I remember many years ago when I was just a boy that Dad's brother, Clyde, was called to serve in the stake presidency of the Uintah Stake. At the first conference where he was called upon to speak, I remember him asking for the congregation to pray for him. I knew that this was hard for him because he was a shy man, so I took him seriously and prayed for him. He gave a great talk. I tend to be emotional, so I am asking you today to pray for me to get through this talk.
My wife and I, until just a few months ago, were ordinance workers in the Reno Temple. One evening I had a particularly strong feeling of being close to the Spirit. I was assigned to the front desk that evening, which is quite busy just before an endowment session, but then is quiet for long stretches of time. I was anxious to read from the scriptures and was particularly impressed to read from Mosiah 18. I have read that chapter many times. There are some well-known passages in Mosiah 18, but I could not go beyond verse 2. Here Alma is recounting to the people the message of Abinadi and in verse 2 he summarizes the five elements that were necessary in the atonement. "Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people<the part of the atonement for which I am most grateful>, which was brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and the death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven."
What do we know about the power of Christ? We know he had the power to heal, the power of discernment (John 4:16-18), the power to change lives, the power to lay down his own life and raise it up again (John 10:17-18). There are many examples of his powers. After his resurrection, he explained to the remaining apostles that the father had given him all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).
My father also had power. He had the power of the priesthood. Many who are here today have been healed of serious issues as a result of the exercise of his priesthood power. Many have received ordinances, ordinations, patriarchal blessings, and some have been set apart by him. You have felt the power of the priesthood through the blessings you received.
He had the power of faith. He had the faith to move mountains. The way he used his faith to move mountains is exemplified by what happened in LaBarge, Wyoming. There was some prejudice against the Church in that little town. The LaBarge Bible Church preached against the Church as did the Singing Knudsens. We were using the school as our chapel at that time and the principal was a member of the LaBarge Bible Church. He always made sure to turn the thermometer all the way down so when we arrived for church it was barely 50 degrees. We got to sit in metal chairs while waiting for the temperature to rise.
It was announced one day that the Jones' house was going to be flooded due to a dam that was going to be built and that they had donated it to the Church if we could arrange to move it. Land was also donated by a ward member. We would have to prepare a foundation to place it on. Dad was serving as bishop at the time and announced that there would be a work party to dig the basement for the chapel. It had to be a basement because it would be heated by a coal furnace that had to be below the building.
In church the next Sunday he told the story of arriving at
the property with his shovel and being the only one there. Expecting that others would soon come, he
began digging. He dug until he was down
about waist deep and disappointment began to set in. He knelt in the hole he had been digging and
prayed that others would come. As he is
reporting this in church tears are running down his cheeks as he expressed
gratitude – when he got up from his knees he saw two men coming toward him with
shovels over their shoulders. There was no scolding or attempts to make anyone
feel guilty, but I am sure that day a lot of husbands received Scotch blessings
from their wives, because every work party after that had a lot of men with
shovels, backhoes and other earth moving equipment. That is how Dad moved mountains.
Dad had the power of love.
There are people here who have been invited to change their lives and changed initially just because they felt his love for them
and would not disappoint him. He
radiated Christ-like love. I call Mom
and Dad every Sunday and until he could no longer hear, I talked to him. One day I asked him what they had him doing
in the Church. You have to picture this. Here he is all bent over and he could hardly
hear. He said, “Well, Brad, since your
mother can’t stay for more than sacrament meeting because of her arthritis, I can’t
really have a calling, so I just visit the old people.” Sometimes it is hard to
imagine doing what Christ would do, but we can imagine what Dad would do,
because we have seen it modeled for as long as we have known him. (This was in my notes, but so cryptic that I couldn't remember what it meant, so I didn't include it in the talk).
If Christ had the power to lay down his life and to take it
up again, why didn’t he just lie down, stop his heart, have his disciples
witness it, wait three days and rise again?
He knew that suffering was a necessary part of the atonement. “[W]herefore they scourge him and he
suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it,
because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of
men.” (1Nephi 19:9) “And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body,
hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto
death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish
for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.” (Mosiah 3:7)
Dad accepted personal suffering with patience and
grace. I never heard him complain. When he was all bent over, when he could no
longer hear, we heard no complaints. When he was disappointed by his children, grandchildren ward or
stake members, he did not dwell on what pain they caused him. Through prayer, counseling with them and
personal faith did all he could to invite them back to the path that leads to
the tree of life.
Christ’s death was among the most ignominious ever conceived
by the minds of evil men. It was also
very public. There was no question in
anyone’s mind that he was dead when he was taken down from the cross. His death
did not occur until his suffering was complete.
When he knew that the mission was complete he said, “It is finished,”
(John 19:30) then he shouted with a loud voice, “Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit,” (Luke 23:46) and he laid down his life.
Dad had no such power; he couldn’t lay down his own
life. As his suffering drew to a close,
I felt anxious to be here with him, to lay my hands on his head, but
circumstances would not allow me to do that.
At that same time Devon, one of his grandchildren felt that same urgency
and went with my son, Micah, to give him a blessing. We don’t know how much longer he lingered,
but when his granddaughters, Cherie and Robin and a friend came to visit later
that day, they found that he had passed away. I am grateful that there are men
of the priesthood who act when prompted.
When Christ appeared in the room where the remaining
apostles and some disciples had gathered for protection they were terrified and
afrighted for they thought they had seen a spirit. Then he spoke, “Peace be
unto you.” (Luke 24:36-41) As he had earlier calmed the waters, he calmed their
souls. He later told Peter, “Feed my
sheep…Feed my lambs… Feed my sheep.” As he met with the eleven remaining
apostles on a mountain in Galilee he blessed them and gave them their mission
to spend their lives inviting all to keep his commandments, teaching them and
baptizing them.
Dad did not begin inviting and feeding when he became a
bishop, nor did he cease when he was released from his callings. It was a
lifetime mission that was as natural to him as breathing.
It is interesting that the first person to whom Christ
appeared was Mary of Magdalena giving rise to speculation that they were
married. As our temple president recently observed, in the morning of the first
resurrection, Dad will raise Mom’s veil and will see the most beautiful woman
to have graced the earth and Mom will see a man whose beauty and grace is
beyond our ability to describe.
At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior said, "Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:48) In the new world he said, "Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as I and your father which is in heaven are perfect." (3Nephi 12:48). A more accurate interpretation from the Greek is "complete" rather than "perfect." If, at the end of the summer, I go into my garden and pick a green tomato, it is not complete or perfect. It is not rotten and to be discarded, it is simply not yet ripe.
I know from experience that if I take it to the garage or into the basement, it will still turn red, but it will taste like something from the store - sort of mealy and flavorless. If, however, I put it in the window or on the picnic bench where it can ripen in the light of the sun, it will taste as good as if I had allowed it to ripen on the vine.
Unlike the tomato, we can choose how we will become complete, whether it will be in darkness or in the light of the Son. My father chose to ripen in the light of the Son. It was a conscious choice for him just as it is for us. I pray that we might choose the light of the Son in our lives. I bear witness that Christ beckons us to be with him and that if we place our will upon the alter and put aside our personal agendas to spend our time accomplishing His will, we can be comfortable in His presence.
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