Three years ago, Jennifer and I took our children on a trip to see Nauvoo and other places in that area of Church historical significance. Many of you have likely been to these places in person or perhaps you plan to visit in the future on a "bucket list" as I did. It is difficult to describe the feelings I felt as we visited Independence, Liberty, Carthage, and Nauvoo for the first time. My understanding was deepened. My heart was touched. All my life I had certain pictures in my mind as I learned the stories of Church leaders and convert members early in this dispensation of time. Those images were probably influenced by photos or paintings I had seen in seminary and institute manuals or Church museums visited in my youth. Now I was seeing it in living color. We walked down roads and paths and entered doorways into buildings where Joseph and Brigham and many other notable saints had walked. In some cases, we saw and entered visitor centers or replicas of buildings, which provided insight into that important time of growing, building, suffering, revelation, and teaching. In short, many stories of the restoration were made more vivid to me.
As we visited the location of Liberty Jail and viewed the reconstructed jail cell, I pondered how Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were unjustly confined there, suffering from winter weather, filthy conditions, hunger, and sickness. The prophet suffered additionally, knowing that the Saints were being driven from Missouri under "an extermination order" from the governor. As recorded in Doctrine & Covenants 122:7, he was taught that in the end "all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."
We often consider this scripture in context with the very negative experiences at Liberty Jail and perhaps other trials and adversity faced by ourselves or others—experiences we normally wouldn't choose. Let me pose this question: What about the experiences we choose to give ourselves? How can we help ensure the choices we make will provide experiences that will be for our good?
The Lord has counseled us that,
It is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. 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; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.[1]
Speaking in General Priesthood Meeting in April 2008 about how our decisions impact our lives, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "We... have the responsibility and the power of self-direction."[2] As we heed the Lord and use our agency to pursue many good things, we will be blessed with positive experiences that will be for our good.
I'd like to give you a little background on myself. Something most people probably don't know about me is that in my younger life I was a rodeo cowboy. From the time I was a little boy, I dreamed about riding bucking horses and roping. When I was really small (about five or six years old) I used to ride my Shetland pony to the fairgrounds and, with nobody else around to watch, I'd ride my horse into one of the bucking chutes and then, after announcing my own name, I'd push the gate open with my foot and gallop my horse from one end of the arena to the other. Now that I think of it, I'm sure it would have looked pretty silly. Well, this explains why my talk today might have a dose or two of cowboy logic.
Since it was in my blood, I kept those kinds of activities going for a few years, eventually competing nationally, including at Ricks College. Because of my love of horses, I have spent a lot of time around them and have learned a great deal about horse behavior and training techniques. In fact, from the time I was a young teenager and continuing to this day, I receive a great deal of satisfaction riding and training young horses for myself and others. My former biology teacher and rodeo coach at Ricks College was Brother Mel Griffeth. Although this quote is commonly attributed to Winston Churchill, Brother Griffeth was fond of saying, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." I agree with that thought. I have found some of my greatest pleasures and thoughtful moments in life being around horses or on the back of a horse. During the time I was preparing this talk I have been training one of my own colts we named Chip. You may be wondering what this has to do with a gospel topic. Actually, I think some of the principles of training a horse and the ways a young horse is given experiences are very applicable.
For instance, after a foundation of trust is developed between the horse and its rider, much of what it takes to train a horse is offering it a variety of good experiences that build upon each other. There is a window of opportunity with a young horse when learning is accelerated and a horse seems to absorb and retain understanding gained from the initial training experiences. When I'm working to teach a young horse, I try to introduce the horse to as many different scenarios or experiences as I can ranging from crossing rivers and streams to my wearing a big scary yellow rain slicker. Over time, the horse's trust and capacity increase, and it no longer tries to shy away or flee. Many experiences we have in life can seem daunting or frightening until we enlarge our capacity and we recognize they are for our good.
I am inspired by the stories about Heber J. Grant, seventh president of the Church. Last week Brother Clay also used examples of the way President Grant overcame challenges in his life and turned them into strengths. Several weeks ago, I felt impressed to include these examples in my talk as well. President Grant learned to throw a baseball so he would be accepted on the top team and struggled to improve his penmanship so it would represent him well. His handwriting was eventually considered unusually beautiful.
Brother Leon R. Hartshorn, a former BYU professor and author, wrote an article about Heber J. Grant for the New Era. He wrote,
He only needed some good reasons why he should do something, and then he was off trying. If it wasn't an easy task, he worked to bring about the proper result anyway. He tackled the impossible with enthusiasm, rising to the challenge in seeming glee. If he didn't seem to have the natural gift to accomplish a certain thing, he practiced and prayed until he developed the skill.
Heber J. Grant was a man without excuses, whether it came to saving the Church from financial ruin or singing the hymns of Zion on key! This was how he was reared to be. Both President Brigham Young (in whose home young Heber spent countless beautiful hours) and Rachel Ivins Grant (widowed mother of Heber) had one thing in common: They had learned the value of self-discipline, demanding of themselves the best they had to offer. Young Heber absorbed this attitude and went one step further. He grew up believing that there was no reason why he, with the help of the Lord, could not accomplish anything he made up his mind to do. He often quoted Emerson: 'That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do—not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that our power to do has increased.' And he practiced what he preached.[3]
What kinds of experiences do we want to have? Do we work at giving ourselves good experiences?
Being a university student is an important developmental phase of life—a special window of time to focus on personal development and self-discipline with an eye to the future. As I look back on that part of my life, I realize I was growing at a significant pace and was provided many opportunities in a relatively short period of time. May I suggest some things you should experience or improve on while you are in school—a special time of learning? I believe these suggestions will enrich your lives and provide an increased opportunity for success while you are attending school, and will also form a reasonable basis for continued success throughout your lives.
- Establish good habits
- Get involved
- Plant your roots
- Learn wisdom
First, establish good habits. President Spencer W. Kimball counseled young people, leaders of youth, and all Church members to take a careful inventory of their habits. "Change," he said, "comes by substituting good habits for less desirable ones." Then he added, "You mold your character and future by good thoughts and acts."[4]
Maintaining good personal habits allows us to improve ourselves and also to be an example to others—roommates, loved ones, neighbors and other associates. By using our agency to consistently do good things we enrich our lives and call down blessings from heaven in accordance with the promise that "when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."[5]
A few months following my high school graduation I found myself at Army basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. In the early days of this experience I was stripped of my lifelong support structure of family, friends and Church leaders. I remember like it was yesterday when I had the realization it was entirely up to me to decide if the habits I had practiced during my upbringing were going to be maintained or cast aside. Nobody cared if I said my prayers, read my serviceman's copy of the Book of Mormon, or attended church services. I remember my first few prayers were offered as I lay in my top bunk in a barracks room with seven other guys. How was I going to kneel to pray at someone else's bedside? I learned to kneel in bed.
I remember packing my copy of the Book of Mormon in my cargo pocket or in my ruck sack and squeezing in reading when I could. I remember being asked if we wanted to attend Catholic, Jewish or Protestant worship services whose buildings were nearby. When most of the other soldiers fell out of formation having chosen one of those options, I was asked why I was still standing there. When I told them I wanted to worship with the Latter-day Saints, I was informed that they met in a small office building on the other side of the base. On the base, LDS services were two hours (sacrament and priesthood meetings.) The drill sergeants thought that was a little excessive—I didn't mention it was normally three hours. As I settled into my weekly Sunday routine of attending my meetings, I soon found a phone booth along the way and, if I ran almost the entire way, I could fit in a short phone call to check in with loved ones at home. I was blessed to find ways to maintain my habits while away from home. You will be blessed as you seek to develop and maintain good habits while you are in school and wherever you may find yourself.
Elder Delbert L. Stapley spoke on habits and said, "We are not born into this world with fixed habits. Neither do we inherit a noble character. Instead, as children of God, we are given the privilege and opportunity of choosing which way of life we will follow—which habits we will form.
Confucius said that the nature of men is always the same. It is their habits that separate them."[6]
Developing worthwhile habits requires work and commitment. There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going.
Second, get involved. Each of us seems to learn the importance of giving of ourselves and the value of working with others at different points in life. While I still have much room for improvement in this area, I had an experience or two as a student here that have helped to shape my attitude about getting involved.
I returned from my mission in October and decided to live at home and commute to school from Saint Anthony for a few classes during the second block. On one of my first days on campus, I was approached by a student body officer I knew who said, "Hey Shane. You should consider getting involved in campus activities. We need someone to chair the annual Christmas Tree Lane event. Would you be interested in doing that?"
My first thought was, "Oh no. Not me. I remember coming to that event on this campus from the time I was just a young boy and it was bigger than life. What would I know about doing something like that? I don't have time for that." Well, I must have been saying "no" on the inside and something kind of like "yes" on the outside because, before I knew it, I was being whisked into some office in the Manwaring Center and lined out for my new assignment. I soon found myself looking around campus for people to help on the committee and diving into something that turned out pretty well despite my weaknesses. I enjoyed it. I felt I was somehow investing in my future and helping with a needed project.
I went back for more. The following spring I threw my hat in the ring to run for student body president. And guess what happened? I didn't win. At that time at Ricks College, there were several elected student body offices and a couple of appointed positions on the council. A couple of days after the election, the student who did win the election asked to speak with me and asked me if I was willing to serve in the appointed capacity of Student Relations Officer. I agreed. For the next year, I was out of my comfort zone. I had a variety of experiences I could not have foreseen. I learned something about serving in a different way. I made new lifelong friends.
The words to the second verse of the hymn "Have I Done Any Good?" seem to encourage getting involved in worthwhile things—particularly in serving others.
There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, "Sometime I'll try,"
But go and do something today.
'Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love's labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.[7]
My third suggestion is to plant your roots. Be where you are supposed to be when you are supposed to be there. One of the sayings that you would hear periodically if you spent much time around rodeo bronc riders or bull riders is that all you need to do in order to be successful is to, "keep one leg on one side and the other leg on the other side and your mind in the middle." In life, this translates into being physically where you should be and also having your mind and spirit where they belong.
When Jennifer and I were newly married and attending school in Logan, Utah we were faced with a choice. We could attend the resident ward based on where we lived or we could attend a married student ward. Honestly, I can't tell you now any of the items we discussed as we considered our choice. But in hindsight, we made the right decision for us.
In our married student ward we had a bishopric and a stake presidency who were focused on providing experiences to us as young married students that would shape the rest of our lives. We received service opportunities accompanied by excellent training. Our bishop emphasized planting our roots and being in the ward on Sunday fulfilling our callings rather than looking for chances to be other places. Sure, there are appropriate reasons to be away occasionally. But as we took the challenge we realized this principle doesn't only apply to our Sundays and our church meetings, but also to our family and home life.
This and similar patterns of behavior, where we are regularly found where we should be and doing what we should be doing, speak to commitment, diligence, and being "steadfast and immovable."[8] Establishing these patterns can provide an anchor in a harbor when the winds of life blow.
Finally, but greatest in priority, my suggestion is to use this season to learn wisdom—learning and living the gospel. This phrase comes from Alma as he transferred responsibility for the keeping of the records to his son Helaman in Alma 37, beginning in verse 35:
O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.[9]
Then he teaches his son about the Liahona and its workings and its spiritual guidance. As Helaman received this wise counsel and then recorded it so we have it today, I picture him making these mental notes: Learn wisdom...keep the commandments...learn to pray and receive answers to prayer...learn to love the Lord...learn to understand the spirit and the guidance it provides.
Similar to many of you, I have heard this same counsel from my parents or other leaders. How am I doing with those things? What do I need to do today to better learn these things? As students, we have assignments and preparation for quizzes or tests to help us know what we need to do to learn geology or calculus or anatomy. I invite us each to take a few minutes before the end of the day to consider a commandment we need to keep better. Or to think of a question or a request we need to pray about in order to stay up with our learning about prayers and answers to prayer. Or, as with the Liahona, to dare to follow a still small prompting of the spirit so that we can be privileged to receive other future promptings and directions.
Another scriptural reference to learning and wisdom I like is the story of Daniel and his young brethren. "As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom." The king had them brought in to be trained for service in his court. Eventually, the king took counsel from these young men. We don't know much of their upbringing but in their youth they were founded in truth and revelation from God. Therefore, "In all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm."[10]
In conclusion, as we look back on the adverse experiences the prophet Joseph Smith had in Liberty Jail and throughout his short but important life, we know that he was the means of so many good things "for the salvation of man." I believe he was able to do such things because he continued to use his agency to focus on and direct the important work he was called to do amidst his trials. As with Joseph Smith, we can't always choose to avoid the adversity which will come to us. However, we have the ability to choose many good experiences that will help us to grow to become the person God intends for us to be.
I'm thankful for the opportunity to speak to you today and share some things I hope will be useful to you as you strive for good experiences. In review, they are:
- Establish good habits
- Get involved
- Plant your roots
- Learn wisdom
Brothers and sisters, I am grateful to have the pleasure to work at BYU-Idaho and be with great leaders, coworkers, and students. Just as some of the foundational learning experiences in my life occurred at this place and during my time pursuing my college education, I continue to be taught here and have experiences for my good.
I know God lives and that He is our Heavenly Father and that He loves us. I know that His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know He lives and loves us. I am comforted and strengthened to know these things.In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] D&C 58:26-28
[2] Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "A Matter of a Few Degrees," Ensign, May 2008
[3] Leon R. Hartshorn, "Heber J. Grant: A Man Without Excuses," New Era, January 1972
[4] Spencer W. Kimball, "There Is Purpose in Life," New Era, September 1974
[5] D&C 130:21
[6] Delbert L. Stapley, "Good Habits Develop Good Character," Ensign, November 1974
[7] "Have I Done Any Good?," Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 223
[8] Alma 1:25
[9] Alma 37:35-37
[10] Daniel 1:17