Abraham Lincoln and The Power of Prayer

I have the following quote framed where I see it every day ...

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go." - Abraham Lincoln


I picture Mr. Lincoln facing amazing opposition throughout his life, and especially in leading the country through one of its toughest times ever.  I love to visit the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. and ponder that thought.  It is a touching experience to go to Gettysburg, see what is there, and read "Four score and seven years ago ..." What a masterful speech, exactly what was needed, when it was needed.

It is humbling to realize that much of Mr. Lincoln's strength to do these things ... came from prayer.

I truly believe the power of prayer is available to all of us.  I thought of this again when reading this morning.  I was reminded that the Lord is merciful and hears our prayers-when facing enemies,when at work,when at home,in our closets,anywhere,anytime! See Alma 33:3-11

We've just finished another year that was tough for almost every one of us.  Certainly it was tough for me.  For a few years now, the thought seems to have been ... it can't get any worse, next year has to be better.  I have that thought again now, and I am thinking positive thoughts about 2011.

I am a believer in prayer.  It has blessed me many times in the past.  And I am driven to my knees now by the overwhelming conviction that I have nowhere else to go, and that a merciful God wants to bless me in prayer.

Will you join me?

Mighty Prayer

I have been thinking for some time now about how I could pray better, specifically how I could feel the Spirit more and know better how to really communicate in prayer.  In studying Alma 8 today, I found this related quote by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008), of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ, that has helped answer my question,

"“May I ask you today to consider the effectiveness of

your prayers? How close do you feel to your Heavenly

Father? Do you feel that your prayers are answered? Do

you feel that the time you spend in prayer enriches and

uplifts your soul? Is there room for improvement?

“There are many reasons our prayers lack power.

Sometimes they become routine. Our prayers become

hollow when we say similar words in similar ways

over and over so often that the words become more

of a recitation than a communication. This is what the

Savior described as ‘vain repetitions’ (Matthew 6:7).

Such prayers, He said, will not be heard. . . .

“Do your prayers at times sound and feel the same?

Have you ever said a prayer mechanically, the words

pouring forth as though cut from a machine? Do you

sometimes bore yourself as you pray?

“Prayers that do not demand much of your thought

will hardly merit much attention from our Heavenly

Father. When you find yourself getting into a routine

with your prayers, step back and think. Meditate for a

while on the things for which you really are grateful”

(“Improving Our Prayers,” in Brigham Young University

2002–2003 Speeches [2003], 160)."

I have highlighted the last two sentences in yellow because I especially want to remember Elder Wirthlin's advice on the importance of meditating on the things we are really grateful for.

Testimony through Song

I am on the road and was looking online this morning to find an opportunity to watch "Music and the Spoken Word", the weekly broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I found this link to some wonderful videos that I deeply enjoyed.

I know that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ did indeed appear to Joseph Smith, and that they directed Joseph to restore in our days the church Christ established when He lived on the earth. The video I have posted here is one of those from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir webpage, and is an especially touching tribute to the prophet Joseph Smith.

I hope you will enjoy it as I do.

 

Inner Beauty

I have long believed that the outer beauty of youth dims with time like a fading flower if it is not fed from within.  Correspondingly, I have also observed that some who may not have been blessed with as much outer beauty early in life gradually blossom over a long life as a reflection of the charity within.

I have been studying Alma 5 the past few days.  This morning I picked up on verses 14 and 19 which both make reference to ...

• Have you spiritually been born of God?
• Have you received this mighty change in your hearts?
• Have you received his image in your countenances?

I also found this interesting quote from Elder Theodore M. Burton (1907-89), a former Assistant to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, observing that those who follow God appear more like Him,

“If we truly accept God in our lives and live in accordance with his commandments, God will work a mighty change in our appearance and we will begin to appear more like our Heavenly Father, in whose image we have been created. Could it be this appearance we recognize when we meet men and women who are trying to live close to the Lord?” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1973, 151; or Ensign, Jan. 1974, 114).

I smiled when I read this.

My Soul Was Racked, But I Am Snatched And My Soul Is Pained No More

I mentioned last Friday in my daily blog (Keep Dad Alive - Musings of A Passionately Smiling Tortoise) a favorite scripture of mine, Mosiah 27:29, which I have paraphrased in the title of this post.

I finished my current reading of Mosiah yesterday and am about to continue with Alma.  This morning I decided to dig a little deeper into chapters 25-29 of Mosiah before moving on by referring to the Book of Mormon Institute Manual, chapter 22, which is devoted to that portion of Mosiah.

I was richly rewarded and understand a little better the process of repentance, the deep joy that repentance brings, and particularly the vital importance of developing a personal relationship with the Savior, including how that is an essential part of repentance.

In this reading, I discovered the First Presidency message for October 1989.  It is written by President Ezra Taft Benson and titled "A Mighty Change of Heart", on page 2 of the Ensign magazine of that month.

I highly recommend the entire article, and wish to point out a portion that the Institute Manual notes as well:

"Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible. The scriptures record remarkable accounts of men whose lives changed dramatically, in an instant, as it were: Alma the Younger, Paul on the road to Damascus, Enos praying far into the night, King Lamoni. Such astonishing examples of the power to change even those steeped in sin give confidence that the Atonement can reach even those deepest in despair. “But we must be cautious as we discuss these remarkable examples. Though they are real and powerful, they are the exception more than the rule. For every Paul, for every Enos, and for every King Lamoni, there are hundreds and thousands of people who find the process of repentance much more subtle, much more imperceptible. Day by day they move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a godlike life. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the Lamanites, who the Lord said ‘were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.’ (3 Ne. 9:20; italics added.)”

I have a growing testimony that this is how it works for me, and I imagine that you will find the same thing to be true for you as you ponder it. 

Let me return to the story of the investigator I quoted on Friday.  The experience I had with him the day he shared Mosiah 27:29 with me is one that I will always cherish.  It became a defining moment in my life, something I am sure the young man (he was a similar age to me) did not realize.  He quoted it to me in response to my question, how have you enjoyed your reading in the Book of Mormon?  He told me that reading in the Book of Mormon had made a similar profound influence in his life to the feelings Alma expressed in that verse.  Oh the joy in my heart as the Spirit filled the room and he, my companion, and I rejoiced together.

I do not know what lasting influence that experience had on my new friend.  That is my purpose in mentioning this in the context of day by day moving closer to the Lord, "little realizing they are building a godlike life. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment."  I have gradually come to realize that this is one of the meanings of building a life and a testimony "line upon line, precept upon precept". 

Each of us decides every morning if we are going to put the Lord first in our lives that day. Am I going to feast on the scriptures today?  Will I ponder and pray today?  Will I be charitable today in the way the Savior and His disciple Moroni taught today?  Will I be repentant today?  Will I keep the commandments today? 

I cannot do it without His help.  I will have shortcomings that day that even with His help, I will need to continually confess to Him and repent of. 

It is my testimony that by choosing each morning to live that day that way, and honestly striving to do it, that you will not notice an immediate change, but you will become more sensitive to the tender mercies of the Lord as they bless you daily, and you will have moments when you realize just what this relationship you are building with the Lord really means to you.

You will also notice how much you miss this when you are too busy to do this one day.  Once you feel this sweet Spirit in your life, you will need it daily, just as you need air, water, and food daily.  Oh how you miss it at those times you don't have it.

I lost touch with my friend in Ilford a short time later.  I suspect he was looking for the major miracle every day, and when faced with the realities of daily living, lost the miracle he had felt.  We went to his home for another discussion one evening and found the copy of the Book of Mormon we had given him carefully wrapped to protect it from the English weather with a note that began "to the two young men of the Mormon faith".  I received many such letters on my mission.  They tore at my heart in a way I cannot imagine a Dear John letter ever would (in fairness I don't know, there were girls who wrote to me on my mission, and that gradually diminished over two years. I left no girl at home that ever would have been in a position to write me a Dear John.  I did have companions that received those letters and I tried to comfort them in their time of devastation).  I can tell you that the several mile walk back to our flat that night was especially long and sad.

There has been a lot of living since that day in 1973.  I hope my friend has found the opportunity to rekindle the faith he briefly felt when I knew him, and has discovered the lasting joy embracing the Gospel brings.  I can tell you that I appreciated feeling the Spirit through him, and that I learned many important lessons from that experience.

Mosiah and President Benson helped me to remember those lessons today.  Thank you for reading my testimony of them,  I hope you feel the Spirit as a result and that you choose to act on it, day by day.

Clear Statement On Being Saved

In my scripture reading today I noted that clearest, most direct statement I can remember seeing on salvation.  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, often referred to as "Mormons", do believe that the atonement of Jesus Christ is essential for us to be saved.  Specifically, in our third Article of Faith we say that "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

A common misconception is that members of The Church of Jesus Christ believe that they earn salvation through their works, by keeping God's commandments.

Here is where the clear statement I read this morning is very helpful.  Abinadi, a prophet who lived in the second century B.C., states in Mosiah 13:28,

"And moreover, I say unto you, that ^asalvation doth not come by the ^blaw alone; and were it not for the ^catonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law of Moses."

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ, said the following on this verse,

“Men and women unquestionably have impressive powers and can bring to pass great things. But after all our obedience and good works, we cannot be saved from death or the effects of our individual sins without the grace extended by the atonement of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon makes this clear. It teaches that ‘salvation doth not come by the law alone’ (Mosiah 13:28).  In other words, salvation does not come simply by keeping the commandments. ‘By the law no flesh is justified’ (2 Ne. 2:5). Even those who try to obey and serve God with all their heart, might, mind, and strength are ‘unprofitable servants’ (Mosiah 2:21). Man cannot earn his own salvation” (This paragraph is found near the conclusion of Elder Oaks' talk, “Another Testament of Jesus Christ,” published in the Ensign, Mar. 1994, 67).

Elder Oaks' entire talk is excellent and I urge you to click on the link in the previous sentence and read all of it.

I also hope you will carefully consider the concept that every person who has ever lived on the earth has the opportunity to be saved through the atonement of Christ and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.  Both the atonement and obedience are required to be saved.  The atonement is a priceless free gift to us from Jesus Christ.  It is our choice whether to accept or reject it.

Caroline Hemenway Harman

We had a great stake conference the past two days.  Just one of the many things that touched me deeply was the story of Caroline Hemenway Harman as related by our stake president, Maurice DeMille.  I talked with Willyne about it after the meeting, and found we had both independently had resolved to learn more about this remarkable woman while listening to her story.

I found several interesting things in my search.  In particular, I enjoyed reading the keynote address of the 1988 BYU Campus Education Week given by Barbara W. Winder while serving as General Relief Society President of The Church of Jesus Christ.  The Education Week theme that year was "Education: Unlocking Opportunity".  Sister Winder chose "to talk about education in a broader sense--its application in our lives and our responsibility".  She related several stories of people that related to the history of the university as she developed this theme in her speech, concluding wih the story of Sister Harman.

"Built long after the original academy on University Avenue, BYU's continuing education building was appropriately named for a woman of profound reverence for the Lord as she continued to serve with great wisdom and long-suffering, gentleness and meekness, kindness and pure knowledge throughout her life. Caroline Hemenway Harman teaches much about moving northward in human relationships.

"Elaine S. McKay tells the story of this remarkable woman, Aunt Carrie, in the Ensign. [My note:  It is worth looking at the full article in the October 1982 Ensign magazine, page 56, for additional details of her story.  I looked without success for a picture of her, but apparently the original print version of the magazine had one, and there is a picture of her in the Harman Building on BYU campus.  I would enjoy seeing it.]

"Aunt Carrie would not have expected to be remembered by anyone but her family. She lived quietly in a small Utah community. [In fact, the family home is still standing just down the road from our home.] To anyone outside an area twelve miles square, she was and is a stranger. And yet, there is something familiar about her uncommon courage. She is like our mother, our grandmother, an aunt, a niece or sister. Aunt Carrie represents countless women, unknown and unsung, who patiently do the thing that needs to be done and who in reality accomplish the important work of the world. She reminds us that deeds need not be great to be heroic. . . .

". . . On 26 January 1895 George [Reese Harman] and Caroline were married in the Salt Lake Temple. [Caroline was twenty-two.] During the next fourteen years they bought land, built a home, and became parents of seven children. Happiness grew out of industry, and they sorrowed only at the loss of their eldest child, George Luther, who died when he was four months old. . . .

"During irrigation turns, George often worked at night. One evening, wet and chilled, he caught a cold which developed into pleurisy. He died 12 August 1912, and Caroline, at 39, was left with the responsibility of a farm and six children. Her oldest daughter, Annie, was fifteen; the baby, Maurice, had just turned three.

"Four months later Caroline's sorrow deepened as she endured the death of her mother. But Caroline rallied to the responsibilities of life. Each day she arose at 5:00a.m.--to tend to household duties and to work in the fields and orchards. During the weekly irrigation turns, she would make beds in the wagon, hitch up the horses, and drive with her young sons to the fields to set the water. Three or four times during the night, Caroline would awaken the boys and help them 'change' the water. Only during haying season did they hire help. Caroline wanted her family to develop and use its own resources . . . .

"During World War I, Caroline's Relief Society responsibilities multiplied. In 1914, the sisters began meeting one day a week to knit sweaters for soldiers, roll bandages, and prepare other Red Cross supplies to be shipped overseas. In 1917, Caroline became Relief Society president of the Granger Ward.

"When the war ended, the deadly flu epidemic followed the soldiers home. Funerals were frequent. The Granger Relief Society made burial clothing, lined caskets, draped the chapel podium in white, cared for the sick, and comforted the bereaved.

"David and Grace [her sister and brother-in-law] were both stricken. In January of 1919, Grace gave birth to a son; a few hours later, weakened by the flu, she died. Grieving for her beloved sister, Caroline brought to her own home a six-hour-old baby boy--her sister's child, but a child whom she would always look upon as her own.

"Less than a month after Grace's death, . . . .in February, her daughter Annie died of the flu, a month before she expected her first child. . . .

"When Annie, with her unborn child, died, Caroline's health broke. Weeks later, she arose from her bed, calm and determined. The doctor diagnosed her illness as sugar diabetes. From that time on, she gave herself three insulin shots daily and carefully weighed her food. It was a private matter; she never spoke of her health. In the years to come, she maintained energy, strength, a cheerful countenance, and an indomitable sense of humor.

"Following Grace's death, David came to Caroline's home each day to see his baby son, Pete. . . . David's nine children needed a mother and he, a wife. On 29 October 1919, David and Caroline were married in the Salt Lake Temple. So, seven years after George's death, Caroline and her five children came to live in the big house on 3600 West and 4100 South.

"For many years this house was a central gathering place for neighborhood children who liked teeter-totters, swings made of rubber tires, kick-the-can games, and run-sheepie-run. Like all visitors, the children seldom left without a 'bit to eat.' . . .

"But at least twice a day the house was quiet. At breakfast and dinner time, all the leaves of the sixteen-foot-square table came out of the closet, the meal was spread, and it was time for family prayer. The huge Harman household tolerated teasing, wrestling, and noise. But quarrels were not permitted. Family members felt a unity that had begun long before David and Caroline married. Caroline honored David as patriarch, supported him as first counselor in the bishopric, and loved him deeply.

"In the spring of 1924, an itching rash spread over David's body. Despite his discomfort, he worked long hours. While dipping sacks of potatoes (or wheat, depending on the account) in a solution to prevent the disease, he noted that the rash on his hands healed. After checking with a doctor, David decided to bathe in the solution. Accounts differ as to what and how much he used, but the result was the solution literally ate him alive. His skin came off on clothing and bed sheets; his tongue and teeth fell out; his internal organs were burned beyond use. After one week, during which David never lost consciousness, he passed away from this world.

"David died with great courage and little complaint. Caroline lived in the same manner. At age 51, she was again a widow. She was now responsible for fourteen children, the youngest of whom was five-year-old Pete. She suffered complications from Diabetes. She was also Relief Society president of a ward with 948 members, 22 of whom were widows; and for Caroline, who served in the days before Welfare Services, this meant 'mothering' the entire twelve-mile-square ward. Her way was not to ask for help, but to give it. Always someone was being born or someone was dying; someone was ill or unhappy or hungry. Caroline knew what to do about illness, childbirth, and death. And she knew how to find happiness. When others were wild with grief, she was there to make beds, mop floors, fix meals, and sit up through the night with the bereaved to comfort them with her quiet strength. She became known throughout the territory as Aunt Carrie--kind, cheerful, loving, wise.

"How did she do it all with her large family? She did it with her large family. Year after year, the Harman sons drove her in a horse and buggy to visit every home in the ward--many times. Her black buggy would go to the houses of those who had 'enough and to spare' to gather goods to be shared with those who had little or nothing. The Harman girls frequently cooked and served meals to neighbors in need, and the boys stayed overnight with the aged or afflicted when Aunt Carrie could not be there.

"Aunt Carrie was a resourceful manager, and the children learned her ways. They had no money to spend, but the Harmans did not think of themselves as being 'poor.' They made bread, butter, cheese, horse radish, corned beef, apple cider, vinegar, and soap. Both sons and daughters farmed the land and cared for their animals, their orchard , and their garden. Every fall they bottled fruit, meat, and tomatoes and buried turnips, parsnips, carrots, and potatoes beneath the sawdust in the basement ice room. The girls sewed their few articles of clothing and kept their home scrubbed and orderly. If their chores were not done before the school bus came, they finished their tasks and walked to school. Aunt Carrie believed that idleness was a sin and taught that selfishness was the seed of misery. Everyone in the family learned to work--and more important, they learned to share.

"Within [a few weeks following a third marriage on 11 March 1925, her new husband] Eugene suffered a stroke, and became an invalid. For five years until his death in October 1930, Aunt Carrie prepared his food, helped him bathe and dress, and ministered to his many needs.

"In 1929 Aunt Carrie was released as president of the Relief Society. She has served in that organization under three bishops for some eighteen years. . . .

"Aunt Carrie devoted much of her time to developing her chicken business. Her chickens had become a symbol of her doctrine of hard work and independence. During the worst of the Great Depression, the well which provided water for the house and chicken coops went dry. Aunt Carrie refused the help of the government programs under which she qualified for a new well; so Pete, Jack, and Jake carried water from across the road. Carrying water for the house was one thing, but quenching the thirst of hundreds of chickens was quite another. Finally, when Aunt Carrie had saved sufficient funds, she had the well repaired.

"Years later, when all the children were gone, the pump sometimes failed. During winter time, Aunt Carrie would scoop snow into a big oval 'boiler,' melt it on the back of her coal stove, and carry warm water to her flock. . . .

". . . Aunt Carrie expected everything around her to be productive, and she would not have a lazy chicken. A hen who lacked commitment was invited for Sunday dinner . . . .

"[As she neared the end of her life, Aunt Carrie said,] 'I can face Grace . . . because I know that I did all she would have done if I had been called away and she had stayed. I have no regrets. Of course,' she added quietly, 'in some ways all our children could do better. And they will. We taught them right.' . . .

". . . Aunt Carrie, . . . according to her son Leon Weston (Pete) Harman, "had every reason to be waited on. Yet she continually served others. She never complained. She never quit. Aunt Carrie asked for so little, and gave so much." [Elaine S. McKay, "Remembering Aunt Carrie," Ensign, October 1982, pp. 56­60]

"What can we learn from Caroline Harman's life? She exemplified service and dedication to life's responsibilities. She had no college degrees but learned from experiences thrust upon her to respond to human needs. She truly knew the importance of family and the relationships between members of the family. She learned and taught principles of self-reliance, opening opportunities for herself and her family. She learned and taught principles of self-reliance, opening opportunities for herself and her family. And she learned wisdom and the application of knowledge. From Aunt Carrie, from Karl Maeser, from Lyle McDonald, from Dr.McDermott, and from Sauan Sukhan, and from the countless others we have learned from, it is important that one's life become a reflection of the possibilities of hope, of meaning, of purpose--a reflection of God. It is, after all, not so much what we know but what we are willing to share that makes the difference. This is the challenge for each of us here today."

I believe that Sister Harman's entire life was a wonderful example of the power of being "the change you wish to see in the world".  If you are looking to change the world, you might not be impressed with her world influence at first glance.  But her extended family and the families of the Granger neighborhood of what is today West Valley City, a large Salt Lake suburb, would certainly beg to differ.  Then you can consider the impact of Pete Harman, one of the nephews she raised as her own son.

His story was one of those featured in a segment, "A Hand Up for Those in Need" of a story by Peter Gardner and Lisa Ann Thomson in the Spring 2006 issue of BYU Magazine, entitled "Building BYU".

"In 1957 Shirley Hamblin suddenly found herself, at 25, a single mother of five children. Her ex-husband had left the country, and she had no means to support her family. She eventually landed a job as a bus girl at the Harman’s Café on North Temple in Salt Lake City.

"One day soon after she began working, a man showed up at the restaurant and said hello. 'I didn’t know who he was,' Hamblin recalls. 'I was shocked when I found out it was Pete Harman, because he was so casual and kind.' Harman, who owned the restaurant and two others, learned of Hamblin’s circumstances and, with Thanksgiving approaching, made sure she was paid a little extra. Harman repeated the gesture until she was back on her feet.

“'He was so good to us,' says Hamblin, now retired after working for the company for 43 years, eventually becoming a store manager and then an area consultant for Harman Management Corp. “He wanted to make sure I could make a living for my children.”

"If Leon W. 'Pete' and Arline Harman have become known for helping the Shirley Hamblins of the world, Harman says it is because he knows what it is like to be in great need—and to receive great kindness. Losing his mother just days after his birth and his father five years later, Pete, along with his many siblings, was taken in by his widowed aunt Caroline Hemenway Harman, who would rear 14 children on her Salt Lake Valley farm. 'She was all service and no quit,' Harman remembers. 'She was always out helping.'

"So in the early 1980s, when BYU officials considered naming the new continuing-education building after major donor Pete Harman, he flatly refused. If they wanted to honor someone, he insisted, it ought to be his aunt Carrie.

"Pete and Arline’s success began in 1940 when, recently married, they made their first foray into the restaurant business, buying a run-down root beer stand for $700 and calling it the Do Drop In. During ensuing years, it grew into Harman’s Café. In 1951 Harman attended a convention in Chicago, where he met a charismatic goateed man. Dubbed a colonel by the governor of Kentucky for contributions to state cuisine, Harland Sanders had experimented with frying chicken in a pressure cooker. The next year Sanders dropped by the Harmans’ while traveling through Utah. Refusing his hosts’ offer of a meal, he instead proposed to fry up some chicken.

"It took only a few bites for Harman to know he wanted the chicken on his restaurant’s menu. With a handshake, Sanders agreed to share his secret recipe, for which Harman would pay a nickel for every chicken sold—making the Harmans the first franchisees of what became known as Kentucky Fried Chicken. Fifty-four years later, the Harman System has more than 300 restaurants in Utah, Colorado, Washington, and California.

"Though famed in the industry for his innovations, Harman feels most proud of ways his restaurants have fostered growth among their restaurant employees, particularly women like Hamblin. Early on Harman created a policy of sharing the company’s annual profits with employees, and he has encouraged store managers to become part owners of their stores. To Harman, treating employees well makes good business sense. 'Employees want to work for a fair employer,' he says. 'If you give them a halfway decent break, they’ll go a long ways beyond the capacity they think they’ve got.'

"This philosophy extends to the Harmans’ philanthropy to various organizations, particularly BYU. Since 1983 the Harmans’ scholarship fund has helped students afford an education, becoming BYU’s largest need-based scholarship from a private donor. Last year alone, the fund assisted 90 students.

"Having received a hand up in his own time of struggle, Harman says it is only natural that he should pass on the gesture, reaching out with encouragement and financial help to those in need. 'Money,' as he likes to say, 'is only good for what you can do with it.'"

 

So we see that Sister Harman's influence on Pete was passed on to his thousands of employees and their families, to hundreds of students to make their college education financially possible, and to influence countless people throughout the world who hear of her story because of the generosity of just one of the children she nurtured.  Multiply that by her influence on the others in her family and hundreds of others in her ward, and you see she truly was the change she wished to see in the world.

 

All from a simple woman who was "all service and no quit".  What a wonderful example to emulate!

The Blessings of Being Like a Little Child

"For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the Holy ^fSpirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."         ---  King Benjamin (ca 200-121 BC), quoted in Mosiah 3:19

This single verse is full of meaning.  The Church of Jesus Christ Institute of Religion Book of Mormon Student Manual devotes three pages to discussing chapter 3 (end of 138 through 142), two of which focus just on verse 19.  If you know me, you know I love King Benjamin.  He is terrific example of a good leader.  He tried to serve those he led, to make their burdens lighter, and to not ask them to do anything he would not do himself.  In particular, he devoted his lifetime to working side by side with them.

Here are a few specific thoughts on verse 19:

The manual (bottom of page 139) teaches us that the scriptural meaning of the natural man is one that is sinful. "Though born innocent (see D&C 93:38), all men, through the Fall of Adam, come into a fallen world and into a state of spiritual death (see Alma 42:9), separated from the presence of God. Knowing good and evil (see Moses 4:11; 5:11) and living in this imperfect state, all men sin (see Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8, 10) and experience a resultant “fall” of their own (see Moses 6:49, 55). In other words, it is through transgression of God’s law that one becomes a “natural man” (see Alma 42:10, 12; D&C 20:20). Hence, a natural man is an enemy to God (see Mosiah 3:19 ) until he qualifies for the cleansing influence of the Atonement through living the commandments of God (see Mosiah 3:11–12, 19 )."

A couple paragraphs later on page 140, Elder Quentin L. Cook is quoted on what it means "to becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord".  "The word saint in Greek denotes set apart, separate, [and] holy’ [in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. (1992), 3:1249]. If we are to be Saints in our day, we need to separate ourselves from evil conduct and destructive pursuits that are prevalent in the world."

This brings us to the practical part of this discussion.  In order to put off the natural man and become a saint, two things are required:  the atonement of Christ the Lord and  becoming "as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  (we're still quoting from the same verse 19  -- there really is a lot here!)

I really enjoy what President Henry B. Eyring had to say about this in the April 2006 General Conference:  (The italics are mine for emphasis.)

“King Benjamin makes it clear how we can . . . have our natures changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the only way we can build on the sure foundation and so stand firm in righteousness during the storms of temptation.

“King Benjamin describes that change with a beautiful comparison, used by prophets for millennia and by the Lord Himself. It is this: that we can, and we must, become as a child—a little child.  “For some that will not be easy to understand or to accept. Most of us want to be strong. We may well see being like a child as being weak. . . .

“But King Benjamin, who understood as well as any mortal what it meant to be a man of strength and courage, makes it clear that to be like a child is not to be childish. It is to be like the Savior, who prayed to His Father for strength to be able to do His will and then did it.  Our natures must be changed to become as a child to gain the strength we must have to be safe in the times of moral peril. . . .

“We are safe on the rock which is the Savior when we have yielded in faith in Him, have responded to the Holy Spirit’s direction to keep the commandments long enough and faithfully enough that the power of the Atonement has changed our hearts. When we have, by that experience, become as a child in our capacity to love and obey, we are on the sure foundation.

“From King Benjamin we learn what we can do to take us to that safe place. But remember: the things we do are the means, not the end we seek. What we do allows the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change us into what we must be. Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to repentance and to keeping His commandments.

We obey and we resist temptation by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. In time our natures will change. We will become as a little child, obedient to God and more loving. That change, if we do all we must to keep it, will qualify us to enjoy the gifts which come through the Holy Ghost. Then we will be safe on the only sure rock.”

From that perspective, Christ was the ultimate "little child".  What a great example He is!

Nourishing A Seed Planted Long Ago

I’m no poet, but I woke with this thought
It has grown from a seed I found and planted long ago
And nourished May 6
When I found again a statement Gandhi made
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

Michael Jackson sang of “The Man In The Mirror”
Others have discovered this thought’s beauty too
I’m one soul, walking through life,
Trying as I can to
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

Your children jump on the couch
Growl when you ask the simplest task
Or worse, shut you out entirely
Patiently, with long suffering
Show them by your deeds your love
And what you would have them be
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

People in need are everywhere
You see meager help and
Wish for a government that would fix all ills
Pick up a shovel
Share a warm meal
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

You see trash on the ground, in the water, in the air,
You see it on television, on computers, and everywhere you go
You see strange chemicals in your food and in your drink
You long for a clean, natural world
You want right to be right and wrong to be wrong
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

You never know how far and wide your soft, warm example
Will bless others and influence them to make the change you yearn for
Years later when you learn of a single soul who did
How great will be your joy!
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

Aesop compared the power of the wind and the sun
Both tried to change a man
Get him to remove his coat
The wind tried with brute force
The man resisted with might
The sun calmly shined in warmth
The man gladly made the change
“Be the change you wish to see in the world”

"Though We May Obtain Almost Anything We Work For, It May Come At A High Price"

My morning reading took me to Jacob 2. This was a powerful speech, delivered anciently on multiple themes. There are some great quotes from apostles and prophets in the LDS Institute Manual talking about this chapter that really hit home for me today:

"President David O. McKay (1873–1970) counseled us to be cautious regarding that which we seek. Though we may obtain almost anything we work for, it may come at a high price:

'What seek ye first? What do you cherish as the dominant, the uppermost thought in your mind? What this is will largely determine your destiny. . . . You may win in this world almost anything for which you strive. If you work for wealth, you can get it, but before you make it an end in itself, take a look at those men who have sacrificed all to the accomplishment of this purpose, at those who have desired wealth for the sake of wealth itself. Gold does not corrupt man; it is in the motive of acquiring that gold that corruption occurs' (Treasures of Life [1962], 174–75)."

Jacob then went on to address a second subject of equal importance,

 

"Many Nephite husbands had broken the hearts of their wives and lost the confidence of their children. Families can be destroyed when the law of chastity is broken. Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained how more than just those who participate in the sin are affected by the consequences:

'Unchastity and infidelity bring serious consequences such as the rippling, even haunting effects of illegitimacy and fatherlessness, along with disease and the shredding of families. So many marriages hang by a thread or have already snapped. . . .

'Therefore, the keeping of the seventh commandment is such a vital shield! (see Exodus 20:14). By our lowering or losing that shield, the much-needed blessings of heaven are lost. No person or nation can prosper for long without those blessings” (in Conference Report,  Oct. 2001, 96; or Ensign, Nov. 2001, 78).'"

I have personally heard the loud message throughout my life of music, media, and peer pressure saying "if it feels good do it" (especially because it doesn't affect anyone but the 'consenting adults' involved, so why not?).

I like how Elder Maxwell's simple testimony expresses how it does affect many others besides the participants. (As Elder Richard G. Scott said in October 1994 General Conference, "Even though participants do not realize that is happening now, they will later.")

If you have read this far, I sincerely thank you and ask you to consider carefully Elder Maxwell's concluding sentence, "No person or nation can prosper long without those blessings". Then please decide for yourself if this doesn't identify the core cause of many of the serious challenges we face as a nation.