Demonstrations

It seems to me that there isn't a week goes by that there are people marching or gathering to demonstrate about something. Yesterday on the news they referred to a demonstration some years ago. 

This photo appeared on the front page of the Deseret News.  Do these people look happy to you? Do you want to be around them? Would you want to follow them? Do they look like they have love in their hearts?

It seems as though people have the idea that this type of behavior will accomplish their purposes. 

There are even demonstrations against the church. 

Contention in any form is not condoned by God. It is inspired by Satan. After all he was expelled from his heavenly home and the presence of God because of this action. He stirs up the hearts of men to contend with each other. 

Nowhere in the scriptures that I know of has the Lord given us permission to contend or demonstrate. If we do this we are just following Satan. 

If you will remember it was a hostile demonstration that resulted in the crucifixion of Christ. 

It was a demonstration on Kristalnacht that began the persecution and extermination of over six million Jews. 

We should never allow ourselves to be tempted to join in such activities. There is Satanic way and the Lord's way. 

We can read about the Lord's way in the 4th and 107th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. The principles are; gentleness, meekness and love.  If we all treated each other with these three attributes and let the Lord lead us then there would be no need to rise up in anger. 

Our thoughts should be, let the Lord do the judging and reward according to the person's works. 

We need to follow the Savior.

Love,

Grandpa

Taking joy in someone's misfortune.

I have been reading in the newspaper and listening to the news on TV about a number of people whose mistakes are reported in depth. Their sins and missteps are detailed in the extreme and the accusers wear their disclosures as a badge of honor. 

It reminds me of how far we have come from the teachings of the Savior. We figuratively cast our stones at those individuals and cluck our tongues at what we perceive to be the weakness and frailty of men and women. We fail to take into account that the natural man is an enemy to God and will be until he yields to the enticing of the Spirit and puts off the natural man and becomes a Saint. This can only come through obedience to the commandments of God. 

Christ admonished us to let the Lord do the judging and let the Lord reward those according to their works. 

When Christ was posed with a situation where he was asked to condemn a woman his response was to let the person who was without sin be the first to cast the stone to cause her death. She was already dead spiritually. Christ offered her spiritual as well as well as physical life by telling her that he did not condemn her and to go her way and sin no more. 

It was not his role at that time to be a judge. His role at that time was to bring salvation to all through bringing the fullness of the gospel and preaching repentance and then provide the saving ordinances for all who would accept. 

The question that pops into my mind is; where was the man? They did not bring him to be stoned. 

Now my grandchildren be slow to judge and let the Lord do it, for with which judgment you judge, you may also be judged.  Try to save people and bring them to Christ and our Father. You will find that more satisfying in the end.

Love,

Grandpa

The power of a good marriage

The power of a good marriage 

The other day I heard that phrase and it struck me and started me to thinking about my own marriage and how true it was in my life. 

We do not often think of a good marriage being powerful. Yet when we contemplate on the words of the ceremony we should not be at all surprised that a good marriage provides us with an extreme amount of power. 

If we cultivate a good marriage we can reap the benefits that are reserved for that effort. We have to realize that energy or power is required for all good results. 

I have observed a good many marriages in my life. Those that are cultivated and carefully nourished seem to stand out and have a certain brilliance as if they were illuminated from within. 

The marriage that is good and strong has power to overcome the storms of life that descend upon each marriage. Satan has it in his design to break apart and destroy every couple and particularly those married in the new and everlasting covenant. We do not often think about that as we go blissfully along in our daily lives. The covenant gives us power to overcome all the fiery darts of the adversary if we are not lulled into a false sense of security. 

Satan can never be married or have an intimate relationship. Therefore he doesn't want you to have one either. 

We, in a marriage, have the power of procreation. Properly exercised the power of procreation can bring us an untold amount of joy. Of course children bring us challenges, but with the power of a good marriage these challenges can bring us growth that is otherwise not possible. 

We develop the power to love unconditionally. At first our spouse and then our family and then all our neighbors as ourselves. 

A good marriage gives us power to overcome all things and to eventually enter into the presence of God to become like him. 

A good marriage gives us power to have and raise children in an uncertain world. 

I can assuredly say that ours has been a good marriage that has helped us raise eight exceptional children. 

It required working together and did not come without effort. 

Now my grandchildren, do not loose the opportunity to avail yourself of this blessing in your life. 

Love,

Grandpa

What good would it do?

What good would it do?

Years ago when I was serving as the stake president I had some one come to me to confess a previous transgression. It happened before the individual was married and they asked me if they should tell their spouse. I did not know what to tell them, so I called the church office and asked to speak to a general authority. They put me through to Elder Boyd K. Packer. I explained the situation to him and his response was,"What good would it do?"

That response has been stuck in my mind ever since. 

We sometimes forget the teachings of the scriptures and rely on our own wisdom or seek opinions from other people. 

Elder Packer did not explain the reason for his reply, but the spirit gave me the answer as I was reading the scriptures. 

Once we have repented and the Lord has forgiven us we do not need to involve any other person other than the person/s involved. As President Spencer Kimball explained in "The Miracle of Forgiveness" the bandage only needs to be big enough to cover the wound. 

We do not need to post all our feelings on social media for all our friends and those who are privy to our accounts to see. "What good will it do?" Does it bring any one closer to Christ or build up anyone?

There is so much negativity in the world that we who are in possession of the truth need to be a light shining in the darkness. 

It is said of Christ that he went about doing good. Can we not follow his example and lift up the hands that hang down and strengthen the feeble knees? 

Another quote that I like is from the movie "Bridge of Spies". The Russian spy says on a couple of occasions, "Would it help?"  

We are to be a light unto the world. If we cannot be helpful to others and lighten their burdens and show them the way to eternal life, what good is our earthly existence? Will we help?

Now my beloved grandchildren, before you post all your thoughts, tweets and troubles on social media think of what you can do to be of service to someone. Seek out someone to lift. It will help you to feel better about yourself. 

"For inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these thy brethren, ye have done it unto me(Christ)"

 

Love,

 

Grandpa

Teaching by example

Teaching by example (written in the 1980s)

When I was in medical school they taught us the way to learn.  It was a simple formula: See one, Do one, Teach one.

First we see something done, then we do it ourselves, then we teach someone to do it and then we master the subject. 

When my wife Alice was teaching seminary the teenager students were not understanding why the parents do things the way they do.  She said, “You will treat your children the way you were treated and do things the way your parents do unless you make a conscious and sustained effort to change.”

The reason for this is that example is a powerful teacher, probably more powerful than we really realize.

I once attended a leadership-training seminar.  The man was trying to teach his daughter.  She responded teach me the concept and give me an example then I can solve the problem.  This is the way the gospel works we teach correct principles and then show an example and then let people do what they have learned.  The Suzuki method of teaching music is by repeated example. Hear the music played, play it yourself, and then teach someone else to play the same piece.

We wait for people to give us an example of their feelings and beliefs before we act.  If the other person leads out with their actions and gives us an example we are more sure to follow them than if we must wait for the initiative to come from us.  Everyone waits for us to do what we are supposed to do.  We reinforce our behavior otherwise we are disappointed.  

A recent example that comes to mind is; the Catholics believe that in the Lenten season they should fast.  This means refraining from eating meat on Friday, but they still eat, just not meat.  We had two couples that were Catholics that ate with us last week. When we explained the way we fasted by not eating or drinking for 24 hours once a month and give the money for the food as an offering to the poor. Their response was, ‘you fast like the old Jews’. They probably will not change the way they fast even though the example was given, they did not believe the principle.

Christ taught by example.  A parable is an example to illustrate principles taught.  Christ used his own life and stories from life around him as an example to teach.  He used example to reinforce the teachings or principles. We remember the example long after the teaching.

The example must be one we can relate to.  If we faithfully go to the temple and do family history work, we will not teach our nonmember neighbor anything.  The example is there but it doesn't mean anything to the nonmember.  There are some things we can never teach by example they have to be taught by precept and accepted first.

Now my grandchildren,You should not only be a good example, but teach correct principles.

Love,

Grandpa

The iron rod and me

You are all familiar with the story of Lehi's dream and the iron rod that led to the tree of life. The fruit of the tree was the love of God. There were mists of darkness along the way so that the traveler had to hold on to the rod of iron or loose his way. We are told that the iron rod was the word of God. We sing, “it will safely guide us through.” 

I would like to tell you of my experience with the iron rod. 

When I was growing up, I do not remember ever having family scripture reading. We had family prayers and very occasionally some gospel discussions. We went to church and when we were old enough we went to MIA. We occasionally read Bible stories. 

Then some time after we moved to Lander, when I was about 15, we started to read the Book of Mormon. We read at the dinner table at night before we cleared the table and did the dishes. My parents found it stimulating, but I don't remember that my brothers and I were ever that impressed in a spiritual way. 

Although we lived in a small town and the people there were generally good people, they were in some measure worldly. The friends that I associated with did not usually keep the word of wisdom and their speech was often crude. I knew better, but the crowd had an influence on my thinking. Although I did not tip over outhouses or shoot out streetlights or do some of the other things that my friends did, I often was in their company. A thing that I now regret.

When I went to Weber College I attended the institute and read the assigned scriptures, but I do not remember ever reading by myself. I went to church and to MIA. It was a habit that I enjoyed. 

I graduated from the institute of religion and attended the graduation where Joseph Fielding Smith spoke. I was in the habit of saying my prayers at night, but I do not remember if I ever read the scriptures on a daily basis. The fraternity life was less than spiritual even though most of the members were LDS. My church attendance kept me from going through the mists of darkness and loosing my way. 

When I was working in the summer I know I did not read them, because I did not have my own set of scriptures until I bought them when I was in the mission home in June of 1954.  This may seem a little strange to you, but at that time it was not the practice for every member to have their own set of scriptures and very few people brought them to church meetings with them, as is now the practice. 

Once I was in Germany on my mission we had companion study and read the Book of Mormon every day. We would read five verses in German and then translate into English while the companion would check the translation using the English scriptures. Then we would reverse the process. I did this throughout my whole mission. In addition I read the Luther translation of the Bible including the apocrypha. I had a firm grasp on the iron rod.  

Unfortunately after I got home from my mission I did not keep up with the daily scripture reading. It was not stressed at that time. 

I took some religion classes when I was at BYU. It was a requirement and I filled it by taking classes from Hugh Nibley. This required outside reading, but not the Bible or the Book of Mormon. Thus, I was not holding on to the iron rod at that time. I was still very active in the church and taught a Sunday school class. The lessons were doctrinal, but did not require scriptures. 

Although I was active in the church, I was not holding onto the iron rod. Fortunately I met my wife and I remember getting my recommend to be married in the temple. The member of the stake presidency said something that I didn't agree with. He said it was not necessary to pray with my wife frequently before we were married. I guess that was the trend at that time. I decided that we would kneel and pray twice daily and say a blessing on the food every time we ate. We have continued this practice until today. 

During my years of medical school I do not remember that we read the scriptures together on a regular basis. It was not stressed at that time either. We were very active in the church and never missed any meeting or activity. We also went to the temple on a regular basis. 

We went to Ogden for an internship and I was not given an assignment in the church. We were not reading the scriptures as a family. It was a period of spiritual indolence for me.   As I look at this time in retrospect I did not realize what was happening. It was as if the mists of darkness shrouded me. 

We moved back to Salt Lake and that was when the church came out with the family home evening manual. We started having family home evening every week. I was given a calling in the ward. Although we were not reading the scriptures every day we were studying the gospel. 

We continued having prayers and family home evening in California. I was given a calling in the ward, which required me to study the gospel in depth in order to teach it and answer questions. 

After our return from California I was soon called to serve as the stake president. I felt the need to be well informed in the doctrine of the church and the principles of the gospel. I read the entire standard works at night while waiting for my wife to take her shower and get ready for bed. I memorized passages of scripture so that I could quote them at appropriate times.  We started reading the scriptures as a family as well as holding family home evening. We have continued to read on a somewhat regular basis since. I read the Book of Mormon in German as well.

The Book of Mormon is written for our time. It presents answers and helps for the problems of our lives. By reading it we can increase our spiritual sensitivity. 

Now my grandchildren hold on to the iron rod so that you can taste of the love of God and not be lured into the great and spacious building or wander into forbidden paths and lose your eternal soul. 

     

Love,

Grandpa

The beehive 

We moved from the cowboy or equality state to the beehive state a number of years ago. The reason for the appellation of beehive is that this symbolizes industry. The saints for the most part have been known as an industrious people. Your ancestors were part of a group of people who came here to turn the desert into a fruitful field. 

My concern is that there is a spirit of indolence that is prevalent among the people here in our nation today. The church teaches the following: independence, industry and thrift. [1]

These are the qualities that we should have and be guidelines for our life   

Some people expect that if they get into trouble they anticipate others to bail them out. They want others to pay for the consequences of their action or inaction. 

I am not referring to natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. I am referring to things such as the results of poor planning on our part, unwise management of our resources, or not preparing for obvious things that occur in everyone's lives. These can be as devastating to us and our well being as natural disasters. 

Independence 

As much as possible we should be independent. We should not rely on the government or the state to take care of our problems.  If we do, we become subservient and beholden to an outside influence. It makes us so that we expect things that we have not earned. 

There are those that turn to the church for assistance. The first principle of priesthood correlation is that the individual and the family do everything in the church. Thus if we have needs that are necessary that we cannot meet we should turn to the family first for our support. 

Industry 

We used to sing, "The world has no use for a drone. " This referred to the beehive and the fact that there were worker bees that gathered the honey and the drones that just stayed in the hive and did nothing. 

Sitting around playing video games and watching TV all day is either done out of idleness or is excessive indulgence. We are expected to make good use of the time we are given here on earth. We are to learn about everything. We should be active every day of our life. We should try to learn something new every day. Unless we are disabled we need to be productive at least a third of the time. 

Thrift 

"A penny saved is a penny earned." Frugality is not practiced by the majority of people. We do not need to be penurious. We do have to realize that we will be held accountable for the goods that have been placed at our disposal. " Waste not, want not. Is the maxim that we preach." [2]

Every person should be able to manage both their time and their money. They should have a years supply of money in reserve. Obviously this cannot be accomplished when we first start out, but if we don't have a plan in place to achieve that, we will always be behind the eight ball. 

The missionaries are taught to plan their day to make the best use of their resources. Some do not follow through after they are released. 

So my grandchildren remember independence, industry and thrift and strive to live in accordance to these eternal principles. 

Love,

Grandpa

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[1] One of President Heber J. Grant's greatest legacies as president is the church's welfare program, which he instituted in 1936: "our primary purpose was to set up, insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people help themselves."

[2] Wise use of one's resources will keep one from poverty. For example, I just hate to throw out good food—waste not, want not. This proverbial saying was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576). Also at this Link for the words to the song.