Aloha brothers and sisters. I am so grateful to be with you on this beautiful morning, in this beautiful place, and I am thankful for this opportunity to share some thoughts with you today.
Thinkers and writers through the centuries have mused on the importance of memory. Cicero, the revered Roman philosopher, saw memory as “the treasury and guardian of all things.” The thoughtful Oscar Wilde, called memory “the diary that we all carry around with us.” J.M. Barrie, the imaginative mind behind Peter Pan, observed, “God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” But the talented Charles Dickens seemed to especially capture memory’s powerful potential through a conversation in his novel David Copperfield. “It’s in vain,” Aunt Betsey says, “to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present.” It’s precisely that aspect of memory that I would like to discuss today.
I’ve titled my remarks “Remember He’s There,” and, in the spirit of remembering, I’d like to begin by taking you on a little stroll down memory lane with me, my memory lane. I’ve dug through the scrapbooks and found a few snapshots that will hopefully help you share, at least for a moment, in these reminiscences.
This first photo is of my siblings and me. I’m the medium-sized one smack-dab in the middle. The year is 1952 and the setting is Salt Lake City, where I was born and raised. While I have many fond memories of this stage of my life, one seems to stand out more prominently than the rest.
My ten year old brother Mike and I who was seven were left in charge of our younger twin brother and sister one night when Mom and Dad went out for their weekly date. In my mind’s eye, I can see the four of us lying on the living room floor in front of our 12-inch black-and-white television set, no doubt watching a favorite program. All these years later, I can distinctly recall a sudden, powerful impression I had to stand up and walk into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, I had the inexplicable idea that I should get down on my hands and knees and examine the tiny crevice under the kitchen cupboards. What I saw temporarily stunned me: Through that tiny crack, I could make out red, flickering flames!
Frantically, I ran back into the living room to tell my brother what I saw. “Mike! I think there’s a fire in the basement!” He just laughed at me, but I persisted and convinced him to go down into the basement with me to look. He nonchalantly led me through the quiet sewing room and then opened the door into the laundry room. There, in a large box of fabric, we saw flames shooting almost to the ceiling! Mike yelled at me to take the twins across the street to our neighbors and call the fire department. Meanwhile, he quickly unhooked the hose from the back of the washing machine and started dousing the flames.
By the time the two big fire engines arrived at our house, Mike had the fire out. My parents pulled into the driveway at about the same time the firemen did! It was quite an exciting scene for my family and all of our neighbors. We had caught the fire before it was able to do any real damage to our house. The only thing that was burned that night was an insignificant box of mother’s sewing scraps.
Let’s move to the next snapshot. Each time I see this picture I remember the exact moment President Wheelwright's father snapped this photo of us in his printing office at Wheelwright Lithograph in Salt Lake City. We had just decided to get married, and we came to his office to tell him the news. We were both so excited! Those glowing smiles on our faces reveal the burning happiness we shared, and the enthusiasm for our bright future.
The next snapshot jumps many years into the future. The year is 1984 and the place is Palo Alto, California. Our oldest daughter, Marianne, is the photographer. I must confess that I slightly cringe when I see this photo; we are certainly not at our best!
President Wheelwright and I have always believed in the importance of hard work, and when our children were young, we wanted to instill this value in them. Even though there were many complaints and grumblings each Saturday morning, and we sometimes had to coax our children out of bed, we loved working together. Every member of our family had a job. Typically, we focused on yard work, including gardening, pruning, and trimming, and Dad specialized in trips to the dump! But during this particular summer, President Wheelwright decided that even though it would be easier to hire someone to paint the outside of our house, it would be a great “learning experience” for us to do together. This project lasted most of the summer, but when we finished, we had each learned new skills and lessons that would last a lifetime, not the least of which was the importance of an education so that none of us would ever have to rely on our painting skills for a career!
There’s just one more snapshot for today: A most-memorable hug between our youngest child, Spencer, and me. This one photo encapsulates two long years of waiting for letters from our missionary far away in France, worrying about whether or not he was eating well and getting enough sleep, and wondering how his experiences were changing him. This photo simply and poignantly says, “We did it!”
Perhaps you have deduced from seeing these old photographs and listening to my reminiscing that there is a common thread to these memories. These four snapshots are part of a large, cherished collection of moments when I have felt God’s love for me, felt it in that undeniable, burning-in-my-bosom sort of way.
Standing outside our family home with the firemen, I knew without a doubt that Heavenly Father loved me and trusted me enough to send seven-year-old me an important message: Go look in the kitchen under the cupboards.
Gazing into my sweetheart’s eyes as a newly-engaged young couple, I knew Heavenly Father was there and cared that I find the perfect companion to progress with toward eternity.
Covered in paint and hoping our end result would be acceptable, at least to the neighbors, I felt the Lord’s love and support of our family as we tried our best to teach our children life’s important lessons.
And, finally, at that joyous reunion in Boston’s Logan Airport, I felt my Father in Heaven’s sincere satisfaction in a mother’s willing sacrifice and a son’s well-served mission.
In short, these memories remind me that Heavenly Father is there and He loves me.
Watch with me for a few moments now a beautiful excerpt from a talk given by President Eyring in General Conference back in October, 2007. He titled his remarks, “O Remember, Remember.”
I love that message. I love the power President Eyring attributes to remembering.
Virginia H. Pearce, in her talk “The Power of Remembering,” called remember “a holy word.” She believes that “remembering can build faith.” And she asserts that remembering can be “a tool for building our relationship with the Lord.”
Prophets, both modern and ancient would agree with Sister Pearce and President Eyring. Consider our dear President Monson’s incredible memory and love of reminiscing! I don’t think we’ve ever had a prophet who so well understood the teaching power of past personal experiences. And think of sweet President Hinckley; a few of his precious memories still echo in my ears. Remember all the times he would reflect on his mission to England? I guess I felt a special kinship to him as he would recall those experiences. I will never forget him sharing his father’s wise counsel on receiving a letter from his despondent young missionary son: “Forget yourself and go to work!” Those words encouraged me, too!
Do you know that throughout the Book of Mormon, we are admonished to remember 136 times?! Nephi states that he has “written these things . . .that perhaps [he] might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer.” King Benjamin urges us to “remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God.” And Alma pleads with his son, Helaman, to “remember . . . and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.”
Of course, the challenge in all this is remembering to remember! Forgetfulness is human nature, part of the natural man we are all striving to overcome. Alma understood this clearly. In his missionary work, he asked his listeners, and he similarly asks us, “If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?”
There is, I think, an implied second question there, too: Why not?
Likewise, I love the way the Lord spoke to Oliver Cowdery through a revelation to the Prophet Joseph in Doctrine and Covenants section 6. Oliver was questioning his resolve regarding embracing the restored gospel in the early days of his conversion process. The Lord gently reminds him and counsels him:
“If you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.”
“Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?”
Brothers and sisters, how many of us have, at some point in the past, had a personal witness from God? How many of us have seen the Lord’s hand in our lives? Have we ever sung the “song of redeeming love” Alma describes? Have we ever been blessed with peace and known the Lord was there? I certainly have. I’ve shared just four moments in time where I have felt this way, but there are many, many more. And I would venture to guess that each and every one of you in this room today has had such experiences. Do we remember them? If not, why not? Might we need to occasionally “cast our minds back to them?” And, most importantly, do we follow Charles Dickens’ advice and allow them to “work some influence upon the present?” Do we take advantage of the powerful nature of our spiritual memories in strengthening our faith and deepening our testimonies?
Let’s examine for a moment how our powerful memories can influence us for the better.
First of all, I think it is clear that memories need to be recorded, plain and simple. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Those who keep a personal journal are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives.” Obviously, journals are an excellent way to preserve and remember powerful experiences in our spiritual lives. I have never been a consistent journal writer, but as I have been preparing this talk I have made a commitment with myself that I will write in my journal every day about something that I want to remember – an experience from my past or the present -- something that reminds me that God is there and loves me. I believe that this is going to be a commitment I will love keeping because there is power in remembering; indeed, it has already blessed my life. This is a gift I am giving to myself, and one I recommend to each of you.
Remembering other people’s stories is important, as well. This is precisely what the scriptures are: Other people’s important spiritual experiences, preserved for our benefit. Consider that the Lord valued these records so much that he commanded Nephi to take Laban’s life, just so Nephi’s family could learn from the lessons of their collective past. I can hardly begin to enumerate the valuable experiences I have learned from as I have studied my scriptures over the years. I love Esther and her incredible courage and faith; her story reminds me to stand up for truth and righteousness, regardless of my fears. And brave Ammon, fighting off the thieves who would steal the king’s flocks. Can’t you just see the arms being presented to Lamoni?! That ancient experience strengthens my resolve in trying times and renews my commitment to share the Gospel, regardless of challenging obstacles. Reading the scriptures, as well as our family histories, will build our faith as we see the Lord’s hand reaching out and touching humanity.
In addition to recording our own experiences, past and present, and reading others’ as well, we can actively share our important memories with each other. This is what sharing our testimonies is all about. Elder Rasband, from the Seventy, gave a wonderful talk in last April’s General Conference entitled “Special Experiences.” He had this to say about testimonies:
“As experiences accumulate in our lives, they add strength and support to each other. Just as the building blocks of our homes support the rest of the structure, so too do our personal life experiences become building blocks for our testimonies and add to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Elder Rasband also notes that not all these experiences will be easy, or even pleasant.
“Some experiences will come as serious challenges and heavy trials that test our ability to cope with them. No matter what the experience may be, each gives us a chance for personal growth, greater wisdom, and in many cases, service to others with more empathy and love.”
We should strive to remember the Lord’s loving encouragement to the Prophet Joseph while spending that horrid winter in the dungeon that was Liberty Jail: “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”
Elder M. Russell Ballard defines “testimony” in this way: “A testimony is a witness or confirmation of eternal truth impressed upon individual hearts and souls through the Holy Ghost.”
Elder Ballard understands the great power inherent in such a witness or personal experience. He goes on to say:
“When one receives a testimony of truth through this divinely appointed process, it immediately begins to have impact on that person’s life. . . . It changes how you think and what you do. It changes what you say. It affects every priority you set and every choice you make.”
Keeping these things in mind, let’s consider again Elder Ballard’s definition of testimony: “A testimony is a witness or confirmation of eternal truth impressed upon individual hearts and souls through the Holy Ghost.”
Now, Elder Ballard mentioned a very key element to the power of remembering that we haven’t considered much yet: The Holy Ghost’s role in helping our memories influence us for the better.
Elder Eyring, in the same talk we watched the clip from earlier, teaches us that “The key to the remembering that brings and maintains testimony is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion. It is the Holy Ghost who helps us see what God has done for us.”
Now, here, my dear brothers and sisters, I’m afraid I have some disappointing news for you. If you came here today hoping I had some incredible new insight, some amazingly original, deep thought about the secret of life to let you in on, you might feel let down. Because really, what this all boils down to, the answer to the question of how to channel our past spiritual experiences to improve our lives today and in the future, certainly isn’t original, and it isn’t a secret at all. It comes down to having the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, and isn’t that really the answer to all of life’s hard questions?
1 Nephi 10:19 reads:
“For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times to come.”
And from the New Testament: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance.”
We probably all know the simple, “Primary answers” for how to have the Spirit as a companion: Live the gospel, follow the commandments, pray sincerely, read the scriptures, attend our meetings; in short, keep our covenants.
As we pray, let’s remember to ask for the gift of the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, and let’s also ask that the Comforter bring to remembrance those sacred, spiritual experiences we have had in our past that we may remember clearly how it felt to know Heavenly Father was there, that He loves us and cares about us.
Let’s “cast our minds back,” as Oliver Cowdery needed to, and recall and embrace that peace of mind we felt, perhaps only for a brief time, but in such a way that our testimonies were strengthened and our faith grew.
As President Eyring has said, let’s “come to see the hand of God more clearly, so clearly that in time we not only remember Him, but we come to love Him and, through the power of the Atonement, become more like Him.”
Remember that photo we looked at earlier, the one of my son and my reunion after his mission? Transfer that image to another joyous reunion we can all strive toward, a heavenly reunion with our Divine Redeemer. My hope and prayer for each of us is that we will search out and remember those times we have seen the hand of God reaching out to us, the times we have seen His hand in our lives. When we feel doubt or our faith waivers, when we feel overwhelmed or even abandoned, may we call back those witnesses to our minds and refocus, rekindling our faith and strengthening our testimonies through the power of remembering. By so doing, our heavenly reunions with our Loving Savior will be perfect, and we will be able to say, “We did it!”
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.