We are experiencing a heated time in our country. Contention and anger are prevalent on social media, news, and sadly in some of our hearts. In his address, “Love Your Enemies”, President Dallin H. Oaks talks about the anger and division that surround us, and how it needs to be replaced with unity and love. In speaking about love and unity, he quotes President Gordon B. Hinckley saying, “It requires a self-discipline almost greater than we are capable of.” Almost greater than we are capable of! And yet, the Lord has commanded us to “love the Lord thy God” and to “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). So can we do it? Absolutelyl! The Lord never gives us a commandment without preparing a way for us to accomplish it. Nephi said, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” It’s that simple. Or is it really that simple?
It becomes even more complicated to strive to follow this great commandment of loving others when we consider the political upheaval that ensues us today. Perhaps we don’t agree with current laws. Perhaps we are discouraged with election results. Perhaps we feel anger or fear of what might happen to our nation in the years to come. President Oaks addresses these concerns.
In regard to the elections, he asks us to peacefully accept the results of elections. He further reminds us that, “In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.” The key words here being to persist peacefully.
He said, “The key is constitutional patriotism. We have to remain united by and through the Constitution, regardless of our ideological disagreements… Our Savior… inspired the Constitution of the United States and the basic laws of many of our countries. Loyalty to established law instead of temporary “allies” is the best way to love our adversaries and our enemies as we seek unity in diversity.” In his BYU devotional “Racism and Other Challenges” on October 27, 2020 President Oaks further states, “Let us not ‘open a quarrel between the past and the present’ lest we jeopardize our attempts to improve our future. This is our current state. We share our history and enjoy the advantages of our constitutional government and the prosperity of this nation. The predecessors of many Americans of different backgrounds made great sacrifices to establish this nation. Whatever those sacrifices—of freedom, property, or even life—let us now honor them for what they have done for us and forgo quarrelling over the past. Ours is the duty to unite and improve the future we will share.”
It is the constitution to which we should be loyal and defend. It is the constitution that we should be teaching to our children. Teaching them earnestly, as if we are their only source to learn it. For most, this is the unfortunate truth. Our children need to know the inspired truths held in these documents, such as, we are all equal in the sight of God.
“God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). Mosiah 23:7 reads, “Ye shall not esteem one flesh above another”. It is not the color of our skin, our gender, or the country in which we reside that makes us a chosen people of God. It is our obedience and devotion to Him.
“Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ can unite and bring peace to people of all races and nationalities. We who believe in that gospel—whatever our origins—must unite in love of each other and of our Savior Jesus Christ.” (President Oaks, BYU devotional “Racism and other Challenges”)
Next is the subject of anger. If you feel it, let it go. President Thomas S. Monson taught that anger is “Satan’s tool,” for “to be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice.” “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another” (3 Nephi 11:29).
The other day during family scripture study, we were talking about choosing to be happy. Happiness is a choice, it is not circumstantial. We can practice being sad or discouraged long enough that it becomes natural to us. On the other hand, we can practice happiness long enough that it becomes who we are. My seven year old chimed in, “I know the happiest time in my life.” She spoke so decisively and sincere, that I was curious what day stood out so vividly in her mind that she recalled it instantly. Her response surprised me. She said it was the day she was angry and followed my advice to let it go immediately and if she did she would feel better. I have given this advice hundreds of times, but this day was different. This time she actually followed the advice and it completely transformed her emotion from angry to very happy. It made a significant impression upon her. We can experience that same change of heart if we choose to quickly let it go.
We must analyze ourselves and find the entrance point to anger and contention and block it off. Don’t even allow it to enter. Look instead for similarities we have with others, or lessons we can learn from them, or their point of view. Get to know them with Christ-like love. Reject Satan’s attempt to influence you, by not even letting the contention enter your heart. It’s much easier to block the entrance point than to try to rid it once it has planted a seed. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “it is a time-honored adage that love begets love. Let us pour forth love—show forth our kindness unto all mankind.” Let the seed of love grow in our hearts.
So, what about fear and anxiety for the future? I can assure you that none of the things that are going on in our lives today caught God by surprise. God is aware of our circumstances and whether we see it or not, He is in the details. He has prepared each of us and His church for these very times and circumstances. We have no need to fear. So often we can’t see the end result. It can be scary at times to put our trust in God when the seemly impossible stares us in the face.
When God’s disciple Gideon was leading an army against the Midianites, “the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many …, lest Israel vaunt themselves …, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me” (Judg. 7:2). The Lord directed Gideon to reduce his numbers. He first decreased the troops from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are yet too many” (Judg. 7:4). The ten thousand were then reduced to three hundred. Now, I don’t know the number of the Midianites that they were to battle, but it must have been a great number. The scriptures say their “camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude”. If there were that many camels, I imagine the size of the Midianite army was astronomical in number.
Gideon proceeded, with the guidance of the Lord, to instruct his men. Judges 7: 16-22 reads:
“And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers.
And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.
So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.
And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.
And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abel-meholah, unto Tabbath.”
The Lord delivered the victory to the outnumbered few!
“We can take strength from the example of Gideon. You will remember how Gideon and his army faced the overwhelming strength of forces vastly superior in equipment and in number. … The outcome of that mighty battle is recorded in one short sentence: ‘And they stood every man in his place …’ (Judges 7:21), and the victory was won.
“Today, we are encamped against the greatest array of sin, vice, and evil ever assembled before our eyes. Such formidable enemies may cause lesser hearts to shrink or shun the fight. But the battle plan whereby we fight to save the souls of men is not our own. It was provided … by the inspiration and revelation of the Lord. … I pray that each of us will stand in his or her appointed place, that the battle for the souls of men will indeed be won” (Thomas S. Monson, “Correlation Brings Blessings,” Relief Society Magazine, Apr. 1967, pp. 246–47).
God is at the helm. We must trust the Lord. Not only trust the Lord to be there for us, but that He will direct our efforts in His great plan. We each have a great work yet to perform in carrying out the work of the Lord. We must stand every one in our appointed place. We each have a contribution to make. Will there be hard times? Yes. But the best times are yet to come. We are on the Lord’s side and we know the outcome. God doesn’t sleep or slumber. He won’t fail us. He is our source of strength. These crazy times; Covid 19, the riots, the elections, the wild 2020 ride, is but a tiny piece of the puzzle. We must put it in proper perspective and see it for what it is.
When you hold a pebble up to your eye, that’s all you see. It obstructs your vision. It becomes all encompassing, taking all your attention. Yet, if you set it back down on the shore where it belongs, you see it for what it really is. A tiny part of the picture. A seemingly almost insignificant piece of the grand artwork. You can now see the larger picture, which I like to refer to as the eternal perspective.
What is the bigger picture for us?
We are preparing for Christ’s second coming. We are gathering Israel and preparing to build Zion. That is the big picture! Zion starts in an individual heart. It grows little by little, from one heart to another heart, to a family, to another family, and so on.
My brother tells of a man that was determined to change the world! After some time he realized that that was too big a task, so he determined to change his country. He eventually came to the conclusion that that too was too large. He finally concluded to change his community. On his death bed, he realized that he should have focused on changing himself. He decided he had approached it backwards, when he should have changed his heart, which would have influenced his family, and then his community, and then his country, and the world.
We cannot be a Zion people with contention and hate, or with anger or fear. The Lord called Enoch’s people Zion “because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them” (Moses 7:18). Elsewhere He said, “For this is Zion—the pure in heart” (D&C 97:21). Elder Christofferson said, “Zion is Zion because of the character, attributes, and faithfulness of her citizens…If we would establish Zion in our homes, branches, wards, and stakes, we must rise to this standard. It will be necessary (1) to become unified in one heart and one mind; (2) to become, individually and collectively, a holy people; and (3) to care for the poor and needy with such effectiveness that we eliminate poverty among us. We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen—Zion will come only as they happen.”
I love Elder Christofferson’s example of unity. He tells of a group of single adults in Europe that attended a conference. “Among this group were 20 young men and women from Moldova who had spent days obtaining passports and visas and over 30 hours traveling by bus to get there. The conference program included some 15 workshops. Each person needed to select the two or three that he or she most wanted to attend. Rather than focus exclusively on their own interests, these Moldovan young adults got together and made plans so that at least one of their group would be in each class and take copious notes. Then they would share what they had learned with each other and later with the young adults in Moldova who could not attend. In its simplest form, this exemplifies the unity and love for one another that, multiplied thousands of times in different ways, will ‘bring again Zion’” (Isaiah 52:8). (Elder Christofferson, “Come to Zion”)
That makes it seem simple and attainable. In fact, it should be simple, to love others and seek to be unified. To care for others more than worldly gain and materialism. It should be simple to choose to rid ourselves of hate and anger. It should be simple to desire righteousness. It should be our ultimate goal to seek to build Zion. All other goals and aspirations are simply a means to accomplish the big picture, to build the kingdom of God on Earth.
Now is the time to prepare. As Elder Bednar stated, “Effective and timely preparation precedes successful proving”. The preparation must begin long before the crisis. As we prepare for Christs second coming, we don’t know what we will be called to do. We do know, however, that our constant obedience to His call to service now, will prepare us for the times ahead. We can’t gain a tree of faith overnight. It starts with a seed and requires much nourishment over time. We earn our faith, and God’s confidence in us, by sustained labor in His service.
In the book, “And There Was Light”, this man practiced seeing light all of his life. He had a great life, but he was blind. He realized it took intentional focus on looking for the light, to avoid the darkness consuming him. He later become part of the resistance during World War II. All his practice in recognizing and letting God direct him gave him stored talent and knowledge to help him through the resistance. Even when he was later taken to a concentration camp, he was still able to find joy and peace in even the worst circumstances. This was possible because of the way he lived his life in the years previous.
Like this man, we must first prepare and then the Lord can help us. We must learn to tap into the love of Christ now, in good times, so that we can foster love in the hard times.
Let us put the pebble down, and look at the larger picture. Rather than focus on differences and contention, focus on love, unity, and serving those around us. Let us focus on building Zion, one heart at a time.
Recent Comments