My beloved brothers and sisters, humbly and gratefully I stand before you this morning, humbled by your presence, grateful for the gospel that makes this great University possible. I hope I\u2019ll be given the strength today to say what I know the Lord wants me to say.<\/p>\n
As we enter this Christmas season, a season of getting and giving, I would like to talk to you about a few of the many gifts we have received from our Lord, Jesus Christ, and what we in turn might give to him.<\/p>\n
First<\/i>, he gave us the perfect model\u2014himself\u2014after which we are to pattern our lives. He said, \u201cGreater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends\u201d (John 15:13<\/a>). Not only did he lay down before us the perfect example for earthly living, but for our sake he willingly gave us his life. He went through an agony both in body and spirit, of which we cannot comprehend, to bring to us the glorious blessing of the Atonement and the Resurrection (see D&C 19:15\u201319<\/a>).<\/p>\n Some men are willing to die for their faith but will not fully live for it. Christ both lived and died for us. By walking in his steps and through his atonement we can gain the greatest gift of all\u2014eternal life\u2014which is that kind of life of the great Eternal One, our Father in heaven.<\/p>\n Christ asked the question as to what manner of men ought we to be. He answered by saying we ought to be even as he is (see 3 Nephi 27:27<\/a>). That man is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely fits the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ. He is the right way, the full truth, and the abundant life.<\/p>\n The constant and most recurring question in our minds, touching every thought and deed of our lives, should be \u201cLord, what wilt thou have me to do?\u201d (Acts 9:6<\/a>). The answer to that question can come through the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost. Fortunate are those who so live that their beings are filled with both of them.<\/p>\n We have a work to do, to follow him.<\/p>\n Who does God\u2019s work will get God\u2019s pay,<\/i> I testify to you that his pay for his work is the best pay that you can get in this world or any other.<\/p>\n Secondly<\/i>, in addition to Christ providing us the gift of his life as a model, he has provided us the gift of a prophet. Of all mortal men, we should keep our eyes most firmly fixed on the captain, the prophet, seer, and revelator, and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the man who stands closest to the fountain of living waters. There are some heavenly instructions for us that we can only receive through the prophet. A good way to measure your standing with the Lord is to see how you feel about, and act upon, the inspired words of his earthly representative, the Prophet-President. The inspired words of the President are not to be trifled with. All men are entitled to inspiration, and various men are entitled to revelation for their particular assignments. But only one man stands as the Lord\u2019s spokesman to the Church and the world, and he is the President of the Church. The words of all other men should be weighed against his inspired words.<\/p>\n Although his prophet is mortal, God will not let him lead his Church astray. God knows all things, the end from the beginning, and no man becomes President of the church of Jesus Christ by accident, nor remains there by chance, nor is called home by happenstance (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff<\/i>, ed. G. Homer Durham [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1946], pp. 212\u201313).<\/p>\n The most important prophet, so far as we are concerned, is the one who is living in our day and age. This is the prophet who has today\u2019s instructions from God to us. God\u2019s revelation to Adam did not instruct Noah how to build the ark. Every generation has the need of the ancient scripture, plus the current scripture from the living prophet. Therefore, the most crucial reading and pondering which you should do is the latest inspired words from the Lord\u2019s mouthpiece. That is why it is essential that you have access to and carefully read his words in Church periodicals.<\/p>\n Yes, we thank thee, O God, for a prophet to guide us in these latter days.<\/p>\n Thirdly<\/i>, in addition to the gifts of the life of Christ and his prophet is the gift of his church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, \u201cthe only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth\u201d (D&C 1:30<\/a>). There is no salvation nor exaltation for us outside of the Church. Through it we receive baptism, priesthood, celestial marriage, and other sealing powers. It is the organized means which God is using to establish and expand his work. We must work with it and in it, build it up and move it forward. We should be willing to give generously of our time, talents, and means for the Church. No matter what happens to the world, the Church will grow in strength and will be intact when the Lord comes again.<\/p>\n God has assured us that the Church will never again be taken from the earth because of apostasy. He has said that he is pleased with the Church, speaking collectively and not individually (D&C 1:30<\/a>). This means that certain individuals within the Church may go astray and even fall away. This may happen even to a person in the Church who is in a position of some influence and authority. It has happened in the past. It will happen in the future. If our faith is in Jesus Christ and not in the arm of flesh, then we will know that we are members of the church of Jesus Christ and not the church of men.<\/p>\n If you see some individual in the Church doing things which disturb you, or you feel the Church is not doing things the way you think they could or should be done, the following principles might be helpful.<\/p>\n God has to work through mortals of varying degrees of spiritual progress. Sometimes he temporarily grants to men their unwise requests in order that they might learn from their own sad experiences. Some refer to this as the \u201cSamuel principle.\u201d The children of Israel wanted a king, like all the nations. The prophet Samuel was displeased and prayed to the Lord about it. The Lord responded by saying to Samuel, \u201cThey have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.\u201d The Lord told Samuel to warn the people of the consequences if they had a king. Samuel gave them the warning, but they still insisted on their king. So God gave them a king and let them suffer. They learned the hard way. God wanted it to be otherwise, but within certain bounds he grants unto men according to their desires. Bad experiences are an expensive school that only fools keep going to (see 1 Samuel 8<\/a>).<\/p>\n Sometimes in our attempts to mimic the world, contrary to the prophet\u2019s counsel, we run after the world\u2019s false educational, political, musical, and dress ideas. New worldly standards take over, a gradual breakdown occurs, and finally, after much suffering, a humble people are ready to be taught once again a higher law.<\/p>\n Now, during all this gradual lowering of standards, the righteous should be living up to the highest personal standards they can\u2014not forcing those standards on others but preparing for and awaiting a better day which surely must come. This leads me to another principle: that a leader cannot lead without followers. If better standards are to be observed, there must be a better people to do it.<\/p>\n The Book of Mormon talks about \u201cclearing\u201d away the branches<\/p>\n which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof; and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish. . . .<\/i><\/p>\n . . . wherefore ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength until the good shall overcome the bad.<\/i>\u00a0[Jacob 5:65, 66<\/a>]<\/p>\n Only a Zion people can bring in a Zion society. And as the Zion people increase, so we will be able to incorporate more of the principles of Zion until we have a people prepared to receive the Lord.<\/p>\n This means that on this campus, in due time, there will be an increasing number of textbooks written by inspired men of the Church. There will be less and less a tendency to subscribe to the false teachings of men. There will be more and more a tendency first to lay the groundwork of the gospel truth in every subject and then, if necessary, to show where the world may fall short of that standard. In due time there will be increased teaching by the Spirit of God, but that can take place only if there is a decreased promotion of the precepts of men.<\/p>\n We seek that which is praiseworthy, lovely, virtuous, and of good report; and we salute Beethoven, Shakespeare, Rembrandt, and Michelangelo. In due time, we will also have more of our own giants\u2014particularly great father-patriarchs and noble companions and mothers of men. There is certain music heard and art seen and clothes worn on this campus that must pass away\u2014not because the styles change but because our standards will be improved.<\/p>\n When individual actions of some Church members disturb you, here\u2019s another principle to consider. This is the principle of stewardship. As the kingdom grows larger, more and more responsibilities have to be delegated and stewardships handed out. Men respond in different degrees of valiancy to their stewardships. God is very patient and long-suffering as he waits for some of us to rise to our responsibilities. He usually gives a man a long enough rope and a long enough time either to pull himself up to the presence of God or to drop off somewhere below. But while God is patient, no puny arm of man in his stewardship can long impede or pervert the work of the Lord. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind ever so finely.<\/p>\n Because God has given men their agency, there will always be those who will misuse it. The gospel net draws in the good and the bad, the best and the worst\u2014the worst because the devil, before the final cleansing, puts some of his followers within the kingdom in order to try and destroy it. We have some of them within the kingdom today, and in due course their number shall be known. Time has a way of taking care of all things, of elevating the good and bringing down the bad. If we see things going on within the kingdom that disturb us, we might first resolve if the matter falls within our stewardship. We then might go to the person or people involved. If it is of such a nature that we think it should be called to the attention of higher authority, then we can, in a kindly and quiet manner, take the necessary steps at the proper level.<\/p>\n To publish differences we may think we have with the leaders of the Church, to create strife and division, is a sure road to apostasy. Our task is to stick with the kingdom, not to let anything or anybody disaffect or sour us toward that great gift which Christ has given us\u2014his church.<\/p>\n The Church is true. Keep its laws; attend its meetings; sustain its leaders; accept its callings; get its recommend; enjoy its blessings.<\/p>\n Fourthly<\/i>, in addition to the gifts of the life of Christ, his prophet, and his church is the gift of scripture, particularly the Book of Mormon.<\/p>\n In his dedicatory prayer for the Washington Temple, President Kimball referred to the Book of Mormon, as did the Prophet Joseph, as the most correct book. The Prophet Joseph Smith also called it the keystone of our religion. He said that \u201ca man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book\u201d (History of the Church<\/i>, 4:461). That book was written for our day. Mormon, who compiled it, saw us in vision and was directed to put into the book those things God felt we would especially need in our time. There was inspiration in making the Book of Mormon a required religion class on this campus. The faculty and student body should know the Book of Mormon better than any other book. Not only should we know what history and faith-promoting stories it contains, but we should also understand its teachings. If we really did our homework and approached the Book of Mormon doctrinally, we could expose the errors and find the truths to combat many of the current false theories and philosophies of men, including socialism, humanism, organic evolution, and others.<\/p>\n I have noted within the Church the difference in discernment, in insight, in conviction, and in spirit between those who know and love the Book of Mormon and those who do not. That book is a great sifter.<\/p>\n Fifth<\/i>, in addition to the gifts of the life of Christ, his prophet, his church, and the Book of Mormon is the gift of his Constitution. The Lord said, \u201cI established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up\u201d (D&C 101:80<\/a>). Among the opening words of his dedicatory prayer at the Washington Temple, President Kimball referred to our inspired Constitution.<\/p>\n The elders of this Church have a prophetic mission yet to perform so far as the Constitution is concerned. In a discourse on July 19, 1840, Joseph Smith said, \u201cEven this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction\u201d (M8d 155, Bx4, Joseph Smith, Church Historian\u2019s Library).<\/p>\n Now, how are the elders going to prepare for that mission? How are they going to know what the Constitution is, so they will know when it is on the brink of ruin? In many of the law schools of today you will hear that the Constitution is whatever the Supreme Court says it is. Could it be that the Supreme Court, which President McKay said is leading this nation down the road to atheism, is the agency to tell us what this divine document is (David O. McKay, Church News, 22 June 1963; Jerreld Newquist, comp.,\u00a0Prophets, Principles, and National Survival<\/i>, pp. 187\u201388)? Can we learn best how to preserve it by studying what it is at the hands of some of those who are seeking to destroy it?<\/p>\n But President McKay had a better approach when he encouraged us to support good and conscientious candidates who are truly dedicated to\u00a0the Constitution in the tradition of our founding fathers<\/i>. They are the ones the Lord referred to as wise men. It is to them, the Lord, and his prophets that we should go to determine what the Constitution is. There must have been a tradition of our founding fathers, or President McKay would not have referred to it. (One of the best books on this subject was written by Clarence Carson, entitled\u00a0The American Tradition<\/i>, distributed by The Foundation for Economic Education at Irvington-on-Hudson, New York. President J. Reuben Clark served on their board of trustees for some time. I now have the honor of so serving.) To the Lord, his prophets, and the founding fathers we must go to learn of this divine document so that our efforts will be to preserve and not to destroy the Constitution.<\/p>\n The Prophet Joseph Smith said in a great discourse in Nauvoo on February 7, 1844, \u201cWere I the president of the United States . . . I would honor the old paths of the venerated fathers of freedom; I would walk in the tracks of the illustrious patriots who carried the ark of the Government upon their shoulders with an eye single to the glory of the people\u201d (History of the Church<\/i>, 6:208).<\/p>\n Said President George Albert Smith, \u201cI am saying to you that to me the Constitution of the United States of America is just as much from my Heavenly Father as the Ten Commandments. When that is my feeling I am not going to go very far away from the Constitution and I am going to try to keep it where the Lord started it, and not let anti-Christ come into this country\u201d (Conference Report<\/i>, April 1948, p. 182).<\/p>\n And speaking of anti-Christ, I would like to tell you, if you want to get some idea of how we are flaunting the Constitution, see how the Constitution defines treason. Then observe what we are doing to build up the enemy in this totally anti-Christ conspiracy. If we continue on this tragic course of aid and trade to the enemy, then the Lord has warned us of the consequences which will follow in chapter eight of Ether in the Book of Mormon.<\/p>\n Thank God for the Constitution, which made it possible for the Lord to establish his church and base of operations here in the United States for these last days. And may God bless the elders of Israel so that when, as President John Taylor said, \u201cthe people shall have torn to shreds the Constitution of the United States the Elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of earth and proclaiming liberty\u201d (Journal of Discourses<\/i>, 21:8).<\/p>\n Now, Christ\u2019s life, his prophet, his church, the Book of Mormon, the Constitution of the United Sates are but a few of the gifts of Christ to bless us, not only at this season, but also throughout our lives.<\/p>\n And now, my friends\u2014what can we possibly give to the Lord this Christmastime? In consideration of all that he has done and is doing for us, there is something that we might give him in return.<\/p>\n Christ\u2019s great gift to us was his life and sacrifice\u2014should that not then be our small gift to him\u2014our lives and sacrifices, not only now, but in the future? A few years ago, my colleague, Elder Boyd Packer, said this:<\/p>\n I\u2019m not ashamed to say that . . . I want to be good. And I\u2019ve found in my life that it has been critically important that this was established between me and the Lord so that I knew that He knew which way I committed my agency. I went before Him and said, \u201cI\u2019m not neutral, and you can do with me what you want. If you need my vote, it\u2019s there. I don\u2019t care what you do with me, and you don\u2019t have to take anything from me, because I give it to you\u2014everything, all I own, all I am.\u201d And that makes the difference.<\/i>\u00a0[Seminary and Institute conference, summer 1970]<\/p>\n Yes, men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life to God will find he has eternal life.<\/p>\n And now as to our sacrifice to him. Yes, sacrifice is the crowning test of the gospel. Men are tried and tested in this mortal probation to see if they will put first into their lives the things of the kingdom of God (see Matthew 6:33<\/a>). To gain eternal life, they must be willing, if called upon, to sacrifice all things for the gospel. \u201cIf thou wilt be perfect,\u201d Jesus said to the rich young man, \u201cgo and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n Hearing this injunction, Peter said, \u201cBehold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?\u201d<\/p>\n To this query, our Lord replied, \u201cEvery one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name\u2019s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life\u201d (Matthew 19:16\u201329<\/a>; see also D&C 132:55<\/a>).<\/p>\n Joseph Smith said this about sacrifice:<\/p>\n For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his life\u2014counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ\u2014requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended he will enter into eternal rest; and be a partaker of the glory of God. . . . A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life.<\/i>\u00a0[Lectures on Faith<\/i>, pp. 58\u201360]<\/p>\n
\nHowever long may seem the day,<\/i>
\nHowever weary be the way,<\/i>
\nHe does not pay as others pay,<\/i>
\nIn merely gold or raiments gay.<\/i>
\nIn only goods that will decay,<\/i>
\nBut His high wisdom knows a way,<\/i>
\nAnd this is sure, let come what may,<\/i>
\nWho does God\u2019s work will get God\u2019s pay.<\/i><\/p>\nChrist Gave Us a Prophet<\/b><\/h2>\n
Christ Gave Us His Church<\/b><\/h2>\n
Christ Gave Us the Scriptures<\/b><\/h2>\n
Christ Gave Us the Constitution<\/b><\/h2>\n
Our Gifts to Christ<\/b><\/h2>\n