in our lives.
Because you are faithful and in the right place this morning, I am comfortable telling you what I think you will likely experience in the next few minutes. If you came here today with a question on your mind, something that you have been thinking about and mulling over, I am quite confident that regardless of what I say, you will receive impressions from Holy Ghost that will give you guidance on an issue with which you are wrestling. Isn't that an amazing thing? Well, it certainly takes a load off of my shoulders! At the end of my thoughts, we will come back and reflect on that wonderful principle.
Some years back, one of my daughters experienced a setback in her life that had her seeking guidance. She and a wonderful young man had decided after dating for some time that they would part ways. It wasn't easy for her. She worried, at the ripe old age of 25, that she had missed the most important time in her life to get married and that another young man would never come along. She wondered if she was living in the right place, attending the right ward, and working in the right company to meet the man that would eventually take her to the temple of God.
She was living in Manhattan, and at that time, we lived in Connecticut. She asked me if she could come out to our home and receive a father's blessing. I jumped at the chance to do it. Her blessing turned out to be quite interesting and taught me some things. While giving her the blessing, the words of a hymn came to my mind as I counsel to her. I quote, "Lead kindly light amid the encircling gloom. Lead thou me on! The night is dark and I am far from home. Lead thou me on! Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene - one step enough for me."
What interesting counsel, what important advice! I do not ask to see the distant scene; I don't have to know the end from the beginning; but I only need the light, the Holy Ghost, to guide me step by step. As I move forward in faith, the light will move with me, just enough to illuminate my path, and from there, I can see to take just one more step forward, all the time exercising my faith and paying close attention to the light that I have.
Within a few days, my daughter called me on the phone very excited, “Dad, I have decided that I need to move to Austin, Texas.” "Good heavens," I said, "that was quite a step!" We had no relatives there and few friends. I recall saying to her on the phone, "I am not even sure that I know where Texas is!"
To make a long story short, within a few weeks, she had found a job in Austin. A few weeks after that, we moved her and a few of her belongings, into a small apartment. In time, she met friends in her ward. With the passage of a little more time, she met just the right man who likewise had serendipitously ended up in Austin. They are now the proud parents of the three of the eleven cutest and most intelligent grandkids on the planet! All as a result of exercising a little faith in the guidance she received.
Now, you don't have to wait for an event like today or even a time when you can be home with your family to receive a father's blessing to obtain direction for the questions that you face. It is available to you as often as you need it and is made particularly available to you through the guidance that the scriptures provide. For the next few minutes, I would like to share with you what I have learned about how to receive guidance from the scriptures.
In April General Conference a year ago, Elder Scott taught this important idea:
"Throughout the ages, Father in Heaven has inspired select men and women to find, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, solutions to life’s most perplexing problems. He has inspired those authorized servants to record those solutions as a type of handbook for [His children]. We have ready access to this guidance through the treasure we call the standard works…
[These] scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high. They can become the key to open the channel of communication with our Father in Heaven….”
Over the years, I have tried various methods to open this “channel of communication” to heaven by using the scriptures. It has been a process of trial and error for me. In my teenage years and for much of the time on my mission, I read the scriptures from front to back; in the case of the Book of Mormon, that meant starting with 1st Nephi and finishing in Moroni. That was helpful for me because it taught me, as Elder Bednar describes it, "the breadth of the scriptures," but I found that it was hard for me to retain the key principles that the scriptures taught in a way that I could go back and use them over and over again to answer important questions that I had.
Next, I tried to study by topic: faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and the Atonement, for example. I am glad that I did this because it provided a basic groundwork for me in many of these foundational topics. But, importantly for me at least, I did not find that it provided answers to questions in the way that I had formulated them in my mind.
With the passage of time and while serving in church callings, I eventually found and came to rely upon three important scripturally based principles that have helped me receive answers to my questions from the scriptures. The three principles are pondering, likening and recording. I thought today that I might give you short examples of each in the hope that they will be as helpful for you as they have for me.
First, pondering.
Recall that Lehi had a wonderful dream that we refer to as the "Tree of Life.” In it, he saw many different things; a beautiful tree with delicious fruit, a rod of iron, mist of darkness, and a great and spacious building standing in the air. He shared this dream with his sons.
One of them, Nephi, records, “I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in my heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord.”
He had a question that he was wrestling with, and as he was pondering that question, a vision opened up to him that explained the metaphors found in this dream. The spirit taught him that by holding fast to the word of God, he would be able to find his way through the temptations of this world, overcome those who would taunt him for his righteous desires, such that he would eventually be able to taste of the love of God.”
It all started with a desire to understand, to resolve a question, and while pondering the question, the Spirit came to provide him the understanding that he sought. The first step in using the scriptures to provide guidance is to approach your study by pondering the issues that you face.
Second, likening.
That is, liken the scriptures to your situation. As you ponder the question that you have, think about what you have read in the scriptures that has parallels to the question you are pondering.
Nephi taught this principle. He writes, “I did read many things to [my brethren] which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer. I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us that it might be for our profit and learning.”
Let me give you an example of how this process might work. Let’s say you are asking yourself this question, “How can I bring the guidance of the Holy Ghost into my daily activities?” You ponder this topic, and while pondering you think of the Liahona.
About the Liahona we read:
“As my Father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way wither we should go in the wilderness.” This sounds like the Holy Ghost.
Nephi continues, “And we did follow the directions of the ball which led us in the more fertile part of the wilderness.” That is, if we follow the Holy Ghost, it will take us to the more productive or fertile parts of our lives.
And now more, “…I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we gave unto them.” What a wonderful insight! The more often we follow the promptings of the Spirit, the more the Spirit will be able to guide us.
I recently read a story about President Monson that Elder Holland related that taught this important concept about faithfully and diligently heeding the direction of the Holy Ghost.
“Twenty-three year old Tom Monson, a relatively new bishop of the Sixth-Seventh Ward in the Temple View Stake was uncharacteristically restless as the stake priesthood leadership meeting progressed. He had the distinct impression that he should leave the meeting immediately and drive to the Veterans’ Hospital high up on the Avenues of Salt Lake City. Before leaving home that night he had received a telephone call informing him that an older member of his ward was ill and had been admitted to the hospital for care. Could the bishop, the caller wondered, find a moment to go by the hospital sometime and give a blessing? The busy young leader explained that he was just on his way to a stake meeting but that he certainly would be pleased to go by the hospital as soon as the meeting was concluded.
Now the prompting was stronger than ever: “Leave the meeting and proceed to the hospital at once.” But the stake president himself was speaking at the pulpit! It would be most discourteous to stand in the middle of the presiding officer’s message, make one’s way over an entire row of brethren, and then exit the building altogether. Painfully, he waited out the final moments of the stake president’s message, and then bolted for the door before the benediction had been pronounced.
Running the full length of the corridor on the fourth floor of the hospital, the young bishop saw a flurry of activity outside the designated room. A nurse stopped him and said, “Are you Bishop Monson?”
“Yes,” was the anxious reply.
“I am sorry,” she said. “The patient was calling your name just before he passed away.”
Fighting back tears, Thomas S. Monson turned and walked back into the night. He vowed then and there that he would never again to fail to act upon a prompting from the Lord. He would acknowledge the impressions of the Spirit when they came, and would follow wherever they led him, ever to be on the Lord’s errand.”
By likening the story of the Liahona unto our situation, we can learn, as President Monson has, that we are guided more when we frequently heed and give diligence to its teachings.
Let’s try another example of likening. Suppose that for some reason you have been unjustly accused by a friend or loved one who is hurt and reaches out to you in anger. You, in turn are hurt and offended by the unjust accusation. You ache in your heart and ponder the question, how do I respond to such an injustice? Am I not justified in an angry response?
Pahoran, the head of the Nephite government faced a very similar question when his chief captain, Captain Moroni accused and confronted him of neglect.
Think for a minute about the backdrop to the conversation that I am about to recount. Elsewhere in the scriptures, Moroni is described as a strong and mighty man; a man of a perfect understanding. He was a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God; a man who was firm in his faith in Christ.
Most telling, the scriptures go on to say, “Yea, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would be shaken forever; yea the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.”
It is this man, this mighty Captain Moroni, who writes the following to Pahoran.
“I have somewhat to say to you by way of condemnation. Ye yourselves have been appointed to gather together men and arm them with swords, and send them forth against the Lamanites.
Behold, there has been great slaughter among our people; yea, thousands have fallen by the sword, while it might have otherwise been if ye had rendered unto our armies sufficient strength. Yea, great has been your neglect towards us.”
And then perhaps most tellingly he says, “Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death among you?”
Moroni goes on to tell Pahoran that God will not hold him guiltless of this neglect, and that if Pahoran does not repent, the Nephite armies will no longer contend with the Lamanites but will first turn their swords on Pahoran as the head of their government.
What Moroni does not know is that Pahoran himself was waging a battle with those who wanted to overthrow the government and who joyed in the afflictions of Moroni so that they could get control over the people of Nephi. He has had no ability to support Moroni’s armies.
See the heart of Pahoran in his response: First he says, “Moroni, I do not joy in your afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul.”
“In your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but I do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I do not seek for power but only to preserve the rights and liberty of my people.”
And with great forgiveness, he concludes, “Moroni, I joy in receiving your epistle.”
As Moroni received the response of Pahoran, he was “filled with great joy because of the faithfulness of Pahoran.”
By likening this experience to yourself, are you able to get your heart right before you respond? Does hearing the anguish of Moroni inform your thinking about your accuser? Will your response cause your accuser to be filled with great joy because of your faithfulness?
God will guide you in the most important relationships in your life as you ponder what you should do and liken yourselves to the many personal relationships in the scriptures before you act. Think of Nephi and his brothers, Ruth and Naomi, Saul and Samuel, David and Jonathan, Mary and Martha. It is there for you to find and feel.
Now, for one final example of likening. Suppose you have done something that was wrong and you have done what you needed to do to repent of your mistake, but somehow, deep inside, you just don’t feel forgiven. In fact, you simply don’t know how you could receive forgiveness, even from a loving Heavenly Father for what you had done. In your heart you ponder the question, “How am I forgiven, Lord?”
There is a wonderful teaching found in John 6 that can be likened to this situation. You will know it well; it is the recounting of a miracle. A large group of people, five thousand men, and among them women and children, had been following the Savior as he taught and healed them. He took a boat across the bottom of the Sea of Galilee in the hope of spending some time with his apostles who had just returned from their first missionary labors, but the crowd was so enthusiastic that they raced ahead and before long, had caught up with the Savior.
He compassionately responded to the crowd and continued to teach them. Their focus was so intent that apparently as the day wore on, they had nothing to eat and no obvious accommodations. Some of the disciples began to worry about how they might care for them.
The Savior turned to Philip and asked, “When shall we buy bread that these may eat?”
The scriptures tell us that he did this to prove Phillip for “he himself knew what he would do.”
Phillip responded, as I am sure many would in this situation, with a temporal response saying, “Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little.”
Now, I don’t know exactly how much two hundred pennyworth is in today’s terms, but I am told it was not a trivial sum of money. Effectively Phillip said, even if we had a lot of money, I don’t think we could feed them all, even if they only took a little.
Another disciple then makes a suggestion, this time Andrew, also a possible temporal solution to the problem saying, “There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes.” But then he adds, “but what are these among so many?” So, he had found a small amount of food, but quickly concluded that it was simply not enough to solve such a large problem.
Jesus then said, “Make the men sit down.”
“And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks,…he distributed to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
And when they were filled, he said to the disciples, gather up the fragments that remain.
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”
So the Savior took what was completely inadequate and after blessing it, was able to multiply that insignificant offering and make it equal to the task and then some.
So, I come back to the question I poised earlier, “How is it that I can be forgiven for the things that I have done wrong? Now, we can liken this miracle to the miracle of the Atonement in our lives: we bring what may seem, by our understanding, an inadequate offering, our equivalent of five loaves and two fishes, by offering through our repentance a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And somehow, as the Savior did with the five barley loaves, he blesses our modest offering to make it adequate for us to receive forgiveness and stand clean before our Heavenly Father.
This scriptural passage is there for you any time you feel overwhelmed: a new class, a new calling, the challenge to pay your tithing while meeting other expenses, a new professional responsibility. We offer up all we can, and the Lord is able to fill in the gaps.
Third, record.
That is, record the inspiration that you have received when you have pondered a critically important question, have likened the scriptures to your situation and have received inspiration in answer to your concern.
Elder Richard G. Scott, is quoted in “Preach My Gospel” as saying, “Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord how you treasure it. This practice enhances the likelihood of your receiving further light.”
What a wonderful thought! When you treasure up the insights that you gain from likening yourself to the scriptures and record and save them carefully, you enhance the likelihood of receiving more guidance.
There are many places you can record your thoughts: it might be in a scripture notebook, on a flash drive, a backed-up hard drive, or even in your study book on lds.org. But the key is to write them and preserve the insights you have gained. My own experience is that when I do this, these insights become available to be called up in my mind at another time when they are needed, complete with scriptural reference.
The sort of thing that one might write is well captured by a wonderful passage written by the late Sister Okazaki in her book, “Lighten Up.” There she writes of what she had come to understand about the Atonement by likening it to life’s situations.
“We know that on some level Jesus experienced the totality of mortal existence in Gethsemane. It is our faith that he experienced everything - absolutely everything. Sometimes we don’t think through the implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family. But we don’t experience pain in generalities. We experience it individually. That means Jesus knows what it was like when your mother died of cancer - how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He knows what it was like to lose the student body election. He knows the moment that the brakes locked, and the car started to skid. He experienced the gas chambers of Dachau. He experienced napalm in Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism.
…he understands your mother-pain when your five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on your fifth grader, when your daughter calls through her tears to say that her new baby has Down’s syndrome. He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment where the only children who ever come are visitors or when your fiftieth anniversary rolls around and your husband has been dead for two years. He knows all that. He’s been there. He’s been lower than all that.
He is not waiting for us to be perfect. Perfect people don’t need a Savior. He came to save us in our imperfections. He is the Lord of the living and the living make mistakes. He is not embarrassed by us, angry with us, or shocked. He wants us in our brokenness, in our unhappiness, in our guilt and in our grief.”
How blessed we are to have this wonderful likening of scripture to our situation. Now I understand these poetic works of Isaiah differently than before:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; …he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Now, let’s go back to the beginning of where we started today. I hope you came here with a question in your heart, with something on your mind, whether big or small, temporal or spiritual, something about which you were seeking guidance from your Heavenly Father.
If the Spirit has been right, I suspect that regardless of, and perhaps in spite of, what I have said, you have felt the whisperings of the Holy Ghost giving you at least enough light to take the next step. That is how we know the gospel is true. As we live as we should, the Spirit whispers to our heart in unmistakable ways to guide and direct us. You may not yet see the distant scene but you know you are on the path. I hope you will go home today and write down what you felt in response to your question.
To this witness that you have personally experienced today, may I add my witness of the truthfulness of the scriptural principles that we have discussed. I know from my own experience that as I have pondered difficult questions, sought out answers from the scriptures by likening them to me, and then recorded the impressions I have received, I have seen the hand of God guiding my life.
You can experience this for yourself. I invite you to ponder, liken and record. I promise that you can open a channel of communication with our Father in Heaven to guide you in the most important issues in your life. He has not left you alone. He loves you and if you are faithful, he will guide you home.
I testify that He lives, as does His Son, who died for us that we might have immortality and eternal life.
In the holy name of Jesus Christ, amen.