4 Weeks and Waiting

It seems like it has been forever, but we're down to only 4 weeks left until we leave on our trip!  That also means it is only 4 weeks until Christmas.  Are YOU ready?  Even with all time we've had to wait before our trip, I'm afraid it is going to be a mad rush at the end.  What do we have ready?  Passpors, check.  Visa, check.  Airline tickets, check.  Hotel reservations, check.  Oops, not for Taiwan or Korea yet.  Immunizations, check.  No, wait, Dave doesn't have his.  Malaria prescriptions, check.  No, wait, Dave was supposed to pick those up when he got his immunizations.  Prescription sleeping pills, check.  No, wait, I have mine, but Dave doesn't have his.  Ahem, Dave?

Dave does have his P-cubed (pick pocket proof) pants, though.  Hidden pockets with kevlar lining.  Uh-huh. And, so cute, too.

Okay, I also have to get an Epi-pen for Makenzie.  Hey, it isn't too bad having a deathly allergy to cashews, since they aren't really used in everyday foods.  In the United States, that is.  In India, they are used in many things, so we're going to have to be very watchful.  Even with the Epi-pen on hand, we don't want to have to use it, because after you use it, you are supposed to go to the emergency room.  We do NOT want to end up in a hospital in India.

We don't want to end up sick, either, so my plan is to eat bread and drink soda from a can for 2 weeks.  Hey, I'm not missing the Taj Mahal because I'm sick.  I don't want to waste any of our service time sick either.  Okay, so we need plenty of Imodium, too.

Next, we are changing planes SO many times--10 TIMES!!--over the course of the trip, and we will for sure lose our checked luggage, so we are planning to take as much carry on as possible.  Okay, we're packing for a 3 week trip, to two distinct climates.  Are we crazy to hope to take a carry on a piece, plus only one checked bag?  We have to take the one checked, because we have to take over a bunch of supplies (such as peanut butter) to the charity.  We don't have enough carry-ons, so we will have to buy some.

As far as hotels go-I don't know how families travel outside the US, because there is no such thing as a "family suite" anywhere we are going.  It is 2 people per room.  Divide that by 6 and your accommodations add up real quick.  We almost always find a place for 6 in a room in the US.  And who wants their nine year olds sleeping in a room by themselves?

So, we still have quite a few things to do, and 26 days to get it done!! The main three things I need to figure out?  Not losing our stuff or our kids, not getting sick, not being too tired.  I'm afraid those are the three I have the least control over, too.

George Albert Smith #20 Temporal Salvation for Ourselves and Others

I had been looking forward to teaching this lesson for along time.  Temporal Salvation is a great topic.  However, as I actually sat down and read over the material, I could feel myself getting grouchy eyebrows.  I thought, I can’t teach with grouchy eyebrows!  They won ‘t look good with my outfit. 

Even more importantly, though, as I was feeling stirred up about certain topics in the lesson, I couldn’t focus or feel the spirit as I prepared.  Who scheduled this during the election week, anyway? 

The election has left a lot of people with high emotions.  In this lesson, it is never my intention to offend anyone—and if I make a political reference, I speak not of individuals, but of pervasive, long-term issues.  I imagine that for you, like me, much of the stress around the election comes from prophecies about the last days, and about this land in particular. 

In his talk, Hope You Know We Had a Hard Time, Elder Cook stated:

“In numerous places in the Book of Mormon, the people were promised that they would prosper in the land if they would keep the commandments.  This promise is often accompanied by the warning that if they do not keep the commandments of God, they shall be cut off from His presence.  Clearly, having the blessings of the Spirit—the ministration of the Holy Ghost—is an essential element to truly prosper in the land and to be prepared.”

Similarly, in his conference talk Faith through Tribulation Brings Peace and Joy, Elder Hales said,

“We are living through turbulent times. A great storm of evil has come upon the earth. The winds of wickedness howl about us; the waves of war beat against our ship. As Paul wrote to Timothy: “In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, … Having a form of godliness; but denying the power thereof.

As we look into the eyes of our children and grandchildren, we see the doubt and fear of our times. Wherever these precious ones go in the world, they hear about unemployment, poverty, war, immorality, and crime. They wonder, “How can we cope with these problems?””

I know my children were very aware of this election, as were their peers at school.  From what I hear, I think those students whose parents voted in the minority had a bit of a rough time for a few days.  I know there was a lot of stress in our house on Election Day.  My little McKay sobbed himself to sleep, pausing only long enough to say, “Well, at least dad has guns!”

President Hales continues,

“To find answers, they look back into our eyes and listen to our words. Do they hear us speaking faithfully and hopefully, despite the tribulations of our times?

They need to see us continuing to pray and study the scriptures together, to hold family home evening and family councils, to serve faithfully in our Church callings, to attend the temple regularly, and to be obedient to our covenants. When they see our steadfastness in keeping the commandments, their fears will subside and their confidence in the Lord will increase.

By showing our faith through tribulation, we assure them that the fury of the adversary is not fatal. Jesus prayed to His Father on our behalf: “Not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” That prayer will be answered in Heavenly Father’s time and season, according to our faith.”

Elder Hales also said,

“It is true that ominous clouds gather around us, but just as the Savior’s words brought peace to the Apostles in the boat, they bring peace to us today: “And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.”  “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.””

There are so many topics we could cover—avoiding debt, saving, food storage, guarding our resources, growing food, etc.  I can’t cover everything I would like, so I will summarize these topics by saying, “if we are wise with our means, we will be prepared for hard times.”

 President GAS said:

“We may have hard times, brothers and sisters, but we can be prepared for them, if we think of the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine in the days of Pharaoh and plan as they did.  Such conditions may come again. We do not know, but we do know that in the early days of the Church the Presidency and leadership of the Church advised the people to store sufficient food to meet an emergency. The result has been that since the people got thoroughly settled here and farms began producing, and herds and flocks increasing, there has been no real necessity for anybody to suffer for food.”

What a great promise.  I would be surprised if any of us here has truly known hunger.  To hear my son, McKay, on Fast Sunday, you would think he hadn’t eaten for weeks.  When told we are fasting, he shrieks, “But I’m absolutely starving.”  I’m thinking, “but we just started fasting an hour ago.”  One of my friends posted a video called “First World Problems”.  It shows one person collapsing in despair because they bought too many groceries and they have to make two trips, and another lambasting Apple for the burden of having to buy yet another version of iPhone.  So, for us, I believe a lot of our temporal welfare is about perspective.

And yet, we do have uncertainty.  President Smith said:

We are living in perilous times. The scriptures are being fulfilled, and as it appears to me this is the particular time when, if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. It is remarkable how easy it is for those who desire to advance their financial interests in the world to find a reason for setting aside the plain teachings of the Lord with reference to our lives. And it is strange to me how many people fall into the habit of listening to those who say things that are contrary to the revealed will of our Heavenly Father. …

This statement seems so applicable to today, although it was probably given over 50 years ago.  Today, We live in circumstances with a troubled global economy. Many more people struggle with finances today who didn’t in better times.

Elder Cook said:

The challenges we face today are in their own way comparable to challenges of the past. The recent economic crisis has caused significant concern throughout the world. Employment and financial problems are not unusual. Many people have physical and mental health challenges. Others deal with marital problems or wayward children. Some have lost loved ones. Addictions and inappropriate or harmful propensities cause heartache. Whatever the source of the trials, they cause significant pain and suffering for individuals and those who love them.

Our challenge is in how we meet these troubled times.

“In the early 1930’s, Elder Smith, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, addressed the Relief Society during another time of desperate need—the Great Depression. He taught that helping those in need goes beyond providing temporal assistance; it also requires true kindness and charity:”

“There never has been a time, in my judgment, when kindness was needed more than now. These are the days when people’s souls are being tried, and when their hearts are being wrung. These are the days when many are facing hunger and distress even among the Latter-day Saints. …”

“… I believe our Heavenly Father is giving us our opportunity for development. … We will discover now whether the love the Savior said should be in our hearts is among us.”

It is interesting that President Smith considered hard times as an opportunity for development.  Not everyone sees things that way.

A few weeks ago during Ward Conference, Brother Hanks referred to the psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and asked how we can increase our spirituality when, in this economy, we may be struggling to meet our basic needs.  I’ve thought about that since then, and came to the conclusion that Maslow is coming from an entirely temporal mindset.  For those with a spiritual mindset, this hierarchy can, in some ways, essentially be set on its head. 

For example, in Indian religions, those who are seeking enlightenment forgo basically all of the needs on Maslow’s list, living in caves, subsisting on little food, and sometimes not even speaking for years.

Likewise, Elder Hales details in his talk how Christ, throughout his life, and especially in the last week, endured terrible deprivations, humiliation and agony.  And yet, this was also the pinnacle of his spiritual service, testifying, healing, and intense prayer. 

Elder Hales says, “In His darkest hour, the light of peace and joy did not fade.  It grew brighter.”

From these teachings, we can see that we need not fear, and also that we can faith during hard times.

In his talk, Elder Hales recounts the story of the Brother of Jared, as he took the initiative to prepare stones to light the ships prior to crossing the sea.

He teaches,

“As parents and leaders, we must remember that “it is not meet that [the Lord] should command in all things.”  Like the brother of Jared, we must carefully consider the needs of our family members, make a plan to meet those needs, and then take our plan to the Lord in prayer. This will require faith and effort on our part, but He will help us as we seek His assistance and do His will.

After his experience with the Lord, the brother of Jared continued to diligently prepare himself for the journey ahead.  So too must we hearken to the teachings of our prophets. The living prophets have counseled us time and again to put our lives in order—to eliminate debt, to store food and other essential items, to pay our tithing, to obtain appropriate education, and to live the commandments. Have we obeyed these essential instructions?”

Now we come to that part of the lesson that gets me riled up, so watch out for the grouchy eyebrows. 

The Lord has directed us to work to earn our own livelihood.

I applaud President Erza Taft Benson when he says,

“I bear you my testimony that President Heber J. Grant was inspired of the Lord in establishing the Church Welfare program. The First Presidency was inspired when they made the first public announcement in 1936 and declared the prime purpose of Church welfare was “to help the people help themselves”.”

President Benson goes on to say,

“We encourage you to be more self-reliant so that, as the Lord has declared, “notwithstanding the tribulation which shall descend upon you, … the church may stand independent above all other creatures beneath the celestial world” The Lord wants us to be independent and self-reliant because these will be days of tribulation. He has warned and forewarned us of the eventuality.

President Brigham Young said, “If you are without bread, how much wisdom can you boast, and of what real utility are your talents, if you cannot procure for yourselves and save against a day of scarcity those substances designed to sustain your natural lives?”

Adding to the previous testaments about the doctrine of work and self-reliance, President Smith declared,

“I thank God for work, for the joy that comes from doing things in the world. I am not indicating any particular kind of employment except that it be honorable. But the Lord has indicated that we should be industrious. In ancient times he said that we should earn our living by the sweat of our face.”

And President Benson affirms,

“One of the first principles revealed to father Adam when he was driven out of the Garden of Eden was this: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground” All we obtain in life of a material nature comes as a product of labor and the providence of God. Work alone produces life’s necessities.”

I am a firm believer in the value of work, and yet it is not a value that is held, anymore, by much of America, and indeed the world. Instead, we have a cultural of laziness, and I find it is proving very hard to teach my children to value work. 

President Smith warns,

“The very fact that so much money has been made available to many people gives the youth in some instances the feeling that because money comes relatively easy, honest toil is not necessary or desirable. And yet I am satisfied that no people have ever lived upon the earth who, having failed to earn their livelihood by integrity and industry, have not gone to decay.

If our children grow up in idleness, we know that this is displeasing to the Lord.”

Even though it is an uphill battle, even though the momentum is towards thinking it is okay to let other provide for you, it is essential that we continue to teach the value of work and self-reliance.

President Smith said,

“We must not fall into the bad habits of other people. We must not get into the frame of mind that we will take what the other man has. Refer back to the ten commandments, and you will find one short paragraph, “Thou shalt not covet.” …

We must not get into that frame of mind. Others may do that, but if we have the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our hearts, we will not be deceived in that regard.”

I believe that the true crisis is not with a specific president, but that the government and the people HAVE been deceived in that regard, increasingly over a long downward spiral. 

Just so that there is no question about what the Lord expects, let me again quote President Smith,

“Our Heavenly Father … said long, long ago there were idlers in Zion, … and he said, “He that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.” I am assuming that he did not mean those who cannot find employment, and who are legitimately trying to take care of themselves. I am assuming that he referred to the habit some people get into of leaning upon their neighbor. … I feel that there has been no justification given to any man in this world to feel that he can depend on somebody else to provide him a livelihood. I did not feel when I was a child that somebody would be compelled to provide me a means of living. The Lord gave me intelligence. He directed that I should work, and I began to work when I was twelve years of age, and I found joy in it, and have earned my living and helped others during more than fifty years.”

And President Benson:

“More than ever before, we need to learn and apply the principles of economic self-reliance. We do not know when the crisis involving sickness or unemployment may affect our own circumstances. We do know that the Lord has decreed global calamities for the future and has warned and forewarned us to be prepared. For this reason the Brethren have repeatedly stressed a “back to basics” program for temporal and spiritual welfare.

Unfortunately, there has been fostered in the minds of some an expectation that when we experience hard times, when we have been unwise and extravagant with our resources and have lived beyond our means, we should look to either the Church or government to bail us out. Forgotten by some of our members is an underlying principle of the Church welfare plan that “no true Latter-day Saint will, while physically able, voluntarily shift from himself the burden of his own support”

Clearly, God expects us to work to provide for ourselves.  Why?  What happens to us when we feel like it is someone else’s obligation to solve our problems or bail us out?

·      Such attitudes bring on resentment of others, which chases the spirit away.

o   President Smith taught, “I hope we are not going to become bitter because some men and women are well-to-do.”

o   Do we see this?  YES! 

·      We give away our personal power, self-esteem and opportunities for personal growth when we expect someone else to solve our problems.

·      We come to feel like we have a right to certain things.

·      Examples

o   Single mom’s expensive dinner with no tip-eating out is a right.

o   Rising Star

§  Complain about saris

§  No handouts

§  Lady with turkey

§  The lepers built a retirement home for the elderly lepers.

In D&C 56:17, the Lord condemns those (the poor, or the idle) who covet the riches of others:

“Wo unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men’s goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, and who will not labor with your own hands!”

Now we come to the other side of the coin.  In D&C 56:16, he ALSO condemns those (the rich man, or the laborer), who covet or are greedy with THEIR OWN riches:

“Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved!

The Lord has made it clear that we are expected to share our substance with those in need. 

3 Nephi 24:8 reads,

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In ^tithes and ^offerings.

On this subject, President Smith taught:

“The Lord has given us the privilege of contributing one-tenth of our interest, for His Church, for the development of His work in the world. Those who pay their tithing receive their blessing. … We cannot expect to earn blessings without earnest effort. We will be required to make what appears to some to be sacrifices. I suppose people think when they pay their tithing that they are making a sacrifice, but they are not; they are making a real investment that will return an eternal dividend. Our Heavenly Father gives us all that we have. He places all in our hands, authorizing us to retain for our own use nine-tenths of it, and then He asks that we put His tenth where He directs, where He knows it will accomplish the most good in developing His Church.”

God loves all of his children.  He desires their welfare and happiness.  Therefore, we know that He has provided sufficiently that, if we are generous with our means, there is no need for anyone to go with out. 

President Smith said,

“There is no necessity for any man, woman, or child in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to go without, for the Church is organized to help those who lack the necessities of life. There is plenty for all, and to spare. … God has permitted men to get wealth, and if they obtained it properly, it is theirs, and he will bless them in its use if they will use it properly.

We are becoming so wrapped up with the world that we forget the people who are suffering that we could help, in many cases.”

Let me leave you with the admonition of President Smith:

Let us … look around us in our neighborhood—not leave it to the Bishop and the Relief Society, but let each of us be ministers of loving kindness to those who will need us so much.  If we will … impart of our substance even though it may be but the widow’s mite, we will obtain from him who lives on high the blessings we need in our day here upon the earth, and when the time comes for us to go hence we will find awaiting us the blessing of a loving Father who has appreciated the efforts we have put forth.