My 15-Minute “Sermon”
This is a talk I gave in church during Sacrament Meeting on September 23, 2018 in Cody, Wyoming—with a few extra thoughts that I wanted to add relating to the topic.
Good morning! I have been asked to speak today on the subject of “How we can grow closer to Heavenly Father and with our families in a world of shifting values and priorities.” To begin my talk, I have brought with me a rock!
This is a special rock that my youngest daughter used as a visual aid for a Family Home Evening lesson that she taught to our family several years ago. On the rock, she wrote the word, “Covenant.” It’s kind of a heart-shaped rock, and to me it is quite symbolic, which is why I have kept it all these years. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of love. As we keep the covenants we have made to follow our Savior, our lives will be built on a firm foundation, like this rock, and we will be filled with His love.
My “Liahona”
The summer I came home from my freshman year at BYU, I felt very disillusioned. I thought BYU was “Zion” where everyone would be perfect, but I was wrong. While I had many spiritually enlightening experiences in and out of the classroom, I was still searching for more spiritual direction in my life. I was confused by the many different ways members of the church interpreted keeping the commandments and living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
That summer, as I reflected on stories from the Bible and the Book of Mormon where the Lord had given very specific instructions to his chosen servants in those ancient Scriptures. I knew I wanted that in my life, too. I wanted a blueprint like Noah in the Bible was given to build the Ark. I wanted my own Liahona like Lehi in the Book of Mormon was given to reach the promised land.
As I prayed desperately about my needs for specific, spiritual direction, the thought came clearly into my mind, “You have the Church magazines.” I picked up an Ensign and started thumbing through it and realized that it was full of specific, spiritual direction that I had been missing out on because I hadn’t taken the time to read it. Today, we not only have our wonderful church magazines, the Ensign, New Era, and Friend, we also have LDS.org that can give us instant inspiration anytime, anywhere. These spiritually uplifting resources can definitely be a rock in our lives.
A Parable
In the New Testament, I’ve always enjoyed reading the parable that Jesus spoke in Matthew 7: 24-27, which says:
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Wise or Foolish?
There is a song that all the children know that goes along with this scripture that is entitled, “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man.”
1.
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
And the house on the rock stood still.
2.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand washed away.
Words and music: Southern folk song
There is a third verse to this song that I was taught by my aunt when I was a child, which isn’t in the Children’s Songbook, but I think it should be! It goes like this:
3. So build your life on the gospel plan
Build your life on the gospel plan
Build your life on the gospel plan
And the blessings will come down.
The blessings come down and the prayers go up
The blessings come down and the prayers go up
The blessings come down and the prayers go up
So build your life on the gospel plan!
A similar version of this song is found here.
The Gospel Plan
So, what is the gospel plan? In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the plan is extensive. We have daily individual and family prayer and scripture study. We have weekly church attendance and Family Home Evening. We have family history and temple work. We have ministering assignments and service projects. We have church callings and sharing the gospel. The list goes on and on—and sometimes we feel overwhelmed. But the key is to not get overwhelmed. Matthew Cowley, an Apostle from 1945 – 1953 frequently said, “The gospel is beautifully simple and simply beautiful.” We must keep it simple but keep working the plan.
This “Wise Man and Foolish Man “ children’s song speaks the truth of how we can grow closer to Heavenly Father and with our families in a world of shifting values and priorities. We must build our lives on a rock, and that rock is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Rock of Prayer and Scripture Study
I love the imagery in the scripture from the Book of Mormon that is found in 2 Nephi 4: 33-35, which reads:
O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! … O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. … Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.
Building our house upon the rock of God requires consistency. By being consistent and following a few basic habits each day, it simplifies our life. Two of the habits we need to establish is to pray and read the Scriptures. Instead of wasting time going back and forth in our minds if we’re going to pray morning and night or spend a few minutes studying the Scriptures every day, we just do it! Simple. These two habits have a rippling effect that help us to form other good habits in our lives.
I was taught to pray as a child by my parents, and so it became impossible for me to fall asleep at night if I didn’t kneel and pray. Sometimes, I would think I was too tired to pray and would just fall into bed, but then I would just lie there wide awake and restless until I climbed out of bed and knelt and prayed. Forming the habit to pray in the morning was much harder for me. I remember trying to rush out the front door on many occasions to catch my ride for early morning seminary, which I attended before my high school classes began. As I would start to open the front door, I would hear my father call to me and say, “Did you pray this morning?”
On the days when I hadn’t prayed yet, I would step quickly into the little den by the door, kneel down, and pray for a few seconds, and then call back to him and truthfully reply, “Yes!”
I wasn’t as good as my Dad in reminding my own children to pray each morning. My husband David would usually leave for work before the kids got up, but he would faithfully say to me each morning, “Remind the children to pray when they wake up.” Unfortunately, I would often forget. But I did get better over the years in having family prayer in the morning with my kids—in small groups—three, two, or even one at a time—whenever I could be with them for a few minutes! I finally gained a testimony of how important it is to pray with our children before they leave the house each day when I heard the analogy of an umbrella and family prayer. These two questions were asked: “Would you send your child out in a rainstorm without an umbrella? Why would you send your child out into Satan’s hailstorm without family prayer?”
Now, my first prayer of the day is while I’m still in bed because I still often forget to pray once my feet touch the floor. I simply kneel in bed (while my warm blankets are still wrapped around me) and begin a morning conversation with my Father in Heaven. I meditate about my life, pray for my family, and try to know God’s will for me that day. I like to pray again later in the morning when I’m fully awake and also at other times throughout the day, whenever I feel the need. I try to keep a “prayer in my heart” at all times.
In my Patriarchal Blessing, which I received when I was sixteen years old, it counseled me, “Be studious, read the Scriptures with a prayerful heart and all good books…”
I didn’t always follow that counsel throughout my life, but when I have done so, it’s been life-changing. I didn’t start trying to develop the habit to become a daily scripture reader until I was having problems with my teenagers, and I knew I needed all the inspiration I could get. Obviously, it would have been much better to have formed that essential habit many years earlier! It took me several more years of trying to be consistent in daily Scripture study before this habit became concrete in my life. Now, I read (or listen to) at least a few Scriptures when I wake up in the morning—and then set aside time to study the Scriptures and other gospel-related material later in the day when I can’t do it in the early morning. I make it a rule to never read anything else in the morning until I have read the Scriptures—this is an idea I learned from my brother years ago. With today’s technology, it’s so easy to listen to the Scriptures while you’re getting ready for the day, exercising, driving, or working around the house.
A third habit I’ve established, in addition to praying and reading Scriptures in the morning, is listening to a song about Jesus. For some reason, the power and inspiration from this song stays with me throughout the day and helps me feel close to my Savior. Turning on spiritually uplifting music in the morning instantly creates a beautiful atmosphere in your home.
Inspiration from Good Books
I didn’t think I had time to read “good books” and often thought, “Why do I need to read other books? Why can’t I get all the inspiration I need just from the Scriptures?” I finally realized over the years that the Lord is pouring out revelation and inspiration to many wonderful writers who can artfully craft their words to help us understand a principle of truth in a unique way. Besides reading good books about spiritual subjects, we can be enlightened on marriage, raising children, self-improvement, furthering our knowledge for our vocations, and many other subjects of personal interest.
This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books:
The best asset we have for making a contribution to the world is ourselves. If we underinvest in ourselves, and by that I mean our minds, our bodies, and our spirits, we damage the very tool we need to make our highest contribution.
This quote is from Greg McKeown, the author of the empowering, transformational book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. I recommend this book to everyone to read—if you’re interested in how to really simplify your life and accomplish your most important priority.
A Dream: Joseph F. Smith—"Get them out of your bags!”
When I was eighteen, I had a dream that was very real and very frightening. I was with the sister of one of my friends (who belonged to a different church than I did), and we were each carrying a suitcase. For some reason, we were standing in an empty bathtub at my house. My whole house started shaking violently as if it were in a terrible earthquake. We both looked at each other and knew that the end of the world had come and felt paralyzed to do anything because we knew neither of us was ready for the end to be here. Then we heard a voice say to us, “This is Joseph F. Smith, and I say, “Get them out of your bags!”
I woke up terrified and pondered for a long time what the meaning of this realistic dream was supposed to be. The only thought that came to me was that she and I, along with all the other people on the earth, had things we needed to change in our lives—and, figuratively, to get them out of our bags. The bathtub seemed to be symbolic of the need to become clean before the Lord—before the end of the world really did come!
Joseph F. Smith was the sixth President and Prophet for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from 1901 – 1918. All I knew about him was a picture I saw of him with a long, white beard! Since we now have the Internet, I decided to Google his name and the quote, "Get them out of your bags!” to see if he ever actually said that during his lifetime. . . but, no. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find that quote, but I did find many other interesting quotes! Here are two I really like:
Men and women who humbly plod along, doing their duty... who help look after the poor; and who honor the holy Priesthood, who do not run into excesses, who are prayerful in their families, and who acknowledge the Lord in their hearts, they will build up a foundation that the gates of hell cannot prevail against. ― Joseph F. Smith
A mother that is successful in raising a good boy, or girl, to imitate her example and to follow her precepts through life, sows the seeds of virtue, honor and integrity and of righteousness in their hearts that will be felt through all their career in life; and wherever that boy or girl goes, as man or woman, in whatever society they mingle, the good effects of the example of that mother upon them will be felt; and it will never die, because it will extend from them to their children from generation to generation. ― Joseph F. Smith
Plod Along
I think this inspiring quote about the influence of a righteous mother could also apply to fathers as well!
So, how do we prepare for the last days before Jesus returns to the earth again? Just keep “plodding” along. Always remember that first quote, “Men and women who humbly plod along, doing their duty . . .” Every day we must keep plodding along, doing our best (even though our best any particular day might not be our very best) and do those things that we know we should. Pray every day individually and as families, read the Scriptures every day individually and as families, read other inspiring books and literature, and try to improve slowly over time without getting overwhelmed.
If you are married, you should read a little bit from a marriage book every day, so your marriage will always keep getting better. If you have children, read a little bit from a child-rearing book every day, so you’re always getting new ideas on how to parent each of your children—because every child is different and unique.
If you start reading a book and feel it’s not a good one to be reading right now, then stop and read a different one. The Spirit can guide you to the best books to read (or listen to) for whatever questions you might have in your mind. I love to listen to Audible because I travel so much right now, but I also listen to books when I’m alone doing dishes or folding the laundry.
Shifting Values and Priorities
While the world will continue to shift in its values and priorities as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ draws closer, we can stand firm on the rock of our Savior. We have a responsibility to prepare ourselves, our families, and our friends, neighbors, and acquaintances for the beautiful blessings that Heavenly Father has in store for each of us in the next life.
In the New Testament in Matthew 24: 37-39, we are warned about being prepared for the Second Coming. It says:
But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Dearest Children, God is Near You
There’s a hymn entitled, “Dearest Children, God is Near You,” that’s been coming into my mind repeatedly this last week that conveys the message that our Heavenly Father and Savior want us to remember as we go from day to day, plodding along, doing our best:
Dearest children, God is near you,
Watching o’er you day and night,
And delights to own and bless you,
If you strive to do what’s right.
He will bless you, He will bless you,
If you put your trust in him.
Do you believe this? Do you believe that God is near you? I do! I know He is there!
I pray that each of us will put our trust in God, build our house upon His rock, keep the covenants we have made to follow Him, and look forward with anticipation and joy to the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. While I don’t know when He will come, I do know for sure that He is coming, and I’m confident I will be prepared if I “build my life on His gospel plan.”