My wife, Christy, and I are grateful and happy to be here at BYU-Idaho. You are the future of the kingdom of God on earth, and you are very blessed to be receiving an education at such a distinctive university. Though I will be our spokesman today, Christy and I have come together to share a special message for you and your generation.
A Better Cause
I begin with a war story from the ancient Americas. You might remember the confrontation between 25-year-old Captain Moroni and Zerahemnah. The Nephite dissenters and Lamanite armies who followed Zerahemnah fought to gain power. [1]
In contrast, the Book of Mormon records: “the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.” [2] Inspired by a better cause, Captain Moroni and his people eventually won the battle.
In preparation for today’s devotional, I invited you to read that scripture and share what better cause inspires you. Thank you for the dozens of responses posted. Many of you shared that your better cause is an eternal family, whether children you have now or a spouse and children yet to come. Most of your causes were linked to the gospel.
One of you posted: “My better cause is the love I know that Heavenly Father has for me. . . . I have felt the love in my heart grow as I strive to live as Jesus Christ did. I know that I have been able to find a greater joy by living by this better cause."
Another one of you wrote: “My greater cause has become something outside of myself. It has become the building up of God's kingdom on earth through service to others, ministering to needs, and seeking to give everything I am to God. This has caused me to discover who I am and who God is. I know that when we make His work our greater cause, we are blessed.”
What inspiring causes you shared! But there may be thousands of young women and men in and out of the Lord’s Church who long for inspired direction and ask: Is there not a better cause? [3]
Causes Versus Institutions
I have learned that your generation cares deeply about causes. Eighteen months ago, my son came home from his mission and started a business with the support of his sister. As they were getting ready to launch the product, they asked me, “What cause should we support?” Unwittingly I asked, “Why does a cause matter?” They chided me and said, “Dad, every successful business today must have a cause that it supports.”
Researchers have found that 90 percent of your generation will pay more for a product if it supports a cause. [4] For example, for every pair of glasses that Warby Parker sells, they donate a pair
Your generation loves causes because they are dynamic and can positively change the world. That commitment to positive change is just one of the things I love about you. The Lord must also love a cause as that word is in the scriptures more than 600 times!
As much as you are committed to causes, researchers have also found your generation has become distrustful of institutions—including organized religion. [6] You may think that an institution cannot be dynamic and change the world the way a cause can, but history shows most causes fade away after an initial period of excitement. The causes that survive are those that somehow get organized as an institution,[7] like the International Red Cross, which evolved from caring for the wounded in one battle in Italy to a global force for good.
I recognize The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has institutional attributes, but I testify that the Church is more than just an institution. Our standardized approach
Elder Christofferson also taught that the Savior works through His Church “to achieve needful things that cannot be accomplished by individuals or smaller groups,” such as dealing with poverty, taking the gospel to all the world, and building and operating temples.
Again, the Church is more than just an institution—the Church was organized by Jesus Christ to fulfill the Father’s cause to gather His family on both sides of the veil! This is the greatest cause in the history of the earth. I invite you to be inspired by and consecrated to this better cause—the cause of Christ and His Church—for the rest of your life.
The Cause of Zion
In the spring of 1829, Joseph Smith received several revelations that read “keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” [9] By 1842, Joseph Smith had much more to say concerning the cause of Zion:
The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests
How exciting is that? Prophets and kings yearned for the time in which we now live because in our day there are more Church members and more temple-worthy people than in any other dispensation. Every other dispensation ended in apostasy. In our day, a people will be prepared for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The cause of building up Zion to which Joseph Smith and the Lord referred is not buying up land in Missouri—it is what we read about the holy city of Enoch: “And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” [11]
Unity, righteousness, no poor—that is the cause of Zion which will prepare a people for the Savior’s return! That is what you and I are called to do, starting in our own families and then to the world! Wisely has Elder Christofferson taught, “We cannot wait until Zion comes for these things to happen—Zion will come only as they happen.” [12]
I will address these three attributes of the kingdom of God on earth and suggest some ideas about how you and I can be more consecrated to the cause of Zion.
1. Unity
The first characteristic of a people prepared for the Second Coming is unity. Pride, inequality, and contention are enemies of a united society and “the cause of much affliction” [13] throughout the Book of Mormon. In our day the Lord has spoken clearly: “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” [14]
Ironically, group unity begins with personal repentance. If we are at war with God, we can never be at peace with our fellow man. As we turn to the Savior, align our will with God, and plead for mercy, the burden of sin can be lifted, peace of conscience comes, and—like Enos—our thoughts naturally turn outward to our family, friends, acquaintances, and community. [15]
During a landmark general conference in April 2018, our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, announced, “We will implement a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others.” [16] Ministering is reaching out to serve as the Savior did. Some of that ministering will take place within the Church, as most adults have a calling to serve someone. But we also hope that some of your ministering will take place among those not of our faith, motivated by the pure love of Christ.
The Savior taught, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” [17] As Latter-day Saints and disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to love more and judge less. We must shun bigotry of every kind. There is no room in this Church for sexism, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, immigrant phobia, or any other phobia. There is room in this Church for everyone.
That said, the Lord does set behavioral standards, as we see in His interaction with the woman taken in adultery. The world would have us think that, out of love, Jesus tolerated her sinful behavior and instantly forgave her. Not true. The scripture is clear: Jesus did not condemn the woman, but He did direct her to “sin no more.” [18] To fully repent and be forgiven, she still needed to believe in His name, forsake the sin, and change her nature. Like the Savior, we too need to love more and judge less while people make needed changes in their lives—especially members of our own families and wards.
The 450 souls who repented of their sins under wicked King Noah and departed with Alma into the wilderness had “their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.” [19]
I have seen such unity and love in Church congregations around the world. I experienced it when our young family moved to Beijing, China 23 years ago. We were among the 60 Church members in a city of 10 million. Branch members came to Church early to be together and prepare for the sacrament ordinance. After meetings, every visitor was invited to a home for a meal and, if you came to our home, a Sunday family home evening. Starting now and after you leave BYU-Idaho, help shape a ward culture of love and unity.
2. Righteousness
The second characteristic of a people ready to greet the Savior is that they dwell in righteousness. The Lord revealed, “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.” [20] True disciples of Jesus Christ go about lifting people to a higher spiritual plane, beginning in their own homes.
In recent years, a new word has emerged: clicktivism. The Oxford English Dictionary defines clicktivism as “the use of social media and other online methods to promote a cause.” [21] While such causes may be good, the Lord expects more of His disciples than a mouse click.
Nearly 25 years ago, a BYU graduation speaker said: “The easiest thing to do is to support great causes, sign stirring petitions, endorse grand philosophies. The hardest thing to do—and it is getting harder all of the time—is to be a good husband, a good wife, a strong father, a strong mother, an honorable friend and neighbor. The truly good deeds are the small, everyday actions of ordinary life.” [22]
Dwelling in righteousness requires each of us to both do and become.
Of course, we must do the basics—read the scriptures and pray daily, attend sacrament meeting weekly, and worship regularly in the temple. These basics qualify us for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit enables us to push aside temptation and live God’s commandments.
But we must also strive to become righteous and holy, a Saint, [23] “in process of time.” [24] President Dallin H. Oaks famously taught: “The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions.” [25]
While serving as a mission president, Christy and I loved watching elders and sisters transition from “doing missionary things” to “becoming a missionary.” For a period of time, new missionaries focused on learning the language, building their teaching skills, and planning their time. But the sooner missionaries shifted to using their unique talents and helping people make desired changes in their lives, the faster they became powerful instruments in the hands of God.
Similarly, Church members often think they can only be a contributor to the cause of Zion if they look like the flawless, stereotypical Mormon with a loving temple marriage, faithful children, and an endlessly happy mortal existence. Such an outcome may not be yours during this life. But as you consecrate your God-given gifts and unique talents to bless others, you will become more saintly and will meaningfully contribute to a righteous society no matter your circumstances.
The cause of Zion is to have righteous people, both individually and collectively, ready to greet the Lord Jesus Christ. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has written, “I do not know when this singular day will come. I do not know who will be present to see it. But this I do know: when Christ comes, the members of His Church must be . . . doing His work, and we must be living His teachings. He must recognize us quickly and easily as truly being His disciples.” [26]
3. No Poor
The third characteristic of a people worthy to welcome the Savior’s coming is that there are “no poor among them.” Caring for the poor has always been in the heart of the Savior and of His prophets. [27] In our day, the Lord gave a newly called bishop this instruction: “And let him lift up his voice long and loud, in the midst of the people, to plead the cause of the poor and the needy.” [28]
In 2010, under the leadership of President Thomas S. Monson, the longstanding threefold mission of the Church was updated to focus on four divinely appointed responsibilities. The added responsibility was to “care for the poor and the needy.” [29] You might be thinking, What can I do to care for those in need outside of my own family?
First, you can participate in the work of the Church. You can contribute fast offerings to help Church members in need who live in your ward, stake, and area. [30]
You can donate to the humanitarian fund that enables the Church to do things no member can do on their own. My current assignment from Church headquarters is to help oversee Church operations in the Middle East. We provide many millions of dollars annually, for example, to serve the starving people of Yemen and to build schools and medical facilities that bless Syrian refugees who have poured into Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey.
You can participate in community service opportunities through JustServe—a free website the Church has established to match volunteers with organizations that need their help.
You can wear a yellow Helping Hands vest or t-shirt in time of disaster. Two years ago, serious flooding occurred in Louisiana. Our daughter stayed home in Houston while her husband went to Louisiana to help muck out homes. The next weekend he stayed at home with their three small children while she went to Louisiana to muck out houses. One year later, that training became quite practical as Houston was hit by the devastating Hurricane Harvey. In her role as Relief Society president, our daughter coordinated relief efforts within her ward boundaries. People wept as they saw Church members in Helping Hands shirts come to assist.
Following the example of the Savior, we each need to have our eyes open to those who are in need and reach out to help them during the course of our normal day.
A Consecrated Life
I now return to where I began. Like Captain Moroni of old, I urge you to be inspired by a better cause than the many good causes that surround you in mortality. I invite you to consecrate your life to the cause of Christ and His Church.
Some Latter-day Saints mistakenly believe because the Church no longer practices an economic form of the United Order, we are somehow exempt from living the law of consecration. But Elder Christofferson has taught:
The Lord’s law of consecration . . . is an application of celestial law to life here and now. To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes. True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes. In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny. [31]
Beginning on our wedding day, Christy and I tried our best to accomplish God’s purposes as we moved from place to place during my schooling and career. We were not perfect, but we served to our capacity. Then, at 6:30 one March morning when I was 45 years old, the phone rang, and President Gordon B. Hinckley began to speak. He extended a call for me to serve as a General Authority Seventy. I immediately knew accepting this call meant being full-time on the Lord’s errand for the next 24 years, leaving behind a career and placing demands on our family.
Christy’s ear was next to mine on the phone, listening to the prophet’s voice. I turned to look into her eyes and knew that we should accept the call. We had entered into covenants before our temple marriage 24 years earlier, and no competing cause could change our unwavering consecration to God.
The Lord does not esteem the apostle over the nursery leader, but He does favor those who consecrate their all, whether two mites or 10 talents, to His cause. [32] I testify that as you consecrate your time and choices to the cause of Christ and His Church, God will pour out greater blessings than you can imagine.
You Are His Cause
In closing, I speak of one more cause. Have you ever considered that you, individually, by name, are also the cause of our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son? God’s work and glory is to bring about your immortality and eternal life! [33] They want to help you become someone wonderful, and, indeed, glorious.
Remember, every person around you is also His cause. His cause includes your parents, spouse, children, neighbors, strangers, and enemies. Thus, Jesus Christ commands us to love them and calls us to participate in His work of salvation for them.
On Judgment Day, you and I will be lifted up to stand before the Savior to be judged for our works. [34] That thought can be scary because of our sins. [35] I am comforted that Jesus Christ is not only our judge but also our advocate (or defense attorney). If we exercise faith and consecrate to His cause, He has already revealed what our judgment day will be like:
Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased . . . Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life. [36]
Brothers and sisters, I am so grateful that Jesus will plead my cause before the Father. Christ will point to His sinless life and infinite Atonement as a covering for my sins. Because “I stand all amazed” [37] at the incalculable price He paid for my cause, Jesus Christ has become my cause. I have also consecrated my life to His Church, the institution He established to gather Heavenly Father’s children to a mortal life of unity, righteousness, and no poor in preparation for an eternal life of enduring joy.
The Savior has promised me and you, “And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal.” [38]
I testify of Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. [39] I invite you to consecrate your life to the cause of Christ and His Church. I pray that by so doing, we will prepare ourselves and our neighbors for His return, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Alma 43:5-8.
[2] Alma 43:45.
[3] 1 Samuel 17:29.
[4] “2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study.” See also The Boston Consulting Group, “The Millennial Consumer,” April 2012.
[5] Danielle Sabrina, “Rising Trend: Social Responsibility Is High on Millennials’ List,” Huffington Post THE BLOG, December 6, 2017.
[6] Kipp Jarecke-Cheng, “Millennials and the Age of Distrust,” MediaPost.com Commentary, February 24, 2017.
[7] Greg Satel, “Why Some Movements Succeed and Others Fail,” DigitalTonto, May 31, 2015. See also Greg Satell and Srdja Popovic, “How Protests Become Successful Social Movements,” Harvard Business Review, January 27, 2017.
[8] D. Todd Christofferson, “Why the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 2015; lds.org.
[9] Doctrine and Covenants 6:6; 11:6; 12:6.
[10]Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Chapter 15: Establishing the Cause of Zion, p. 186.
[11] Moses 7:18.
[12] D. Todd Christofferson, “Come to Zion,” Ensign, Nov. 2008; lds.org.
[13] Alma 4:7; 6-13.
[14] Doctrine and Covenants 38:27.
[15] Mosiah 4:3; Enos 1:2-9.
[16] Russell M. Nelson, “Ministering,” Ensign, May 2018; lds.org.
[17] John 13:35.
[18] John 8:3–11.
[19] Mosiah 18:21, 35.
[20] Doctrine and Covenants 58:27.
[21] Clicktivist.org/what-is-clicktivism/
[22] James Q. Wilson, “The Moral Life,” BYU commencement address, 21 April 1994.
[23] Mosiah 3:19.
[24] Moses 7:21.
[25] Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, Nov. 2000; lds.org.
[26] Jeffrey R. Holland, “This, the Greatest of All Dispensations,” Ensign, July 2007; lds.org.
[27] Proverbs 31:9.
[28] Doctrine and Covenants 124:75.
[29] Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010), 2.2.
[30] Isaiah 58.
[31] D. Todd Christofferson, “Reflections on a Consecrated Life,” Ensign, Nov. 2010; lds.org.
[32] 1 Nephi 17:35.
[33] Moses 1:39.
[34] 3 Nephi 27:15
[35] Romans 3:23.
[36] Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5; Moroni 7:28; Psalm 119:154.
[37] Charles H. Gabriel, “I Stand All Amazed”; lds.org.
[38] Doctrine and Covenants 98:13.
[39] John 14:6.