Sunday morning 2013

Good morning brothers and sisters, I want to especially welcome all the young men,  young woman and the members of the primary. Isn't this a neat old building - I was baptized in the basement of this great building. Now that was a few years ago. At that time I had hair and was a little smaller. But I remember coming here many times.

Now because I'm getting older I don 't remember all of the things that happen to me as a kid. I remember my friends and I use to ride our bikes down temple hill and go to a the royal bakery, which was located about a half block from here, to get the best donuts in the world. Now we didn't have a lot of money so we wouldn't do it very often, but when we did, it was worth every penny. I remember most of my primary teaches and bishops - I don't always remember what they told me but I remember that they loved me and made me feel special.

I grew up in a ward that was located right by the temple were there were a lot of widows and temple workers. As a young man my father and church leaders would take me to help those that needed help or couldn't get out to church because of their health - so we would take them the sacrament. I remember how great I felt when I did something for someone that couldn't do it for themselves.

Brothers and sisters, we as Latter-day Saints have a rich and wonderful history and heritage. The early saints sacrificed basically all that they had to pursue Zion. All of us, converts or posterity of those early saints, have inherited the results of their great faith and dedication. Even today all of us have sacrifices and challenges that those that follow us will be thankful for our dedication and faithfulness. Many of our testimonies are build on foundations of great faith and selfless service spanning back for many generations.

As the prophet Joseph Smith left Nauvoo for the last time on his way to what he knew was his death - he paused when they got to the Temple, and looked with admiration first on that, and then on the city, and remarked, “This is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens; little do they know the trials that await them.” We also don't know what trials we will need to pass through - but I would echo his other word. The saints of today and in our stake are "the best people under heaven."

In our last General Conference, Elder Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve talked about service and working together as followers of Christ to help those in need. He used an example that many of you will remember. He talked about the honeybee and what it takes for a hive of bees to make enough honey to survive and then also to make enough so we also can enjoy some honeys as well.

Here are some of the details he gave at that time:  

Honeybees are driven to pollinate, gather nectar, and condense the nectar into honey. It is their magnificent obsession imprinted into their genetic makeup by our Creator. It is estimated that to produce just one pound of honey, the average hive of 20,000 to 60,000 bees must collectively visit millions of flowers and travel the equivalent of two times around the world. Over its short lifetime of just a few weeks to four months, a single honeybee’s contribution of honey to its hive is a mere one-twelfth of one teaspoon. (End Quote)

For you young people that don't know how big a teaspoon is - it's like the small spoon that you use to eat your cereal. Then it would take twelve bees life's work to fill that one spoon.

The only way that these hives survive is that thousands of bees work together to make the necessary food or honey to feed the hive. Now luckily for each of us they are able to make more than they need so that we can enjoy some honey as well. These bees must work together to make it possible for everyone to survive.

During the Savior ministry he was asked what were the most important commandments.

The Savior taught that the first and great commandment is:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. …

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”

About this scripture, Elder Ballard continued:

The Savior’s words are simple, yet their meaning is profound and deeply significant. We are to love God and to love and care for our neighbors as ourselves. Imagine what good we can do in the world if we all join together, united as followers of Christ, anxiously and busily responding to the needs of others and serving those around us—our families, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens.

Elder Ballard than likened these commandments to what would happen if we as saints worked together like the honey bees.

We read of the service Church members provide around the world and especially the humanitarian service given in times of crisis—fires and floods and hurricanes and tornadoes. These much-needed and much-appreciated emergency responses should certainly continue as a way of bearing one another’s burdens. But what about our everyday lives? What would be the cumulative effect of millions of small, compassionate acts performed daily by us because of our heartfelt Christian love for others? Over time this would have a transformative effect upon all of our Heavenly Father’s children through the extension of His love to them through us. Our troubled world needs this love of Christ today more than ever, and it will need it even more in the years ahead.

These simple, daily acts of service may not seem like much in and of themselves, but when considered collectively they become just like the one-twelfth teaspoon of honey contributed by a single bee to the hive. There is power in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Christian kindness, it will sweeten and nourish the world with the life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and charity. (End Quote)

Just like the small amount of honey from one bee doesn't seem like much - small acts of kindness done by one individuals may seem like it doesn't make much of a difference - but added to many acts through multiple individuals can become like a great wave of love, caring, hope and faith. This uniting through acts of service also brings the spirit of Christ into our lives.

This is brought to light by King Benjamin's great words -

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

Sometimes this act of service can be as simple as a smile, a hello or a caring act of listening to those that need support and love. Each of us can think of ways to do this individually - we should take time as families to make goals and plans how to do these things for each other and those that we come in contact with.

Other times we can make these type of plans as a quorum, group, ward or stake. This coming summer we as a stake will be replicating such an event that we did four years ago. We are going to have a service youth conference. Last time we fixed up, painted, roofed and cleaned up more than thirty different projects for individuals or family that couldn't do the work for themselves. These individuals were chosen because of their need. We had close to four hundred youth and adult leaders, selflessly giving their time, love and resources to the projects.

This year we are teaming up with another stake in the area - making the number of participants and projects much larger. Like the honey bees - each of the youth from our stake giving their small time and talent is multiplied with hundreds of other youth.

Indeed the Savior words ring clear -
 
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Our preliminary estimates are that there could be more that six hundred people working on the chosen projects. Wards will be asked to participate by feeding the participants, making quilts and donating funds through the other category to help  pay for the needed repairs. Through each of these avenues all members of the stake can participate if they desire. We are asking the wards to make this project their ward humanitarian service project for the first half of the year.

All of the youth in our stake will be asked to participate - it will be hard work, but your efforts added with the other youth, adults and professionals will become miracles of love to those with whom you serve.

Those not asked to work on the projects - we ask for you prayers that we will be able to accomplish our objectives, that everything will come together with such a large group. If possible we need your financial assistance - like the honey bees, if many give some the overall result will be sufficient. You young people should consider giving some of your hard earned money to the projects you will be working on.

This is only one large project that we will be doing this coming year - the results of our efforts will not just be the physical improvements that will be easy for all of us to see. Indeed we are serving God by helping those in need. The results upon our hearts, spirit and testimonies will be much larger.

In the first chapter of James vs 27 it says:

 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Service to others is the very definition of pure religion. The Savior spent his whole life and ministry helping those in need. His atoning sacrifice opened the gate, provided a way for us to return to our heavenly home. He paid the price for our sins - for my sins and shortcomings. He then challenged us to follow him, to do the things we have seen him do. We have been told that, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. The Savior did something for us that we could not do for ourselves - he paid the price, answered the ends of the law. He did it willingly because of His love for each of us.

It's our opportunity to help those that are struggling amount us. It's earlier to find those that need their house painted or a new roof - but there are thousands of people that need our assistance and love in areas that aren't so easily recognized. So with the big projects we also need to  follow the counsel given by Elder Ballard and become part of the millions of small, compassionate acts performed daily because of heartfelt Christian love for others.

Many of these people don't know where to turn for help or assistance, they come in all sizes, nationalities, religions and economic standing. But The Lord knows who they are and what they need. The question is are we willing to reach out and help them.

Brothers and sisters, I think I have mentioned three times in my remarks that I am getting older. During my opportunities for church service the majority of those opportunities have come while working with the youth. I have spent many hours planning or participating in youth conferences, treks, camps and weekly activities. For the most part I have loved every one of them. But the event that made the largest impact on me over all of those many years - was the project that we are about embark on again.

All of the projects became very special to everyone involved. I would like to single out a couple of projects. One home had a number of things that needed to be done. Before it was completed it had a new roof, was painted and the yard was cleaned up and landscaped. There were more than thirty people that worked on this project alone. Near it's completion I remember coming to the project where the  home owner came up to me with tears in his eyes thanking us for what had been done. He then continued, we are the ones that so desperately needed these thing repaired and the young people are coming up to us - and thanking us for the opportunity to work on our home.

Another project desperately needed new windows and some insulation - a new front porch and steps were constructed, all of this was completed before the actual youth conference started. When the kids came to the house it was then scraped and painted. One of youth that worked on this project said it was great, she met a lot of kids she hadn't known before. To this day every time she drives by  - she is excited and let's everyone know that this was her house that she had worked on. The finishing touches were a new planter and flowers that made it look like it was complete.

Brothers and sisters, each of us have been given great blessings and opportunities in our lives. Each of us have gone through challenges and difficulties that sometimes seem larger than what we are able to bare. Each of us have been given the greatest gift possible - the atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. With these blessings we are also given the opportunity to chose.

Chose a life of righteousness and selfless service or wickedness and personal gratification and greed. Now the choses aren't that defined, we are usually somewhere in the middle of the two. But the closer we are to righteousness and selfless service, the closer we are to the Savior Jesus Christ and his love and happiness.

Looking back at his life, King Benjamin talked about his blessings and the chances he had to serve, he then put it all in perspective.

Mosiah 2: 27 it reads -
I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

Brothers and sisters, God lives - He loves each of us to an extent and magnitude that's hard to understand.  He is aware of our individual needs and challenges. There is no difficulty, challenge, pain or suffering that he has not experienced or felt. We are told in the scriptures that he experienced all of these things so that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. He is willingly reaching out his love and assistance to all those that are willing to take it. He is asking us to be instruments in his hands to accomplish this great work - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.  It's our responsibility be to clean and in tune enough to receive his guidance and direction.

No matter how much or what we do - we will never be able to repay him for the blessings he has given us.