I was asked to speak in the adult session of stake conference which was Saturday night. I am very thankful to have been asked, such a humbling experience. (lots of anxiety) It is amazing to have these opportunities to concentrate on sincerely inviting the Spirit in, praying and pondering on the assigned topic, reflecting on my life and the choices I make each day, I learned so much about so many things...Here's what I had to say.
Tonight I would like to talk to you about “Choosing the better part: the World vs. the Lord”.
As I look out into your faces tonight I can tell that we are all trying to choose the better part or each of us wouldn’t be here tonight.
For some of you, choosing to be here tonight may have been a more difficult decision to make than for others, or required more of a personal sacrifice than for others. I remember well the days when our children were younger, and babysitters were sometimes difficult to find, attending church meetings like this was always a challenge, so thank you for choosing to be here.
*As we look inside ourselves tonight, I would like to ask a question for all of us to think upon. In the church we often talk of being in the world but not of the world. As you examine your life and daily activities, what are the choices you make that allow you to truly live in the world but not partake of the things of the world? How are you choosing to live on the Lord’s side? Are you “choosing the better part”?
---Let’s stop and think for a moment about the decisions we all make every day when we first wake-up in the morning.
*What is the first thing we do when you arise? Do we kneel in prayer or jump and run to start our busy day?
*What is the first thing we read in the morning? Do we turn on our computer to quickly check for that new e-mail, or do we pick up the newspaper or turn on the TV to catch the mornings headlines?
For me personally, I have become more aware of these small choices in my life and I am making an attempt to not start my day until I have said my prayers and read my scriptures. Not that it’s bad to check e-mail or to be informed on the latest new, but when I choose to pray and read my scriptures first I have a comforting spirit with me all day confirming that I am ‘choosing the better part”
Many of us are familiar with Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Good, Better, Best” Conference address of October 2007 when he addressed this same topic.
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---How about the other important decisions we make in our day?
*Who do we talk to? Who do we choose for friends?
*In our conversations with others do we think before we speak? Are we asking ourselves if what we are about to say is kind? Is true? Or is even necessary? Are we asking ourselves if what we are about to say improves the silence?
*How about our associations with others in our community? Are we being “an example of the believers” as was stated in 1 Timothy 4:12, “in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
*Do we, as it states in Mosiah 18:9 and in the YW theme, “stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things, and in all places”?
*Do we live the YW motto and “stand for truth and righteousness’?
*As we examine ourselves tonight, consider the following counsel from Sister Sheri Dew, then second counselor in the R.S. General Presidency. She has stated, “We sometimes rationalize our preoccupation with this world and our causal attempts to grow spiritually by trying to console each other with the notion that living the gospel really should not require all that much of us. The Lord’s standard of behavior will always be more demanding than the world’s, but then the Lord’s rewards are infinitely more glorious – including true joy, peace, and salvation.”
“It is by letting the world go and coming unto Christ that we increasingly live as [men and] women of God.
Sister Dew then offers this challenge: “I invite you to identify at least one thing [you] can do to come out of the world and come closer to Christ. And then next month, another. And then another. This is a call to arms, it’s a call to action, a call to arise. A call to arm ourselves with power and with righteousness. A call to rely on the arm of the Lord rather than the arm of flesh. A call to ‘arise and shine forth, that (our) light may be a standard for the nations” (D&C 115:5).”
President Gordon B. Hinckley offered the same admonition this way: “Now, my brethren and sisters, the time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a season to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth, and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all of our relationships. In other words, [it is time] to be more Christlike.”
I would like to share with you a little personal information about what I believe were the things that led me to become a member of the church…
I did not grow up as a member of the church, but I did have a wonderful family with loving parents who tried their best to teach me right from wrong. I always had a deep desire to attend church, but with my mother working most weekends and holidays as a nurse, church attendance was very infrequent for our family.
A high school friend of mine introduced me to the church by inviting me to mutual activities with her, and later by sharing her pure simple testimony with me, in her own handwriting, on the inside cover of a Book of Mormon. Her simple gift of testimony and a statement of love for me, filled my life with both the love and light that I had secretly been longing for, and generated within me a desire to choose this better part and not let go.
At age 18, I was finally permitted by my parents to be baptized, but
This next paragraph was omitted for time (((I really wanted them to be a part of this leap of faith that I was taking, and I remember inviting them to attend my baptismal service – an invitation they acknowledged, but politely declined. I can still recall the feelings I had while driving myself to the church building for my baptism all alone. When I entered the church building I was greeted by sister missionaries who I had never met before who were there to help me get dressed into the white baptismal clothes. I then discovered that the meeting room where the baptismal service was to be held was filled with loving individuals, who would become my new ward family. When the baptism service was complete and all the hugs and handshakes were done, I again drove myself home alone. My heart was so thrilled with my choice to be on the Lord’s side and to be a part of this new ward family, but as I returned home I was reminded of how alone I was in my decision to join the church.)))
over time, somewhere between the transition from High School and Young Women to what seemed like a very different experience with Relief Society, work and college, I gradually, one poor choice at a time, quit going to church.
During my third year at college, I had a journalism instructor who found out that I was a member of the church and he invited me to attend the local young single adult ward where he was serving as a member of the bishopric. I gladly accepted his invitation. I was warmly welcomed back into full activity in the church as though I had never been gone.
Bishop Keith B. McMullin, as second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric stated: “If our hearts are right before God, adversity will school us, help us overcome our carnal nature, and nurture the divine spark within us. Were it not for adversity, we would not know to “choose the better part.” Adversity helps us see where we need to repent, to bring into subjection baser instincts, to embrace righteousness and enjoy “peace of conscience.”
I have a genuine enthusiasm for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord’s ways always brings us joy and happiness. The ways of the world - pain and sorrow. My heart is firmly fixed on getting home to my Father in heaven. And as best I can – in my own small way, I’m choosing today and every day, a more excellent way.
President Henry B. Eyring spoke to us at our April General Conference and said: “When you were confirmed a member of the Church, you were given the right to have the Holy Ghost as your companion. The Holy Ghost is a powerful source of light to recognize truth, to follow and love the Lord Jesus Christ, and to find your way back to God after this life. But the spirit who led the rebellion in the world before still opposes the plan and wants you to be miserable. He wants you never to find your way home again. That enemy of your soul knows you and your goodness. He knows that if he can turn you away from walking in the light, he can both capture you and stop you from helping others along the journey. He knows how good you are and your power to teach and influence hundreds of Heavenly Father’s children in this life-and thousands over the generations that will follow your path. If he can get you to wander away from the light on your journey, he can do harm and misery to many.
President Eyring then states: “The fact that you are listening now is evidence that God recognizes your great importance and that you have chosen to walk in the light He offers you. Such choices are not always easy to see clearly. You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away toward darkness. Some of the most important choices are about what you set your heart upon.
The main message the Spirit has borne to me that I would wish to convey to you tonight is this:
As faithful Latter-day Saints we understand the greatness of the fact that we have the restored gospel here on the earth.
We understand the importance of weekly sacrament meeting attendance so that we may partake of the sacrament and renew our sacred baptismal covenants.
We understand that we should make regular visits to the temple, for it is the house of the Lord.
We understand the importance of fulfilling our church callings because we know it is helping in furthering the Lord’s work.
We do all these things and more because we understand the importance of choosing the better part and sincerely want to be found on the Lord’s side.
I would want each of us to recognize that with that understanding, with that testimony, comes a great responsibility.
And that responsibility is this: To share our faith and good news of the Gospel with those that live in the world around us.
There are many who live in the world who have good hearts and who are good people and who were raised by good parents who when they hear about the gospel will accept it because they have been prepared at sometime by someone.
Because no matter what their age: whether they are a youth, such as myself when I was searching, or they are an adult who maybe isn’t living the way we live.
We all have the great responsibility to NOT forget these individuals. As Pres. Hinckley stated in the quote I read earlier, we must “reach out with kindness and love…” “It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all our relationships.”
These individuals are waiting for us to find them (I was one of them) and the Lord is waiting for us to find them so that they too, may choose the better part. So they, too, may be baptized, partake of the sacrament, attend the temple, accept church callings and affect generations and all eternity for good.
I know the gospel is restored to the earth and that Heavenly Father knows and loves each of us. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book. I know President Monson is a true prophet and that his counselors, Pres. Eyring and Pres. Uchtdorf are also men called of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
