Today my youngest son gave a talk in church. He was asked to speak on his favorite address from the recent General Conference. As an unbiased mother I thought he did an amazing job. I was impressed that he took the points that Elder Wirthlin talked about and personalized them with his own experiences. Here is what he said.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a talk I really enjoyed entitled come what may and love it. In his talk he shared a story of losing a particularly tough football game in which his team ultimately met its demise. He went home feeling very discouraged. When he arrived home his mother listened to his sad story and replied. “Joseph, come what may and love it.”
He goes on to say I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems the birds don’t sing and the bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.
He gives four things that can help us through times of testing and trial. I would now like to share them with you. The first is to learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though the person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? There is an antidote for this: learn to laugh. Not too long ago my mom’s cell phone fell out of her pocket when we were changing places so I could drive home from school. I unknowingly destroyed it with the front tire of the van. She didn’t realize what had happened until we got to our house. My mom could have gotten mad at me for running over her phone or at herself for putting the phone in a pocket that she knew it had a tendency of falling out of. Instead she turned the experience into a humorous story about my hit and run accident that she was an accomplice to.
The second is to seek for the eternal. We may feel singled out when adversity enters our lives. We may shake our heads and wonder, “why me?” But the dial on the wheel eventually points to each of us. At one time or another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt. Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others. Remember the words of the savior to the prophet Joseph Smith when he suffered with his companions in liberty jail. “My son, peace be unto thy soul: thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. And then, if you endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high: thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” With that eternal perspective, Joseph took comfort from these words, and so can we.
The third is the principle of compensation. The lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the lord will be added unto them in his own way. When I was 9 my dad lost his job. As the Christmas season rolled around my parents were very worried about how they would be able to buy any presents for us. They knew the importance of paying tithing but needed all the money we had to pay the bills and there would be none left over to buy us kids presents. They decided to pay their tithing regardless. A few days later my mom went outside and on our van was an envelope with a target gift card worth $200. They were rewarded for their commitment to keep the commandments and were able to buy us presents. Despite the fact that my dad didn’t have a permanent job for over a year our family always seemed to have money to meet our needs.
And the fourth and final thing is to trust in the father and the son. Last week at the Bishop’s youth discussion we watched a video about President Thomas S. Monson’s life. I would like to share a story from it with you. It is about a young girl named Crystal Methvin. Crystal had cancer and her parents wanted her to receive a blessing from a general authority. They showed Crystal a picture of Thomas S. Monson. She said “he looks like a nice man. I think he is the one.” They planned to take a trip to Salt Lake to receive the blessing but because of Crystal’s condition they were unable to. When Crystal’s parents told her that they couldn’t make the trip her response was “well if I can’t go to elder Monson then surely he can come to me.” President Monson did in fact make it to her stake for a stake conference but because of time would be unable to travel the 80 miles to the Methvin home. As President Monson was preparing his notes to speak a voice spoke to his spirit. “Suffer the little children to come to me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of god.” President Monson asked a bishop close by him to call and inform the Methvin’s that he would be in their home the next morning. When president Monson arrived at their home he knelt down by Crystal’s side and said “Crystal I’m here.” To which Crystal replied “Elder Monson I just knew you would come.” I do believe that this little girl’s faith in Heavenly Father granted her the last wish of her young life.
In closing he say’s "as we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our heavenly father, we can endure hardship and trials. We can say as my mother did “come what may, and love it.”
Now if he could just learn to walk the walk as well as he talks the talk. Someone told me today that they could tell he was my son. I'm sorry that I've passed on some of my negative traits along with the positive ones, but I'm even more glad there were some positive ones to pass on.
Tonight the roommate/girlfriend spoke in the 3rd Sunday Mission President's fireside for investigators of the church. Our family all went to listen and support her. She did a wonderful job sharing her testimony about how she came to know the church was true. Her mom also came to listen to her which was really nice. She has come a long way from wanting to crash the baptism to supporting her daughter's religious choices at least to some degree. I hope her heart continues to be softened.
Today I am thankful for
a church that gives young men and women the opportunity to speak in front of large audiences.
soft hearts.
beautiful music that brings the spirit with it.
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