Annie's talk

I gave a talk at church in January.  I got to choose my own topic and had lots of time to prepare for it.  I really enjoyed reflecting on my experiences with living the gospel.  

Talk on obedience and recognizing light and truth

How do you know what is true?  Can you recognize light and truth? 

One of the first things that God did in the creation of the earth was to divide the light from the darkness.  “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”  We love the light.  We love the warmth and light of the sun and the ability to see.  It’s a great feeling.  Contrast the darkness and cold and how that makes you feel.  I’m a runner, and I sometimes have to run in the early morning hours before the sun comes up.  As a young girl, I remember running in the dark with my dad and brother.  I stuck close to my dad because I was afraid of the dark and what I couldn’t see out there.  My heart beat a little faster, and I got particularly scared about the dogs that barked at us.  I still run in the mornings, but I still don’t like to run in the dark.   Sometimes I have to start my run in the dark, but as the sun comes up it’s so comforting to feel the warmth of the sun and be able to see my path and surroundings.    

I compare this feeling to times of spiritual light, when we’re filled with warmth, light, and inspiration and the Spirit clearly lights our path.  We know that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (as it says in Psalms).  “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”  (Proverbs 4:18-19) 

We know that Jesus Christ is the light of the world – “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world:  he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)   We all have the light of Christ within us, whether we recognize it or not.  It becomes our objective to seek out and gain as much light and truth that we can and to share this light with others. 

We just got done with Christmas – a time filled with giving and light and joy.  One of my favorite things about Christmas is the lights.  I love sitting there staring at the magical lights on the tree.  We have the tradition of reading the Christmas story and singing by candlelight, followed by thoughts or testimonies.  The flames from the candles are mesmerizing in itself, but we are really filled with the light of Christ as we sing and read about his birth.  We also had the opportunity to participate in the Light the World program – I did some of the suggested service ideas, and I had some opportunities that just came up.  One of those happened one morning at the thrift store that gives out shop dollars that you can redeem on a designated day.  I had 10 shop dollars that I was excited to use AND I remembered which day I needed to use it.   I was standing in the line, holding my shop dollars, excited that I was going to get about $20 worth of items for $10.  The guy in front of me was having trouble getting his debit card to work, and he didn’t have enough cash to pay for his items.  I looked at my shop dollars and knew I should give it to him, and so I did.  I was a little bit sad to part with my savings, but it felt so good to help someone else.  It really filled me with light.  I noticed that in my efforts to light the world, I was the one filled with light.   

We can easily understand the difference between physical light and darkness and the way we feel when we serve.  But is recognizing truth always that easy?  The scriptures teach us that we’re given the Spirit of God to help us discern between truth and error.   

Moroni 7 V 15 “…it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.  (We can know as clearly as night and day)

V 16 “…I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore, ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.”

The Spirit inspires us to do good continually and to love and serve God.  It is our source of inspiration and key to our ability to recognize truth. 

And with the increasing darkness in the world, we are warned that we need this guidance even more.  President Nelson said, “…In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.” And he pleads with us to increase our spiritual capacity to receive revelation… Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.”  Notice how he says we must choose to do the spiritual work required to increase our capacity to receive light.  How do we increase our ability to receive light? 

One of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon is the Brother of Jared and his process of getting light for their barges to cross the sea.  They were given instructions on how to build the barges and how to have air in them, but weren’t given instruction for light.  The Brother of Jared had to come up with a plan on his own and ask the Lord for help.  He had to DO something, to ACT and show faith, by preparing stones and bringing them unto the Lord. The Lord did touch the stones and provided light, not only physically, but also spiritually rewarded his faith with being able to see Jesus Christ.  This experience is symbolic for us in our spiritual journey.  We must also come in faith unto Christ with our spiritual stones to light our own spiritual vessels.  We may not simply be provided light, but it is through acting on our faith and on our efforts to obey that we receive light.  The scriptures teach that the foundation stones are faith, hope, and charity.

Faith and hope are closely related, but hope is simply a desire for things unseen.  We hope for better days (we can’t see the days ahead), we hope we play well in a basketball game (we don’t know the result yet), we hope our child will find the missing shoe, the only one acceptable to wear (we don’t know if they’ll find it in time…), we hope the kids will do their chores (we don’t know if they will…).  We can always hope.  In Alma 32, we read about this desire.  “Even if ye can no more desire to believe, let this desire work in you”.  Hope is simply a desire, but it can become like an anchor, sure and steadfast (Ether 12:4) that creates stillness and peace.  “Be still and know that I am God.”  At times you might feel like hope is all you have.  If that’s all you have at certain moments, cling to it and hold on until you get the faith or further light and knowledge to move forward.  We can also get to a perfect brightness of hope, which is unwavering and allows us to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ.  This hope leads us to act in faith. 

Faith is a principle of action that leads us to go and DO something about our hopes and desires.  The theme for the youth this year is “Go and do.”  I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded.  If we want to know truth, we must obey.  “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17) and “…he that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light” (D&C 93:28) 

Elder Uchtdorf says, “It is by obedience that we gather light into our souls.”  

 

Sometimes we just want to hope or believe, but don’t act on those beliefs.  We just hope light and knowledge will come or pray for a miracle.  The Lord does do miraculous things for us, but sometimes we fail to recognize the help we received.  Here’s a personal example of this.  One Sunday recently, I started making rolls.  I thought I had enough flour, but after I’d already started, I realized I needed about 2 cups of flour.  Not wanting to run to the store on the Sabbath day, I thought maybe if I had enough faith, the flour would somehow be enough, that maybe a miracle would occur.  As I got to the very bottom of the flour, I realized that wasn’t going to happen.  But a quick message to our friends and within about 5 minutes, I had the flour I needed.  I was a little bit disappointed that my faith wasn’t enough to make flour magically appear, but then I stopped and looked at my dough that was rising and thought, “Wow.  That was really fast Lord.  Thanks for providing.”  So many of you are answers to prayers, ready and willing to help. 

How many times do we try to have faith to do miracles and not recognize how the Lord provided?  We may not be able to make our flour multiply, our sickness or disability go away, get the job or house we want, have a wayward child return back to the gospel, or whatever other miracle we want - but the Lord answers our prayers, maybe not in the way we expected or in our timing, but light and help are on the way and the Lord will provide a way for what we need and to accomplish His will.  1 Nephi 17:13 the Lord promises, “And I will…be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.” 

We must continue to press forward in faith, with a perfect brightness of hope, to be still and know that it is God that leads and lights our way. 

We can’t keep the dark moments from coming – we all have moments of darkness – feelings of fear, loneliness, grief, anxiety, or just lost and unsure of the way.  Satan wants us to be in a constant state of darkness.  That’s not part of God’s plan, but opposition is a part of the journey.  When I think back on some moments of darkness in my life, it’s interesting to also see the presence of light that accompanied my experience or the light that followed later.  Joseph Smith also experienced darkness just before he saw the bright pillar of light that was God the Father and Jesus Christ and that opened up the Restoration of the Gospel. 

{Experience from my life: 

- Before Nathan was born, I had 2 miscarriages.  The first one was at the end of Alex’s 9 week trip to Antarctica.  He was already on the flights home, before we had cell phones, and I had no way of getting ahold of him.  I ended up going to the hospital, in lots of pain, staying overnight.  I had to leave a message on our answering machine at home for Alex, telling him that I was at the hospital and lost the baby.  Lonely, dark, and painful night. 

However, I was given a priesthood blessing that night by friends in the ward, which provided a lot of comfort in hearing the words “after a time of healing, a miracle would occur in our lives.”  Alex and I received comfort and light again in the temple one year later, when we both felt the spirit confirm that my current pregnancy would be successful.  Nathan was born about 7.5 months later – our first miracle and gift from God.  Nathan just turned 16 this week, our oldest of 5 kids.  The light surely followed that first moment of darkness 18 years ago. }  

God’s plan involves times of darkness, but His light and love are always there.  We can choose God’s path and trust in Him and His wisdom, even and especially during times of darkness, or we can choose our own path without the Lord’s guidance. 

In my patriarchal blessing, it says if I strive to keep the commandments, I would be blessed with inspiration, wisdom, understanding, and the necessities of life.  It also says two times to accept and apply the principles of truth in my life. I have seen this as I have lived the principles and been filled with light.  I recognize principles of truth in how they lead and inspire me to do good and follow Jesus Christ.   

Simply live the gospel and you will know truth.

Are there certain principles that you have come to know as true, that have become easy for you to live, that you don’t really have to think much about it?  Some of these principles for me are:

-          Going to church – I don’t wake up on Sunday morning and think about whether or not I want to go to church.  I’ve seen the blessings from it, felt an abundance of the Spirit, and know that’s where I want to be. It’s not a weekly choice. 

-          Tithing

-          Word of Wisdom

-          Attending the temple

-          Following the prophet

There are other principles that I have a testimony of, I have seen the blessings, but I don’t always DO.  Examples of these for me are prayer and scripture study, particularly meaningful time.  Sometimes I just go through the motions.

And then there are principles of the gospel that are hard.  Some examples of those for me are missionary work and charity.  The principles that I find most challenging involve other people.  Other people’s agency and actions affect the way you feel and can be sources of rejection, pain, or unkind feelings. Relationships are hard, as well as qualities required like forgiveness and compassion in those relationships.    

Many of you love and serve and magnify these principles, and I really appreciate the examples and testimony of those of you who seem to live so many principles well.  You motivate and inspire me to do better. 

We all have different challenges, things that are easy or hard, and at different points in our journey.  But that’s okay, we can start wherever we are and move forward. 

Living the gospel is a little like the conditioning required for running.  Of course, the first thing is having the desire to get out there, to get out of bed or off the couch.  If you have never run before, or you don’t run for a period of time, it’s hard and painful to get started.  The first time you attempt to run, you probably will run around the block and come back clutching your sides, gasping for breath and feeling awful.  You’ll probably say, “I’m not a runner.  This isn’t for me.”  It can take a while to condition your heart to running.  It does get easier.  

When you think about principles of the gospel, do you ever try to live one and essentially give up after the first run around the block?  “Family history is too hard.  I can’t learn how to navigate the computer.”  Or maybe living the word of wisdom – I don’t know what’s it’s like to break an addiction, but I can imagine you might give it a try and say, “This isn’t for me.  It’s too hard.”  Or maybe even just giving a talk in church – imagining speaking in public might leave you “clutching your sides, gasping for breath”, saying “Nope.  I don’t do public speaking.”

Once we get the desire and get started, we have to be consistent in our conditioning.  We get more out of running depending on how much effort we put into it.  Once you are conditioned to running, you can basically be at a maintenance level, where you’re just coasting, jogging at the same pace for the same distance, without a lot of effort.  If you want to get better, you have to do something different.  You either have to change your pace or your distance.  I have no particular running goals at the moment – I’m basically at a maintenance level, but I am trying to get my kids out running with me sometimes and creating some good habits for them.  They’re not very excited about it, but hopefully they’ll thank me later.  Depending on your goals, you might have to do additional things in conjunction with running.  You’ll probably have some weight loss, but if you want to be firm and tone, you’ll probably have to target certain areas with strength training or cut out the sodas and junk food. 

Living the gospel, we have to condition ourselves, our hearts and minds, to do the daily work required to grow.  And if we want to strengthen ourselves beyond a maintenance level (where we’re just going through the motions), we have to do something different or put in extra effort.  We might have to target certain areas or see what things we need to change to reach our goals.  This is what President Nelson was talking about when he said we have to increase our spiritual capacity to receive revelation. 

 And there may be some people that laugh or mock you for what you’re doing, wondering why you’re putting in the effort when you could be sleeping in or sitting on the couch…   And while generally people agree that running is good for you, there may be certain gospel principles where people may mock you or claim your way is wrong.  

I’ve seen how running is good for me and keeps me trim.  If a fitness expert were to come out and say that running doesn’t really benefit your body and mind, I’d have to say that my own experience tells me that it does work.  Have any “experts” presented information that claims the church isn’t true?  Would you be able to say that your own experience living the principles has led you to believe the church is true?

Where are you at in your spiritual journey or with certain gospel principles?  Do you need to get started?  Are you just going through the motions?  Are you going the extra mile or increasing your spiritual capacity to receive light and truth?  Helping others reach their goals?  Being persecuted for what you’re doing? 

If you want to experience some persecution, try defending your beliefs on an anti-Church social media post!   It’s tough out there, particularly if it’s people who don’t know you.  I was mocked and ridiculed and told that my religion was false and that Joseph Smith was a fraud.  They listed several criticisms of church history and prophets and general lack of physical proof.  I asked myself the question, “Why do I continue living my religion when I haven’t seen physical evidence of certain key things about my religion?   Jesus Christ as one primary example – I haven’t seen him, but I believe those who have seen him. 

I realized that I didn’t need to have a perfect understanding of the history of the church or principles of the gospel to recognize truth.  Nor did I have to see physical proof.  Living the principles and seeing the blessings is evidence of truth. 

We very much rely on faith and spiritual inspiration in our knowledge of spiritual things.  But that's hard to describe to someone who doesn’t believe in the Spirit and personal revelation.  We also rely on the fruits of the gospel, particularly with the principles of the restored gospel.  For many people, it’s not hard to recognize that being a good person and loving and serving others is a good thing to do.  When you start trying to explain why you believe someone prayed and saw God the Father and Jesus, then translated a book from gold plates that we don’t have access to anymore, who introduced some principles that were hard to live and that we don’t really understand, and that we still have prophets with authority to speak for God today asking for us to give our time and talents and our all, and to live like our eternal salvation is at stake, well then… that’s harder to explain how we know it’s true. 

How do you know the principles of the restored gospel are true? 

I realized that it was easier for me to describe in terms of what would happen if my religion did turn out to be false. What then?   If I got to the end of my life and discovered that Joseph Smith was not who he claimed to be, that the Book of Mormon wasn't authentic, and that the church wasn't true...then what?  Would I regret living the principles of the restored gospel?  No. If it's not true, then I don't regret living and receiving the blessings from it. I would still rejoice in the way it has caused me to live my life, guided my choices, changed me and given me hope and peace.  We believe, we hope, we endure and seek after good and virtuous things.

Let’s look at some of the light and knowledge we have as a result of Joseph Smith and the restored gospel. 

1 - Joseph Smith claimed to see God the Father and Jesus Christ while praying for answers. This gives us a better understanding of the nature of God, a hope that God is real, knows us personally, and answers our prayers. I would rather go through life with this hope and belief rather than wonder if God exists or even knows me.

2 - Book of Mormon and other scriptures - Joseph Smith claimed to translate the Book of Mormon from gold plates. What if he made it up and wrote the book? Then he wrote a very inspirational book with messages of peace and hope and teachings of Jesus Christ. It helps me and leads me to do good. 

3 - Priesthood authority - If it turns out that Joseph didn't really receive authority from God, I still won't regret the time thinking about Jesus during the sacrament, the priesthood blessings of peace and counsel I have received. I won't regret the time spent in peaceful meditation in temples (that operate under priesthood authority) or watching families be sealed together. Some of my most spiritual moments have been experiences in the temple. All of these ordinances have provided peace, encouragement, guidance, hope, and motivation to change.

4 - Word of wisdom - provides caution and counsel on what we should take into our bodies. If it turns out this is not divinely inspired, I won't regret the freedom from addictive or potentially harmful substances like drugs or alcohol.  I have seen the consequences of those who have abused these and how it affected the lives of others. 

 

5 - Modern-day prophets and continuing revelation - If it turns out that we don't have true prophets, then I won't regret listening to the leaders who give inspirational conference messages twice a year and monthly messages. These leaders also meet regularly and pray and counsel over guidance for our lives. I have been uplifted and inspired by their guidance. I also won't regret having a hope that God knows us and wants us to seek for guidance and answers through personal revelation. If the answers I have received in my mind and heart aren't actually from God, then the process of searching and making decisions is still a valuable part of my life.  And I feel like I’ve made some pretty good decisions – one of those being my husband Alex, sitting down there with our 5 children, who I love being a mother for. 

Along with continued inspired revelation comes the other programs and teachings of the church. Weekly family nights, daily family prayer and scripture study, weekly activities for the kids and youth and seminary. I love that Nathan goes to study scriptures at 6:30am before he goes to school. And he WANTS to go, and he said it's to prepare for a mission.

We also get to participate in Relief Society, primary, and Elders Quorum, where we learn, teach, serve, and socialize. We serve in various callings - I get to teach the 3-4 year olds and Alex is president of the Elder's Quorum.  We get to serve others in their homes, by providing meals or childcare or being a shoulder to cry on (and have all those things in return - a church family that loves and supports us).

We give our time and are part of a church with no paid clergy, but we also take care of each other through tithes and offerings, through the humanitarian aid and church welfare program, with an emphasis on self-reliance. 

We get opportunities to do hard things, like singing solos in church, speaking in church, teaching lessons, serving missions, planning activities, and working in the nursery

If it turns out these programs and teachings weren't divinely inspired, then we will have spent many hours serving, learning, loving, and doing hard things that we didn't think we were capable of doing.

6 - Plan of Salvation - with the restored gospel comes additional knowledge about who we are and where we are going, that there is life after death. We have the hope that family relationships can continue forever. If it turns out that there's no life after death, then I will have lived a happy life, striving to be the best I could. But living my life with the hope of a life beyond provides so much more motivation to develop good relationships now that will continue on after death. And the loss of loved ones is more bearable with the hope that we will see them again. I would rather live with the hope of eternal relationships and not until death do us part. I have faith and hope that God does have a plan for me and my family.  I love being a part of a religion where Jesus Christ and families are at the center of everything.  We have a foundation in Christ who is our light.   The gospel fills us with light and love of our Savior, who is always there.

These are some of the fruits of the restored gospel and evidence of truth.  Our religion doesn't claim to be the only source of truth and goodness.  I am inspired by the light and goodness of people of other faiths.  Light and truth are everywhere.  But we do need the constant guidance of the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is a key distinguishing feature of our church.  With this gift, we can know good from evil as clearly as day from night.  As we act on our faith, obey, and live the gospel, we recognize truth and increase our capacity to receive more light and truth.  How do we get more light?

President Faust said, “Faith is the power, obedience is the price, love is the motive, the spirit is the key, and Christ is the reason.” 

We love the light.  We love the Savior.  He is the way, the truth, and the light.  May we always walk in the light of His love. 

Extra:

I love the lyrics to the youth theme song for this year: 

No matter where I go I know I'm not alone
I feel my Savior there beside me
He leads me through the night
He's always been my guide
He promised He will never leave me
Though my burdens seem too much to bear He'll bless me

When I feel overcome And all my strength is gone, I think of all the ways He's blessed me.
My journey may seem long But He'll lift me with His love, A perfect love that's never ending.
He will give me all the strength I'm needing.

For me to cross the desert, To sail across the ocean, If that's where He sends me, I'll follow His plan
I'll do whatever He commands me, For I know that He will lead me To the promised land

I will go and do, I will stand for truth
Though the world may back away, I will walk right through
I know if I follow Him, Follow Him in Faith, He will ease my burdens And He'll provide a way

No matter where I go, I know I'm not alone
I feel my Savior there beside me

Go and Do song