Wow, that was profound. Thank you for such a beautiful musical number. That quote from Thomas Moore is one of my favorites that was sung in that beautiful hymn. And all I can say is, "Wow." That's all I've been saying in mind, "Wow." To see all of you here on a beautiful Sabbath day. Thank you, thank you for your goodness and your faithfulness and your love of the Lord to honor Him by coming to this wonderful devotional. We are thrilled to be with you and our hearts just flooded with love and gratitude for each one of you as we walked in and saw you here.
I felt strongly to share with you an experience of one of our missionaries of our New York City, New York Mission. It came from Elder Powell as he went to leave the mission and he shared a special experience that he had had. He had noticed wonderful shoe-shining stations in subways, on street corners, and was determined to get his shoes shined sometime when he came to New York City.
Near the end of his mission, while in the Bronx, from around a corner, Elder Powell and his companion heard someone calling, “Shoe shine? Shoe shine? Anyone want your shoe shined?”
Elder Powell’s ears perked up at the sound and he realized he hadn't yet gotten his shoes shined while on his mission in New York. He rounded the corner and came face to face with the peddler offering a shoeshine. The first thought blurted from his mouth as you would expect from any missionary struggling with finances: "How much does it cost?"
"As much as you're willing to pay!" came the reply.
"Done deal!” Elder Powell had once gotten a tie in Harlem for 25 cents. Change rattled in his pocket and he thought, "Okay, I can handle this," so he agreed.
He knew there wouldn't be a red leather chair on a stand for him there like he might expect in Manhattan, but in looking around there wasn't even a chair. That's when he noticed the man had knelt at his feet. He had pulled from his pocket and opened a soiled, black-filled baby food jar, and having dipped his fingers in the oily ooze, he began to work dark polish into Elder Powell's worn missionary shoes.
Elder Powell then noticed how dirty the man was. His ragged shirt was heavily stained as the man on his knees sought to find a single clean spot on his soiled shirt to buff the shoes after the wonderful polish had been applied. The shirt provided what it could to the process of the shoe shine, but it wasn't enough for the humble shiner of shoes. His forearms finished the task of buffing, his skin taking on the dark ink, which sunk in deep, allowing those he served to walk away with shiny shoes.
As Elder Powell watched the selfless work being carried out, he thought of another who descended below us all and took upon Him the stains of mankind, that we in turn could walk away clean and unspotted from the stains of mortality and sin. With such a scene before us, wouldn't we not turn to think of our risen Lord once mocked and beaten, even bleeding from every pore in giving the ultimate and complete sacrifice to pay justice's price for sin and eternal life?
1 Nephi 19 describes the scene in verse 9:
And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore 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.
Overwhelmed by the visual reminder of the Savior's humanly unbearable Atonement, his shoe shine completed, Elder Powell's heart had changed, and he willingly paid the debt owed with all that he had. And then he reached into his companion's pockets for all that he had. Not sure his companion had caught the vision yet.
The Lord calls to us, "Souls shined? Souls shined? Anyone want their souls shined?"
In our limited, mortal selfishness we quickly, all too quickly ask, without full knowledge of what we're asking, "How much does it cost?"
He meekly answers, "As much as you are willing to pay, for I have ransomed the rest."
I have often pondered on the infinite and heavenly, eternal quality of love that Christ had to perform His divine Atonement. I've thought about it more and more recently as I remembered a time when President Nelson, at a mission leadership seminar, talked as a doctor in teaching us what it would have been like for the Savior to endure all that He did physically and that it was impossible for any human to endure. Tears fill my eyes as I think about this great Atonement. Jesus's love of His Father in Heaven, His love and commitment to obey His will, and surely His love for each of us made it possible. Those tears that I feel, knowing my debt to Him is unpayable, grow deep in my heart.
How much are you willing to pay? How strong is your sense of debt to move you to want to be more like our Savior? To love what He loves? To do as He would do in our daily situations and in our relationships? To share His message, truth, and grace with others? How much do we love Him? How much are you willing to pray to be able to do these things, to walk with Him, to hear Him, to love as He loves?
I was shocked when Sahar gave the scripture. We did not coordinate, but this scripture resonated with me as I thought of Elder Powell, as I thought of our Savior. Moroni 7:47–48 teaches:
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.
At this time of year filled with hearts of paper, candy, and chocolate, may we add our gift, a heart of commitment to the Lord, to come unto Him, to follow Him, to be like Him, to serve as he served, to love Him, and love others as He loved.
I know our Lord, our Savior, the Redeemer of all mankind lives and loves us and is aware of our every care, struggle, and our desires and He is pleased when they are righteous desires. He stands at the head of His restored church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and directs His prophet in truly these last days before He returns to rule and reign in love and mercy. May we love Him enough to do what is needed in our own lives, even hard things, that when He comes again, we truly may be like Him, is my hope and my prayer, as I see that you are well on your way in doing so, in the name of our beloved Jesus Christ, our Savior, Redeemer, our friend, amen.