Brothers and Sisters, aloha!
As I look out at you I feel privileged to be in your midst. In you I see a microcosm of the global Church, we represent dozens of different countries, males and females, lifelong members, new converts, returned missionaries, member missionaries and soon to-be-members. Each of us has been chosen to be here at this place at this time. I am convinced, whether a student, faculty member, staff or administrator, each of us has his or her own wonderful story of how they came to be here. Be assured that the Lord has given each of us a phenomenal gift, the gift to be here to be trained and have the opportunity to develop and refine skills in our chosen field of study, but also to receive invaluable training and refining of skills beneficial in serving the Lord and our fellow beings.
My topic this morning is entitled "Thy will be done." This short but powerful phrase exemplifies an attitude of love and faith, and marks our obedience to the Lord's direction in our lives to bring about his purposes. I encourage all of us to cultivate such an attitude as we continue on our mortal journey. Let me share with you a personal experience whereby the Lord schooled me on this matter. Within days after graduating from BYU–Hawai`i I reported to the Missionary Training Center in New Zealand in preparation to serve a mission to the Philippines. I felt comfort upon graduation because I knew exactly where I was going and I knew it was the right course for me. I had no doubt that the Lord had supported my decision and helped make it possible for me to serve.
As my mission drew to a close I was prayerfully asking the Lord for guidance about my future. I was uncertain about what I should do next in my life but I had a desire to attend BYU Provo. It was a righteous desire and when I took my request to the Lord I knew the Lord approved through feelings from the Spirit, and promptings from the still small voice. I had no doubt that I would attend BYU Provo. Therefore I proceeded to submit my application requesting admission shortly after being released from my mission. In my mind I planned that I would visit my family briefly and be off on my next adventure to Provo. However my plan came to an abrupt halt about two weeks prior to completing my mission. I received word from BYU Provo that I was denied admission on the grounds they did not accept individuals seeking a second baccalaureate degree. For some reason seeking a graduate degree had not entered my mind.
As you can imagine I was disappointed, I had mapped out how I thought things would go but when it didn't happen that way I became upset with the Lord. When I look back at the arrogance of my attitude I cringe but at the time I felt the Lord let me down because I knew he condoned my going to Provo so why didn't Provo get the message? I was so upset that in a prayer I said to the Lord, "I'm so disappointed right now I can't think straight. I need time to work this out. I labored three days to realign my desires with the Lord's, and eventually I came to the conclusion again that "the Lord knows best, he loves me, there was something else for me at this particular time in my life and he wanted to give me the opportunity to be where I could learn what I needed to learn. It became clear to me I did not want to be somewhere the Lord did not want me to be. I became excited about this new perspective. After three tumultuous days I was sufficiently humbled and ready to say, "Thy will be done." Two years later I got my chance to attended BYU Provo when I was accepted in to the newly developed masters of social work program which was not in existence when I initially applied.
Recalling those two years prior to eventually journeying to BYU I have wonderful memories of experiences I would have missed out on if I had gone directly to Provo. I had the opportunity and blessing of serving the Lord in building up the His Kingdom in Palmerston North, New Zealand. I shared the gospel by going on tradeoffs with sister missionaries, I fellowshipped new members who were students at the local university who were challenged daily because of their beliefs, I taught institute and I tried my best to set a good example for my nonmember roommate who was being taught the gospel by the full time missionaries.
Four insights were affirmed to me through this experience. First, submit your will to the Lord and be strengthened by him. Second, faith leads to righteous action which increases our spiritual capacity and power. Third, the Lord keeps His promises, and fourth, we need to live worthy of our blessings. Let's take a closer at these four themes:
Submit Your Will To the Lord and Be Strengthened by Him
Elder Neal A. Maxwell said that "submissiveness to the Lord is not accomplished in an instant, but by the incremental improvements and by the successive use of steppingstones. Stepping stones are meant to be taken one at a time eventually our wills can be swallowed up in the will of the Father as we are willing to submit" 1 Submission to the Lord's will is not simply a passive exercise. It requires us to be proactive, to live the gospel through word and example.
Some years ago a young BYU Hawaii student attended ROTC Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky the summer of her junior year. The only people she knew attending the training were two students from the University of Hawai`i whom she met at the Honolulu airport shortly before boarding the plane to Kentucky. On her first day she was initially assigned a squad, platoon and company, and then marched around the parade ground to profane cadences they were expected to repeat. Next each individual was asked to introduce themselves to the other members of the platoon. One by one the cadets got to their feet, stated their name, what university they attended and anything else they wanted to briefly add. The young woman had already deduced that stating she was a student at Brigham Young University Hawai`i was going to create a mixed reaction but she had a pervasive feeling that she should take a stand for who she was and what she represented. When her time came she arose stated her name and proudly said she was a student at Brigham Young University Hawai`i and then she added "I'm wondering if it's necessary to swear while singing cadences." The senior drill sergeant moved swiftly to stand directly in front of the young cadet, positioning himself just inches away from her face and barked, "What did you say, cadet?" The young cadet responded in a clear voice loud enough to be heard by everyone in the group. "I am wondering if it's necessary to swear while we sing cadences, Drill Sergeant." Upon hearing this, the other drill sergeants assigned to the platoon, who moved closer to see how the young cadet would handle herself when confronted by the senior sergeant, burst out laughing. One mumbled something dismissive about college students, but from that point on all the cadences were void of profanity. This platoon became known as the "non-swearing platoon," when they shared transportation with other platoons and crude cadences began the offenders were quickly asked by someone from the non-swearing platoon to stop, on the occasions when they persisted no one from the non-swearing platoon joined in, and the cadences quickly died out.
Although it would have been easy for this young sister to ignore her concerns on that first day and not make them known to the group, she was guided by what she believed the Lord would have her do. She had covenanted at baptism to take upon herself the name of Christ and to keep his commandments and she was willing do what it took at that particular time and place to show her commitment to the Lord, one of many stepping stones towards developing a life of submission to the will of the Lord. Let me ask you, how are the covenants and commitments you have made particularly pertinent at this time and place? How does acting according to these commitments become your stepping stones to a life of submission to the will of the Lord?
Faith Leads to Righteous Action which Increases our Spiritual Capacity and Power
Faith is essential for the Lord's will to be done. It was the Prophet Joseph who explained that faith in Christ leads to righteous action, which increases our spiritual capacity and power. 2
When the prophet Joseph was not much younger than some of you, he demonstrated his faith by responding to a simple invitation found in The Bible: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)
Young Joseph believed what he read and he had faith to follow the Lord's direction to seek wisdom through prayer. The result of this action increased his spiritual capacity and the power to stay true to his mission to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth in the latter days. His faith never wavered even when he was beaten, tarred and feathered, falsely imprisoned, persecuted and lonely.
The Prophet's father Joseph Smith senior saw his son's increased spiritual capacity through his righteous actions. He pronounced these words in a blessing he gave his son the prophet, "The Lord thy God has called thee by name out of the heavens. Thou hast been called to the great work of the Lord: to do a work in this generation which no other would do as thyself, in all things according to the will of the Lord." 4
Like the prophet Joseph, our capacities, both physical and spiritual will be increased by choosing to show our faith by acting in accordance to the commandments, to our covenants and to our commitments which will ensure we stay aligned with the will of the Lord. In 2 Nephi the Lord tells us the following:
"Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
"And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God" 5. (2 Nephi 28:7-8).
Elder Robert D. Hales is straightforward when countering this perspective by saying, "This is the deception of the world." "As the Lord has taught us, wickedness not even a little wickedness never was happiness. And it never will be." For those of you seeing loved ones, roommates and friends who are riding the fence of inappropriate behavior they need your love and concern and just like the young cadet your time to speak up with clarity may be now.
Elder Kenneth Johnson of the Seventy put it another way: "To mature spiritually, we must successfully face situations and encounter experiences that challenge our allegiance to our covenants. When looking back on these experiences, we recognize the impact such moments have on our developing faith." 8 Encouragement to do the right thing, to seek assistance from one's ecclesiastical leader may be the very thing a loved one or friend will look back on and feel grateful that you had enough care to nudge them in the right direction.
Here are some questions for each of us to ask ourselves. What am I doing to counter the situations that may challenge my allegiance to my promises, commitments, and covenants? How can I demonstrate my love for my brothers and sisters in the gospel when I see them doing something counter to that which is right?
We need to have faith enough to act righteously by keeping all of our commitments and covenants and encouraging our loved ones and friends to do the same. This is another stepping stone towards developing a life of submission to the will of the Lord.
The Lord Keeps His Promises
The scriptures are full of examples where the Lord keeps his promises to us his children. One example is when King Mosiah inquired of the Lord if he should let his sons go up among the Lamanites to preach the gospel. The Lord's response to Mosiah was "Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites. (Mosiah 28: 7.) We know the rest of the story. King Mosiah granted his sons a request to serve among the Lamanites. They were very successful and returned home safely. The Lord's promise was fulfilled.
When the children of Israelfied Egypt and followed Moses into the desert they began to murmur because they were thirsty. The Lord instructed Moses to strike a rock in Horeb and water would come out so the people could drink. True to his promise the Lord provided water when Moses struck the rock as directed. When the people murmured against Moses and Aaron because they were hungry the Lord again speaking to Moses promised "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, at even ye shall eat flesh and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God." (Exodus 16:12). The Israelites were blessed with manna in the morning and in the evening "quails came up and covered the camp," (Exodus 16:13) just as the Lord promised.
Alma instructed his son Helaman about keeping the commandments and preserving the sacred records entrusted him, that these records were for the benefit of future generations. We can tell by reading Alma's words that he had no doubt future generations would be blessed by receiving these records when the Lord saw fit. Alma, referring to the Lord said, "For he will fulfill all his promises which he shall make unto you, for he has fulfilled his promises which he has made unto our fathers" (Alma 37:17).
When I received my answer through the Spirit that I would attend BYU Provo I could have demonstrated more faith. I made a mistake getting upset. I should not have wasted precious time and energy feeling disappointed and hurt because I knew I had my answer from the Lord and he always keeps his promises.
Here is a question for all of us. How can knowing the Lord always keeps his promises help guide us as we make choices, big and small?
Live Worthy of our Blessings
It has been prophesied that those who come through the doors of this institution will be leaders for peace internationally and they will be men and women of integrity and instrumental in building up the Kingdom of God. Elder Ballard, in his talk entitled "Toward Our Destiny," reiterated this when he said, "I believe that BYU-Hawaii is going to have an even greater role in this process of preparing the leadership of the Church in the future. He went on to comment about what we need to do to be prepared for this blessing, "It's going to take a united effort the united strength, faith, testimonies, and courage of the membership of the Church to fulfill our destiny and preparation for that day and time when the Savior will say, "It is enough', and will come to rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and Head of the Church."
In order for us to be worthy of these responsibilities, we need to understand that we are his children and where much is given much is expected in return. Elder Bruce R. McConkie proclaimed, "We have covenanted in the waters of baptism to love and serve him, to keep his commandments, and to put first in our lives the things of his kingdom. In return he has promised us, he has promised us, eternal life in his Father's kingdom."
May we see our time here as a training ground for the eternities. As insignificant as it may seem to some, obeying university rules and regulations, adhering to the Honor Code and developing a love for people different from oneself is critical to this training, It is another stepping stone for living a life of submission to Our Lord. May we always be found trying to do our best to live worthy of our blessings by keeping our personal covenants and commitments. Let's practice now being a people of one heart, unified in the Savior and our Heavenly Father. I say these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Notes
1. Maxwell, N. "Consecrate Thy Performance." Ensign. December, 2008.
2. Lectures on Faith
3. James 1:5
4. Jones, Gracia N. Emma's Glory and Sacrifice: A Testimony (1987), 43-44.
5. 2 Nephi 28:7-8
6. Robert D. Hales, "Return with Honor" Ensign, June 1999.
7. Alma 41:10
8. Johnson, Kenneth. "Coming To Know For Ourselves" Ensign, July 8 2008.
9. M. Russell Ballard, "Toward Our Destiny" April 7, 2008.
10. McConkie, Bruce R. "Obedience, Consecration and Sacrifice" Ensign, May 1975