My dear brothers and sisters, I am humbled and honored, and rather overwhelmed, by the opportunity I have been given to speak to you today.
Trailer Story
I would like to begin by telling you a story. This past Christmas, my wife and I decided that we would purchase an old, used snowmobile as a large family gift. My challenge was to figure out how I would get the snowmobile to the family cabin we would be staying at and have it waiting outside on Christmas morning. The main obstacle was the fact that the old trailer I was planning on transporting it with had a problem. The lights didn't work.
Over the years we have used that trailer for all kinds of things, but its main purpose was to haul goats. We had a number of large goats that we used as pack animals. We loved to go backpacking but because our children were so young, we needed help carrying everything, so these large goats, which can each carry 40-50 lbs, were a big help. This old trailer had served us well in this capacity, but recently the lights had been giving us problems and had finally stopped working a couple of years ago.
Though it was always at the back of my mind, at least on Saturday's, I procrastinated fixing it because I just knew it would mean redoing all the wiring. This was despite the fact that it meant I didn't use the trailer much anymore, and when I did, I would feel guilty as I would occasionally sneak out to the dump with loads of garbage early on Saturday mornings, trying to use the old hand signals you learn in elementary school bicycle safety classes.
So now it is December 24. Our family's Christmas depended on my getting the trailer fixed so that I can sneak back home from the cabin during the night and get the snowmobile there for Christmas morning. I can't let anyone know I am fixing it because that would give it away. So after two years of procrastination, I snuck out early in the morning to rewire the trailer.
It was 8 degrees out and the wind was blowing so I bundled up and put on my old one-piece purple ski suit from DI. My first task was to replace the plug that goes into the back of the vehicle since we have a different vehicle than we did when the lights last worked. This went pretty smoothly and I started hoping that the old plug may have been the problem in the first place. So after replacing it, I pulled around our Suburban and plugged it in. I then went around to the back of the trailer and got real excited when I saw that the trailer lights were on. I knew I was being blessed.
I quietly drug my wife out of the warm house and had her sit in the driver's seat while I went around to the back of the trailer again. Crossing my fingers, I asked her to turn on the left signal. But both the left and right lights started blinking. I then had her turn on the right signal and the same thing happened. She then pushed the brake and instead of both lights getting brighter, all the lights went out completely. I knew I was sunk, that I was going to spend the rest of the day crawling under the trailer, in the snow, replacing all the wiring.
In my desperation, and in order to give myself a few minutes to warm up inside, I decided to turn to the true source of all secular knowledge - the internet and Google. After typing some keywords describing my trailer's symptoms, I was amazed that one of the first links addressed my exact symptoms of both lights blinking instead of one and the lights going out when the brake is applied. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to kiss the screen, particularly when I read that the solution was something very simple and easy to fix.
According to the website, the problem was that the trailer's electrical system was not properly grounded. There was likely a wire that was poorly connected to the frame of the trailer - a wire that should normally complete the electrical circuit and allow electricity to flow freely from my vehicle, to trailer lights, and back again.
Energized, I snuck back outside, crawled under the trailer, and sure enough discovered that the ground wire was almost broken off. So I cut off the bad end of the wire and stripped some of the white insulation exposing clean good wire and reattached it.
I grabbed my wife again and got behind the trailer and excitedly asked her to push the brake. The lights went out just like before. The turn signal didn't work either. However, I could tell that there was some improvement because the lights, when they were on, were brighter than they had been, which gave me some hope that I was on the right track.
I quickly remembered that as I was fixing the ground wire, the thought had come to me that I should probably clean up the metal of the frame and the screw, but because my hands were numb, and I was in a hurry, I ignored that thought. I went back, undid the screw, used a wire brush to clean off the rust and clean up the screw, and got it back together.
I got my wife back out a third time - she pushed the break pedal - and hallelujah, the brake lights came on as bright as can be. And sure enough only the right light blinked when it was supposed to and so did the left. After two years of worrying about it, and the pressure of getting it fixed that day in the cold, I literally jumped up and down and hugged my wife I was so happy.
A few minutes later, as I was gathering up my tools and thinking about what had happened, the Spirit quietly spoke to me and said in essence, "there are some important lessons that can be learned from this experience, use them well."
Importance of Being Spiritually Grounded
I would like to try and do that today by speaking to you about the importance of being spiritually grounded. Just as the properly grounded wire allowed power to flow through the trailer, illumining the lights and allowing directions and warnings to be conveyed, being spiritually grounded allows the Spirit to flow through us and provide the power and the direction that we need in our lives. Because of this, it is vital for each of us to be spiritually grounded.
How many of us, at times, ever feel like that old trailer? When we should get lights that say stop, do the lights go out instead? When we need to know whether we should turn to the left or to the right, do both lights blink?
Being grounded is a way of describing the spiritual connection that should exist between us and the Godhead. When we are spiritually grounded, all of the benefits of the Holy Spirit are available to us.
I propose that the quality of the connection between us and the Lord, or how well we are grounded, is largely dependant on the condition of our hearts. If our hearts are right, and the connection is good, the power of God is able to flow through us, and direct our choices and actions.
A Broken Heart
To better understand what our hearts should be like, let's look at the scriptures for some answers - the true source of the most important information. In 3 Nephi 9: 20 we read:
"And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart...him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost."
Elder Bruce Porter, in the October 2007 general conference, taught the following:
"What are a broken heart and a contrite spirit? And why are they considered a sacrifice? As in all things, the Savior's life offers us the perfect example: though Jesus of Nazareth was utterly without sin, He walked through life with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, as manifested by His submission to the will of the Father. 'For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me' (John 6:38). To His disciples He said, 'Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart' (Matthew 11:29). And when the time came to pay the ultimate sacrifice entailed in the Atonement, Christ shrank not to partake of the bitter cup but submitted completely to His Father's will. The Savior's perfect submission to the Eternal Father is the very essence of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Christ's example teaches us that a broken heart is an eternal attribute of godliness. When our hearts are broken, we are completely open to the Spirit of God and recognize our dependence on Him for all that we have and all that we are. The sacrifice so entailed is a sacrifice of pride in all its forms. Like malleable clay in the hands of a skilled potter, the brokenhearted can be molded and shaped in the hands of the Master."[1]
A broken heart is not necessarily a broken down heart, or a withered or flattened heart. It is a heart that is open and submissive to the Lord, a heart that is ready to be molded and shaped by him. The opposite of a broken heart is a stony, or hard heart that is closed to the workings of the Spirit.
In Mosiah chapter 5 verse 2 we find another helpful description of what our hearts should be. Following King Benjamin's powerful sermon, the people cried with one voice saying:
"Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."
From these two scriptures, we have learned that our hearts should be broken and open to the Savior, and that they should desire that which is good and no longer desire to do evil. These desired attributes of the heart are sometimes referred to together as a "change of heart" or a "new heart."
Are there some ways that we can test the condition of our hearts and whether we are receiving the power and direction of the Spirit that we need? When working with wires and electricity, we can use a multi-tester like the one I have in my hand. By hooking it to a wire, or to a fuse or switch, and by turning the knob to specify the information wanted, we can tell if there is a good connection or circuit and also how much power or electricity is flowing through it.
Imagine that I was able to attach these wires to myself, like this, kind of like an EKG machine, and then turn the dial to the heart setting to see what it says. Hopefully, if I did so the machine would say "broken heart" and wouldn't say "hard or stony heart."
Since we don't have such a machine, are there some other ways that we can test the status of our hearts? The scriptures provide us with one such tool. We have been given a series of questions regarding a "change of heart" that can be very valuable and important. In fact, the new Young Women's Personal Progress value of virtue includes a required value experience for which young women read Alma 5 and examine the series of questions it contains.
In verse 14 we read:
"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:14).
I find it interesting that Alma recognizes that there are members of the church who have been baptized and who are probably attending church, but have not had the change of heart that we have been speaking of. Some of you may feel that this is the situation that you are currently in. However, I would guess that most of you that feel this way have simply not recognized the change because it has been a gradual and constant part of your life.
In verse 26, Alma goes on to address the rest of us who have experience this change of heart.
"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" (Alma 5:26).
He then proceeds to ask us some very tough questions regarding things that can cause our hearts to become closed and hard.
"Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?" (Alma 5: 27).
He then asks if we are stripped of pride and of envy and says:
"[I]f ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life" (Alma 5:28).
In other words, though we may have had a broken, changed heart at one time, and were grounded and guided by the Spirit, if we are not careful, a lack of humility, pride and envy, can cause our hearts to harden - something that each one of us must diligently guard against.
Having a change of heart doesn't mean that we don't have moments of weakness or don't make mistakes, but it is does indicate what the basic desire and state of our hearts should be, and serves a warning if it is not. It doesn't mean that we aren't enticed by an exciting action movie or video game, or the latest wonderfully romantic love story. But it should mean that we lose that desire to view or participate if we discover that what is being portrayed is offensive to the Spirit, such as when good is being portrayed as being evil, or evil things are being portrayed as being good. It means that we seek for and desire "that which is virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy,"[2] and that we avoid to the very best of our ability, and are saddened and offended by, that which is dark and evil, or that arouses inappropriate sexual thoughts or feelings, or that is crude and vulgar, even if it is a supposed to be a comedy.
This is a test that we may need to administer to ourselves every day. The next time you are in the video store, or flipping through the cable stations, put on your imaginary heart monitor and see if it doesn't change your perception of the videos, the shows, or the video games you are considering.
Now that we have examined what our hearts need to be like in order to be grounded and have the Spirit flowing through us, let's now look more closely at the power and help that we can receive.
Power and Decisions
At your Stake Conference, just over two weeks ago, you may recall Elder Hales describing the years that you are in now as the Decade of Decision. He, of course, was referring to the big decisions about whether and when you will serve a mission, what you will major in or do for a career, and whom you will marry. Each of these decisions are heavily influenced by numerous smaller decisions that are made every day and yet may have far reaching consequences. Decisions such as "should I go to that ward activity tonight or should I just stay in my room with Facebook? Should I go talk to my professor for help or advice?" Or, while looking in the mirror, "should I be wearing this?" For each of these questions, what are the possible outcomes and implications? Who knows? Actually there is someone who does know.
These decisions, both big and small, will be made one way or the other. You can make them based on your own best judgment, and the wise counsel of TV personalities. Or, because you are grounded, and your heart is right, you can make them with the help of the Spirit and receive counsel and guidance from your loving Father in Heaven, who knows what the outcome of those daily small choices will be, who knows the heart and the potential of that young man or young woman you are dating, who knows what occupation you will be the most happy and successful in, and who knows what future work you have been foreordained to perform in his kingdom.
What would have happened if I had driven with that old trailer at night when the wiring wasn't grounded and the lights didn't work? At best I could have received a citation. At worst a terrible accident could have happened that might have impacted me for the rest of my life as well as many others. We run a similar risk when we live our lives without the Spirit's guidance and protection.
Looking back, again, at the time when my trailer's lights weren't working, you might remember that I only dared to use the trailer for occasional trips to the dump on Saturday mornings. It was no longer as useful for important events for my family.
Almost all us have the opportunity and the responsibility to serve and to bless the lives of one another, through our callings as visiting or home teachers, Sunday School teachers, or as members of an Elder's Quorum or Relief Society presidency. In each of these capacities we have the responsibility to represent the Savior, to be his hands, his feet, and to speak his words. Can we do this without the power and inspiration that comes from being spiritually grounded?
When I did use the trailer, even just running out to the dump, I felt nervous and vulnerable as I used my hand signals out the window. When we are NOT grounded and the Spirit is not with us, we make ourselves unavailable for the Lord to use. He must choose someone else to teach that important lesson, to fulfill that important calling or to touch the life of that individual in need. And if we are called upon to do these things, we feel vulnerable and nervous because we cannot effectively perform the Savior's work without the guidance and power of His Spirit. Some are able to make due with their own talents and strengths for a time, but the work that is accomplished is generally only superficial.
We may be given authority through the priesthood we hold or the calling we have received, but without the Spirit, we don't have the power or the necessary inspiration to really make a difference in peoples' lives.
How to Become Grounded
So how do we become grounded if we are not? First we can look at the examples of those in the scriptures who came to recognize their separation from God and his power. One such example is found in Alma 22 where read about Lamoni's Father, the King of all the Lamanites, and his response after being taught by Aaron.
"What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, ...if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then thou shalt receive the hope which thou desirest. And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying: O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day" (Alma 22:15-18).
What can we learn from this beautiful example? What did the King do to bring about this mighty change in his heart? First, he had great desire. He then had faith to act upon the words of Aaron, he humbled himself before the Lord, he prayed with a sincere and open heart, and he completely repented of all his sins.
These are all small and simple, yet profound things that we are taught and reminded about regularly so we won't take time to discuss them now, except for one point that I would like to make regarding repentance.
For over two years, I procrastinated fixing my old trailer. The reason I procrastinated was that I was fearful of the time, effort and pain it would take to crawl around under that trailer and get it fixed, and I really wasn't sure how to go about doing it. As a result I largely lost the use of the trailer for those years and, as I said before, when I did use it I felt nervous and very vulnerable. When I did learn what needed to be done, my first attempt failed because I tried to take a shortcut. To finally fix it, I had to go back and REALLY clean up the connection and get it securely grounded. A rusty corroded connection was not good enough. In the end, fixing the real problem took only a few minutes of actual labor. If I had only known, I wouldn't have wasted all that time worrying about it and wouldn't have lost those two years of usefulness.
If any of you are feeling unworthy and estranged from the Spirit of the Lord due to serious sin, I encourage you to repent. Do not procrastinate. I promise you that the time, effort and pain that true repentance may require, while real, is insignificant to the price you will pay if you continue to procrastinate. Follow the example of Lamoni's Father, the King, who as soon as he knew what needed to be done immediately humbled himself before the Lord and begged for forgiveness. The sooner you start the healing process by visiting with your Bishop, the sooner you will feel the loving embrace of your Savior, the peace and confidence that comes from a clear conscience and the power and the direction of his Spirit flowing through your life. Don't let another day pass. Your bishop will be doing interviews tonight. Just go.
When our hearts are changed and the power and direction of Spirit is flowing through us, the Lord in his wisdom has given us a weekly opportunity to test and strengthen our connection to Him as we prepare for and partake of the sacrament. He knows that we need this regular and consistent opportunity to examine our lives for things we need to repent of, and to receive strength and direction as we remember Him, His teachings, and most importantly, His love for us.
His love is what gives us hope. Hope that we can make it through another day. Hope that we can be truly happy. Hope that we can return to Him.
Too Hard
As you have been listening to this talk, some of you may have begun to feel discouraged thinking that it is just to hard to do or that in order to be grounded, to have broken heart, that you need to be perfect. As Brother Carl taught us so well last week, none of us will earn or attain perfection in this life, at least not on our own.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie, a former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that:
"We don't need to get a complex or get a feeling that you have to be perfect to be saved. You don't. There's only been one perfect person, and that's the Lord Jesus, but in order to be saved in the Kingdom of God and in order to pass the test of mortality, what you have to do is get on the straight and narrow path--thus charting a course leading to eternal life--and then, being on that path, pass out of this life in full fellowship. I'm not saying that you don't have to keep the commandments. I'm saying you don't have to be perfect to be saved. If you did, no one would be saved."[3]
So if we have repented and are on the path doing our best, we are in a saved condition. We are grounded and have the right to the power and the direction of the Spirit in our lives. The difference between our best efforts and the perfection and purity that is required for us to be saved and return to our Heavenly Father is made up through Christ's Atonement. In fact, all that we have talked about this afternoon is made possible through His Atonement, His grace, and His overwhelming love for us. This is the path to true happiness in this life. This is the path to eternal life and exaltation.
Of this I humbly testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Bruce Porter, "A Broken Heart and a Contritie Spirit" Ensign, November 2007
[2] Article of Faith 13
[3] Bruce R. McConkie, "The Probationary Test of Mortality" University of Utah Institute of Religion, January 10, 1982