My dear sisters, I am so happy to meet with you today.
Arcadia Stake has always been very special for me.
While growing up in Burbank I often had interaction with your wonderful stake. I hope you all love and appreciate your Relief Society president, Sue Cornwall. She is a woman of great charity. I first met Sue on a Saturday afternoon several years ago at the door of your
kitchen here in your stake center. She was wearing an apron. She had just prepared a feast for then Elder Dallin H. Oaks. It was simply lovely. Every detail was of great importance. I knew from the moment I met her that I would always love her! Over the years we have stayed in touch. She recently served another delicious meal to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. But I want you to know a secret.
Sue’s desire was that the youth who were helping in the kitchen would be able to greet the visiting General Authority. It was never about Sue or her delicious meal or the presentation. It was never about her greeting him or shaking his hand. It was about others—the youth—and making sure they had an opportunity to be recognized and meet someone special. Sue Cornwall always thinks of others.
We are here today to celebrate an event that happened long ago. An event that directly involves you.
40 years ago this upcoming October General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimball spoke of you sisters. Every sister here today was included in a remarkable prophecy. Before talking about this prophecy I wanted to share with you a story. When I was a teenage girl living in Burbank, the North Hollywood Stake decided to hold a swim meet and a track meet for the youth. Each event would include youth from throughout the stake to compete against each other. Now, you should know that I am not the best athlete though I love all sports. I have even run a marathon! For the swim meet I chose to enter the backstroke event. Why would I choose that? Because you can breathe any time you want! We had some practices at Marsha Scott’s pool. I actually didn’t do too badly in those practices and even beat some of the boys! The night of the swim meet was invigorating and exciting! I noticed that the lane lines were not put up in the pool. But no worries. On the bottom of the pool is also painted black lines so you can see your lane. For my event I entered the pool and waited for the gun to go off. I took off as fast as I could. I could hear splashing and cheering and felt such exhilaration. It
sounded like they were all cheering for me. I knew I had this! I reached out and touched the end of the pool. I lifted my head up out of the water. The only problem was that I didn’t end up at the other end of the pool. Somehow during the race, without those lane lines, I had turned and ended my race at the SIDE of the pool! It was then that I learned that lane lines, like our commandments, are
vital for our success and even victory. The track meet was not that much better for me. But I do want to show you a picture. Have any of you ever participated in an event that involves this piece of equipment? Do you know what it is? It is called a “standard”. What is the purpose of a standard? Yes, the purpose of a standard is to gauge your performance but it also serves as a “bar” or a level of
accomplishment you are striving for. This standard actually helps you improve your performance.
I learned from these experiences that commandments and standards are vital to our progress and to our success in fulfilling the Lord’s will.
The Prophecy
Now, back to President Kimball’s prophecy. His message was so vital that, despite President Kimball being hospitalized for that Conference, he had his wife, Camilla Kimball, read it to the Church while he watched from his hospital bed. It was in this talk and while sharing this prophecy that a “bar” was set, a “standard” was given to the women of the Church. Even though we may not remember listening to it that day, our prophet saw us in vision and declared this pronouncement for us in these latter-days. So great was this prophecy that President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Sharon Eubank have spoken of it in recent days. This is some of what President Kimball shared with the Church:
“Remember, in the world before we came here, faithful women were given certain assignments…You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you. “I stress again the deep need each woman has to study the scriptures. We want our homes to be blessed with sister scriptorians—whether you are single or married, young or old, widowed or living in a family. “As you become more and more familiar with the truths of the scriptures, you will be more and more effective in keeping the second great commandment, to love your neighbor as yourself.
And then Sister Kimball read, “Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and
different—in happy ways—from the women of the world.”
On a Face to Face worldwide broadcast several years ago with Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Sister Bonnie Oscarson, and Brother Steve Owen, General Young Men’s President and our former Arcadia mission president, I observed something most beautiful. Questions were being asked from around the world on this live broadcast. Time after time, Sister Oscarson would have her scriptures open and
go searching and quote scriptures in her answers. Sister Oscarson knows the Lord. Sister Oscarson knows the scriptures. Ponder on how will you become a scriptorian. Decide how will you come to know your scriptures.
President Nelson added recently: “My dear sisters, you who are our vital associates during this winding-up scene, the day that President Kimball foresaw is today. You are the women he foresaw!
Your virtue, light, love, knowledge, courage, character, faith, and righteous lives will draw good women of the world, along with their families, to the Church in unprecedented numbers!
“We, your brethren, need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without women who make sacred covenants and then keep them, women who can speak with the power and authority of God!” He then quoted President Packer who declared, “Today let me add that we need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God’s children along the covenant path toward exaltation; women who know how to receive personal revelation, who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment; women who know
how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families; women who teach fearlessly.”
Prophecy – What it is and how it is fulfilled
Let’s talk about prophecy. We believe in both ancient and modern prophecy. We believe that continuing prophecy is a characteristic or sign of the true church.From a Church video I recently saw showing two youth preparing family names for temple ordinances, we see the mother say, “We read from the scriptures and we hear the promises given to Nephi regarding the remnant of the seed of his
brethren [that they] would one day hear the gospel and accept the gospel.” We know that this prophecy from Nephi is being fulfilled today. From the book of Daniel in the Old Testament we read that “a stone was cut out without hands…and became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”
(Daniel 2:34-35) We know that this prophecy is being fulfilled today. Bring to pass So, how are prophecies fulfilled? Is it just through passage of time that they are realized? No! Prophecies fulfilled involve the children of God, us, fulfilling them. Prophecies require that the covenant people of the Lord will get to work and do what is asked and through faith draw upon the powers of heaven, the miracles of God, to bring to pass His work. I love the scripture when Jesus Christ, Himself, pronounces His purpose—you might even say it is a prophecy about Himself. He says, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
(Moses 1:39)
We have been commanded to be like our Savior. We have been asked to do those things that would align our lives with His. If we truly believe that, then His purposes must become OUR purposes. If He has said His purpose is to bring to pass immortality and eternal life for all men then that should become OUR purpose. How is this to be done? Christ has set the bar. Through the creation of families we assist God in His first purpose. If we will rise to the level of righteousness that President Kimball saw in our day then we will assist God in bringing eternal life to the human family.
I hope you noticed certain specific words that the Savior used. He said, “bring to pass”. This is different from the many times we read in the scriptures “it came to pass”. “It came to pass” denotes a passage of time. Nothing required. Just time. But, “bring to pass” requires faith, action, choice, accountability, and obedience. I note here some more scripture on “bringing to pass”: In the Doctrine and Covenants we read, “men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” (D&C 58:27)
In Alma we read, “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.” (Alma 37:6)
On Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s recent visit to this area he proclaimed, “We will have to be his disciples who give the Church of the Lamb to the Lamb.” Elder Kevin W. Pearson said in this very stake, “This stake will grow if we pray every prayer for it and do the things to extend ourselves to others through
example and invitation.” Sisters, do you believe that you will receive the miracles and the power to bring souls unto Christ? In Helaman we read that there was “great prosperity in the church…there were thousands who…were baptized. So many blessings…were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were…astonished.” (Helaman 3:25) Continuing in Helaman we read that Nephi and Lehi (named after the earlier Nephi and Lehi) preached “with such great power and authority, for they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak, and they also had what they should speak given unto them—therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were 8,000…baptized.” (Helaman 5:18)
So, my dear sisters, how are we going to fulfill this prophecy of President Kimball, of Daniel, of Nephi? How are we going to be a part of “bringing to pass” this prophecy? Do you believe that you have the power and authority to speak? Do you believe that you will be given what to speak? How will you get this power?
There is a favorite story of mine in the Book of Mormon. There was a wicked man Amalickiah who desired to be the king. He caused dissension among the people and wanted to fight against those who were righteous, who belonged to the church of God. He sought to destroy the church and the liberty which they had. When Moroni heard of these dissensions he was angry with Amalickiah.
(Alma 46:3-11) We read that he rent or tore his coat and wrote a proclamation on it and fastened it upon the end of a pole. (Alma 46:12) He put on his head plate and his breastplate and his shields and his armor. He took the pole which had his “rent” coat and what did he do? (Alma 46:13) He bowed himself to the earth and prayed mightily for the blessings of God to rest upon his brethren. (Alma 46:13) And what did he do next? “He went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying
with a loud voice, saying: “Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant” (Alma 46:19-20)
My favorite part comes next. “When Moroni had proclaimed these words…the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins” (Alma 46:21) But wait a minute. Why did the people come running with their armor girded about their loins? They were not at that moment gathering to enter into battle. Moroni was just declaring throughout the land to gather people. But the fact is that the battle was not yet commencing. And yet they came running and they
came wearing their armor. They were prepared in that very moment to follow their God through His prophet. How will we put on our armor?
The baptism dress
Before my husband and his triplet brothers were born, the family lived in Germany. One of his older sisters had turned 8 and was going to be baptized.For Church, they met in a large house. The only problem was, there wasn’t white clothing to be found. A kind German caretaker on the 3 rd floor gave them a white dress for her baptism. That same white dress has been passed around to all of
the daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters for their baptisms—33 in total! Our daughter Chelsea wore it. Our daughter Hayley wore it. On the day of Hayley’s baptism I, for some reason, was wearing a deep red lipstick. After the baptism I bundled up all of the wet clothing and towels into a bag and my tube of red lipstick fell into the bag. Upon returning home I threw the wet
contents of the bag into the washer. Imagine my absolute horror when I saw the precious white dress now covered with deep red spots and markings all over it. I cried many tears. My heart was broken that I had ruined something so precious. I worked days and days, weeks and months, soaking that dress and gently scrubbing each little stitch. I couldn’t be too vigorous in my cleaning so as to
damage or wear out the weave of the fabric. I needed to clean it so perfectly so that there wasn’t even evidence of pink or scrubbing.
After many months the dress was made perfect. To this day, no one knows about the disaster with the dress. But I have come to understand a little better how the Atonement can be used with great effort and care to make us clean and sanctified, to be wearing our armor of righteousness. May I share with you three examples of women from the scriptures who I know were running [or were ready and able to do what was asked of them] and wearing their armor [or were living faithful, devoted, and sanctified lives.] I do so with permission of the artist Elspeth Young. These pieces of art are found in the books by Camille Fronk Olson Women of the Old Testament and Women of the New Testament.
Women of the Scriptures Sarah [picture on p. 28] [Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord? By Elspeth Young] Let’s talk about Sarah from the Old Testament, wife of Abraham. There is more scripture pertaining to Sarah than to any other woman in the Bible. God made a covenant with her husband Abraham, also known as the Abrahamic covenant, that said, “I will make of thee a great nation” and then God further said, “in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations. And I will bless them through thy name…and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.” (Abr. 2:9-11) (p. 39) There was just one problem. Abraham and Sarah were elderly. Abraham and Sarah did not have any children. How was this prophecy to be fulfilled? How was this to be? But Sarah was faithful. She was obedient. She did all she could to be prepared to fulfill this prophecy. Through her faith, through her obedience, God was able to work a miracle so that this prophecy could be fulfilled.
Mary, the mother of Jesus [picture on p. 8] [According to Thy Word by Elspeth Young]
Mary, the mother of Jesus Church author Camille Fronk Olson said that fewer than 10 days in the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus, are revealed in scripture. And yet, throughout time she has been reverenced and called blessed. She was a disciple of Jesus Christ. Anciently, it was prophesied that a virgin should “conceive, and [should] bear a son, and [would] call his name Immanuel.” (2 Nephi 17:14). It was proclaimed that Christ would be “born of Mary…a precious and chosen vessel” who would “bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.” (Alma 7:10)
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and proclaimed, “Thou shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest…and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:30-33) (p. 16) So what was Mary like? What did she do to fulfill this prophecy? She was told she would be the mother of the Son of God. I am certain that what we don’t read about in the scriptures would reveal that she was a choice daughter of God. I am certain that if we came to know this Mary we would see a completely faithful
disciple of God.
Anna [picture on p. 133] [The Substance of Hope by Elspeth Young]
Anna in the New Testament was referred to in scripture as a prophetess. She never heard Jesus preach and never witnessed any of his miracles. She saw him only once when he was a baby. She is described as a widow “of a great age”. We don’t know how old she was but we do know that she was widowed for 84 years. We know from the book of Luke that she “departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” (Luke 2:37) We don’t have recorded her prophetic words, but we do know that she spoke the truth and witnessed of the Messiah. Luke records that she “spake of him [Christ] to all them that looked for redemption.” (Luke 2:38) According to Camille Fronk Olson, the Greek word used in “spake of him” suggested an ongoing activity.
This would mean that she continued to bear witness of Christ for the remainder of her life. (p. 137) We can surmise from the scriptures that Anna lived a lifetime of faith and sharing her testimony with others. While some of the stories of these women of the scriptures pertain to the miracles of their childbearing it is instructive to note that in each case the Lord needed these women to fulfill a prophecy. We must also surmise that each of these women were faithful, devoted, dedicated, converted women of the gospel. Each sister was willing to live her life in such a way so that the Lord could use her to fulfill His great plan.
And now for some personal examples:
Story – Brian
Our family loves missionary work. We have a missionary shelf in our bookcase. Every year we fill it with 12 copies of the Book of Mormon to be able to have them ready to give out during the year. We have pamphlets. We have pass along cards. We keep them in our wallets as well. We also have several languages available. Whenever there is a repairman or an Uber driver we come in contact with--basically, anyone who ever comes to our door—we are ready to share.
Sometimes the question we ask is about their family or if they like to read. As a family we had the desire to invite someone to be taught by the missionaries. We wanted to have an experience more than sharing these precious items from our bookshelf. We prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help us know who we should talk to. Our youngest son was on the water polo team at the high school. Three weeks into the school year the new water polo coach arrived. He had a very long pony
tail and seemed intimidating. After picking up Blake from the pool and seeing the coach we both said to each other on the way home that we felt this was “the one.” After a brief period, Blake asked our bishop if he could give a talk in sacrament meeting so that he could invite his coach Brian to come and hear him. Brian agreed to come. Not only was he early, he stayed all three hours and even
stayed for choir. He agreed to come back the following week. He arrived a half hour early, before anyone else, and stayed for everything again. Shortly after that Brian agreed to meet with the missionaries. On his second visit a few days later, when asked if he had read any of the Book of Mormon, he shared that he was in 2 Nephi. Blake was able to baptize Brian a few months
later. At the baptism, most of the water polo team attended. Shortly after Brian’s baptism, he then baptized his mother Ann. Brian’s mother Ann Edwards is here with us today. We are living in monumental times with the changes we are witnessing in the Church in these last days. It is truly astounding. Even recently with the change from visiting teaching to ministering…wow. We
had been living the law of Moses in this. Reports. Monthly visits. Messages. But not anymore. God is trying to prepare His people for the Savior’s return. The bar has been raised. Instead, we are to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE His people back to Him.
Story – Bill
Another story. Bill Robinson walked into our ward one day. Bill is an elderly man, greatly deformed in his back and somewhat in his face. His words were, “Where is Don Fiebiger?” Don was Bill’s home teacher. Bill wanted to finally meet him. For 40 years, Bill wanted nothing to do with the Church. For many years before that day when Bill walked into the Church, Don had been writing
him letters. Because of Don, Bill is now completely active in the Church and attends the temple regularly.
So what about those we minister to who want nothing to do with us? How do we fulfill the prophecy in this case? Story – Ane and Debbie
I minister to Ane and Debbie, among others. Ane and Debbie want nothing to do with me or the Church. When I stop by for a brief visit I know they are home but will not answer the door. Occasionally, we will have a visit and it is lovely. So, what do I do? I pray for them by name. I ask for inspiration on what I can do. And guess what? Inspiration comes. I get thoughts of different things I can do for them.
My dear sisters, the Lord has set the bar. He has declared through His prophet that “much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from
the women of the world.” Are you now asking yourself, how is this to be done? How am I to play a part in the fulfillment of this prophecy? Of bringing many souls unto Christ? That is a question that we each need to take to the Lord. Do you believe He will answer you? I know He will. He will tell us in a very real way what we individually are to do.
You may recall that President Nelson spoke to the youth of the Church in June of last year. He invited the youth to “enlist in the Lord’s youth battalion to help gather Israel on both sides of the veil. This gathering, he said, is “the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on earth today!”Then, in our last General Conference to the women of the Church, he said, [this] “is a cause that desperately needs women, because women shape the future. So tonight, I’m extending a prophetic plea to you, the women of the Church, to shape the future by helping to gather scattered Israel.”
I would like you to pay particular attention to the four invitations he gave to the
women of the Church:
“1 – Participate in a 10-day fast from social media and other media that would
bring negative thoughts.
“2 – Read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year and mark the verses
that speak of the Savior.
“3 – Establish a pattern of regular temple attendance
“4 – Participate fully in Relief Society”
Did you notice anything unusual?
None of these four invitations from our prophet had anything to do specifically
with the gathering of Israel, or with missionary work, or with ministering.
Why?
What is the Lord trying to teach us?
It is time.
It is time for us to sanctify our lives.
It is time for us to recommit to being fully engaged.
It is time for us to be fully converted to all of His gospel.
It is time for us to know our scriptures.
It is time for us to be in the temple.
It is time for us to come running as the Nephites of old.
It is time for us to have our armor on at all times girded about our loins.
It is time for us to bring all of God’s children back to Him.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment