I've been thinking a lot about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. My lesson last week was on grace and I love that topic. It got me to think about a talk by Elder Holland called "An High Priest of Good Things to Come." In this talk he talks about a scripture in Hebrews 9, that says Christ is an high priest of good things to come (verse 11). He then goes on to testify that all those blessings and all those good things to come will come to those who have accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ and strived to live it as best as they can. But he never makes the promise of the timing. He says some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven. But they come. I believe this to be true, even though patience is not one of my virtues, I strive to be patient as I wait for those "good things to come."
Last year in October Conference (and you can see it in a talk I posted last year) that Elder Eyring gave a talk about hiding from God. He spoke of Liberty Jail and the cry that Joseph Smith made to Heavenly Father: "O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?" (D&C 121:1) Elder Eyring went on to testify that God is never hidden but sometimes we are. And we hide ourselves for various reasons. Sometimes it is our ambition and our desires that hide us from God. Sometimes it is our disappointment of blessings not coming that hide us from God. But it is important that we hold on to hope and faith. We will have times that we will be waiting for blessings. We will be waiting for further instruction and guidance. We will be waiting for those "good things to come." We can either turn these moments into the greatest learning time of our life or turn them into the biggest temper tantrum we've thrown since we were kids.
I think if you asked every single person on the face of this earth "Has your life turned out the way you planned it?" and they would all answer: No. But those with wisdom and the patience to wait for the blessings of God should be able to answer that it has turned out much more magnificent than our mortal minds could have thought. I think anyone who is over the age of 25 and still in a single's ward definitely feels this. But even if you marry as planned, go to the college you planned, get the degree you planned on and in the timeframe you planned, there will come a day in your life that you will be thrown a curve ball. Things will not go "as planned." Again, you have the option to turn your faith to God and receive even greater blessings than you "had planned." Or you can refuse to see what God is trying to teach you and trying to offer you. You can turn your waiting place into a hiding place. In Hebrews 11:40 (JST) it reads, "God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect."
I think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego when they refuse to worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar set up. Because of this they were cast in the fiery furnace. But if we study the exchange before they were cast into the furance, before they knew they were going to be rescued, we can learn something about faith and hope. When they were brought before the King, he asked them, "Who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" He was essentially trying to get them to believe what he did, that only King Nebuchadnezzar could save. But we know that isn't true. We must not fear man more than God. And these three young men knew that. They answered the King and said: "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thing hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve they gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." In a talk entitled "But If Not," Brother Simmons says, "They knew that they could trust God--even if things didn't turn out the way they hoped. They knew that faith is more than mental assent, more than an acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in Him. Faith is believing that although we do not understand all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him." Brother Simmons makes powerful "God will" statements indicating what God will do for us. Each "God will" statement is ended by saying "but if not." He then ends his talk by stating this, "But if not, ... we will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do all we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive all that He has."
Do we have that kind of faith? God will help me get into the college I want, but if not... God will help me receive the degree I want in the time that I want, but if not... God will help me marry the individual of my dreams (I have it all planned out, you know), but if not... God will bless me with perfect, obedient children, but if not... God will deliver me from persecution and ridicule, but if not... "But if not" are hard words to say, but if we truly mean them, just as the words "Thy will be done" our faith can grow from a small mustard seed into something great than can not only bless us, but bless others for generations to come.
The last scripture that I want to mention is found in 1 Nephi 11. Nephi has been praying to understand the dream that his father had about the Tree of Life. An angel appears to him to teach him. During their conversation, the angel shows him Jesus Christ being born to Mary. Now, Jesus Christ could have entered the world by any means possible. But to enter the world like us, a small, tiny human being born in the most humble of circumstances? The angel asks Nephi what this means. I love Nephi's response! "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."
Why did my mom have 3 stillborn children? I don't know why, but I know that God loves His children. Why has my friend and countless others not had the joy of bearing children when that is one of their strongest desires? I don't know, but I know God loves His children. Why are there so many who are looking for work but can't find it? I don't know, but I know God loves His children. Why are there so many throughout the church, as well as the world, who are longing to be married but aren't? I don't know, but I know God loves his children. I have a feeling that the general answer to these questions has something to do with the scripture that was quoted earlier, "God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings, for without sufferings they could not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:40).
The answer of "I don't know, but I know that God loves His children" is not some easy way out. It is accepting that while we don't have the answer to everything, we are sure of the love of God. It is putting our faith in that love that allows us to move on, to learn what we need to learn, and to go forward blessing the lives of those around us. I think of Sam in the movie Charly. At the end when he is speaking at his wife's funeral, he says, "It is in that love that I trust now." If we place our trust, our faith, and our hope in the love of God, or more importantly our Savior Jesus Christ (because that is the respresentation of the love of God), we will be blessed with more faith and more trust and more hope and the greatest of all: charity.
I know that what I have written here is true and I would hope that this reaches someone out there who needs this message. Even if that time is far down the road. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I believe in His teachings and I have written these things in His name. Amen.
Lead Kindly Light
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Saturday, June 1, 2013
No One Can Take Your Place
Picture it: Christmas 2004. I had just finished my 3rd semester at BYU-Idaho and I was home for the break. Now, that semester didn’t go too well. First of all, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was just going to school. And school? Well, let’s just say I may have failed some of my classes that previous semester. I felt very lost and alone. In high school I had just started to develop my talents with music, singing and playing the piano. But then I got to BYU-Idaho and realized that 99.9% of the women’s population could do those things too. And they were much better than I! In a sense, I was struggling to adjust to the overwhelming feeling of simply not being enough in whatever I was trying to do or that I would never measure up.
My mom must have realized this with the sixth sense that all mothers have because she bought me this book for Christmas, “No One Can Take Your Place.” I remember sitting there on Christmas night and looking at this book and reading its title half-heartedly. I remember not really believing that statement because I felt there would always be someone better to fill my spot (whatever that “spot” may be). I don’t remember when I opened the book but as I was searching through the chapters, I turned to the last and title chapter of the book.
She says, “For too many years I had felt that I wasn’t talented enough, thin enough, smart enough, cute enough, or basically anything enough to amount to much.” When I read that, I knew exactly how she felt because that was what I was feeling in that exact moment! She goes on to say,“Suffice it to say that when I stepped foot on the BYU campus as a young freshman in the fall of 1971, I must have been the most shy, least accomplished coed on campus. My clothes weren’t right. I was desperately homesick. My lack of social skills, combined with my shyness, was deadly on a college campus. Although my goal had always been to get a university degree, I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to be or do.” Again, another moment when I thought Sheri Dew might have read my personal journal had I been keeping one!
She talks about growing up playing basketball and experienced some success. She wanted the opportunity to play basketball at BYU. She found out when and where the tryouts would be and she showed up at the gym to tryout. But when she opened the door and saw all of the girls practicing and warming up, she was stopped in her tracks. They looked good! She says, “Suddenly, every insecure cell in my body began to scream, ‘What are you thinking? You aren’t good enough to play ball here! You can’t compete with these girls! What has gotten into your head?’” She shut the door and decided to give herself a few moments to get the courage to go inside. She tried to muster courage for 3 hours outside of that gym until finally the tryouts were over and she had never stepped foot inside that gym. She walked home discouraged and disgusted with herself. The failure of not even trying has nagged at her for 30+ plus and she can’t watch a women’s collegiate basketball game and wonder what might have been.
She told that story when she was invited to speak to a group of female athletes at BYU in 2001. She says:
“I wanted those young athletes to believe it when I told them how much I admired and respected what they had already accomplished in their lives. When I had concluded, BYU’s storied women athletic director, Dr. Elaine Michaelis, went to the podium and in front of the audience asked, ‘Sheri, is that story about you being too shy to try out for the 1971 basketball team really true?’ ‘Yes,’ I responded.
“‘Did you know that I was the coach of the 1971 BYU women’s basketball team?’ she continued. ‘Yes,’ I answered, adding that through all of these years her name had been emblazoned in my mind, and I had followed with great interest the very successful basketball and volleyball teams she had coached.
My mom must have realized this with the sixth sense that all mothers have because she bought me this book for Christmas, “No One Can Take Your Place.” I remember sitting there on Christmas night and looking at this book and reading its title half-heartedly. I remember not really believing that statement because I felt there would always be someone better to fill my spot (whatever that “spot” may be). I don’t remember when I opened the book but as I was searching through the chapters, I turned to the last and title chapter of the book.
She says, “For too many years I had felt that I wasn’t talented enough, thin enough, smart enough, cute enough, or basically anything enough to amount to much.” When I read that, I knew exactly how she felt because that was what I was feeling in that exact moment! She goes on to say,“Suffice it to say that when I stepped foot on the BYU campus as a young freshman in the fall of 1971, I must have been the most shy, least accomplished coed on campus. My clothes weren’t right. I was desperately homesick. My lack of social skills, combined with my shyness, was deadly on a college campus. Although my goal had always been to get a university degree, I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to be or do.” Again, another moment when I thought Sheri Dew might have read my personal journal had I been keeping one!
She talks about growing up playing basketball and experienced some success. She wanted the opportunity to play basketball at BYU. She found out when and where the tryouts would be and she showed up at the gym to tryout. But when she opened the door and saw all of the girls practicing and warming up, she was stopped in her tracks. They looked good! She says, “Suddenly, every insecure cell in my body began to scream, ‘What are you thinking? You aren’t good enough to play ball here! You can’t compete with these girls! What has gotten into your head?’” She shut the door and decided to give herself a few moments to get the courage to go inside. She tried to muster courage for 3 hours outside of that gym until finally the tryouts were over and she had never stepped foot inside that gym. She walked home discouraged and disgusted with herself. The failure of not even trying has nagged at her for 30+ plus and she can’t watch a women’s collegiate basketball game and wonder what might have been.
She told that story when she was invited to speak to a group of female athletes at BYU in 2001. She says:
“I wanted those young athletes to believe it when I told them how much I admired and respected what they had already accomplished in their lives. When I had concluded, BYU’s storied women athletic director, Dr. Elaine Michaelis, went to the podium and in front of the audience asked, ‘Sheri, is that story about you being too shy to try out for the 1971 basketball team really true?’ ‘Yes,’ I responded.
“‘Did you know that I was the coach of the 1971 BYU women’s basketball team?’ she continued. ‘Yes,’ I answered, adding that through all of these years her name had been emblazoned in my mind, and I had followed with great interest the very successful basketball and volleyball teams she had coached.
“‘Would you like to know something interesting about my 1971 basketball team?’ She went on. I nodded that I would.‘In all my years of coaching, it is the onlyyear I was not able to fill my roster, and we played that season one player short. All season I kept searching for one more girl to fill out our team, but I could never find her.’
“Ugh! When she said those words, it felt as though she had sucker punched me. I couldn’t believe it was true, but Elaine later assured me that it was. She had looked all season long for another player to add to her roster, but she had never been able to find that one particular ballplayer.
“All the way home I stewed about what she had said. And frankly, I’ve thought and pondered the matter a great deal since then. Though I suppose I won’t know this definitively until I step across the veil and understand many things more clearly, I have a suspicion about all of this. I have the feeling that that spot on that team was mine. But because I didn’t even have the courage to step forward and try, it didn’t get filled.
“For the sake of discussion, let’s just assume that that spot could have been mine. Think of the experiences I missed out on by not participating on the team that year. And if I was half as good as I remember myself being, perhaps I could have helped the team. Maybe I could have made a difference. But we’ll never know, because I didn’t have the self-confidence to even try.
“Here’s the principle that my sorry brush with the 1971 BYU’s women’s basketball team has taught me: No one can take your place.
“Oh sure, we have all let others down and watched someone else step in to fill the gap, and we’ve all at times helped fill the gap when others have let us down. So, yes, it’s possible to fill in for someone. But it’s not possible to take their place. Not now, not ever.
“No one can take your place in your family or with your friends. No one can take your place in your ward or your extended family, in your neighborhood or at the company where you work. No one can have the influence you have been prepared to have on all who come within your sphere of influence. Without question, no one can fulfill your foreordained mission. No one can do what you were sent here to do. No one” (Sheri L. Dew, No One Can Take Your Place, 2004, p. 197-199).
“Ugh! When she said those words, it felt as though she had sucker punched me. I couldn’t believe it was true, but Elaine later assured me that it was. She had looked all season long for another player to add to her roster, but she had never been able to find that one particular ballplayer.
“All the way home I stewed about what she had said. And frankly, I’ve thought and pondered the matter a great deal since then. Though I suppose I won’t know this definitively until I step across the veil and understand many things more clearly, I have a suspicion about all of this. I have the feeling that that spot on that team was mine. But because I didn’t even have the courage to step forward and try, it didn’t get filled.
“For the sake of discussion, let’s just assume that that spot could have been mine. Think of the experiences I missed out on by not participating on the team that year. And if I was half as good as I remember myself being, perhaps I could have helped the team. Maybe I could have made a difference. But we’ll never know, because I didn’t have the self-confidence to even try.
“Here’s the principle that my sorry brush with the 1971 BYU’s women’s basketball team has taught me: No one can take your place.
“Oh sure, we have all let others down and watched someone else step in to fill the gap, and we’ve all at times helped fill the gap when others have let us down. So, yes, it’s possible to fill in for someone. But it’s not possible to take their place. Not now, not ever.
“No one can take your place in your family or with your friends. No one can take your place in your ward or your extended family, in your neighborhood or at the company where you work. No one can have the influence you have been prepared to have on all who come within your sphere of influence. Without question, no one can fulfill your foreordained mission. No one can do what you were sent here to do. No one” (Sheri L. Dew, No One Can Take Your Place, 2004, p. 197-199).
I want to leave my testimony with you. I know that your Heavenly Father and Savior love you VERY much. If we spent our entire lives studying that Divine love that brought about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we would never fully comprehend it. But to feel or sense even a glimpse of that love is life-changing. I believe that if the Savior was on the earth today, he would spend time with each of us individually. He would hug us and wipe away our tears as he assured us that we are enough. We aren’t perfect, no. But we are enough. We know enough to share the gospel, to bear our testimonies no matter how small they may be. We have enough resources to help each other, serve each other and love one another because we have two arms to lift one another and two shoulders to help bear each other’s burdens. We are worthy enough to partake of the mercy and grace of the Atonement of Jesus Christ because all it takes a broken heart and contrite spirit to be worthy. We are beautiful enough, especially when we live with the gospel in our lives and a smile on our faces. Each of you have been blessed with divine talents and gifts. But we must rise up, put on the armor of God and go forth with full purpose of heart to accomplish the mission that we were sent here to accomplish. Because we are enough and no one can take our place.
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