Years ago, I read a magazine article about a European basketball player not of our faith. He was receiving press not only for his excellent basketball skills but for his somewhat curious goal. He wanted to be a saint. I was intrigued, as was the writer of the article who wondered what would prompt such a desire. I have thought of this goal many times through the years and remembered it recently as my family and I visited family graves in the Lehi, Utah cemetery.
My mother-in-law, Linda, likes to walk with my children to this cemetery to help them feel connected to their ancestors. She has long been impressed by the inscription on one particular headstone for her great-great grandfather. Chiseled into the rock, beneath his name and dates, are these simple words: "He died a Latter-day Saint." As Linda has taught my children of her desire to be worthy to have this sentiment engraved on her own headstone one day, I have pondered what it means to die a Latter-day Saint, or for that matter, to live as one.
There are many general definitions for a saint, ranging from "a person who has died and gone to heaven" to "an extremely virtuous person," including those who, in other religious traditions, are venerated and even canonized, to "a member of any of various religious groups, especially Latter-day Saints."[1] By this definition, you and I are all Saints by virtue of our membership in the Church.
However, I believe my mother-in-law is referring to this additional definition in the Bible Dictionary when she speaks of being worthy of the appellation of "saint": "The word saint is a translation of a Greek word also rendered "holy," the fundamental idea being that of consecration or separation for a sacred purpose; but since what was set apart for God must be without blemish, the word came to mean "free from blemish," whether physical or moral. In the New Testament, the saints are all those who by baptism have entered into the Christian covenant."[2]
So, to be identified as a Latter-day Saint is not a slight thing. It means we have chosen to be baptized and not, as others might think, so that we can have a church membership certificate. We are baptized so that we can become covenant makers and ultimately covenant keepers. Then, claiming the blessings that accompany the baptismal covenant, we embark on a quest to become holy, consecrated and pure, to become like God. Such a quest will certainly require courage and gratitude to our Savior and help from the Holy Spirit, but I know it is possible.
I know it is possible, in part, because of so many faithful Saints who have gone before us. Last August, my family and I had the privilege and joy of traveling to many Church history sites, including Nauvoo, Carthage and Liberty Jails, Independence, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and Far West, and last month I trekked with members of our ward to handcart pioneer sites in Wyoming, including Martin's Cove, Sixth Crossing, and Rock Creek Hollow. It is hard for me to adequately articulate what I felt in these sites, but it was wonderful. In many instances, I felt the very ground was made holy by the faith and sacrifice of the Saints who toiled and lived and died there. I will refer to many of their stories today because it is my conviction that these early Saints and pioneers are "our people," whether or not you may be related to them. They are connected to us because we all belong to the Lord's covenant family.
In our few minutes together this afternoon, I'd like to talk about four things I believe we must do to become Saints. They are:
Claim the blessings of belonging "Take" courage to keep our covenants Access the Atonement by giving our all Seek the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit
Claim the Blessings of Belonging
Principle 1: We claim the blessings of belonging when we obey and then fully participate. In 1 Nephi 17:35 we read: "Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one." There is no quota, no cap on the number of His children He can let in to heaven. He has room for all of us. He loves every one of us with a pure love, and He pleads with us to come follow Him, and to repent and be baptized. Even when we sin and incur His just anger, the scriptures teach us that "his hand is stretched out still" (Isaiah 5:25) and that-and I love this imagery--he desires to gather us to Him "as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if (we) will repent and return. . .with full purpose of heart" (3 Nephi 10:6). This is the reason that my son in Mississippi and your loved ones throughout the world are preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ: to invite all to come unto Him, to repent and to be baptized.
When we accept this invitation and obey, a wonderful thing occurs. We are blessed. The second half of 1 Nephi 17:35 explains this: "he that is righteous is favored of God." I don't believe this means that God likes some of us better than others; it means that He can favor or bless us when we obey and make covenants with Him.
I think of John Reber, one of the first converts in the Bern region of Switzerland, who learned this lesson firsthand. He had a physical condition that caused him to "lean. . .heavily on two crutches, his hands warped and misshapen with rheumatism, and a great hump on his back." However, being converted on occasion of a dream and the accompanying teachings of the missionaries, he chose to be baptized. Mary Ann Stucki, who later became John's wife, remembers the day:
"It was mid-winter and the ice over the lake was more than a foot thick. He came down on his crutches to where they had picked through the ice. As he was helped into the water he handed his crutches to a friend who stood near. When he came out he walked on without them, while icicles froze on all his clothes before he could get them changed. Never again in all his life did he use crutches. The hump disappeared entirely, and his hands became straight."[3]
While John's physical healing was remarkable, even more important were the covenant blessings John received, first at his baptism and later in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City when he unexpectedly died 12 days after his marriage to Mary Ann in a wagon accident.
I wonder how often we ponder just how blessed we are to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is no accident that we begin our journey to sainthood by being baptized as a member of the Church in a local ward or branch. That unit becomes, in essence, our experiential laboratory, a sort of "Saint school" where we can participate, where we can learn and grow and help one another. Certainly, life in any family, even a ward family, has sometimes clumsy, clueless, even messy moments as we work to smooth out our rough edges. But all of us are blessed immensely by the principle of a lay ministry, by the fact that when we belong to the Church we are asked to serve.
This starts early. I was called to be the Primary pianist while I was still in Primary, and I remember giving 2 ½ minute talks as a young girl in Sunday School. These experiences are not unusual, although the specifics of our callings vary. The beauty is in the fact that we all have opportunities to learn and grow. You may have noticed, however, that callings come at all kinds of moments, whether we feel prepared or not, available or not, skilled or not. I think of those mission calls to early Saints and am always amazed at the faith of the men for going, and of the women for supporting them and assuming the care of their children, homesteads, and animals.
You may have also noticed that some callings go on for a very long time, even a lifetime. As a result, you may occasionally desire to become anonymous, to melt into the framework, to sit on the back row and hope no one notices you or asks you to speak in church. Perhaps you know what I'm talking about. But when we answer a call to serve or an invitation to participate, amazing things can happen.
My two youngest sons learned this for themselves a year or so ago when our stake president issued an invitation to all stake members to participate in a special fast. A member of our stake needed an organ transplant and was undergoing a difficult, critical surgery. The needed organ was being flown from Hawaii, and the lengthy surgery was delayed. Meanwhile, my boys fasted. Ten-year-old Spencer had a basketball game that day, and he threw himself around the court displaying great defensive hustle. When the game ended, although he was hungry, he remembered that he was fasting and didn't complain. The next morning, the boys checked with their dad for a progress report on our friend. When told that we had no news yet, they refused to eat, insisting on fasting until they knew this man was out of surgery. It was a sweet moment for us as a family. Nathan and Spencer could feel the power of participating with other stake members in a holy purpose, and it was tangible to them. They learned that willing participation blesses us and others in ways that may not even be visible, just felt. They learned it is an absolute privilege to participate.
There is truly beauty and sweetness in being associated with righteous Saints, a sociality that we're taught will rise with us, although it will then be coupled with eternal glory (Doctrine and Covenants 130:2). I think the Apostle Paul understood this-he had certainly known a different life as rebellious Saul--and I love the way he consistently addressed his fellow saints throughout his epistles. Consider his words in Romans 1:7-9, 11-12:
"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me."
I love those verses. You can feel the warmth of the relationship between Paul and the Roman saints in them, of Paul's desire to pray for and build and edify his fellow saints. If you pause for a moment to think of all of those who have blessed you during your membership in the Church, those who have imparted unto you of their spiritual gifts, I believe you will be quietly stunned.
In my mind's eye, I can see a veritable lineup of Saints who have loved, taught, mentored and supported me through the years. They range from faithful home teachers to a dad who has taught me the meaning of sacrifice, to my rock-solid husband and dear children, to sweet Relief Society sisters by the score. One is representative of the others. I had called her one day a little frazzled. I had been canning tomatoes for hours when my small children and baby, in particular, could not take another moment and needed their mom. Fearing the tomatoes would spoil if left another day, I phoned her and asked her if she could use them. "Sure," she said.
She popped down to pick them up, promptly took them home, canned for several more hours, and returned them to me in shiny-jarred splendor. I was stunned. To this day a jar of home-canned tomatoes makes me think of her and her selfless gift, and I ask you: "Who does that?" But I already know the answer. She did. And you do. I thank all of you who have offered your encouragement and prayers to me in my assignment today, including the young man I didn't recognize in his bike helmet in the gardens last Thursday. I have felt the power of every one of those prayers, and I understand that it is not only that you're such nice people; it is that you are covenant-keepers. What a blessing it is to belong and to be surrounded by your faith and goodness.
"Take" Courage to Keep Covenants
Principle 2: It takes courage to keep covenants. Think of Noah and Esther and Daniel, of Captain Moroni and Helaman. Our beloved hymn, "Come, Come, Ye Saints" teaches this truth to all who would be Saints: "Why should we think to earn a great reward if we now shun the fight? Gird up your loins; fresh courage take. Our God will never us forsake."
It is so easy to just coast through life, to let others do the "heavy lifting" while we sit back and observe, with plenty of time to criticize. Yet true Saints have always chosen a better, if more difficult path, displaying valiant bravery when faced with fear, danger and hardship.
Joseph Smith endured tremendous persecution because he "had seen a vision . . . knew it, knew that God knew it, and . . . could not deny it" (Joseph Smith-History 1:25). I felt his courage when I stood on the steps of the Johnson home in Hiram, Ohio, where, the morning after being tarred and feathered by a mob, he preached a sermon to some of the very men who had attacked him. When I think of upholding the baptismal covenant to "bear one another's burdens, that they may be light" (Mosiah 18:8).
I think of Levi Savage, a member of the Willie handcart company. After expressing his concern that the handcart company was leaving too late in the season, Levi nonetheless supported the decision of the captain and the other Saints. He assumed leadership for 100 persons in the company, and worked tirelessly to aid them. In the difficult river crossings, he was often the first in the water and the last one out. A fellow traveler said of him: "No man worked harder than he to alleviate the suffering which he had foreseen."[4]
Today, we are not called to push handcarts, but we are called to have "faith in every footstep" and this requires consistent, daily courage. David O. McKay taught: "We have greater responsibility than ever to learn and to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have greater tasks before us. The final work is not all done yet....We need courage to enter into those new realms; we need courage to meet our present situations and conditions."[5]
I believe we need courage to do our level best even though we might be afraid or have challenges to overcome. We need courage to resist apathy and refuse to wait for some perfect future day, a different circumstance or a better opportunity. We need courage to develop skills and educate mind, heart and spirit, to stretch ourselves in our academic classrooms. And, as an academic advisor, I believe we can do even better there. You are so capable, with so much potential! We need courage to resist or overcome addiction and temptation and choose a better way. I testify that the Lord is preparing each of us to be useful and used in His kingdom. If we fully engage-advance, not retreat--and do the best we can right now, this day and each future day, He will use us in repeated, even unexpected ways. He will know He can depend on us, and we can be ready at any time to respond to a call for service.
Ephraim Hanks learned this in 1856 when he responded to the voice of a messenger in his bedroom and then to the prophet Brigham Young and participated in one of the greatest rescue missions in the Church's history, coming to the aid of those stranded handcart companies who were caught in early, heavy snows. In addition to the temporal relief he brought in the form of meat from two recently slaughtered buffalo and the skill of hunting he employed on the way home to feed the starving Saints, he also brought the gift of healing, using his priesthood power to bless and heal dozens and bring comfort to many others.[6]
In addition to "taking" courage, we can give courage; that is, we can encourage or inspire courage in others. We are all in this together, and it is so important to look for the good in others. Why does this take courage? Because it is so much easier, and often more popular, to do otherwise. It takes more time and careful thought to build than it does to destroy. Did any of you observe the razing of the Smith Annex-it took about a day-and the subsequent building of the Manwaring Center-which took many months? You have all known someone you would term a "builder," the man or woman in your ward or our BYU-Idaho community who makes you better when they walk in a room. You can feel their goodness. They always have something nice to say about you. In fact, they think you're so wonderful that you always act your best around them because to do otherwise would seem criminal.
If you consider the fact that all covenants we make with our Father in Heaven involve and affect other people, we will realize how much we need one another. We cannot get back to heaven alone. Indeed, what would heaven be if we were in solitary confinement? That would be no heaven at all. Sister Lucy Mack Smith taught: "We must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction that we may all sit down in heaven together."[7] I think Emily Hill, a handcart pioneer, understood the principle of cherishing and watching over another. As she and her sister Julia struggled over Rocky Ridge in terrible conditions-in a 27-hour, 15-mile march-they were in desperate straits. Julia's granddaughter later shared this dream she had about the sisters:
"I could see Julia and Emily stranded in the snow on the windy summit of Rocky Ridge with the rest of the Willie handcart company. They had no heavy clothing to keep them warm. Julia was sitting in the snow, shaking. She could not carry on. Emily, who was freezing as well, knew that if she did not help Julia stand up, Julia would die. As Emily wrapped her arms around her sister to help her up, Julia began to cry-but no tears came, only soft whimpering sounds. Together they walked slowly to their handcart. Thirteen died that terrible night. Julia and Emily survived."[8]
We must watch over one another. It's how we will survive the difficulties and challenges of our day. As we genuinely lift and praise and build one another, we contribute to the sort of righteous sociality we all long for, in this life and the next.
Access the Atonement by Giving our All
Principle 3: We gain access to the Atonement by giving our all. It is, of course, impossible to become a Saint without the intercession of our Savior, Jesus Christ. His incomparable Atonement made it possible for each of us to become clean--free of blemish. In order to fully access His grace, we must give Him our whole hearts. I appreciate this insight from C.S. Lewis:
"There are three kinds of people in the world. The first class is of those who live simply for their own sake and pleasure, regarding Man and Nature as so much raw material to be cut up into whatever shape may serve them. In the second class are those who acknowledge some other claim upon them-the will of God, the categorical imperative, or the good of society-and honestly try to pursue their own interests no further than this claim will allow. They try to surrender to the higher claim as much as it demands, like men paying a tax, but hope, like other taxpayers, that what is left over will be enough for them to live on. Their life is divided, like a soldier's or a schoolboy's life, into time 'on parade' and 'off parade,' 'in school' and 'out of school.' But the third class is of those who can say like St Paul that for them 'to live is Christ' (Philippians 1:21). These people have got rid of the tiresome business of adjusting the rival claims of Self and God by the simple expedient of rejecting the claims of Self altogether. The old egoistic will has been turned round, reconditioned, and made into a new thing. The will of Christ no longer limits theirs; it is theirs. All their time, in belonging to Him, belongs also to them, for they are His. And because there are three classes, any merely twofold division of the world into good and bad is disastrous. It overlooks the fact that the members of the second class (to which most of us belong) are always and necessarily unhappy. The tax which moral conscience levies on our desires does not in fact leave us enough to live on. As long as we are in this class we must either feel guilt because we have not paid the tax or penury because we have."[9]
Again, 3 Nephi 10:6 teaches us that, to be gathered to our Savior, we must "repent and return with full purpose of heart." Anything less than our all, than full purpose of heart, will never be enough. Anything less will always result in our being unhappy, either feeling guilty or impoverished.
When I think about what it means to be in this "third class" of men, I think of Saints who have given their all in building up the kingdom of God on the earth. I am so moved by the story of handcart pioneer James Kirkwood. An 11-year-old boy from Glasgow, Scotland, he traveled to Zion in the Willie company with his mother and three brothers. His older brother Robert was crippled, so his mother Margaret and 19-year-old brother Thomas pushed Robert in the handcart. That left James with the charge to care for his 4-year-old brother, Joseph, on the climb over the 7,300-foot Rocky Ridge. This was the same terrible night that Emily and Julia Hill endured, and it was a 15-mile journey that took 27 hours for most. On that night, James fell behind the rest of the party, carrying his little brother. I can see him trying to warm his freezing hands, shifting the weight of his brother on his back. When the pair finally arrived at the campfire that night, James set his brother down and then died from exhaustion and exposure, literally giving his life for his brother.[10] I am so inspired by James. How can I be casual or uncommitted if I expect to go where I believe he now is? Why should we think to earn a great reward if we now shun the fight? His story teaches me that to truly be a saint I must surrender my will to God in whatever way He asks of me.
Seek the Sanctifying Influence of the Holy Ghost
Principle 4: We must seek the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit. Another reason that the journey to sainthood begins with baptism is because after the baptism by water comes the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost plays a critical role in preparing us for heaven. He fulfills many roles, including Comforter, Revelator, Testator, and one of his jobs is to be a Purifier or Sanctifier. Alma 13:12 teaches this truth:
"Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God."
Because it is the Holy Spirit's influence that ultimately sanctifies us and makes us pure, we must seek to have Him with us. Therefore, we must go to places where He is. We must create homes and lives where His influence can be felt. Each time we qualify by our choices to commune with the Holy Spirit He purifies us, making us a little more holy, a little more clean, a bit more truly "Saint-like." It is the Holy Ghost who ultimately "justifies" us by certifying our righteous behaviors and sealing us His. Ironically, when we seek to justify ourselves it is almost always when we know we are doing less than we ought, when we do not qualify for the Holy Ghost's presence.
I have felt the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost many times in my life. I certainly experienced it in Nauvoo. The temple spire there faces west, in honor of the Saints who left their beloved city to go to Zion. The missionaries in Nauvoo teach that "when you're here, they're here," because as we remember those who've gone before us, we feel connected to them and are blessed by their covenant-keeping lives. I felt it in Rock Creek Hollow where we visited the common grave of 15 pioneers, including young James Kirkwood. The Spirit taught me that it was not death alone that hallowed the ground, for all men die and the graves will all be opened. Rather, it was the noble way that these saints lived while they were dying that sanctified the very earth. I am deeply grateful to these Saints. They have helped me to understand more fully what it means to live and die a Latter-day Saint.
I am also grateful for the blessing of being counted with you, my friends and brothers and sisters, as a Latter-day Saint. It is not a slight thing. It is my great desire to live and die as a sanctified Latter-day Saint, and to sit down in heaven with each one of you. I give thanks to my Father in Heaven and to our Savior Jesus Christ for making such a dream possible. That they live and love us and desire to gather us to them is my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] American Heritage College dictionary, 3rd edition
[2] "Saint," Bible Dictionary, 767-768
[3] Mary Ann Hafen, Recollections of a Handcart Pioneer of 1860," St. George, Utah, 1980, 15-16
[4] Heidi Swinton and Lee Groberg, Sweetwater Rescue: The Willie and Martin Handcart Story, Covenant Communications, Inc., American Fork, Utah, 2006, 42
[5] David O. McKay, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 2003, 173
[6] Solomon F. Kimball, "Belated Emigrants of 1856," Improvement Era, Feb. 1914, 4
[7] Lucy Mack Smith, Relief Society Minutes, Mar. 24, 1842, Church Archives, 18-19
[8] Debbie J. Christensen, "Julia and Emily: Sisters in Zion," Ensign, June 2004, 34
[9] C.S. Lewis, from Present Concerns, Ed. Walter Hooper, 1986, 21-22
[10] Heidi Swinton and Lee Groberg, Sweetwater Rescue: The Willie and Martin Handcart Story, Covenant Communications, Inc., American Fork, Utah, 2006, 93