It’s been
quite a weekend for us, it being Greg’s birthday. I decided to go out on a limb and surprise
him with a concert to Josh Groban! He
didn’t know what was going on until on the way to the Arena, I blurted out the
word concert. I wasn’t sure we were
actually going to make it to the concert by the look on his face, but he was a
good sport. I think he really enjoyed it
after all and I KNOW I did!
Yesterday we
spent the afternoon playing his favorite sport, disc golf and then going to
dinner with our two sons, Edward and Joseph who actually live in Utah Valley,
where we lived for 13 years before moving to Sandy.
I remember
listening to President Monson’s talk on obedience this last April and I
remember the impression I had. I heard
his story of the time that he, at 8 years old, had the whole hillside on fire
and all the surrounding neighbors involved in putting out the fire because of
his admitted disobedience to his parents’ rule of not touching the
matches. I wondered if it was at that early age that the principle of obedience
sank deep into his heart. He now, of
course, is our great prophet who has shown in word and very deed what obedience
to principles of the Gospel can do for us spiritually and temporally.
L. Whitney Clayton compared obedience to the commandments to
an anchor on a boat. The boat represents
our souls adrift in the sea of life and the anchor of obedience serves to
prevent our ship from floundering and being destroyed. Sometimes we need to rely on others’
testimonies and examples as anchors until we learn how to steer our ships in
the course we want them to go.
For me
personally, I’ve relied on many people to help anchor me as I have charted my
course through life. My husband serves
as an incredible anchor in my life right now.
I am so grateful for his example and support.
Before that,
I saw the examples of my dear parents, who, though not perfect, showed what it
means to be steadfast and obedient in the Gospel. My father, Hal Bresock, came from a
background that wasn’t strong in the Gospel.
His father was the orphaned son of a German immigrant and who later in
life embraced the Gospel enough so that he was able to take my dear grandmother
to the temple and be sealed. But until
then, my father grew up as wild as an American boy can in the midst of the Depression. He knew deprivation and heartache. But he knew that somewhere in his mother’s
past the Gospel was a big part of her life.
So when he met my mom on a boat headed back from Australia where she had
just completed her mission, he jumped at the opportunity to court her. They were married and despite vastly
different backgrounds, they anchored one another. He was an anchor of steadiness and she was an
anchor of obedience to Gospel principles.
Together they navigated some very rough seas and built their eternal
marriage that will bless their lives forever and the lives of all who follow in
their family. I have looked back at
their resolve and obedience amidst hardship as an example in my own life.
Another
powerful example of obedience in my own life comes from the stories spoken to
me by my mother of my great, great grandfather, Edward Stevenson. He was born in Gibraltor, Spain and emigrated
to the U.S. with his family. It was in
the United States, in the state of Michigan, at age 13, that he heard about the
Gospel from two missionaries and from the prophet Joseph himself, on the way
back from a mission to Canada, and he even delivered a juicy apple for the
prophet to eat. I can imagine how
enthralled he must have been to hear of the prophet's experiences at age 14,
close to his own age, of seeing the Father and the Son and the message they had
for him. His diaries of that time are now in the archives of the Harold B. Lee
Library at Brigham Young University because they are the earliest known works
showing that the prophet did indeed testify of the First Vision prior to 1836.
He became an ardent follower of Joseph Smith,
following him to Far West and helping in the defense of the town. He was with him at the meeting at Adam Ohndi
Ahman. Later, Edward was very obedient and served numerous
missions for the church and is recorded as having traveled the most miles under
his own expense of any missionary in the history of the LDS Church, having crossed
the plains 18 times, helping Saints cross to come to Utah. He crossed the Atlantic 9 times, as a missionary
for the church and in his capacity as one of the first Presidents of the
Seventy. He was called on a special
mission to bring the errant Martin Harris back to the headquarters of the Church.
He responded obediently to that call and returned to SLC, accompanied by Martin
Harris in August of 1870. Martin Harris
subsequently was pardoned for his indescretions and became a member in good
standing once again… Edward Stevenson
worked tirelessly teaching the Saints in Utah of his experiences with the early
brethren of the church, including Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdry, and David
Whitmore.
Edward
Stevenson’s example of complete obedience has helped me in my own life during a
lengthy period in my life, or so it seemed when I was going through it, when I felt abandoned, alone and hopeless. (Have any of us ever felt that way?) When I thought of how obedient this ancestor
of mine was and how he didn’t join some
of the leaders of the day who, starting out as friends and advocates for the
prophet Joseph Smith, ended up abandoning him and some even contributing to his
death. He was always true to his
knowledge that the prophet Joseph was
called of God. I knew he didn’t and wouldn’t
do this in vain. I know that what he stood for was true. I even received my own witness early as a
child of the truthfulness of the Gospel.
But life is real and so are Satan’s attempts to destroy us. And in
those difficult times of sadness and hardship it was tempting to say, “I’m in so much turmoil right now... I think I’ll take a sabbatical from church,
you know, just to get my head together. “ But I did continue to press on
because of the anchors of those I had chosen to look to. Because in all reality, no amount of living the commandments in the
past can be passed down to the next generation and I knew this much: It is up to me to get my own rock solid resolve
and spiritual strength gained through what? Obedience.
So who are
your anchors to help you through your own life’s journey? Maybe it is a parent,
a sibling, a friend or a mentor. We need
to look at those who are in our lives and we need to hold on fast to their
examples of obedience and sacrifice when we struggle, so that we in turn may
become anchors for those who are searching and trying to develop their own
faith.
Referring
back to Elder Clayton’s talk, he spoke about a time he was a newly called
regional rep in Paraguay and was trying to impart some wisdom that he didn’t feel he had to 7
Stake Presidents --all discouraged with the many problems in their stakes. He was guided to ask them this question: Are the problems you speak of also prevalent
with the ones who are faithful and obedient?
Each Stake President admitted that as a matter of fact, the members who
were faithful and obedient were the ones who were able to manage, who didn’t
have these trying and terrible ordeals.
In other words, the Lord was blessing those who kept his commandments,
just as he promises us in the scriptures.
“I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say. But when ye do not what I say, ye have no
promise.”
So could it
be that the standard answers we seem to always give to questions in Sunday
School and Relief Society are actually the most important? Scriptures, Family Prayer, temple attendance,
missionary work? I submit that they
are and they are the way we will gain so many blessings. As we learn to obey simple commandment, we
will hunger to know about more commandments because obedience to them brings so
much joy. Obedience to each commandment
brings blessings and refines our souls, preparing them for entrance into
Heavenly Father’s presence.
I’m thankful
for the chance I had to ponder on the importance of obedience and thank Brother
Nielson for this chance. I know that
these things are true and like President Monson who quoted another great
prophet ,Gordon B. Hinckley believe this to be true, ““The happiness of the
Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the
Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal
salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the
counsels of … God.”
