I appreciate President Wheelwright and his staff welcoming us to BYU Hawaii. Jennifer and I are thrilled to be here.
It occurs to me that we have a few things in common. One of which is the fact I was named after President McKay whose vision and leadership helped establish this great university. I am proud of my name. You see, my father loved President McKay. But my mother didn't like the name David, so they gave me President McKay's last name as my first name.
I'll tell you a quick story about my father and President McKay. My father was called to be the Branch President of a branch of the church at the Utah State Training School. The school was a school for handicapped, mentally and physically, young adults. President Hugh B. Brown had a granddaughter there and was very interested in the progress of Dad's branch. President Brown visited the branch often.
One day, my father and neighbor who had been instrumental in the building of the church building at the school, traveled to Salt Lake with President Brown to give to President McKay a plaque made by the branch members. They took along a young man named Dary who was a mentally handicapped young man as a representative of the Branch. President McKay was aging and his health was suffering, so they went to visit President McKay in his apartment.
President McKay was in bed, yet he shook Dad's hand and welcomed the group. Dary then presented President McKay with the plaque. After which, in Dary's innocent enthusiasm, he unexpectedly threw his arms around the neck of President McKay and gave him a big hug, and told President McKay he loved him.
Well, President McKay was weak and lying in bed. And he started to cry. Not because Dary squeezed him so hard, but because he was so moved by Dary's genuine expression of love. President Brown then bore testimony of the special place in eternity God has for the mentally handicapped here on earth. To this day, my Dad still speaks reverently of that experience with a prophet of God. My father loved serving as Branch President and loved the members of his branch.
I know we're all on this earth for a purpose. God has a plan for our life. We have been placed in our circumstances, given a name, and even directed to attend BYU Hawaii for a purpose. The question is "can you see your purpose?"
As I begin today, I'd like to conduct a small test. If you've seen this test before, I'd ask that you not tell the person sitting next to you. In a minute I'm going to show you a series of simple mathematical equations. As you see each slide, simply think of the answer to yourself. Be sure to say the answer in your mind. I'm then going to move to the next slide and ask you to answer that question and so forth.
Then, I'm going to ask you a final question requiring two answers. You won't have very much time to answer that question, so think of the answers quickly and store them in your mind. Then, we'll evaluate the test. Okay, are you ready?
Now, I'd like you to quickly think of a color and a small building tool. A color and a small building tool. Quickly store it in your mind.
Okay, by raise of hands, how many of you thought of either the color blue and a hammer or red and a hammer?
The majority of those in the room thought of a blue or red hammer. Why did we only think of blue or red? Careful measurements of our visual systems have been made by psychophysicists . They have shown that we can see about 1000 levels of light-dark, 100 levels of red-green, and 100 levels of yellow-blue. This means that the total number of colors we can see is about 1000 x 100 x 100. That equals 10 million colors we can see. But most of us could only see red or blue in our mind's eye.
Why did so many of you choose a hammer? Home Depot, a popular building store, sells about 40,000 different items. Why did we only see a hammer?
What's the lesson we can learn from this exercise? We can be so focused on one thing that we completely miss the other things that are right before our eyes. We get in a mindset of looking at things our own way, and when we have a fixed mindset, we don't see what else is around us. There are more colors for you in life and more tools for you to use than a hammer.
This happens when it comes to spiritual things as well. We can become so focused on our classes as school, our problems or what's happening in the world around us, that we can't see what extraordinary things the Lord has in store for us.
Consider the story of the priests of King Noah. They all heard Abinadi's message. Yet, the only priest who "believed the words which Abinadi had spoken" was Alma. The other wicked priests of King Noah didn't see what Alma saw. They all heard the prophet Abinadi speak, but clearly Alma heard a different message with different results.
Have you ever sat through a sacrament meeting waiting for the hour to end only to have your roommate say afterwards, "What a spiritual talk! Didn't you just feel the spirit as the speaker delivered their message?" And you wondered why you didn't see or feel what they did?
To see with spiritual eyes means we see things as they really are. To do so, requires a new perspective. Today, I'd like to talk about gaining that spiritual perspective.
In John chapter 9 we read about Jesus walking with his disciples. He passed by a blind man and stopped to use the opportunity to teach his disciples. He told them "I am the light of the world." He wanted to teach them that it was by his light, they could see. To illustrate the fact Jesus turned to the blind man. In verse six it says,
"When he has thus spoken he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with clay. And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam."
The blind man followed the Lord's instructions, washed and he was healed of his blindness. Then he could see with new eyes.
Let's look closely at this story. Why did the Lord spit into the dirt and make clay to put on the blind man's eyes? This is highly symbolic. It describes how we, who are blind, learn, grow and see with a new perspective. That which comes out of the Lord's mouth, for us, is the word of the Lord--the gospel as contained in the scriptures and given to us by the prophets. When the word of the Lord is combined with our earthly experience, as represented by the dirt, we can see things in a new way.
Through this miracle, the Lord was teaching us how we develop and become like him.
Let me give you a simple example. It is one thing to hear about the principle of fasting. But when we hear about its importance AND get to experience hunger and the feeling of placing our spiritual desires ahead of our physical desires, then we can really "see" why fasting is an important part of life. When we fast with a purpose, we know how it feels to put our spiritual priorities ahead of other priorities.
My doctorate and post-doctorate research deals with how we as adults develop and learn. You see a large percentage of adults never progress past a certain level of cognitive, emotional and behavioral capability. Why? One reason is they become embedded in their way of viewing and behaving. They can't see past their current way of thinking.
What does it mean to be embedded in your way of thinking? Consider the alcoholic who is controlled by his habit rather than being in control of his choices. He is embedded in his addiction. That's an extreme example. Let's consider another.
Let's take a functioning adult woman who holds the prevailing view that her self-worth is determined by who she knows, where she lives and how she appears to the world. She drives the right car and lives in the right neighborhood. Not only is her house clean and stylish, but her children must also live up to the image she sees for herself. They must wear fashionable clothes and behave perfectly. If she is embedded in this way of viewing, she can't take a step back and see her kids only feel love from her when they are portraying the image of a successful family. She may be unable to control her temper when her kids don't want to dress or behave in a proper way. You see her embedded-ness in her way of thinking keeps her from changing behavior. To change and mature, she has to see how her beliefs and behavior impact her family. To refer back to our test, she can only see the colors blue or red.
In my research, we tested a large population of North American adults to assess their level of development. Then, we've looked closely at only those who were highly developed and mature adults. From our case studies, we learned there were two factors that enabled them to escape their embedded-ness in their way of thinking: a mentor or advisor who they trusted, and the word of God.
When these adults couldn't see how to get past a plateau in life, if they got advice from a parent or friend, or if they read the word of God, it gave them the perspective to change. I will confess, I didn't approach my research expecting that scriptures would prove to be a significant way to get past life's plateaus. But I should have. Because my own experience tells me it's true.
Reading scriptures has great power. It's not enough, however, to just read the scriptures. We must also feel the need to change and learn the behavior necessary to change. It isn't enough to want to be different. We have to exercise a new way of living.
Jesus taught this principle to his disciples. Let's return to the story of the blind man in John Chapter 9. The blind man wasn't healed until he washed in the pool after the clay was applied to his eyes. Here again is more symbolism. The blind man's eyes were covered with clay (made from the mixture of the Lord's word and his own experience). Then, he obeyed the Lord and washed. It was after he washed that he was healed. You see, as we experience this life, we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. When we repent, when we covenant and keep those covenants, we are given a new way of viewing life. It's like we wash in the pool. And it's after we repent and covenant, that we receive our new sight.
To keep covenants, we must exercise our faith. Why are covenants so important? (1) They create an upward pull as we exercise our faith turning our willingness into ability and (2) they open the door for the Holy Ghost to guide and help us.
The night and morning before the prophet Joseph Smith went to the Hill Cumorah to retrieve the plates, Moroni appeared to him four times. In each visit Moroni "showed him by contrast, the difference between good and evil, and likewise the consequences of both obedience and disobedience... in such a striking manner, that the impression was always vivid in his memory... ."
Given the vision he had received, no doubt Joseph had a desire to keep the commandments Moroni had given him. Despite this vision and impression, however, later that day Moroni told him that "he could not take [the plates] from the place wherein they were deposited until he had learned to keep the commandments of God: not only till he was willing but able to do it." So Joseph returned each year to the same place to develop the ability to keep the commandments.
The sacrament table is a similar place for us. Each week we return to renew the covenant we made at baptism so that we can become able in addition to being willing to keep the commandments. There, at church, we receive further instruction to help us increase our ability to not only see but also live in a more excellent way. As we renew our covenants and strive throughout the week to live them, we mix our experience with the words of the Lord. And, the renewal of the covenant (the repenting) creates the upward pull each week that allows us to exercise our faith until at last we arrive at the person we want to become.
In this process, the Holy Ghost plays a pivotal role. Moroni tells us that "by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know the truth of all things." The Holy Ghost can reveal to us things as they really are and help us see things that our own wisdom can't reveal to us.
After I graduated from college my family and I moved to Cincinnati Ohio. There our family grew to four children. I was stressed. I was working full time, teaching at the university in the evening to earn extra money, and teaching early morning seminary. My wife was equally stressed trying to cope with four little children. I was not as kind as I should have been. I was often critical and judging in my behavior. This only added to my stress. I was embedded in a behavior and unable to escape it. I wanted to be kind but I wasn't yet able to do it.
As I read the scriptures, one day I came across the words of the Lord encouraging me to not be a judge, but rather seek the light of the Lord. I read that just as the planets in the heavens give light to each other in their times and seasons, just as the Lord continually sheds his light upon us, so was I called to be a light to those around me and not a judge. I realized that by being loving, accepting and kind, I could be a better father and person. The Holy Ghost impressed upon my mind, in a very strong way, the need to change. The more I studied on the topic, the more I felt the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
I learned that we as human beings are modifiable, constantly open to new development, and are often made and imagined in the eyes of one another. I learned that how I projected my view of my children to them, helped to determine much of what they thought was possible within them. This concept so captured my thoughts, that I not only studied this principle in the scriptures but also pursued this course of study in my doctoral work as well.
As I began to try to put into practice what I had studied. I wasn't perfect at first. I had to repent a lot. I learned to compliment, to resist speaking of things that were critical, to not speak ill of others, and to stop judging. But the Lord blessed me. I am still not perfect, but I am not the same man I was 20 years ago. Above my office I have painted on the wall the words, "Be a light, not a judge." But because of my experience and the help of the Spirit, it's also printed on my mind and my heart.
I lived the pattern that the Lord taught his disciples. We read scriptures, exercise our faith, repent and persistently try, and apply the gift of the Holy Ghost. This pattern of development is applicable to almost every area of our lives.
May I pause for just a minute to comment on the principle of being a light not a judge. Social science has clearly demonstrated a link between high amounts of negative criticism and stress, deficiency in cognition, learned helplessness, depression, and poor social skills. Negative criticism happens in many ways: when we are critical in word, action or when we speak ill of others outside their presence. Even when we withhold kindness and positive affirmation from those around us, we inhibit positive development.
I have learned that to give a kind word, a bit of encouragement and a smile is in fact acting on the light the Lord has placed in each of us. When we yield to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, we find that we see others in a new way: a positive way and that positive emotion they feel from us may be the difference in helping them to imagine who they really are and can become.
We are called to lift each other up, to bear their burdens, to say a kind word, to minister to each other. Much of this ministry can be done in small ways. We can encourage, speak positively and pray for each other. There is so much power we can give each other when we live as a light not a judge.
Recently I read the following from the Better Families column, "David writes a Post-It note to his daughter every night before he goes to bed. He puts it in a place where she will be sure to find it in the morning--on her mirror, in her lunch box, on her bedroom door, or in some other conspicuous place. On each note he writes something he appreciates about her." I appreciated your help with the dishes tonight," or "I was really inspired by how hard you worked on your math and got an A on your final." One day he went into her room looking for a lost hammer. On his way out he saw 250 post-it notes stuck on the back of her bedroom door. His daughter had kept every one of his notes. So now, every time she leaves her bedroom she sees 250 notes of appreciation that remind her that somebody loves her. What a powerful message. What wonderful therapy. All from a simple post-it note."
Now let's return to the principle of seeing with a new perspective.
Elder Bruce Hafen said,
"... Our Father's plan subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price to comprehend authentic joy. Without tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet. We require mortality's discipline and refinement as the next step in [our] development toward becoming like our Father. But growth means growing pains. It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Savior's grace, which He extends both during and after all we can do... His plan is developmental: line upon line, step by step, grace for grace."
So what does this mean to you?
The Lord has great things to reveal to you. I suspect many of those things will be revealed through the scriptures. They can be your own Liahona. Alma said that "it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ... as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass."
I know that's true. The Liahona worked according to the Nephites' faith in God." If they had faith that God could cause the spindles to point the way, it was done." That belief, that God caused the spindles to work, was the "on switch" to the Liahona. It caused it to work. Do you believe there is something specific for you in the scriptures each time you read them? I do. But it begins with our faith that God could cause what we read to be specific to our needs. He can.
In a talk given at a BYU Idaho devotional, President Henry B. Eyring said,
"I'll make you a promise: If you will, in the next few hours and days, go to the scriptures, you will, as you read them (pick them anywhere that you're led to read) see scriptures speaking to you as if it was the voice of God, as if He knew your needs and your concerns; and He will tailor that to you, and it will be a witness to you that He knows you and that in that set of scriptures that you lifted above our head is a means by which He can guide you and comfort you. I promise you, you'll have that experience--and it will be very personal--in the next few days."
Do you know what the off switch was to the Liahona? When they forgot to exercise their faith and diligence. They didn't try to do what they Liahona instructed them to do. It's the same with our scripture study, if we don't exercise our faith: try to do what we read: it stops working.
This is what I have learned, when I read the scriptures, if I'll pray before I start my scripture study. And in that prayer, I'll commit to Heavenly Father that I will do what I read. That day, I might read about fasting. So, I'll commit to fast. Or, I might read about magnifying my calling. Whatever it is or whatever the Spirit whispers to me while I read, I commit I'll be willing to do it. It's like an on-switch to seeing how the Lord has something just for me in my scripture reading that day. It opens up a way to see things I wouldn't otherwise see because I am willing to exercise my faith.
So, follow the counsel of President Eyring. Go to the scriptures. Let the words you read become part of you by exercising your faith.
I often tell my students there are two secrets to doing well in college. I learned these two secrets in graduate school. When I started to do these two things my grades improved, I became better organized and things at school started working for my good. Number one: study your scriptures before you study anything else. Carry them with you. When you sit down to study read your scriptures first. The Lord will bless you. Number two: don't go home until your homework is done. Go to the library and stay there until you are finished. When you return to your apartment, there are too many distractions. These two simple principles really work!
So, what does this have to do with you? You are here at college. I believe the Lord has had a hand in bringing you to this university. Seek to see things in a new way by committing to read and follow the word of Christ. Exercise your faith. When I was young I loved to swim. When my friends and I would arrive at the pool, most of us would throw off our clothes and leap 10 feet into the deep end of the pool. One of my friends, however, was always worried about the cold temperature of the water in the pool. He would run to the shallow end and spend endless minutes putting his feet in until they acclimatized, then his legs up to his knees, then to his waist. Then the cold really hit! You know when the cold water hits your stomach! Yikes! All the time he was enduring this agony, we were diving, racing and enjoying the water.
Sometimes our approach to living the gospel is similar. We put our foot in rather than jumping in with both feet. Try to live the gospel all the way. Let go of those things that would keep you from full fellowship with the Holy Ghost. Jump in each day by how you say your prayers and by the sincerity of your scripture study. Let go of those friends that would keep you from being the type of person you should become. There are great things waiting for you. It's time to put on a new attitude, a greater expectancy, and a new way of seeing. You have something wonderful to offer this world. Try on the happiness that the Lord has to give you when you see through spiritual eyes.
My daughter Kristen returned 8 days ago from serving a full time mission in London. She followed her younger brother who returned a few months ago from serving in Ghana, Africa. Kristen was an amazing missionary. Before her mission, for several years Kristen didn't know if she should serve a mission. She went back and forth. She didn't have a clear witness from the Holy Ghost. Finally, I encouraged her to exercise her faith, to jump in with both feet. So, she prepared herself and sent in her mission papers. Even then, she still did not have a witness. I was with her when she opened her mission call. As she pulled the letter from the envelope, she read out loud: "Kristen Christensen, You are hereby called to serve as a missionary in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the London England mission." Then, she stopped and her lips began to quiver and a tear ran down her cheek. I knew she knew. And she did. She saw with the Spirit, with new eyes, what was right for her in her life.
I know the lord lives. I know because I have felt his Spirit. I have seen the power of the priesthood and its blessings made manifest to me in my life. I love President Monson. He is the Lord's prophet on the earth today. I bear testimony of these things...
Mosiah 17:2.
John 9:5
John 9:6
History of the Prophet Joseph Smith by his Mother, pg. 110, Stratford Books, 2007.
History of the Prophet Joseph Smith by his Mother, pg. 110, Stratford Books, 2007.
Moroni 10:5.
From the Better Families Column website, The Simple Magic of Affirmation, Jack and Jerry Schreur.
The Atonement: All for All, Elder Bruce C. Hafen, April General Conference, 2004.
Alma 37:44.
Alma 37:40.
A Steady, Upward Course, Henry B. Eyring, BYU Idaho Devotional Address, Sept. 18, 2001.