In the New Testament, the Savior often used questions to begin a teaching moment. The objective was to provoke thought and to prepare people to learn. The Master asked one such question found in the 22nd chapter of the Book of Matthew. And, the question asked of the Pharisees was: 'What think ye of Christ' (Matthew 22:42)?
Let me begin today with some questions as well: What do we think of Christ? Are our lives built on a foundation of faith in Him? What does His atonement mean to us? Do we as His disciples 'talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ, prophesy of Christ' as taught by Nephi (2 Nephi 25:26)? Are we any better than the Pharisees who know much about the letter but not the Spirit of His gospel? In our busy and hectic lives, is there a time for thoughts of Him who is our Savior and his atoning sacrifice?
I like the story of a very busy owner of a jewelry store who was getting married. During the wedding, time came for the jeweler and his bride to exchange rings. As is the custom, while putting the ring on his bride's finger, he is supposed to say, "With this ring, I thee wed." But as he took hold of the ring, he seemed to have forgotten what to say and looked blankly at the minister. To help him, the minister prompted, "With this ring"
Probably still thinking about his business, the jeweler replied, "With this ring, we give you a full year written warranty on workmanship and materials."
Are we like the jeweler who goes through the motions but is actually thinking about his business? In the sermon of King Benjamin, he asks us: "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him; and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart" (Mosiah 5:13)?
Like most of you, I was a student for many years preparing for a career. Looking back, I now realize that the most important lesson I had to learn was building the bricks of my education on a foundation of faith in Christ. I have learned that my thoughts, understanding and appreciation of Jesus of Galilee was even more important than what I learned in engineering or organizational behavior. For when I know the Savior and not just know things about Him, I am better able to make good use of all that I have learned to succeed and be happy. This was what Helaman taught his sons Nephi and Lehi when he said:
"And now my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build, they cannot fall." (Helaman 5:12)
How can we build a foundation of faith in Christ and His atonement as we undertake our educational and career aspirations in life? Allow me to share four suggestions that I have learned in my life's journey:
1. Keep earning our own witness
2. Follow the Lord's pattern
3. Learn so as to love others
4. Count your blessings every day
Keep Earning Our Own Witness
I joined the church with my family in 1978 while I was just 16 years old. My parents were strong second generation Protestants and our family grew up familiar with the Bible. So while the missionaries were teaching us, we struggled to accept Joseph Smith as a prophet and the Book of Mormon as another testament of Christ. The love and patience of the missionaries, however, brought my parents and all of us five children to the waters of baptism. We all voted to become members for we felt it to be right for our family. But it wasn't until I was about to go on a mission years later that I realized that I had to know for myself, independent of my family. I knew I could not depend on what others know; nor could I live on the light I had borrowed from them. I had learned enough at the time that I could not share with others what I did not have.
So one night, I took Moroni at his word. After reading from the Book of Mormon, I knelt and asked God. And I testify to you that did I earn my own witness. On many occasions since then, I have repeated these same steps of receiving a witness. I learned that I can follow this process of revelation to know what God would have me do in my life.
Our Father in Heaven invites all of His children to know Him. He has given us the scriptures and living prophets and apostles that we may learn of Him and gain our own testimony. And to those who diligently seek, He has promised his Spirit as a witness of the truth to our hearts. But know that this witness requires some work and effort. Nothing of value is easy and can be had for free. When Oliver Cowdery failed in his attempt to translate, the Lord told him: "Behold you have not understood; you have supposed that I would it give unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me" (Doctrine & Covenants 9:7). So I have learned that everything has a price and if I want a strong foundation of faith, I cannot assume that I can have it without my doing anything.
This lesson that there is no free ride was reinforced when I was working for Andersen Consulting (which is now Accenture) for a project in Bangkok. I loved Thailand and felt at home because of its many similarities to my own country. But one thing that was too familiar was the traffic. One time I was telling a fellow manager who was British that it took me an hour to get home by taxi in what should only take 15 minutes. "Have you tried the motorbike taxis?" he asked. When he saw that I didn't know what he was talking about, he explained that these were motorcycles for hire like taxis. They were lined up along some streets and their drivers usually wear bright colored sleeveless vests. "You just tell them where you want to go, and they will tell you how much they charge. And, if their price is acceptable, away you go."
Then he added, "But be careful and hang on tight. Some of them are crazy and drive very fast between vehicles even when the distances are narrow." "So what do I do?" I asked. Tell them cha-cha, which means 'slow down'," my friend replied.
So on my way home that night, I went out to one of the streets my friend mentioned and sure enough - there were motorbike taxis lined up. I went to the front of the line and asked the driver: "How much to Pantip Plaza?" This mall was close to the executive serviced apartments I stayed at. He replied: "Fifty baht." It was cheaper than what I usually pay for in a taxi so I nodded agreement, got on the back seat and as I was putting on the helmet, I remembered what my friend said about speed. I tapped the driver on the shoulder and said: "Cha-cha, okay?" And he replied, "Ah, cha-cha - One hundred baht!"
This is a great lesson not just for earning a witness but for achieving success in life. President James E. Faust said it best when he said:
"[This] is another great truth you must learn. It is that everything has a price. There is a price to pay for success, fulfillment, accomplishment, and joy. There are no freebies. If you don't pay the price needed for success, you will pay the price of failure. Preparation, work, study, and service are required to achieve and find happiness. Disobedience and lack of preparation carry a terrible price tag." (James E. Faust, "The Devil's Throat," Liahona, May 2003, 51-53)
Follow the Lord's Pattern
Some years ago, I worked at the Plastics Packaging business of San Miguel Corporation, the biggest conglomerate in the Philippines. The plant I worked at made the plastic crates that were used to carry beverage bottles. The injection machines that were used to make the plastic crates were huge and expensive. San Miguel had invested in the high-end machines made by Krauss-Maffei of Germany to guarantee the quality of the plastic crates. But while there I learned that as good as your machine was, the big difference in quality came from the mold used inside the injection molding machine. The right mold or pattern can compensate even for lower branded injection machines. For this reason San Miguel corporation also used the best molding company - Schoeller of Switzerland.
Doctrine and Covenants 52:14 also talks about the molds or patterns we use in our lives. It says: "And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations."
The patterns we follow in our lives take many forms - sometimes they are ideals we believe in, professions we love, or persons we admire. These patterns influence our goals, decisions and actions. As followers of Christ, we need to be careful about the patterns we follow. For once we have received a witness of the truth of the everlasting gospel, we are to follow the Lord's patterns to build our foundation of faith in Christ. The Lord's patterns are all intended to keep us safe, happy, and on the path back to our heavenly home.
Of course, there are other 'worldly patterns.' They offer popular short-cuts to success as defined by man, which are fame, fortune, and power. The choice as to which pattern to follow is ours. One of my favorite books growing up was the Gift of Acabar by Og Mandino. He wrote this wise counsel in what he called the Credenda part of the book: "Before you set your heart too much on anything, examine how happy they are who already possess what you desire." So as we make our choices, let us not be misled to follow those seemingly successful people who the Lord was referring to when he said, "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
Learn So As To Love Others
Over the years I have also realized that I build my foundation of faith in Christ when I use what I have learned to love and serve others. The Savior Jesus Christ himself, His mission, His plan, His atonement was all about love. Indeed the gospel of John records that 'God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son' (John 3:16). When asked about the greatest commandment, the Master encapsulated it in one word "LOVE" - to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. On this he says, hang all the law and the prophets. The Lord probably knew that it was easier for us to say and profess love for an invisible God than to really demonstrate it to someone in front of us.
You see, love is not just expressed using words, it has to be demonstrated and truly felt. I think it was Stephen Covey who said: "Love, the verb, precedes love the feeling." And how do we demonstrate charity, the pure love of Christ? The first step may be to see as God sees His children - as Gods in embryo. With this eternal vision of man, nothing can be a better demonstration of service and love for a child of God, than to teach him who he really is and help him achieve his full potential.
Can we see the good in every person we deal with? I remember an experience when I was the General Manager of a multinational armoring company. My secretary came in to my office one morning and told me that a client was in our plant floor and that my sales directors and sales managers were all out. Nobody could entertain the client so could I please go out and talk to him, she asked. I agreed then went out to our plant floor. When I looked around, there was only one person there besides our manufacturing personnel. He was very stout, unkempt and unshaven. He was wearing slippers, worn out khaki shorts and his T-shirt with a fading print had a tear on the left shoulder. I assumed that the client had gone back to his car and had left his driver. Nevertheless, I walked over to him, smiled, said good morning cheerfully, shook his hand and introduced myself. Then I gave him my best sales pitch. This turned out to be providential for I learned 30 minutes later that he was the client and was one of the wealthiest men in the nearby province of Pampanga. He owned the only telecommunications company there and had several schools and businesses. He had even run for mayor in one of the towns. He eventually bought several of our armored vehicles which cost about P5 million each. I sometimes wondered what would have happened had I treated him poorly like he didn't matter. Do we treat each other as the sons and daughters of God that we are?
To love others is not to give up on them. As Lehi never lost hope for Laman and Lemuel, Heavenly Father never gives up on His children despite their hardheadedness and rebelliousness. Therefore, we need to keep trying and reaching out to those who need our love. I believe that our love, like our knowledge, our memories and our service, is something that we can bring with us in the resurrection. For when we love, we focus our time and talents on that which truly matters most - the eternal life that the Son of God had promised us. President Monson quoted physician Bernadine Healy in the October 2000 General Conference when she said in a commencement address:
"As a physician, who has been deeply privileged to share the most profound moments of people's lives including their final moments, let me tell you a secret. People facing death don't think about what degrees they have earned, what positions they have held, or how much wealth they have accumulated. At the end, what really matters is whom you loved and who loved you. That circle of love is everything, and is a good measure of a past life. It is the gift of greatest worth." ("On Light and Worth: Lessons from Medicine," Commencement address, Vassar College, 29 May 1994, 10, Special Collections)
Count Your Blessings Every Day
If we are to build our foundation of faith in Christ, we need to have thoughts and feelings of overwhelming gratitude to Him. Gratitude does not seem to be inborn in most of us and if we do feel it, it seems to be very short lived. I heard one psychologist trainer say: "Gratitude is the shortest of all human emotions. It is presently clocked at 4.3 seconds."
I think we're very much like the hotdog vendor who set up his hot-dog cart in the park early each morning. He had a sign on his cart that said, "Hotdogs $5.00." At one time a wealthy man who happened to be jogging past noticed him and was impressed at how early he started to work. "Because he is industrious, I will help him," the wealthy man thought to himself. So as he went by, the wealthy man took $5.00 from his pocket and placed it on top of the cart. He went away without taking any hotdog or saying anything. And for the next two weeks he did this - placing $5.00 on the cart and then jogging away. Then one day, as he had just placed $5.00 and was running away, he heard the hotdog vendor call out to him - "Excuse me, sir. Can I talk to you?" So he stopped, turned around and with a smile said: "I think you are calling me to thank me and to know why I'm giving you $5.00 without getting a hotdog right?" The hotdog vendor replied, "Well, sir I was just actually going to tell you that my hotdogs are now $7.00 and you owe me $2.00."
How often do we have to be reminded to be grateful? I believe the reason for the many ordinances and symbols in the gospel is to help us remember, because it is so easy for us to forget. While serving as a mission president, I found the need to teach the missionaries that we are asked to be grateful not because Heavenly Father needs our gratitude. We are to be thankful because we need to fully appreciate what He has given us and what He has done for us. Without this, we cannot become like Him. A grateful heart is a humble heart, a heart willing to be taught, a heart full of happiness. Have you ever seen a grateful person who was not happy? Or perhaps the reverse - have you ever seen an ungrateful person who was not unhappy?
I learned a lot about gratitude from my father. To teach us, he would often repeat the quote: "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man without any feet." While serving as a member of a stake presidency in the Philippines, I recall one Sunday when I had an assignment to visit a ward. A typhoon had just passed, and I was not particularly feeling excited to magnify my calling that morning. I had many burdens on my mind and I would rather attend church with my family. But I went nevertheless, albeit a little grumpy. Afterwards, I was in hurry to get home after the meetings when one of the mothers in the ward stopped me to ask if I can interview her to renew her temple recommend. I grudgingly obliged. She came to the interview smiling and happy. When I asked her first how her family was doing, she replied that their home was flooded nearly up to the roof the night before. They had to tie up and bring all their belongings to the ceiling. They also had to bring their kids in the middle of the night to an evacuation center and then they had to go back to watch over their house. Because of this they did not have much sleep. Yet she said both she and her husband were happy to be able to come to church that Sunday, especially so because she was going to get her temple recommend renewed. As she was telling me the story, I was somewhat confused because the happy expression on her face did not match the tragic adversity she was telling me about. Then I began to be very ashamed because I had murmured and selfishly dwelt on my problems when I still had a warm bed to sleep in. This sister taught me a lesson about gratitude that morning I never forgot. When I remember her I am inspired to always count my blessings.
I began with questions so let me close with the last two. In Matthew 16 verses 13-16, we find recorded the Savior asking his apostles the question: "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" They responded: "Some say thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and other Jeremias, or one of the prophets." Then came the question: "But whom say ye that I am?" In short, who am I to you? What role do I play in your life? Can we, like Peter, have a foundation of faith strong enough to reply with conviction: "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God."
I pray that we will build our foundation of faith in Christ as we keep earning our own witness, following the Lord's patterns, learning so as to love others and counting our blessings every day. I testify that such a foundation will bring blessings of joy and peace in our lives as our Father in heaven has promised. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.