GIFTS: The Three Most Important Words --- a prophet's answer

The plan was to show you much sooner President Hunter's answer to the young woman's question on the three most important words.

The reason for the delay is a bit complex.  I learned a lot from the responses you submitted.  The main thing I learned is that you and I are on a different wavelength when it comes to the gospel, and on what's important.

Most of your responses were as gospel slogans, almost like advertisements or the political slogans we saw on placards at the Republican convention this week.

The young woman was actually looking for a prophet of God, President Hunter, to confirm her own "three most important words" --- I love you. I imagine she'd had a discussion with a friend or family member on the issue and she wanted a prophet to endorse her views.  She left disappointed. 

Some of you suggested "I love you."  Most of you had Love as one of your three words, confirming the sad observation that love and service for most of us are the heart and core of the gospel message.  Again it is clear: this is not a doctrinal era in the Church.  We are miles away from understanding the prime place the doctrine of Christ should occupy in our thinking and teaching and testimonies.  It is more than sad to me, it is depressing.  As I say, I learned a lot from this little exercise, this informal survey.

There may be a tendency among us to think that each opinion is of equal value.  Our democratic view of the gospel and the Church tends to lead to that errant conclusion.  But what matters and what counts is the "opinion" of the Lord and His prophets. We seem to miss that vital point.  We should cherish and treasure what they cherish and treasure. We must think like they do. That is what having "the mind of Christ" is all about (see 1 Corinthians 2:16).  We have little hope of eternal life unless and until we do.

Some answers had real merit.  "It is finished," for example, in reference to the Savior's last words on the cross.  The key point in this is to know and have a deep understanding of what "it" is in this sentence.

"Feed my sheep" speaks well of someone's understanding of the plan and the increasingly urgent need to feed and nourish in our gospel classrooms and homes.  So does "Ye must repent."  "Love your neighbor" is more or less scriptural, at least, and "Keep my commandments" is getting closer.

Now we are not being contrary here in a sort of "guess-what's-on-my-mind" game, and "everyone-else's-answer-is-wrong-if-it-doesn't-match-mine" idea. That is childish and silly.  No, as we said above, we must learn to think like the Lord and His prophets and be willing to bring our views into correspondence with theirs.  This is what true worship is all about --- emulation of the Lord.  This is the essence of salvation and of the true definition of eternal life, which is to know God and His ways enough to adopt them and make them our own, so that we Become.  Like.  Him.

"Ask in faith" . . . "Seek the Spirit" . . . "Search the scriptures" would be on the right path, wouldn't they? No one suggested them.  What you mostly said was any tri-permutation of LOVE SERVICE OBEDIENCE ETERNITY HONESTY FORGIVE REMEMBER SERVE LOVE, LOVE, and LOVE.

Nothing much wrong with those words. They all have a place, even a place within the gospel.  But it is not the prime place, and they certainly hardly qualify as the most important three words the Lord would have us cherish and obey.

President Hunter's three-word answer to the young woman appears uniquely in a Book of Mormon chapter we will soon "study" in Sunday School.  A variation of it was spoken by the Father to Joseph in the Sacred Grove, when He introduced the Son to the boy-prophet. In all recorded sacred history we have only (by my count) forty-two words spoken by the Father Himself, and always to introduce His Beloved Son.

After this lengthy introduction the words themselves will likely be anti-climactic, if not a sure disappointment.  But consider all we have said here.  And contrast the young woman's disappointment at not hearing from the prophet, "I love you," with the joy the Nephites felt when they heard from the Father: "Hear ye Him," and the rapture in the bosom of the young farm boy in the Grove at, "Hear Him," meaning "Hear the words of my Son, your Savior!---He will now instruct you."

Those were the words in President Hunter's answer: Hear ye Him!

There is more to say on this.  More to explain and to expound, to understand and make a part of ourselves.

But those are the words: Hear ye Him!

More soon.

Steve

GIFTS: The Three Most Important Words

A young woman once approached Howard W. Hunter, fourteenth President of the Church, and asked him what are the three most important words.

How would you answer that?

I am tempted to do two or three different things here.  At first I planned to simply share President Hunter's answer with no, or little, comment.  For his answer is profound, and can stand as a doctrinal insight by itself, especially in light of the answer the young woman was expecting.

Then I entertained the idea of asking you readers, my family and friends, to send me your answer.  And then we could share and discuss and expound as we compare our answers with President Hunter's.

A third option would be to expound and explain and build up here the context to President Hunter's answer, so it would have the deep meaning we want to convey.  Believe me, it is deep and profound.  I wonder if you are ready for it?  There is such a thing as learner readiness, which the Master Teacher, the Savior Himself, used to great effect.

Elder Packer once began a general conference talk in this way:

"What I shall say I could say much better if we were alone, just the two of us. It would be easier also if we had come to know one another, and had that kind of trust which makes it possible to talk of serious, even sacred things.

"If we were that close, because of the nature of what I shall say, I would study you carefully as I spoke. If there should be the slightest disinterest or distraction, the subject would quickly be changed to more ordinary things.

"I have not, to my knowledge, in my ministry said anything more important."

I am not deliberately being evasive here, or teasing you for no reason.  I want this discussion to have meaning for you all, to have the same impact it had on me and Alison when we first heard this in an Education Week lecture at BYU three years ago tomorrow.

Having said all this, I'm now clear on how to proceed.

What are the three most important words for you?

Let me know --- in the middle of your busy schedule --- your pondered and reasoned response, would you?  We'll give it a few days for your answers to come in, then we'll return and report.

There is something special in store --- Trust me.

As always,

Steve

P.S.  Feel free --- even obliged(?!) --- to share this one with others.  The more answers we have the better the discussion, in this case.  Feel free to use the Comments box below for your answer, or send me a three-word e-mail reply.  Thanks.

P.P.S.  Happy Birthday, President Monson, 85 years old today!

GIFTS> QQ: Quick Quotes on Current Stuff

• "DEMOCRACY is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote"  --- Benjamin Franklin.

•   In a speech in the House of Commons on 11 November 1947, Winston Churchill said:
  "No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

•  "Redistribution of wealth is essential for true democracy"  --- Dolores Huerta, Leftist activist and  socialist who coined the phrase, "si, se puede" ("yes, we can").  She was given the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, at the White House on 29 May 2012. This helps explain the Obama agenda as given to Joe the Plumber in Ohio before the 2008 election.

• "The welfare of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind"  --- Marquis de Lafayette.  

•  "The Constitution is not an instrument for the Government to restrain the People!  It is an instrument for the People to restrain the Government --- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests" --- Patrick Henry.

• "It is error alone which needs the support of Government.  Truth can stand by itself"  --- Thomas Jefferson, 1781.

• "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily"  --- George Washington, 31 July 1795.

• "Why are you fighting so hard against the Germans?" asked Lady Astor.  "If we stop, you'll find out," replied Winston Churchill.

• Ronald Reagan's definition of compromise: "We win, they lose."

• "'Do not murder.' If people lived by this commandment alone, the world would enter a heavenly state. At the same time, the commandment has been widely misunderstood.  The Hebrew original [in the Ten Commandments] prohibits murder, not killing. By mistranslating the Hebrew as 'Do not kill,' too many modern Westerners have been taught that pacifism is moral and noble. It is neither. It is an accessory to murder, since it prevents pacifists from doing the only thing that stops mass murder---killing the murderers.  The Nazi death camps were liberated by soldiers whose job was to kill murderers, not by pacifists or 'peace-activists'" --- Dennis Prager, 17 August 2011.

• "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse" --- John Stuart Mill. These views may seem controversial, but not to warriors in the Book of Mormon, nor to Nephi.

• "If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.  If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel" --- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

• "I didn't get old on purpose, it just happened. If you're lucky, it could happen to you" --- Andy Rooney.

• "VEGETARIAN: that's an old Indian word meaning 'lousy hunter'" --- Andy Rooney.

Sabbathought: The vital truth nobody knows

Hugh Nibley used to refer to the Book of Mormon as "the book nobody knows."

A prophet wrote: "There is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Romans 3:12).

The Lord said: "None doeth good, for all have gone out of the way" (D&C 82:6).  See also Psalms 14:1--3; 53:1--3; D&C 1:16; 84:49--53-->61.  You get the impression from holy scripture that the Lord is not as impressed with natural man as the natural man is with himself.  The Lord is very aware of the vast gulf between Him and fallen man.  That gulf can be bridged, on His terms --- through prayer . . . through the ordinances (see Luke 16 with the rich man and Lazarus), through the covenants, through obedience.  But His terms are strict and right and holy, conditional and non-negotiable.

So what of our title here today?  What is the "vital truth nobody knows"?

The vital truth nobody knows is agency.

There is a book, published eight years ago, titled "Understanding the Power God Gives Us: What Agency Really Means".  In it the author explains that agency is the power to act, NOT merely the power to choose. Most of us are under the false idea that agency is the power to choose.  That is why agency is the truth, the doctrine that nobody knows.

The author states: "Without agency, no other part of the gospel can exist.  As a gift of God it ranks with life itself, for without it, life has no meaning."

We often say that the issue of the war in heaven, the problem we fought over there, and which continues here in mortality, was agency, "free agency" we wrongly say.  Whether we would be free in this life and not forced or compelled or coerced.  There is serious error here.

The central issue of the war in heaven was, and is here in mortality, becoming like God.  The issue of agency represents the means to become like Him.  Becoming like our God can only be achieved through agency, the correct understanding of agency, and the correct application of agency.

Again, we see the importance of using "the right words," as we have said before --- the words of the scriptures.  We would save ourselves a lot of anguish, error, time and trouble if we did so.

The term "free agency" is nowhere to be found in scripture.

Free agency is a term most commonly used in sports.  When a player is no longer under contract to his team, he is free to negotiate another contract, on more favorable terms, with any team he chooses.  This is usually true for an unrestricted "free agent."

Family and friends, we are not "free agents" in anything like this sense.  We are under contract, under obligation, under covenant to our Lord and God.  Would we prefer to renegotiate the terms---the generous terms---of that covenant contract?

From the book we referred to above: "I do not remember whether it was in church or from my buddies that I learned about the principle called 'free agency,' which was explained to me as my right to choose what I would and would not do. I do remember, however, trying out this new doctrine on my father. When the next Sunday morning rolled around, I innocently asked, 'Dad, do I have agency?'

"'Certainly, son,' came the answer.

"'Then I am going to exercise my agency and stay home from church today,' I announced.

"'Son,' he said, 'in this home you have your agency. That means you can choose to go to church willingly or unwillingly, but you are going to church.' Then he added, 'Now, get your coat on, or you are going to be late.'"

In another source recounting this instructive story, Joseph McConkie---for the author is he---wrote, "I wanted to be in church.  I just didn't know at that young age that was what I wanted.  And the only way I would know I really wanted to be in church was to be in church."

The father in the story---Bruce R. McConkie---said the definition of agency is to do it willingly, or do it anyway.  This story perfectly illustrates the doctrine of agency.

I am not aware of another book anywhere that explains the scriptural doctrine of agency, with the "free-to-choose" principle taught by Lehi (see 2 Nephi 2), nearly as well as this book by Joseph McConkie.  Like his Dad, he has a remarkable gift for knowing and explaining doctrine, especially the doctrines "nobody knows."

Here is his summary of this vital truth that nobody knows:

        We have no right to do wrong.

That is the essence of the doctrine of agency.  It is all about doing, about doing right.  Doing wrong is acting in the absence of agency, action in a dark hole, as it were. When agency is in the light and keeps us in the light as we act right.  Act, action, active, actual, --- all words we get from the root word agency or agent.  All we need to do to abandon or negate our agency is not to act in righteousness, not to do right, not "to go to church," as we see from the story above.

 Through the doing, the exercising, the proper acting out of our agency we find ourselves imitating our God, and, after much practice and deliberate disciplined persistence, we'll find ourselves measurably like Him.  That is what salvation and eternal life are all about.

This is well explained, along with the consequences, in this well-known, but perhaps not fully understood, revelation from the Lord.  Let's see if the above explanation gives new life and meaning to these verses:

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward [even if he ends up obeying the compulsion!].

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

"But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned."

We usually stop there.  But read on . . . . Next verse:--

"Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments?

"Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?

"I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.

"Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above."

Did we mention strict? . . . On His terms, not our negotiated terms?

You see, He well remembers our premortal estate.  And He acts accordingly.  No renegotiation.  He is true to the agreements and covenants, and to the council that decided these things there:

"Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light."

When our friend Jack spoke with writers in the Church Curriculum Department recently about the priesthood and Relief Society manuals on the teachings of past Church Presidents (George Albert Smith currently), Jack was informed that the curriculum writers were told to leave the quotes exactly as they came from the Church President, with one exception:

President Packer gave strict and clear guidelines to remove the word "free" whenever "free agency" was encountered.

It is not free agency.  It is moral agency (see D&C 101:78), which points to our obligation, to our covenants, to the eternal plan.

We are getting better at this work.  Slowly but surely.  We stand on the shoulders of the giants of the past and we see further, and more clearly.  At least we hope we do.  That is what they wished for us.  There is still a long way to go.

God bless.

Steve

QQQ: 14 Quick Quotes

• "Truth will cut its own way"---Joseph Smith.                                                                        
• "Truth will prevail" ---sign on a political banner in the Market Square in Preston, England, the day Heber C. Kimball and his companions arrived to start the gospel work in Great Britain.

• "Time is always on the side of truth" --- Ezra Taft Benson.

• "Truth can stand by itself"---Thomas Jefferson.

• "When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear."---Thomas Sowell.

• "Any time we declare something to be true we challenge that which is untrue. . . . Truth is more important than harmony. . . . If we are to be a Christlike people we must value truth above life itself.---Joseph Fielding McConkie.

• "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life"---John 14:6.

• "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come."---D&C 93:24.

• ". . . for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls."---Jacob 4:13.

• "Truth makes philosophy unnecessary." Adam S. Bennion.

• "Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?"---Paul in Galatians 4:16.

• ". . . wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center."---1 Nephi 16:2.

• "The truth is the truth; and neither childish absurdities nor unscrupulous contradictions can make it otherwise. The Earth would still move around the Sun, though the whole Catholic church said no."---Charles Dickens.

• "Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken." Jacob in 2 Nephi 9:40.

Sabbathought: Suffering Hurts --- The Son of Man Hath Descended

Suffering Hurts – "The Son of Man hath descended"

One of the great blessings I have found in composing this weekly thought, is that throughout the week it leads to much thought and reflection about the day-to-day events which happen as part of this mortal experience.  Another great blessing is to hear from you and others about your experiences and challenges. This week, I want to start off by sharing two dramatically different stories from last week. The stark contrast may help to bring clarity to you –as it did to me.  I remember President Spencer W. Kimball talking about the many ways in which we could sin.  He went on to say that “Ingratitude” was the most common sin of all.  Nephi spoke of this egregious sin in the 19^th chapter of 1^st Nephi “For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels.”

The fact of the matter is that Jesus carried out his mortal mission with perfection and in doing so became our Christ. The priceless blood of a God was shed, and he became our Savior; his perfected life was given, and thus, he became our Redeemer; his atonement for us made possible our return to our Heavenly Father, and yet how thoughtless, how unappreciative are most beneficiaries! Ingratitude is indeed the sin of the ages.

The contrast of the week

Last week I received the following correspondence from friends, living in two different parts of the Kingdom – I’ll share with you the briefest of excerpts from their personal letters:

“Yesterday in Relief Society, we were asked to see what we could do for a couple in our ward who lost their vacation cabin in one of the fires. I am a little put out by that request. There were people who lost their primary homes, their livelihood, livestock, etc., even lives in those fires and we are supposed to do something for this couple who lost their vacation cabin? I think they should be thanking Heavenly Father for being in the position to even own a vacation cabin and be thankful for the time they had it. I don't think we need to pity those people. The first counselor even said it wasn't the monetary loss but the memories. That didn't even make sense to me. You don't lose memories. Am I being hard hearted? I think the Relief Society presidency should have asked us to possibly do some humanitarian efforts for the people who are living in shelters now who lost their homes entirely. I kind of feel like that is the same as saying "This family lost their second boat, we should do something for them."

In case you didn’t know, the Western States have been ravaged by dry conditions and intense fires that have destroyed thousands of acres – and hundreds of homes. Now, the same day I received the following from my adopted daughter serving in Africa:

We also met this other less active woman named Zinda yesterday. She is this floppy middle aged woman whose skin droops, dresses in rags, smells terrible, and has 2 teeth. She’s just in sad, sad shape. We sat down and started to get to know her a little better. Turns out she was married into the church and had 7 kids, 5 of whom are also members. She then started loading her whole life story onto us. She has some problem (maybe cancer) in her ovaries and is waiting for her name to get drawn to have surgery. Because of whatever the problem is she has, she gives off a TERRIBLE smell. She has no work, and lives off of nothing. The saddest part of it all is that a year ago or so her husband ran off with another woman. She got up and went to the other room and then came back with an 11x13 picture of her husband and said, "Isn´t he beautiful?!" . . . then started breaking out into tears. She then sat down and started breaking out into tears saying she is ugly and nobody loves her. She cried and exclaimed that she will no longer be able to have an eternal family. Oh she just broke our heart. She doesn’t want to go to church because she smells so bad and can’t afford anything nice to wear. She is ashamed of who she is and of what she looks like and doesn’t want to ever leave her little cement home. We just hugged her and cried with her. We tried sharing scriptures with her and words of comfort but nothing seemed to help her. We are praying to know in what way we can help poor Zinda to remember that she is special and that God is aware of her and loves her.

The infinite Grace of the Savior:

As I read through the first incidence I thought “certainly, there is more to this world than losing a vacation home”.  But then, as I read about Zinda – my heart broke.  Through tear-filled eyes I pondered the love of the Savior and his ability to draw his children unto him.  Speaking of his very personal and intimate knowledge of each of us he has said “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.  Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows”  (Luke 12:4--7). For me, there was a quick and direct impulse to recall the contrast found in Alma 31 and 32.  One group of people who were far better off – and another who were impoverished and needy.  We read “And they came unto Alma; and the one who was the foremost among them said unto him: Behold, what shall these my brethren do, for they are despised of all men because of their poverty, yea, and more especially by our priests; for they have cast us out of our synagogues which we have labored abundantly to build with our own hands; and they have cast us out because of our exceeding poverty; and we have no place to worship our God; and behold, what shall we do?  And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word” (Alma 32: 5-6).

It seems that some of us lose sight and hope of exaltation and godhood, not because of major sins, but because of innocent mistakes or weaknesses beyond our immediate control. “I’m not a bad person,” we say. Yet we feel like Nephi who explained that he struggled with overcoming those weaknesses that easily beset him and distanced him from God. At times, it’s not the sins that hold us back, but rather the lack of capability, the lack of talent, the lack of strength, or of direct control.  For those of us who fall within these categories, we need to be reminded of the Atonement’s intimate, as well as infinite reach. Regardless of the depth or multiplicity of our individual weakness or circumstances, the Atonement is always there!  Therein lies its beauty and genius – IT is never beyond our grasp.  The Savior is always standing by, anxiously longing to endow us with the powers that will convert every weakness to a strength.

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me

Our LDS Bible Dictionary puts every man’s need for this power in perspective: ”Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings”. The Savior further explained the need for weakness and humility to the young Prophet Moroni in the Book of Ether: “And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Ether 12:26-27)

This power – to convert a weakness to a strength – is possible through the grace of Christ, but the Lord has imposed TWO pre-requisites: Humility and Faith.  If these requirements are satisfied, the grace of Christ becomes like a booster rocket that powers and lifts us above even our most horrible conditions. This is what James taught: “God…giveth grace unto the humble… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:6)  Isaiah likewise wrote of this lifting, soaring power: “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength… They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles”. (Isaiah 40: 29,31)

What an appropriate description.  Those who humbly and faithfully trust and wait upon the Lord may, like the eagles, soar above their weakness and infirmities.

For they did prick their hearts with the word;

In the wisdom of the Lord – he knows how to heal us. He tells us in the 62^nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants “Behold, and hearken, O ye elders of my church, saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted.”  Here is a doctrinal bombshell for most of the church – We ARE on a fallen earth – and is it any wonder that the Savoir repeatedly stated “My Kingdom is NOT of this world”.  So what must we do? Moroni testifies; “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”

So Dearest Taryn – Here is my suggestion for sweet Sister Zinda – “Look to Him – draw unto Him” – as he explained to the Nephites “And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father". —  Our task – to remain grateful.

Here is the testimony of our beloved Prophet;

“My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven.  As I close this morning, it is my prayer that in addition to all else for which we are grateful, we may ever reflect our gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do our spirits go when we die? That gospel brings to those who live in darkness the light of divine truth.

He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved.

Ultimately, He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Who was this “man of sorrows, … acquainted with grief”? “Who is this King of glory,” this Lord of lords? He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is the Son of God. He is the Author of Our Salvation. He beckons, “Follow me.” He instructs, “Go, and do thou likewise.” He pleads, “Keep my commandments.”

Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.

As Always - My Love and God’s LOVE and speed be with you this week – I pray for you always – for you do mean so very much to me!

GIFTS: "Senator, you have the vote of every thinking person!" . . . "That's not enough, madam, we need a majority."

The source is obscure, but apparently it is an exchange between Adlai Stevenson and one of his supporters.  In any event, the lesson is clear:  Not everyone is thinking well when it comes to the destiny of this nation.

Indeed a lot of people simply trust in the institutions of this country with a reckless abandon that brings to mind Brigham Young's statement:

"I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves . . . . I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence . . ." (JD 9:150).

Brigham here was speaking of the Saints showing unwarranted trust in Church leaders without getting a solid witness for themselves from heaven that they were being led aright.  The problem is doubly applicable to Washington D.C.

Some among us think that if a political leader is a Latter-day Saint he must therefore automatically be in tune with the heavens.  Take a look at the Senate majority leader and his actions the past few years to see the folly of that view.

James Madison in 1792 asked, "Who are the best keepers of the People's liberties?"

His answer: "The people themselves. The sacred trust can be no where so safe as in the hands most interested in preserving it."  However, this hero of the Federalist Papers and chief author of the Constitution had a warning voice: "Although all men are born free, . . . yet too true it is, that slavery has been the general lot of the human race."

Madison explained how this slavery is to be found in three areas: "Ignorant --- they have been cheated; asleep --- they have been surprized [sic]; divided --- the yoke has been forced upon them."

He continued: "But what is the lesson? That because the people may betray themselves, they ought to give themselves up, blindfold, to those who have an interest in betraying them?  Rather conclude that the people ought to be enlightened, to be awakened, to be united, that after establishing a government they should watch over it, as well as obey it" (National Gazette of Philadelphia, 20 Dec. 1792).

If the people should obey it without the vigilance and oversight, they will have tyranny instead of liberty.  That transparent truth seems to elude a lot of us.

The quotation from Madison came to my attention last week when Herman Cain used it as he sat in for Sean Hannity on the radio (Monday 2 July).  In response to a caller, Mr Cain had to explain that "I'm not angry at you; I'm just passionate about this nation and about Liberty."  A lot of people think passion is anger; that being forceful is politically incorrect and to be avoided at all costs.  Thus we see the pathetic results of ignorance . . . comatose sleepiness . . . and lack of unity in the common cause of Liberty.

As Alison often says about people, "If they had a brain they'd be dangerous."

There is real stupidity abroad in the land, and it is not getting any better.

"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I [the Lord] would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind . . . ."  The promised result for failing to follow this formula correctly is "a stupor of thought", or a stupidity of mind.

Before every national and local election, the Brethren send out a clear signal urging the Saints to study carefully the candidates and the issues before voting.  Such due diligence was obviously avoided by a majority of the American people prior to the 2008 general election --- including many Latter-day Saints who would not recognize and acknowledge treason and tyranny if it up and bit them in the . . . elbow.

Time to wake up.  Time to do our homework.  Time to devour the Book of Mormon in a search for the truth about the true Title of Liberty and the due diligence incumbent upon us today, with so much at stake.

Steve