Brothers and sisters, aloha. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be with you today, and pray that the Holy Spirit may be here to edify each of us. Thirty-two years ago I was transitioning into the 7th grade as a middle school student. I soon discovered this to be a very different world than elementary school had been. Where I had been a confident competitor on the playground, I was completely inexperienced when it came to wearing stylish clothes, having fabulous hair, and worst of all, flirting with boys. I was nearsighted and refused to wear my glasses because I felt they weren’t cool, which left me squinting much of the time. Fortunately I did not cross paths with my future husband who was also a student at this school; otherwise the chances of us marrying may have been greatly reduced.
I’ll never forget the day I received contact lenses. For the first time in years I could make out leaves on the trees, blades of grass in the lawn, and writing on the board at school. I was astonished at the level of detail I had been missing! I had chosen to be blind through my middle school years because I was worried about my appearance. While contacts restored my vision, I had more growing to do to overcome my nearsighted thinking of what my peers thought of me.
Being a college student is another time of transition, although far better than middle school. It is a developmental time in which we prepare for our life’s work and mission. Many details consume us such as where to live, what to study, and where we will work. All of these outward activities are necessary and help to prepare us for a vocation. However, we must not be blind to the fine details of our inward development, such as being honest, considerate, dependable, and having a good work ethic. These developmental matters of the heart will help us prepare to transition to our life’s work, and one day, to our heavenly home.
Recently I traveled with a group of BYU-Hawaii students to Hong Kong to meet with employers from various industries. I love these excursions because they expand our vision of careers and opportunities. As expected, employers recommended to our students that they should excel in their studies and take advantage of extra-curricular activities. What was noteworthy was hearing every employer emphasize the importance of developing qualities of character. As one employer stated they “hire for potential,” and he emphasized that they “cannot train character.” They are hungry for people of integrity in the face of ethical challenges in the workplace. We are nearsighted in our preparation if we neglect to develop inward attributes while in pursuit of our academic training. From the employer visits, we gained a vision of what we can do outwardly to prepare for employment. More importantly, we learned that we must also become inwardly to be the professionals’ employers seek and who the Lord would have us be. Developing eternal attributes requires a clear vision and daily commitment else we easily lose focus amidst our flurried activities.
Let me share a personal story to illustrate why it is important to clearly see what we are becoming while we are busy with what we are doing. I was a conscientious student in high school. I was determined to earn good grades in hopes of earning a scholarship so I could attend university. In an honors English class, we were given an assignment to write about what it would be like to have a physical disability. We were to simulate the impairment first and then write a reflection paper. My assignment was to be blindfolded for four hours, to go about my normal activities without my eyesight, and then to write about the experience. My English teacher told us that he expected us to be honest in spending the time completing this experience. In a playful but firm way, he said he would see us at judgment day if we were to cheat by not completing the experience as assigned. The assignment was given on a Friday and was due on a Monday. In the activities of the weekend, I forgot about the assignment entirely until Sunday night at 8 PM. I realized I didn’t have enough time left in the day to be blindfolded for four hours and write the reflection paper. I made a choice to write the paper without first completing the experience. I turned it in on Monday as though I had completed the experience as per my teacher’s instructions. I rationalized that I had spent good mental energy imagining the assignment in my mind as I wrote the paper.
Later in the week my English teacher had our graded papers ready to return to us. He paused and expressed his disappointment with those in our class who had written the paper without first completing the experience. He said he could clearly tell those who had attempted to shortcut the learning objectives by only writing the reflection paper. To those students he gave a failing grade. My heart sank as I waited in embarrassment for my paper to be returned to me. As he handed my paper back to me he patted me on the shoulder and quietly said, “Well done.” To my utter surprise I looked down to see an “A” on the top of my paper. My creative writing had worked! I had the grade I was after. I wish I could tell you that I went back to him after class, after school, or at the end of the year to confess my deficiency, but I never did. Why do the details of this insignificant assignment still stand out so clearly in my mind? Perhaps it is the anxiety that one day I will indeed meet my English teacher at judgment day. I know it stands out in my mind because I chose an A over my integrity for an otherwise ordinary assignment. It is similar in spirit to trading away a birthright for a mess of pottage. I was blind in my thinking and I didn’t realize how my small choice diminished my character.
Principle: Becoming
Today, I would like to talk about the principle of becoming, and how necessary it is to keep our vision clear and the steps we can follow to do so. Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a wonderful talk entitled “The Challenge to Become.” In it he gave instruction how we will be evaluated at judgment day.
“The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts – what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts – what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.” (Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, Ensign, November 2000).
We will not be judged according to outward things such as grades, degrees, wealth, status, or even by the quantity of our good deeds alone. Rather, we will be judged according to our state of being and will be measured by inward things, such as our thoughts, desires, and our hearts.
As children of our Heavenly Father, we have the opportunity and promise to become like him. God’s “work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
The Proclamation on the Family states:
“All human beings – male and female – are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”
The Apostle Paul also testified:
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17).
I testify that our divine heritage is real. We are sons and daughters of God with a divine nature and destiny. In order to be “joint-heirs with Christ,” we must become like Him, spiritually born again, converted, and committed. Becoming is not an automatic process that comes with age, abilities, or because we are students at BYU-Hawaii. We must choose to become.
The idea that our choices rather than our circumstances impact our becoming like Christ is illustrated clearly in the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon. Nephi tells us he was “born of goodly parents” and had been “taught in all the learning of [his] father” (1 Nephi 1:1). His elder brothers Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, were raised by the same goodly parents and matured in the same learning environment. Despite their similar circumstances, we can see how different they became as evidenced by their choices and condition of their hearts.
Lehi chose to pray “in behalf of his people” (1 Nephi 1:5). His heart was “filled” and “his soul did rejoice” (1 Nephi 1:15). Nephi also “having great desires to know the mysteries of God” did diligently pray and “the Lord did soften” his heart (1 Nephi 2:16). Further reading reveals additional choices which led to a soft heart: “ceasing to strive,” being “sorrowful,” and “frankly forgiving” (1 Nephi 7:19-21). We also learn that Nephi kept his heart soft through faith, heed, and diligence to the Lord’s direction (1 Nephi 16:28). Ultimately, these choices will lead to a condition in which hearts can be filled with the love of God, “which is the most desirable above all things” (1 Nephi 11:22).
Conversely, Laman and Lemuel chose to murmur and were critical of their prophet/father, “because they knew not the dealings of God” (1 Nephi 2:12). When asked to leave Jerusalem they complied in body, but were resistant in spirit. Their murmuring led to anger, and even physical violence where they did “smite their younger brothers with a rod” (1 Nephi 3:28). Even after a visit from an angel we read that “they were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur.” We learn that they would not “hearken unto the word of the Lord,” had “forgotten “that they had seen an angel, had forgotten “what great things the Lord hath done,” and failed to recognize God’s tender mercies; They lacked faith in the Lord’s power (1 Nephi 7:9-12). Ultimately, they “sought to take away [Nephi’s] life,” and the life of their father, Lehi (1 Nephi 7:16,16:37).
These negative choices lead to a heart that is hardened which will blind our eyes, lead us to not look unto the Lord, to murmur exceedingly, and to be swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord (1 Nephi 12:7, 15:3, 16:20, 17:45).
These scriptures help us see that prayer; forgiveness, faith, and obedience will lead to a soft heart. Murmuring, criticism, anger, and forgetting God will harden our hearts and will halt our heavenly progression. The condition of our hearts is a good indicator for us to assess our motivations for doing the things that we do. Elder Donald L. Hallstrom spoke on the importance of our motivations in relation to our church activity.
“Some have come to think of activity in the Church as the ultimate goal. Therein lies a danger. It is possible to be active in the Church and less active in the gospel.
“Activity in the church is an outward indication of our spiritual desire. By contrast, the things of the gospel are usually less visible and more difficult to measure, but they are of greater eternal importance” (Donald L. Hallstrom, “Converted to His Gospel through His Church,” Ensign, May 2012).
Several years ago, Elder Bednar also gave counsel about activity in the gospel and becoming in our worship:
“In our customary Church vocabulary, we often speak of going to church, going to the temple, and going on a mission. Let me be so bold as to suggest that our rather routine emphasis on going misses the mark.
“The issue is not going to church; rather, the issue is worshipping and renewing covenants as we attend church. The issue is not going to or through the temple; rather, the issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the covenants, and the ordinances of the Lord’s house. The issue is not going on a mission; rather, the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength” (David A. Bednar, “Becoming a Missionary,” Ensign, November, 2005)
Becoming is not a sudden heavenly condition which will one day be bestowed upon us. As with Nephi, it is our daily labor to monitor our responses to our environment, to repent, and seek for the Lord’s enabling grace to help us overcome when and where we fall short.
Gaining a testimony is a necessary start to our developmental journey. Elder Oaks taught that having a testimony is to “know and declare.” However, our ultimate desired condition is to be converted, which is to “do and become.”
“This spotless and perfected state will result from a steady succession of covenants, ordinances, and actions, and accumulation of right choices, and from continuing repentance” (Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, Ensign, November 2000).
Developing our inward qualities will not only make us marketable to an employer, but will help us be what the Lord would have us be now. We do not need to wait for some future date in eternity to begin.
At times our environment can be difficult for us to keep a becoming attitude. The people of Alma found themselves in such circumstances when they were brought into bondage by his former associate Amulon. Instead of murmuring and complaining, Alma and his people did “pour out their hearts to [God]; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts” (Mosiah 24:12). The Lord did ease their burdens that they were made light. He did “strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord’ (Mosiah 24:15). During my sophomore year in college, I had a short season when I felt completely overwhelmed. A registration of a block class created a credit load which was more than I could bear. Every moment of every day was consumed with a class or preparation for a class. About half-way through the course, I had reached my limit. I pled with the Lord in prayer for assistance and relief. I remember falling into bed exhausted, uncertain if I could face another full day. The next morning when I awoke, the burdening feeling of my coursework was gone. My schedule had not changed, but the suffocating feelings were no longer there. The demands were still great, but I was able to stay on and complete the course. Though it seems a small thing to me now, it was all my life at the time and consumed me. I gained a testimony that the Lord will strengthen us through in our difficulties however great or small if we will turn to Him. Truly he does “lift up the hands that hang down” and will “strengthen the feeble knees” – including hands filled with papers, projects, tests, busy schedules and work (D&C 81:5).
We will all have days when we are overwhelmed with the load of schoolwork or give less than our best. We will have days when we make poor choices. Paul taught in Romans: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). To stay on the path of becoming, we can sharpen our vision as we Arise from the Dust, Seek Revelation, and Serve Others.
Arise from the Dust
Near the end of his life, Lehi exhorted his sons to awake from a “deep sleep” and to “shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound” (2 Nephi 1:13).
“Awake! And arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent…“Arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity (2 Nephi 1:14,21). “Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust” (2 Nephi 1:23).
Three times he counseled his sons to arise from the dust. Dust is referred to in several instances in the scriptures and usually refers to temporal things, or things of this earth. Our flesh was made from the dust, the food we eat is of the dust, the great and abominable church – and all the sin it represents - will tumble to the dust (Jacob 2:21, Moses 4:20, 1 Nephi 22:14). Dust represents the elements and temptations of this world. To arise from the dust is to shake off any element that keeps us trapped in worldly thinking or living. Dust can be thoughts of doubt and fear; it can be desires for things that are worldly, base, or addictive; it may include attitudes such as negativity, cynicism, sarcasm, small mindedness, and “my will, not thine;” it may include behaviors such as gossip, evil-speaking, and any form of dishonesty. Dust consists of temporal concerns or temptations which blind our vision and keep us from progressing. Dust can also be things that keep us too busy and overwhelmed to hear the promptings of the Spirit.
During another transitional time as a newlywed couple, we moved into a ward that had an early church schedule, with Priesthood and Relief Society first and Sacrament meeting last. We were busy with work and school during the week, and we relished our sleep on the weekend. As it happened, we slept in one Sunday through the first two meetings, but made it on time for Sacrament meeting. Another week went by and we did the same, and another, until a month of Sunday’s had passed and we had only attended Sacrament meetings. Concerned ward members started reaching out to us, which quite literally awakened us to our poor pattern of worship. We realized that we needed to make a decision. Were we going to be full participants in the gospel or not? We were both returned missionaries and had recently been married in the temple. However these past experiences did not set the alarm clock for us each week. We had to make an obvious and simple choice to be active participants by better preparing for the Sabbath. We made a commitment to one another that we would. Our fatigue could have kept us from opportunities to grow which we enjoyed in that ward. If left unaddressed, that speck of dust could have developed into blindness and altered our journey from the gospel path.
In John chapter 9, the Savior performed a miracle in a most unusual way. He healed a man who was blind from birth and restored his sight. However, unlike previous instances where he simply touched the eyes of the blind and restored their vision, He did this: “When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, “And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing” (John 9:1-7).
Like a parable, there are lessons we can learn from the manner in which this man was healed. It is interesting that the Savior first anointed the blind man with a mixture of earth or dust. In order to receive his sight, he needed to wash away the dust in a special source of water. Though he had been blind all of his life, once he washed away the dust, he “came seeing.”
Is it not the same with us, who occasionally get dust in our vision ranging in size from a mote to a beam? Do we go about our lives for periods in blindness, caught up in our own temporal concerns? When the Savior heals our vision, we become aware, we can see another point of view, our perception is expanded, and our understanding is increased; we can imagine possibilities, and we are open to discovery (LDS New Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, Lesson 16. I was blind, now I see, 65). Like the blind man, we too can have our sight restored by washing away any earthly entrapment in the well of living water (John 4:14). No matter how long or severe our blindness has been, we can profess with him, “whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
Seek Revelation
As we arise from the dust, our vision becomes increasingly clearer to things of most worth. We can obtain direction each day by seeking revelation. The Liahona worked according to the “faith, diligence, and heed” which Lehi and his family gave it (1 Nephi 16:28). Through “small means,” “miracles [were] wrought by the power of God day by day”(Alma 37:41). When “they were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence, then those marvelous works ceased and they did not progress in their journey” (Alma 37:41). We can receive the same tangible revelation in our journey according to the faith, diligence, and heed we give to the Holy Ghost through daily prayer and scripture study. Elder Bednar said:
“These holy habits [prayer & scripture study] primarily are ways whereby we always remember Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son and are prerequisites to the ongoing companionship of the Holy Ghost” (David A. Bednar, Increase in Learning, p. 49-50).
Many of you have devoted long hours of study and practice to master the English language. Components of learning a language are broken down into reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Every component requires practice to increase fluency. As your skill in each area improves you are able to better communicate and understand until you can become like a native speaker. So it is with learning and understanding the language of revelation. We increase our “fluency” through practiced reading of scriptures, listening in prayer, and writing experiences or insights from the Holy Ghost in our personal journals. Sister Julie B. Beck taught, “The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life.” She testified that we can receive “answers to difficult questions…by reading the scriptures” coupled with daily prayer. She counseled that we consider having “a paper and pencil nearby to write questions and record impressions and ideas” (Julie B. Beck, “And Upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit,” Ensign, May 2010).
Through practiced reading, writing, listening, and speaking as received by the Spirit, we attune our ears to heaven and can “counsel with the Lord in all our doings” (Alma 37:37). While it may not be listed on your resume, the developed skill of personal revelation will be a guide to you during this transitional time of decisions. It will be essential for you as you endeavor to “progress in your journey” after college. Like the Liahona, this conduit of communication will stay open according to our daily faith, diligence, and heed, to our prayers and study of the scriptures.
Serve Others
The third way we can stay on the path of becoming is to serve others. When we understand the Spirit, our periphery vision is expanded and we are more aware of needs around us. Some years ago I heard a senior church leader share his witness of Jesus Christ. In the course of his testimony, he said something like this: “I know our Savior because I have stood where He would stand and have done as He would do.” It struck me at the time that we do not need to be in leadership positions to say the same thing. We too can stand where He would stand and do as He would do in our individual lives and circumstances. We do not need to have advanced degrees or high profile careers. We can strive to follow His example right now in our studies, our jobs, our interactions with immediate friends and family, and others with whom we may only have passing contact. As we do so, the Spirit will help us to perceive circumstances and opportunities to serve, even in small ways.
Recently I was traveling in an airport and was concerned about making my flight because of the long lines. As I approached the ticketing area, there was an older couple in front of me slowly making their way to the same line with about a half a dozen bags. Absorbed in my hurry, I walked around them and made it to the line before they arrived. Within a few moments I felt a tap on my arm by the older woman who had come up behind me. She said, “What you just did was very rude. You cut in front of us.” I offered a quick apology and turned around a bit surprised. Rationalizations started to circle in my head: Surely they could understand that I was in a hurry to catch my flight. Certainly they should see that I would move much faster through the line with my one bag. This Good Samaritan moment was invisible to me in my hurry. Nowhere in my selfish dialogue was the thought to offer them assistance. As is the problem with nearsightedness, I was unable to perceive the needs of this couple, heavily laden with luggage. My mind rationalized that she had overreacted, but my heart testified of my thoughtless behavior. This battle of heart and mind went on for a short time but was resolved in an instant when I turned and offered to the couple to pass in front of me, which they did with appreciation. When I chose to serve them – even in a small way – my feelings of defensiveness dissolved and it appeared her feelings of offence diminished as well. Sometimes an act of service however simple can help us overcome our blindness.
How easy it is to be so involved with our own busy lives that we fail to perceive the needs of our loved associates and especially those we do not know. However, the remedy is just as easy: to serve others as He would. Right now, today. “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10). Serving enables us to become trusted servants through which prayers can be answered. President Spencer W. Kimball taught this inspired principle:
“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, December 1974).
By serving others we keep our vision sharp to our surroundings and we are on the path of developing charity for our fellowman. Elder Oaks said that the reason charity is the greatest of all gifts is because charity “is not an act but a condition or state of being” (Dallin H. Oaks, The Challenge to Become, Ensign, November 2000). Charity is the greatest something we can become.
To this nearsighted student, the idea of “becoming something” has been difficult to perceive through times of transition and development. I have been permitted to develop as a professional, a wife, and now a mother of a 7th grader. More importantly, I’ve been allowed to develop as a daughter of God, according to His tender mercies. I have had to wash repeatedly in the well of “living water” to clear the dust that has periodically clouded my vision. I testify this invitation and blessing is available to all.
During this season of transition and development, I invite you to focus on the details of your inward qualities. Develop soft hearts with a firm resolve to become not just marketable prospects, but men and women of character. May each of us “awake and arise from the dust…and put on [our] beautiful garments” and “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny [ourselves]…all ungodliness” (Moroni 10:31-32). May we seek revelation through our faith, diligence, and heed in prayer and in scripture study so we will “progress in our journey” (Alma 37:41). May we truly see and serve others just as the Savior has done for us. “And above all these things, [let us] put on charity, which is the bond of perfection” in the name of Jesus Christ, amen (Colossians 3:14).