In late November, we received at our home in Utah a copy of President Wheelwright Presidential Report. The cover showed a photo of two recent BYU-Hawaii graduates, Masahiko and Eria Honda and the article inside told their story; of their coming to BYU-Hawaii, meeting each other, their marriage, graduations and the life they are now living in Japan.
Eria is like a daughter to Sister Layton and me. She served in the NY Rochester Mission with us and although we have not seen her since she flew out of New York one very cold winter morning, we love her very much and have kept in touch with her through email.
The article telling the story of the Hondas is titled: Returning Home Prepared. This is what I want to speak with you about today returning to your homes prepared for the life that lies in your future.
I will not speak on the importance of returning to your home country although I do have strong feelings about that. Many of you have and most likely will think about remaining in the United States and the possibility of staying permanently.
You have been taught by your school and priesthood leaders and the General Authorities of the importance of returning to your homeland, there to strengthen your families, serve both the local Church and your community and native country, and most importantly, to help prepare your own family for the eternal blessings the Lord has prepared for you that only come over the many years of experience and living.
I won't talk about the importance of your education, for which you must make great efforts to obtain while you are here. It is one thing to come to BYU-Hawaii and obtain a degree, and far more to receive an education. Work hard with your assignments, study diligently and faithfully attend class. Never let the distractions of this magical island deny you the most beautiful experiences you can have here in Laie.
You have and will hear many people talk to you about the importance of your education. President Hinckley spoke of it often and so has President Monson.
Beyond receiving an education, there is another side of returning home prepared for which I have wish to speak with you today: It is returning home firm in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of His eternal truths, going back to your homes, the land of your ancestors and your families. It the land upon which the Lord can make you mighty and prosper you as He has promised as you are faithful to Him and His work.
It is not enough just to participate in the Church while you are here. You must get the gospel into your heart and soul so deeply that you are a different person when you return to your home; the kind of a person who can immediately begin to contribute; to strengthen your family, your community and the Kingdom of God that is growing in your native country; The kind of person who will never forsake covenants or even relax in their obedience.
Many years ago, a friend of mine told of an experience he had one evening as he was flying home from New York City to Salt Lake. He had been in New York seeking to find funding for a company he was trying to start.
About a half hour after takeoff, sitting in an aisle seat, my friend noticed President Boyd K. Packer walking down the aisle from the front of the plane where he had been seated. My friend said he later learned that President Packer often walked through the plane after the seat belt sign had been turned off, and if there were members of the Church on the plane he usually found them.
They made eye contact and then for the next ninety minutes, my friend was tutored by this Especial Witness of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Among the things Elder Packer told my friend were these two ideas:
1. Never let any taint come upon your name, your company, or your money.
2. Memorize Section 59 and use it as your guide as your make critical decisions in your career.
This counsel, given more than thirty years ago, was very influential to my friend, who is actually Elder Monte J. Brough, who served for nearly twenty years as a member of the Quorum of the Seventy. This experience happened many years before he was general authority, when he was like you: young, ambitious, and trying to get started in the world.
Many of you have read Section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is a beautiful set of verses from the Lord, given to Joseph Smith just a few days after he arrived in Missouri in the summer of 1831. The teachings are simple but profound. We are reminded of several very important standards from the Lord. They include verses 5-8:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve Him. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it. Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
These are five key principles of the Lord's plan for a happy life. Mark them in your scriptures. Refer to them often and if you wish to, accept President Packer's invitation to memorize them.
Then continuing with Section 59, verses 9-10, 13:
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shall go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day. For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High. And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.
So, as you return home, be absolutely determined to be faithful to these commandments, including keeping the sabbath day holy.
Over the many years, Sister Layton and I have developed a deep appreciation for the sabbath day and treasure the peace and spiritual rest that comes from this day of escape from the normal pressures and work of life.
Keeping the Sabbath day holy never takes a vacation. Whenever we were traveling with our family, we always found a meetinghouse and met with the local saints, sharing their fellowship and testimony and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. And we always attended the three hours of worship. It made for a more complete sabbath experience, even when away from our home ward.
During the many years of my working career, as I struggled with the responsibilities and pressure of running a business, I found the reprieve each Sunday was rejuvenating and prepared me for the coming week. And certainly, we were strengthened in our desire and efforts to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.
The revelation continues with verses 15-16, 18, 20:
And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, but with a glad heart, The fullness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field The fowls of the air. The herb, and the good things which come of the earth. Yea all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart. And it pleaseth God that He hath given all these things unto man, for unto this end were they made.
This earth and all things therein were created by the Only Begotten, under the command and direction of Heavenly Father as a place for you and me to spend mortality, as a time to learn correct principles, and then to act upon our understanding responsibly.
Learn to make correct decisions and then accept the resulting consequences of your choices. This is agency, a divine gift so sacred and precious that a war was waged in the pre-existence to protect it.
The Lord has a wonderful plan. He created this earth for us to come down and live upon. He beautified it with plants, flowers, mountains, beaches, and all manner of delightful things. There are few places where you can surround yourself with more of His beautiful creativity than here in Hawaii. The earth was planned and created to provide the location for this second estate.
Do not be confused by voices that would teach you that man is an intruder on the earth, that other living things may be more important than your own right to live here on the earth and fulfill God's purpose for you. We all have a responsibility to use all that we have been given responsibly, to care for this planet and what the Lord grants to share with us.
So we should care about the environment, we should keep the earth clean and never waste but we should not relegate man to the same level of that which the Lord created for our use our joy and our benefit.
Section 59 continues: And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is His wrath kindled, save those who confess not His hand in all things, and obey not His commandments.
Maintain an attitude of gratitude. President Monson introduced this wonderful short thought at the April conference in 1992.
Later he taught, If ingratitude is numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest virtues
One of the ways we can show Heavenly Father our gratitude for His abundant blessings is by the payment of an honest tithing. This is a wonderful principle. In one of the last sermons President Hinckley gave, in 2007 just before his passing, he said, The payment of tithing is a test of our faithfulness and loyalty. With the payment of tithing have come innumerable blessings. It is an opportunity to prove our faithfulness.
The Lord has commanded that we return to Him one tenth of our increase annually. This has been explained by the prophets to mean one tenth of our income.
What is my income? you may ask. This is for you to decide. You alone. No bishop or branch president or priesthood leader should ever give you more specific instructions. The amount you tithe is between you and the Lord. But as President Hinckley stated: "It is a test of our faithfulness and loyalty.
If we are liberal with Him, He will be liberal with us. If we cheat in the payment of our tithes, He may ask, "Will a man rob God?" But on the positive side, He has promised, Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in My house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:10).
You have already been blessed by the opening of the windows of Heaven. The largest share of the cost of your education is paid by the righteous saints across the earth who regularly and faithfully return to the Lord one tenth of their increase.
It is the another miracle of the loaves and the fishes. So much from so little, multiplied by the power of the Lord.
I have a very powerful personal testimony of the blessings of the payment of tithes and offerings. Everything we receive in terms of prosperity and abundance is part of our stewardship and we will one day stand accountable before Him on how we used the blessings of prosperity that He permitted us to enjoy.
So as you return home, return with an attitude of gratitude. Live carefully, and always pay an honest tithing. It can be expressed another way: Paying tithing is more about our faith and trust in Heavenly Father than it is in paying money.
One of our returned missionaries told me recently, President, you taught us that we will never know how much the Lord can bless us until we trust Him enough to live so as to be worthy of His blessings.
Another important principle is found in the next to last verse of Section 59. But learn that he that doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come.
One of the simplest but important ways that we do the works of righteousness is to serve the Lord by serving in His church.
Another important principle that I hope you carry home with you is this: No matter where you are called to serve, no matter who extends the call, accept it, embrace it and magnify it. Never think that you are too smart or too experienced or too busy or too talented to serve in a small or obscure calling. There is no such thing as an unimportant calling.
Many years ago, after serving as the First Counselor to President George Albert Smith, President J. Rueben Clark was called by President David O. McKay to serve as his second counselor. The announcement created considerable discussion among some members of the Church. But at the General Conference when they were sustained as the new First Presidency, President Clark said these immortal words: "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines.
Once in a while young people are guilty of measuring their worth among their peers by the callings they receive. Elders Quorum President? Relief Society President?
For every Primary President, the Lord needs a nursery leader and a Sunbeam teacher. For every bishop, there must be a scoutmaster, a librarian, and many faithful home teachers.
It is of little matter to our Heavenly Father which callings we are given. Rather, it is of grave importance how we serve in the callings we are asked to tend.
President Monson has often quoted this little poem:
Father, where shall I work today?And my love flowed warm and free.Then He pointed out a tiny spotAnd said, Tend that for me.I answered quickly, Oh no; not that!Why, no one would ever see,No matter how well my work was done;Not that little place for me. And the word He spoke, it was not stern;He answered me tenderly:"Ah, little one, search that heart of thine.Art thou working for them or for me?Nazareth was a little place,And so was Galilee.
(Meade McGuire.)
Serve well where you are called. Do not concern yourselves with who serves elsewhere and never criticize or find fault with your leaders, even within your own private thoughts. If you harbor ill will towards a church leader, repent and ask their forgiveness. Secret resentments will not remain secret but you will experience unhappiness all alone.
Again from President Monson:
What does it mean to magnify a calling? It means to build it up in dignity and importance, to make it honorable and commendable in the eyes of all men, to enlarge and strengthen it, to let the light of heaven shine through it to the view of other men. And how does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it. (Priesthood Power, October 1999, Priesthood Session, 169th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Next, consider your place in your family. Your parents had enough faith to bring you into the world. Do the same for Heavenly Father's children. Too many young couples today try to figure out how they are going to pay all their bills for the next decades, thinking that they should budget their family based upon their future income.
Such thinking exposes a lack of faith; lack of faith in a Heaven Father who has promised to open the windows of Heaven such that you will not have room enough to receive it certainly more than would be needed. How did other parents have the means to raise large families? They didn't, but they did have faith that the Lord would provide as they invited His spirit children into their homes.
If you are not yet married, pray for temple marriage every day. Young men, there is nothing more important than selecting a companion, under the influence of the Spirit and taking her clean, pure, and worthy to the Temple of the Lord. It will be the most important day of your mortal life. It will be better than anything you have previously experienced but there will follow many rich and special and joyous days that will exceed even the joy of that day.
A temple marriage will not just happen. You must want it, seek for it, pray for it, and most importantly, live so that when the opportunities unfold, you will be worthy yourself to make these most sacred covenants.
Last, and most importantly, may I offer what should be the most important blessing you take with you as you return to your homes. That blessing would be a solid personal testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He lives, and He knows you more personally than you know any friend or spouse or member of your family.
He is the only Begotten Son of our Heavenly Father. He was with the Father in the beginning and offered Himself as the ransom for our sins and mistakes. Malachi wrote of a promise that was made to the fathers that surely included the promise of the Savior to come into the world and Atone for our sins. Over the span of 4 millennium, prophets taught of the coming of the Messiah and testified of His birth, to be born to a virgin mother, fairest of all virgins. The Ancient prophets knew of His coming and gave their lives to testify of Him.
You have been blessed to study at one of the few schools anywhere on earth where the whole atmosphere has been prepared to testify of Jesus Christ, where the faculty and staff join their examples with their words to proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Savior and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His kingdom, restored to the earth and the gate through which all mankind must pass to regain His presence.
If you are not yet firm in this faith, sometimes doubting or wondering, sometimes thinking that perhaps the invitations of the world, apart or away from the influence of family or the Church may be worth visiting, well DON'T DO IT!
Sister Layton and I invite you to do as millions have done, to ask God, in the name of Christ, if these things are true, and if you will ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, I promise you that the Lord will speak to you through the still small voice of the Spirit.
If you spiritual ears are alert, if you are not overwhelmed with the noise of the great and spacious building, you will feel His manifestation come into your heart by the still small voice of the Holy Ghost.
If your testimony is still emerging, then with all the learning you are given the opportunity to receive here, gain this knowledge, sure and steadfast, ahead of any other. Return home firm in the faith of the fathers and strong is your foundation, built upon the Rock of Redemption, even Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God.
Now, in closing, my I borrow from a thought and expression from Nephi found in 2 Nephi 11, My soul delighteth
My soul delighteth in you, in this marvelous institution and the wonderful blessing you have received to be students here, to learn and prepare yourselves for the future, to sit at the feet of this faithful faculty who have chosen to follow the voice of the Good Shepard. You can trust them to teach you the truth. Too many university students must take classes from self centered vain individuals who are puffed up in their own importance, thinking because they are learned they are wise. Their words become fool's gold as time proves their theories and their postulates to be hollow and empty.
My soul delighteth in the Savior Jesus Christ. The angel asked young Nephi, knowest thou the condescension of God? I have pondered that question for many years and after all the thought, scriptures study, and prayer, I can only say that I am coming to get my mind around who He is.
I can with great assurance bear witness that He is the Son of the Father, our Savior and Redeemer. And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in, and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent (Mosiah 3:17)
There is no other name, none other way, no other path to happiness in this life and eternal salvation in the world to come, only through Him. It is for us to "yield to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and put off the natural man and become a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord, becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all l things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon (us), even as a child doth submit to his father" (Mosiah 3:19).
Learn of Him, listen to His words; walk in the meekness of His spirit, and you shall have peace in Him (see Doctrine & Covenants 19:23)
My soul delighteth in the restoration of His true Church and the return of His authority ”the priesthood" to act here on earth and have the acts accepted in heaven. The prophets since the beginning of prophesied of the work in the last dispensation, when all things shall be restored which have been lost, preparatory to the heralded second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My young friends ”remember President Packer's words: Memorize Section 59.
May your soul come to rejoice in the powerful truths taught therein, that you may return to your home prepared to serve both the God of Heaven and his family here on earth. May you understand better who you are and the special blessings you have been allowed to receive, that you might become His tool for good, forever. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.