My Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am honored and humbled to be able to stand at this pulpit today. I've stood here once before when I spoke at my son's high school graduation, and I was about as nervous then as I am now (which is pretty nervous). I'm thankful to have my family here—my kids, my parents, and in-laws. Their love and support is a constant blessing to me, especially my dear wife Heidi. I will be eternally grateful that, in her single moment of weakness, she agreed to marry me.
Preparing for this address has been an amazing season of growth for me, and I pray that even a small portion of what I have felt, and now feel, gets through to you today. I trust that as you open your minds and hearts to the Spirit, that God will help you hear and remember what He intends for you.
In Alma chapter 30, Korihor is brought before Alma to defend his reviling of the faith of the people of Zarahemla. Although there is a lot that could be said about this encounter, I want to focus on a key part of Alma's response to Korihor. In verse 40 Alma asks,
"And now what evidence have ye that there is no God, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none, save it be your word only. But, behold, I have all things as a testimony that these things are true..."[1]
Please note that crucial phrase, for that is my theme: All things testify that these things are true.
When I was younger (well, I still like to sometimes) I enjoyed playing video games. I understand some of you do as well. I discovered fairly early on that game designers loved to put little surprises in their games, so that if you activated a certain subroutine within the game, then a special little something happened. Gamers call these 'Easter Eggs', and nearly every popular game now has them. Sometimes they're additional levels, or a stash of extra coins, or suddenly a rabbit drives a Cadillac across the screen, or your warlike player character busts out a Michael Jackson dance. Sometimes they're obvious and you encounter them in the course of the gameplay and sometimes they're deep within the game and you only find them by intently searching.
Well, God did the same thing creating you, the earth, and everything—in everything He does. Elder Gerald N. Lund called them "divine signatures."[2] They're sometimes big and obvious, where He might even say, "For God so loved the world,"[3] to make it absolutely clear. And sometimes they're tiny little personal insights, prepared especially for you—a place in the foundation stones of reality where God signed his work, then waited patiently and lovingly for you to find it. Each one testifies, not only that God exists, or even just that He was involved in creating that thing, but that He loves you. He loves each of us, not only enough to send His Son to atone for our sins, but to build into the fabric of creation, signatures of His presence and love. I would like, today, to point out for you, a couple of these things that I hope you have noticed, or think you should notice, or that I have seen, in hopes that they will help you to come unto Him, stay with Him, remain His true followers, and return to His presence with your family and friends.
Now, these places that testify of him are everywhere. Anywhere you look, when you pull back the cloth of the superficial, you see evidence of His handiwork. It's in the earth, in the heavens, in our families, and the way our social and civic structures work. It's in the elements, art and music, and the very fabric of space-time.
When I was a kid, Benoit Mandelbrot described a simple mathematical formula that formed repeating and scalable patterns.[4] The patterns will look the same from every angle and no matter how close you zoom in or out. Then, people began to notice that these fractal geometries appeared in several natural settings as well, like nautilus shells, stock market prices, river deltas, lightning paths, and many others. God's hand in our lives is like that. The patterns that show His love for us are everywhere, and at every scale. Zoom out, and we see it. Zoom in. There it is again. Turn over there. There it is. And well, it's everywhere.
First, I would like you to consider the family. The way God designed us to fit together in families, I think, gives us a clear and shining window into His love for us. In our primary program last year, my kids learned the song, "The Family is of God." The first verse goes:
"Our Father has a family, It's me!
It's you, all others too: we are His children.
He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,
To live and learn here in fam'lies.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—
This is how he shares His love, for the family is of God."[5]
I was told in my patriarchal blessing that in learning obedience to my earthly parents that I would also learn obedience to my heavenly parents. I testify this is absolutely true. I have discovered additionally, that my reverence and love for my parents and siblings, as well as my wife and children is a model for the intended relationships we will carry with us into the eternities. The things we experience, the signposts and moments of our lives in our families, can give us insight on earth into how it is in heaven.
Let me give you an example. Earlier this summer I drove my son down to Provo to drop him off at the MTC. He is our eldest child, and it was just me and him for those four hours since his mom and sisters were at Girls Camp, and the youngest was at Grandma's house. We had a really nice time together on the way down, and we visited together on the steps of the Provo Temple for a few minutes before I dropped him off. We took a picture, had a big hug, shed a tear, and off he went. He didn't look back. I know because I watched him all the way.
I drove away, around the corner and down the street. By the time I got over, adjacent to Lavell Edwards stadium, I was overcome by the grief and pain of the departure of my little boy—my hiking and climbing buddy, our lawn mower and babysitter, my son. I pulled over, sobbing, unable to see the road in front of me through my tears. I knew what he would be going through. I knew it would be wonderful and hard, exciting and scary, that he needed to experience that, and I knew God would guide and keep him, but I missed him, and it hurt. In this my moment of sorrow, I cried out to my Heavenly Father, "How can I do this?" and He said, so clearly I could hear it, "How do you think I felt when you left?" Pow. It hit me right in my heart. If God loves us like this, sending us to earth, eagerly anticipating our return, hearing my prayers in the same way I can hardly wait for each P-day with its accompanying pictures and precious email—wow! That's how it works. This experience has become a touchstone for me, a persistent example of things Heavenly Father prepared to remind us of Him, His love for us, and His hand in our lives. All things testify of him.
Let me give you a couple of examples more related to my profession as a scientist. Last year I agreed to become part of a three-man team to develop a new foundations of science issues class. We envisioned a course that would start with the Big Bang and go through the steps required to prepare, create, and maintain a habitable planet, using the earth's creation as an example—a survey of the history of the universe in 13 weeks; piece of cake, right? This semester will be the third time I've taught it, now. Working with Dan Moore of the Geology Department and Brian Tonks of the Physics Department in this class has been a highlight of my career, and I have learned a lot.
Let me just point out to you two little testaments: meteorites and granite. When I was younger I had several chances to visit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural Science in Washington, D.C. I vaguely remember there being an exhibit about some geology stuff, but I think I wandered through it quickly and perfunctorily. Well, since then and now, I have studied a ton about how the earth was put together, and it turns out meteorites tell us a lot about the earth's creation. This is so because the original raw materials that formed the early solar system are still around, unchanged, in some of the meteorites that fall to the earth for us to study.
Nearly all the rocks on earth have been altered by plate tectonics and erosion over the earth's life. But some of these meteorites are left over from the cloud of gas and dust that four and a half billion years ago became the sun and planets in our solar system. So the chance to study this primordial matter is almost a sacred experience for people who know what they're looking at.
Most of this special class of meteorites have even been named, usually either after where they fell, or who discovered and studied them extensively. Remarkably, some have been found to have water, amino acids, and even tiny diamonds in them. Using reliable scientific techniques we can fairly accurately put the age of these meteorites at about the same age as we think the sun turned on.
Now, some of the very oldest rocks on earth contain tiny diamond-like crystals called zircons. And zircons are really hard to break down, so that these tiny grains will weather out of rocks on the earth or even be metamorphosed inside the earth without having their internal structure altered. They also can incorporate heavy metals like uranium into their crystal structure, which is cool because uranium is like a natural clock that, because it's radioactive, allows us to date these rocks. (Not to go out with them, but to tell how old they are). And guess what: many of the important and prominent elements and compounds we observe on earth are the same as those we find in meteorites; same structures, same isotopes, same age. So, finding water, carbon, and amino acids in meteorites then gives us clues to how God may have put the earth together, and got oceans and life on the earth.
Now, armed with this knowledge, over the summer break we took our family on the grand 6,500-mile road trip of awesomeness. We drove, over 13 days, from Idaho to Maine, to Georgia and back. We had a great time. But, my point...Yes, my point is that this time when we visited the Smithsonian, which I learned holds the best and most comprehensive collection of meteorites in the world, my family literally had to drag me away from that exhibit. I marveled over each carbonaceous chondrite, lunar breccia, and Martian shergottite.
"Look!" I exclaimed to my patiently disinterested daughter. "That's the Allende meteorite! Ah, Look at those calcium aluminum inclusions. Oh! Those are olivine crystals in that pallasite. Do you know how rare those are?" In tears I tried to explain to her that those rocks show unique, handwritten signatures of God's love for us. He took of those materials, and created an earth upon which we could dwell[6] because He loves us. For "any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power."[7]
And granite. Do you realize how amazing granite is? Granite is amazing, and not just because it makes almost indestructible counter tops. Granite is a late-inning player in the rock-making game on earth. To produce abundant granite, first you have to separate the original rocky materials from which earth was made into a metallic core, a dense rocky mantle, and a primitive basaltic crust.
This means the earth was at one time melted completely enough for this to occur. Later, this basaltic crust partially melted to form lower-density rocks such as granite. Once formed, granite stays on the surface, because it's less dense than the stuff around it. Over time, granitic rocks built the first small continents. The early continents formed the cores of today's continents, which continue to grow even now.
If granitic rocks had never formed on Earth, there would be no continents, and without continents life on our planet would have to have taken a much different path—reptiles, mammals, and humans likely wouldn't inhabit the earth. That little piece of granite often found beneath your feet or decorating your garden, if only you could see, is evidence of God's love for His children; a testimony of His presence; His signature on His handiwork.
Our relatively new understanding of all this, growing even now, I'm sure is fulfillment of God's promise to us in the 101st section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
"Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day...he shall reveal all things—Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof—Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven."[8]
Because all things testify of him.
You want more? They're everywhere. Okay, let's look closer at light. Over the Christmas holidays of 1832, and later in the spring of 1833, in the upstairs rooms of the Whitney Store in Kirtland (which we visited on our grand trip of awesomeness) Joseph Smith revealed,
"And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne . . ."[9]
Our modern physical understanding of light, which includes all kinds of electromagnetic radiation from radio waves to infrared heat, visible and ultraviolet light and x- and gamma rays, dates back from Newton, Huygens, Hertz and Maxwell, to Young, Einstein, and Feynman—some of the greatest minds of history.
Light radiates from atoms with extra energy and is absorbed by atoms with lower energies. The quantum mechanical properties of atoms govern what wavelengths of light are emitted, absorbed, and reflected; and the exchange of light moderates the forces experienced by electric charges on each other, the stability of atomic nuclei, and the condensing of matter from light and annihilation of matter into light.
The speed of light and matter also governs the passage of time through relativity. Light from the sun is used by plants to create carbohydrates and release oxygen through photosynthesis. Life uses this oxygen and these carbohydrates for energy to move, stay warm, and reproduce. Light being passed back and forth between adjacent atoms can form resonances used in lasers and radios similar to the resonances we rely on to form speech and musical sounds.
So Heavenly Father's explanation to the prophet Joseph sounds remarkably close to everything we now understand about the nature and function of light, which Latter-day Saints also understand to have a spiritual aspect, since light and truth are connected—"The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth."[10] Even our testimonies, gifts from God through His Spirit, which testifies of truth, rely on light, in more than just a figurative way—for "He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things."[11] And "if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."[12]
I could go on and on. The physical chemistry of water and its amazing properties testify. The form and function of the human eye and brain testify. The finely tuned relationships of the fundamental forces—gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces—testify. If the strength or tension of the Higgs field, which gives matter its mass, the amount of charge on a proton or electron, the gravitational attraction between things, or the speed of light through space-time, were a little stronger or weaker, bigger or smaller, faster or slower, atoms wouldn't hold together and bond into compounds and molecules, galaxies and stars wouldn't form and light the earth, or create the elements we need to make planets and moons and DNA and plants and bones and hearts.
Said Paul: "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead."[13] God put all this together in this way because He loves us, so that all things testify of him.
I think the structure and functioning of the church also testifies to His love, showing these same kinds of patterns. Quite often people ask me, "So how is it being a bishop?" My usual short answer is, "It's hard." But if you have another minute I will tell you, that my faith has grown immensely these past few years, to where I have absolute trust in my Father in Heaven.
As I look back onto my life, I can see the places where Heavenly Father was preparing me for what was coming. Patterns on my mission, in my marriage, my classes at school, my kids, my previous callings, all in hindsight (I can't imagine being able to notice them as I was living through them - mostly they were just hard) all were helping Him explicitly prepare me personally for what He had in store for me, and those testaments are, for me, among the most precious I have. And now, from the moment I was called to be a Bishop, He has never let me down; from calling the right counselors, to helping me know what to say in interviews, to counseling with my dear singles, to preparing for this address.
Our fear of disappointing Him, postponing our repentance, is unfounded and needs to be dispensed with promptly. I know this because when I visit with people, when I have His spirit, my keys allow me to feel for them the way He feels, and I never feel any of a spirit of accusation, recrimination, or condemnation. I only feel love.
In a devotional address last fall, which I felt was given especially for me as a newly called bishop, my former first counselor Garth Hall said, speaking about his experience as a mission president interviewing his very first incoming missionary,
"About three minutes into the interview something happened. A spiritual feeling came over me; I knew this missionary as well as I had ever known anyone. I had a deep feeling of love for them. That love I can only describe as the kind of the love I have for my own children. I recognized their strengths, weaknesses and more importantly their potential.... This same thing happened each time I interviewed our missionaries. I came to understand one of the powers of priesthood keys is to convey God's love and His personal concern for His children. I would later try to express this by saying, priesthood keys allow you to think things you wouldn't normally think, to see things you wouldn't normally see, to say things you wouldn't normally say, and to feel things you wouldn't normally feel. That was my experience every day of my mission."[14]
This has been my experience in every calling I've held with accompanying keys and I feel sure each leader would testify to the operation of the keys of the priesthood in this manner. God explicitly put together the Church in such a way as to help us each feel His love for us as often and as abundantly as possible.
Recently we travelled with my daughter and the local high school choirs up to Seattle for their annual choir trip. While we were there they performed for the Sunday noon Mass at the Cathedral of St. James, and sang Mack Wilberg's arrangement of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." Even though I'd heard that song many times before, they sang it so purely, so beautifully, in that glorious space, as the final words of that hymn washed over me, "Take my heart. Oh, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts on high,"[15] the words of that prayer were my prayer, and God heard, took my heart and changed it. He accepted my offering, and has touched my life in such a way that I will never be able to deny that He lives, that He knows and loves me, has work for me to do, and eagerly anticipates my faithful return. For all things testify of him.
The lyrics of another of my favorite songs by Sally DeFord complete the circle:
"In all thy works I see thy glory
In mighty wonders; in small and simple things
My heart rejoices in the bounty set before me
And my grateful spirit sings
Each rising sun tells of thy goodness
The rain proclaims thee in the life it brings
All creation bears thee sure and silent witness
And my grateful spirit sings
The stars that crown the realms of space
Reflect the image of thy grace
The rolling seas, the earth and sky
Declare thy pow'r, thy majesty and might
I see thy hand in man's compassion
Thou art the font of kindness whence it springs
Thy boundless charity hath wrought my soul's salvation
And my grateful spirit sings
For changeless love and endless mercy
For countless blessings beyond the wealth of kings
For every perfect gift thou sendest, Lord, I praise thee
And my grateful spirit sings."[16]
I urge you, I exhort you, to pay attention to the patterns God has left for you, in your life, in your studies, in your families, in everything, in all his creation, to testify of His love for you. Record them in your journal, acknowledge them in your prayers, and teach them to your children.
"And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made... And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments."[17]
I know He lives. I know He loves me and that He loves you. He has left testaments for us to that love everywhere, if we know where to look and look with eyes of faith and love. "Yea, ... all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."[18] All things testify of Him, and so do I, with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I know these things are true. And so witness and testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Alma 30:40-41
[2] Gerald Lund, Divine Signatures, Deseret Book 2010
[3] John 3:16
[4] Mandelbrot set generated 9-8-15 by Brian Pyper
[5] "The Family Is of God," in Families Are Forever: 2014 Outline for Sharing Time (2013), 28-29
[6] Abraham 3:24
[7] D&C 88:47
[8] D&C 101:32-34
[9] D&C 88:11-13.
[10] D&C 93:36
[11] D&C 93:28
[12] Matt 6:22
[13] Romans 1:19-20
[14] http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2014_09_30_Hall.htm
[15] "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," Richard Robinson, 1757 arr. Mack Wilberg 2010
[16] "My Grateful Spirit Sings," Sally DeFord 2006
[17] D&C 59: 20-21
[18] Alma 30:44