James E. Faust on life's challenges and defining decisions

President James E. Faust (1920-2007) was called as a Seventy in 1976, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve in 1978. He served as a counselor to President Hinckley from 1995 until his death in 2007 at age 87.

"At times I have stumbled and been less than I should have been. All of us experience those wrenching, defining, difficult decisions that move us to a higher level of spirituality. They are the Gethsemanes of our lives that bring with them great pain and anguish. Sometimes they are too sacred to be shared publicly. They are the watershed experiences that help purge us of our unrighteous desires for the things of the world. As the scales of worldliness are taken from our eyes, we see more clearly who we are and what our responsibilities are concerning our divine destiny.

"I humbly acknowledge that these many experiences have nurtured a sure knowledge that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. I have heard His voice and felt His influence and presence. They have been as a warm, spiritual cloak. The wonder of it is that all who conscientiously strive to keep the commandments and sustain their leaders can receive this same knowledge in some measure. The privilege of serving in the cause of the Master can bring great satisfaction and inner peace."

- James E. Faust, "A Growing Testimony," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 59
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It's interesting that President Faust introduced this thought with his own admission of feelings of having fallen short. But it's in the context of the "wrenching, defining, difficult decisions" of life. So he has not done as well as he wished in confronting and resolving those decisions? Interesting thought. He sees in those moments of choice a chance to grow and be defined in significant and powerful ways:

But I love then sweetness of President Faust's testimony about how those experiences of his life blessed him in increased testimony and confidence, "as a warm, spiritual cloak" encompassing him in times of need. He offers the same promise to us, as we carefully obey, sustain our leaders, and serve the Lord.

Neal A. Maxwell on overcoming daily struggles and challenges with hope

Elder Neal A. Maxwell (born July 6, 1926 - 90 years ago today.  Died July 21, 2004 at age 78) served as a Seventy from 1976-1981, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve until his death from cancer in 2004.

"Ultimate hope and daily grumpiness are not reconcilable. It is ungraceful, unjustified, and unbecoming of us as committed Church members to be constantly grumpy or of woeful countenance. Do we have some moments of misery or some down days? Yes! But the promise is that Christ will 'lift thee up' (Moroni 9:25). The disciple can note the depressing signs of the times without being depressed. He can be disappointed in people without being offended at life. Thus it is that ultimate hope, if it does not finally dissolve our daily disappointments, at least puts them in perspective."

- Neal A. Maxwell, Thanksgiving speech, November 26, 1980; see The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book p. 164

The words "ultimate hope" are critical to this insight. They refer to our understanding of the final stop on our eternal journey. If we truly do have confidence in our destination, then the things that happen along the way are easier to endure or understand. Therefore we should not have room for "grumpiness" in our lives, as long as we're on the right path and have that perspective. There are still trials, difficulties, frustrations; but through His atonement, Christ will provide strength and support. Elder Maxwell quotes a portion of this beautiful message from Mormon to his son Moroni:

"My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever." (Moroni 9:25)

True disciples of Jesus Christ will have this perspective, and will find joy in their journey.

Harold B. Lee on living daily with a spirit of thankfulness

President Harold B. Lee (1899-1973) was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1941. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1970-1972, then as Church president from July 1972 until his passing less than 18 months later in December 1973.

"I once listened to a young girl's heartwarming testimony. Her father was afflicted with what the doctors had pronounced was an incurable malady. To his wife one morning, this stricken father, after a night of pain and suffering, had said with great feeling, 'I am so thankful today.' 'For what?' she asked. He replied, 'For God's giving me the privilege of one more day with you.'

"I would desire with all my heart that all would likewise thank God for one more day! For what? For the opportunity to take care of some unfinished business; to repent; to right some wrongs; to influence for good some wayward child; to reach out to someone who cries for help—in short, to thank God for one more day to prepare to meet God.

"Don't try to live too many days ahead. Seek for strength to attend to the problems of today."

- Harold B. Lee, CR, 3 October 1970, 117; Stand Ye in Holy Places p. 239

This is a tender message. It's often in the times of extremity that pure and noble emotions are expressed, as in the story shared by President Lee. A stricken man discovers real gratitude for each new day as he recognizes what the gifts and opportunities each new day presents. With the understanding that his days are limited, each day becomes precious.

But of course, each of us has limited days, and we should each live in that kind of gratitude, thanking God and showing true love and appreciation to those around us. "Don't try to live too many days ahead" — I love that sentiment!

Gordon B. Hinckley on the importance of patriotism

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1961. He served as a counselor in the First Presidency from 1981-1995, then as Church President until his death in 2008.

"Patriotism evidently is gone from the hearts of many of our youth.

"Perhaps this condition comes of lack of knowledge, a provincialism that knows nothing else and scoffs at what little it knows. Perhaps it comes of ingratitude. This attitude is not new. Joshua, speaking for the Lord, doubtless had in mind this same indifference when he said to a new generation that had not known the trials of the old: '...I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat' (Josh. 24:13).

"Those who have paid in toil and tears for their inheritance have loved the land on which they lived....

"We shall not build love of country by taking away from our youth the principles which made us strong—thrift, initiative, self-reliance, and an overriding sense of duty to God and to man.

"A terrible price has been paid by those who have gone before us, this that we might have the blessings of liberty and peace. I stood not long ago at Valley Forge, where George Washington and his ragged army spent the winter of 1776. As I did so, I thought of a scene from Maxwell Anderson's play in which Washington looks on a little group of his soldiers, shoveling the cold earth over a dead comrade, and says grimly, 'This liberty will look easy by and by when nobody dies to get it.'

"How we need to kindle in the hearts of youth an old-fashioned love of country and a reverence for the land of their birth. But we shall not do it with tawdry political maneuvering and enormous handouts for which nothing is given in return.

"Love of country is born of nobler stuff—of the challenge of struggle that makes precious the prize that's earned."

- Gordon B. Hinckley, "A Charter for Youth," Conference Report, October 1965, pp. 50-54
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What a sad commentary: "Patriotism evidently is gone from the hearts of many of our youth." Is it a lack of knowledge, or a lack of appreciation? Is it because life and liberty have become too easy for us, and we have not had to pay in "toil and tears for [our] inheritance"?

It is helpful to remember the "terrible price" paid by so many who went before, to secure for us "the blessings of liberty and peace." That will help to rekindle patriotism in our hearts and lives.

And in a time when many forces, internal and external, are threatening the security of our peaceful land, true patriotism is needed more than ever before.

Spencer W. Kimball on the importance of sharing testimonies with each other

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) was ordained an apostle in 1943 and served as President of the Church from 1973 to 1985.

"Testimony meetings are some of the best meetings in the ward in the whole month, if you have the spirit. If you are bored at a testimony meeting, there is something the matter with you, and not the other people. You can get up and bear your testimony and you think it is the best meeting in the month; but if you sit there and count the grammatical errors and laugh at the man who can’t speak very well, you’ll be bored, and on that board you’ll slip right out of the Kingdom. Don’t forget it! You have to fight for a testimony. You have to keep fighting!

"The Lord says in the 60th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, 'With some I am not well pleased for they will not open their mouths' (D&C 60:2). What does he mean? He says that if they do not use it, they will lose what he has given them. They lose their spirit. They lose their testimony. And this priceless thing that you have can slip right out of your life.

"Every month the First Presidency and the Twelve meet with all the General Authorities in the temple. They bear testimony and they tell each other how they love one another just like all of you. Why do the General Authorities need a testimony meeting? The same reason that you need a testimony meeting. Do you think that you can go three, and six, and nine, and twelve months without bearing your testimony and still keep its full value?

"Some of our good people get so terrified at triteness that they try to steer around and away from their testimonies by getting out on the fringes. Don’t you ever worry about triteness in testimony. When the President of the Church bears his testimony, he says, 'I know that Joseph Smith was called of God, a divine representative. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.' You see, the same thing every one of you says. That is a testimony. It never gets old, never gets old! Tell the Lord frequently how much you love him....

"Don’t you sit there in your fast meeting and cheat yourself and say, 'I guess I won’t bear my testimony today. I guess that wouldn’t be fair to these other members because I have had so many opportunities.' You bear your testimony. And one minute is long enough to bear it.

"You have a testimony! It needs building and lifting and enlarging, of course; and that is what you are doing. Every time you bear your testimony it becomes strengthened."

- Spencer W. Kimball, "President Kimball Speaks Out on Testimony," New Era, Aug. 1981, pp. 4–7
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This counsel is still very timely 35 years after it was offered. It's easy for us to criticize meetings, talks, and testimonies as being shallow or uninspiring. But President Kimball reminds us that it's often our own attitude or preparation that make all the difference in our perception of the meeting or the message. The key phrase appears to be "if you have the spirit."

The little play on words involving "bored" and "board" was clever.

There were three other insights I truly appreciated:

1. Even the leaders of the Church at the highest level hold testimony meetings because of the benefits it provides;
2. What we say in our testimonies matters, but we should not fear "triteness"; the simplicity and purity of testimony is what matters;
3. We must not hesitate to bear testimony frequently

David O. McKay on the need for both contentment and progress

President David O. McKay (1873-1970) was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1906.  He served as a counselor in the First Presidency to Heber J. Grant and George Albert Smith beginning in 1945, then then as the president of the Church from 1951 to his death in 1970 at age 96.

"The spirit of peace is made up of two elements:

"The first is contentment—content with what we are and what we have. Contentment springs from within ourselves. It springs from our thoughts. Outward circumstances will be contributive to it, but it is our attitude toward those exterior things which will determine our contentment, and yet contentment alone is not sufficient.

"Somebody has said: 'Show me a perfectly contented man and I will show you a useless one.' So there must be some other element with contentment, some other virtue. What is it? Progress. Contentment and progress contribute to peace. If we are no better tomorrow than we are today, we are not very useful; we are untrue to ourselves and to our loved ones and to society.

"So, today we want to experience two things: contentment and progress—progress intellectually, progress physically, but above all, progress spiritually; and the cognizance that we grow, contributes to peace. Growth is an element in all life. Stop progressing and you retrogress. You cannot remain stationary."

- David O. McKay, dedicatory service of the Las Vegas Fifth and Sixth Wards chapel, 11/14/54
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President McKay had a speaking style quite different from leaders we hear today. I can imagine his voice saying these words: "So there must be some other element with contentment, some other virtue. What is it? Progress." Asking, and then answering, a question was a technique I recall as he presented and developed his thoughts.

In today's world, so many struggle for the first half of President McKay's recommendation: feeling contentment, with "with what we are and what we have." That's a hard virtue for many to learn. Our world encourages us towards having more, increasing possessions, improving our status, but President McKay teaches that our attitude towards our possessions and status are so crucial. And to be pleased with where we are and what we are in life—a true self-concept based on deep self-understanding and divine potential.

But the interesting part of President McKay's message is the challenge to balance contentment with progress; to find the way to be happy with what and where and who we are, but yet to be pushing ahead to improve in various ways, particularly in spirituality. He testifies that "contentment and progress contribute to peace." An interesting message!

Orson F. Whitney on optimism in the gospel

Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855-1931), a journalist, teacher, poet, and historian, was called to the Quorum of Twelve in 1906 and served until his death in 1931 at age 75.

"The gospel makes us willing to do anything that the Lord requires; and that spirit can be trusted. When we are dominated by the opposite influence, it is a sure sign that we are skating where the ice is thin, and we had better get over to the other side of the pond.

"The spirit of the gospel is optimistic; it trusts in God and looks on the bright side of things. The opposite or pessimistic spirit drags men down and away from God, looks on the dark side, murmurs, complains, and is slow to yield obedience. We should honor the Savior's declaration to be of good cheer.

"There is a story told of two buckets that hung in a well, on either end of a long chain, so that when one went up the other went down, and vice versa. They were both drawing water out of the well, both doing precisely the same kind of work, but one of the buckets was an optimist, and the other was a pessimist. The pessimistic bucket complained of its lot, saying: 'It doesn't matter how full I come up, I always go back empty.' The optimistic bucket, with a bright smile, retorted: 'It doesn't matter how empty I go down, I always come back full.' Much depends, you see, upon the spirit in which a thing is viewed."

- Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report, April 1917, p. 43

I always appreciate the reminders and instructions about the optimistic nature of the gospel plan. We believe that the principle "man is that he might have joy" applies to this life as well as the eternal future. Elder Whitney points out that when one is converted to the gospel, he is eager and willing to obey any instruction or request from the Lord, and knows that good will follow.

I think it can be simply said that if the gospel doesn't fill your heart with joy, peace, and optimism, then you don't understand the gospel!