Good afternoon to you good students--you’re a joy to see, a frightening joy for me--but a beautiful one none the less.
To President and Sister Wilkes, all of the BYU–Idaho family, my dear wife and children, and to my wonderful parents--I am so grateful to be with you and grateful to call you my friends. How I love this special, special institution. Being a part of this place has always been one of the great blessings of my life.
To use the words that all of us have become so accustomed to hearing from Elder Bednar, I sincerely invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be with me and to be with you during these next few minutes that we will share together. I know that if you will lend your prayers at this time for that guidance for us both, you will be lead to ideas and promptings that will bless your life and the lives of others around you.
Today as we meet together, I hope to share something of some value to all of us. I am very conscious of the accumulated value of your time. I have been praying--that this will meaningful for someone. Here is what I hope will be the outcome of this devotional today: if I do my job well and if you are receptive, we can learn together through the Spirit, the value and power for deepening our spirituality. I will use just a few simple scriptures that share a common theme or a similar parable basis. Most of all, I pray that what has been prepared will be acceptable to our Father in Heaven.
In a primarily agricultural area like southeast Idaho, there are special symbols that become visible during this important time of year. As students, most of you probably don’t come in close contact with this because your worlds are focused on other activities, but a miracle of nature is just now starting to awaken, to come alive. Rain, sunshine, and warmer temperatures begin to do their yearly work and initiate that age old cycle of new life. Trees begin to bud, flowers, and plants push up through the soil and all around us there is the beautiful promise of new life. Before we know it, this campus, the lawns around this town, the surrounding fields, the wild grasses and plants in the deserts and the mountains--everything will be green, growing, and beautiful again.
Throughout the history of God’s dealings with His children here on this earth, He has frequently taught us using the imagery of such things as seeds, plants, vines, vineyards, wheat, weeds, water, trees, and fruit. These have always been everyday symbols that He chose to help His children understand themselves, their actions, the effects of their choices, their purposes, their rewards, and of His care and nurturing love towards all of us.
Several beautiful scriptures come to mind that deal with this idea of new life. The first one that I would ask you to turn to is found in the 13th chapter of Matthew. Listen to the voice of the Savior as He teaches us this very simple, but very meaningful parable:
Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
But others fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.[1]
We can picture each of the seeds--the seeds by the wayside, in stony places, among thorns, and in good ground. And we can understand easily the meaning behind this parable.
Where else do we learn about seeds in the scriptures? Like me, you probably think of Alma chapter 32. If I were to ask you what that particular chapter is about, most of you would respond: “the faith chapter.” And that reaction is true, but today, there is another parable that is found there that often gets overlooked.
In the middle of this chapter is a wonderful parable about a plant that begins from a tiny seed and to quote Alma, that seed swells, enlarges, grows, enlightens, and expands. Alma teaches us that the seed is light and it is light that we can taste. This is beautiful imagery that Alma paints for us; and you and I are indebted to this great prophet for helping us understand the process of faith, and the initiation that turns the desire to believe, into real and abiding testimony. But, if we don’t read carefully on and think through a second analogy that Alma leaves us, we may miss a great principle that is particularly relevant to all of us.
Keep in mind that we’ve been talking about spring and you are in the springtime of your lives. All of you will soon be transplanted, in a sense, from this little desert garden here in Idaho to other gardens scattered throughout the world. We think of that sort of thing with graduation and summer coming on. And so the questions of the hour that I would like to present to you are: how do we continue to develop and continue to learn spiritually, growing into deeper and more satisfying soil? Do you see the need for your spiritual roots to go deeper? And most importantly, how do you take this to the next level?
I hope that another of the outcomes of today’s devotional is the realization that there is a next step in the process of faith. For our purposes today, I will call this “spiritual nourishment.” What I have prepared are just a few simple ideas that I have noticed, or have been taught that have led me to new spiritual nourishment. I will attempt to weave those together with this idea of nourishing that Alma is about to teach us. I want to stress, however, that my thoughts are just some ideas, some things that I have benefited from by knowing or noticing. I hope that by introducing these ideas, that it will allow you to see additional insights all of your own, or insights that others more wise than I might share with you as you continue on your journey. As you are transplanted to other gardens in a much larger world, I believe that you can take with you a spiritual self-reliance that will come from your efforts to nourish your faith and testimony.
Turn with me to this second parable taught by Alma. Alma chapter 32, beginning in verse 37. Remember that the seed has been planted and has begun to grow and is already bringing forth some very real rewards. Beginning in verse 37, Alma taught:
And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.[2]
Do you see the next parable that Alma is sharing? How do we nourish the faith and testimony that we have already planted? Alma goes on:
But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.[3]
Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.[4]
Now we could talk about the familiar and important methods for building our spirituality: on-going and sincere repentance, personal worthiness, deep and careful study, heartfelt prayer, fasting, service to others, and patient endurance. For our purposes today, I would like to assume that we are already doing are best at most of these things. Let’s look at the process of nourishing a plant and see if that process might teach us something about our next steps in nourishing and growing our faith and our testimonies.
We can find at least six distinct elements that are necessary to the process of nourishing a plant to thrive and bear fruit. Those elements necessary to that process are: water, light, soil, weeding, pruning, protecting, and waiting.
Let’s consider them one at a time and compare them to nourishing ourselves spiritually.
The Symbolic and Nourishing Power of Water
First is water. What is the symbolism of water? Actually there are several. Nephi taught from his and his father’s visions that the living waters were the love of God.[5] Christ taught the woman at the well that the water He gave would be a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.[6] He taught that those who drink His water would never thirst[7] and He verified that He alone was able to drink the cup that His Father gave to him.[8] Water in its pure state is a beautiful substance to look at. It is a substance that maintains life as it cycles throughout this planet. In a very real sense, the water you drank a few minutes ago is a portion of the same water that was put here at the creation of the earth. That water has been through countless clouds, through deepest underwater reservoirs, through tiny plants and tall, tall trees. It has been here through all of the ages and eons of this earth.
What potential analogies are there here? The first one that comes to my mind is that as that water is eternal, so are you. And as that water fulfills the great nurturing of life, so too can this concept of your own eternal nature nourish your understanding of life and your purposes here--when you truly grasp it and truly believe it!
This powerful understanding of our eternal nature can give great spiritual nourishment to each of us. Let me illustrate. When my yardstick for measuring the value of things that are presented to me each day, or things that are available to occupy my time, is calibrated to an eternal measure, I weigh matters in a fundamentally different manner. Additionally, I find that because of this eternal perspective, I hear and see things that I otherwise would miss. Let me say that again in a slightly different way: because of interest in and concern for this nourishing process, you will hear and see things in the gospel message that others would likely miss. The Savior called these things “hidden treasures”[9]--hidden treasures that would be found by those who have ears to hear and eyes to see.
Elder Widtsoe said this about the empowerment of an eternal perspective--this nourishment of deep, clear waters:
The mighty perspective of eternity is unraveled before us . . . ; we see time from its infinite beginning to its endless end; and the drama of eternal life is unfolded before us. Then I see more clearly my place amidst the things of the universe, my place among the purposes of God; I am better able to place myself where I belong, and I am better able to value and to weigh, to separate and to organize the common, ordinary duties of my life, so that the little things shall not oppress me or take away my vision of the greater things that God has given us.[10]
People with this eternal perspective find it hard to distinguish where time ends and eternity begins--they sense the continuum from their previous lives with this life here on earth, and with their lives to come. People with this understanding sense the value of “the things which are prepared for them.” The Lord teaches us in the 78th section of the Doctrine and Covenants that, “Satan seeketh to turn [our] hearts away from the truth, that [we] become blinded and understand not the things which are prepared for [us].”[11] Joseph Smith taught that the gospel was restored to “teach us who we are.” Therefore, strategically speaking, Satan’s objectives must be to teach us who we are not.
You and I build and nourish our spirituality, providing those roots with pure, satisfying water in a significant way just simply through understanding who we really are. “Behold,” the Lord said to Moses--and would say to each of us--“you are my son [or my daughter]” . . . and significantly, “thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten.” We are truly like our Savior in more ways than we are different from Him, brothers and sisters. Moses himself used that very thought to withstand a highly charged confrontation with Satan. You and I will hopefully never face such a direct challenge, but in our own individual temptations, this knowledge of our eternal nature can be one key of deliverance. The great Jehovah told Moses that He knows us all, and all things are numbered to Him, “for they are mine.”[12] What a grand and enabling concept this is!
Finally, we can’t leave this subject of water and it’s nourishing value without remembering these important words: “Oh God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this [water] to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them.”[13] In a very real sense, we nourish our spirits on a weekly basis each time we partake of the sacrament. This nourishing power of water, and all that it symbolizes, is a critical element for our spiritual nourishment.
The Symbolic and Nourishing Power of Light
A second part to the process of nourishing can be found in the symbolism of light. The apostle John teaches us in a powerful and symbolic way about the Savior and light. He taught: “In [Christ] was life; and the life was the light of men.”[14] In modern scripture, we learn that the light of Christ is literally in the sun, the earth, the moon, and the stars. And that the mingling of the Savior’s power and natural light itself are the powers by which each of these spheres were made. And then this modern-day revelation takes the concept of light to a more glorious and at the same time a more personal level, when it teaches that this light “enlighteneth your eyes” and “quickeneth your understanding” and is somehow “the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God . . .”[15] The natural light that shines around us on a beautiful spring day is a marvel in itself and is literally the power of life.
So how is this idea of light relevant to our need for the on-going nourishing of our faith and testimony as Alma taught? Just as light is divided by darkness in the day and night cycle of this earth, we will be profited by a personal division between the profane and the sacred. Although “profane” can mean “showing contempt for the things of God”, it’s secondary meaning is probably one that hits a little closer to home for most of us: “Showing disinterest for the things of God.”
Symbolically speaking, light of course represents truth and righteousness, while darkness represents error and wickedness.
All around us on any given day, we are surrounded by darkness and the profane--we are truly “in the world.” This darkness can be alluring and it is persistently inviting us to use our time, our attention, and our energy on it’s prolific offerings. Many--maybe even most--of these offerings are seemingly not that dark, perhaps they even seem quite light. An example of this would be the amount of discretionary time and means that are available to us. In the midst of all the glamour, glitz, and noise, it is interesting to me to think that our Father in Heaven would choose a plan for His children that is based on a still and small voice, on self-discipline, and obedience. His plan would require faith in things not seen, when all around us there would be tantalizing things that could be seen. Our Father’s plan would require acting and then accepting consequences, and would require patience and endurance.
Today, our world is fully the opposite of each of these characteristics of the gospel plan. How do we distinguish between what is eternally important and what is merely a diversion in our real lives--our eternal lives? How do we expose the plants of our faith and testimony to a fuller nourishment filled with light? How do we make ourselves more receptive to the things of God?
There are many ways that we can use this light to discern the profane from the sacred. One way that I have noticed in my own life is to take the words of God more literally and hold them more reverently. Samuel the prophet of the Old Testament--even as a boy--“did let none of [God’s] words fall to the ground.”[16]
The author Dennis Rasmussen, in the book, The Lord’s Question, puts it quite beautifully in this way:
Who can comprehend the power of sacred words? Who can say what things they teach [those] whose ears and tongues are trained by the words of God? My language sets the limits of my world. Fortunate are they who have learned the language that teaches of God, for their world will be filled with His presence.
Brother Rasmussen continues,
These words give light . . . No one can see the world aright who does not see it in the light of God. No one can understand the purpose of life who has not found it in the teachings of God. How harsh and empty are the tunes of temptation in the ears of those who have heard the hymns of heaven.[17]
Another way we can successfully discern the profane from the sacred also deals with words. We live in a day where our language is filled with a high degree of casualness. Elder Russell M. Nelson on this campus said: “Language reflects refinement . . . your manner of speech will stand in stark contrast to the lazy language of our day.” He then quotes President Hinckley who said, “sloppy language portends sloppy ways.” Elder Nelson then encouraged the students at BYU-Idaho to pattern their manners and their language after President Hinckley’s, who he called “elegant and eloquent.”
Laziness and sloppiness in language, Elder Nelson teaches, “portends” other sloppiness in our lives. Portend means to predict. What other forms of sloppiness could be predicted to creep into our lives and spread their darkness when we accept sloppy language?
Some of the concerns among the leaders of the Church generally and the leaders of the Church on our campus include irreverence in our language as we address deity in prayer and casualness in dress as we attend one of the most sacred meetings of all, sacrament meeting. We could ask ourselves, how does this casualness lap over into our approach towards sincere repentance or our ability to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit? President Boyd K. Packer said that: “Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit” and he added: “[The] trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless.”[18]
I am sure there are many other possible parallels that could be drawn between the power of light to dispel the profane, and our ability to nourish our spirituality on an on-going and meaningful way. But it is clear to me that just as a plant requires light to grow and thrive, our faith and testimonies also require the light of discernment that comes freely to us from our Savior.
The Symbolic and Nourishing Power of Soil
Third on my list is soil. Soil is so simple--it is earth, the basis of creation, the dust from which everything was formed. It is matter and it cannot be created and it cannot be destroyed. Soil is one of the main mediums for the nutrients of life. Good soil is both soft and pliable, while at the same time it has the ability to protect. The Savior taught of “good ground” versus “no deepness of earth” in the parable that we read in Matthew 13.
So what can we learn about nourishing our spirituality by this symbolism of soil? For me, I see several possible lessons, all of which center on the concept of simplicity. It is always interesting to me how the Savior used such simple forms for teaching: seeds, figs, sparrows, and many, many more common yet symbolic images.
The simple in our lives can have so many connotations. We could talk about simple truths. Of that, Heber C. Kimball said: “Those things which appeared the most mysterious will prove to be the most simple.”[19]
What other forms of simplicity are there that could bring significant spiritual nourishment to us? I think of simplicity of living. I propose to you that the more simple and unburdened that we live our lives, the more likely we are to find true happiness and those “hidden treasures. Additionally, what of accepting simplicity in our surroundings? We live in a very affluent world. Even those of us who are considered “middle-class” in this country enjoy a standard of living far, far above so much of the rest of the world. We also live in a day and age where the “new” is very desirable. But an important question is, what is the affect of the “new” on our ability to discern between needs and our wants? Too much of the “new”, acquired in too short of time, can lead to long-term burdens that are not always apparent initially and which may be difficult to undo later. Many people have given away much in order to have these things--peace of mind and simplicity of means being two things in particular that are being lost today. We can learn so much by watching the Brethren. Did you know that many of the First Presidency and the Twelve live in very ordinary homes where they have lived for decades--the very homes where they raised their families, and where they have worked with their own hands to build and to improve them?
Another way of looking at simplicity is found in the last chapter of the Book of Romans. There Paul teaches the Saints in worldly Rome this idea: “I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.”[20] How does that relate to this idea of nourishing? To maintain good soil for the nourishing of our individual trees of faith, we cannot pollute it with harsh chemicals. They will kill the plant. The harsh chemicals of today that damage our spiritual soil include anything that keeps you or I from the things of God. I think of the acidity of pornography and other degrading media that can include television, movies, music, and games.
Finally on this concept of good soil and the nourishment for our spiritual lives, I am reminded of some powerful words of the prophet Nephi where he said this to all of us who need to push deeper into the living soil of the gospel--this comes from the 32nd chapter of the Second book of Nephi: “If ye cannot understand [these words,” and I think that Nephi might call them: simple words, “it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light . . . for [ye] will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto [you] in plainness, even as plain as word can be.”[21]
Nourishment in Action: Weeding, Pruning, Protecting, and Waiting
Now let me introduce my last four ideas--I will call these “nourishment in action.
The first action that is required is weeding. What are the possible lessons for nurturing a more spiritual life that we learn from the concept of weeding? We learn that weeding takes time and consistent, enduring effort that is a life-long challenge. I hope that all of you have had the experience of weeding a garden before--it’s character building. What do weeds represent as it relates to spirituality? Thorns in Matthew chapter 13 were what?--cares of the world. What do aggressive weeds do to good plants? They rob vital nutrients and in the end if there is no weeding, the bad will overcome the good. Think of how young tare plants look like young grain plants--what lessons for life are in there? One interpretation could be the difficulty of distinguishing good from evil in early temptations. We could mention the bitter fruit of wild olive-trees, and we could talk of pests such as fowls that come and snatch away seeds of truth before they can be understood. There are wonderful lessons to be considered here, brothers and sisters--lessons that have great implications to our spiritual nourishment.
What about pruning? I’m sure that this second nourishment in action can be understood from many angles. One example that comes to my mind is where Christ taught that He himself was the true vine and that His father was the husbandman (John 15:1). What did the Lord mean when He said, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he [His Father] taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”[22] This purging and pruning process sounds potentially painful. What is the role of trials, suffering, and sacrifice in the nourishing of deeper spiritual roots? Challenges can have the effect of sending our roots deeper into good soil and strengthening us against the inevitable storms of life. With the right spiritual eyes, can you and I have the faith to submit and let this tutoring verb operate in us?
How about protecting? Just as a farmer must protect his plants from storm, disease, drought, and infestations, so must we do the same for our spirituality. How do each of those relate to the protection of our spiritual health? Let’s use the symbol of a storm from this list as an illustration. And note that what we do with the symbol of a storm could be done with each of these other farming challenges.
Come back with me to the 26th chapter of Alma. Ammon is speaking here and he uses the same analogy of a plant that has been nourished and grown to full fruition. He talks about the finishing of the work when the fruit is fully ready to be harvested and gathered in before stormy weather. Ammon is speaking of sheaves, which is a method of stacking harvested stalks of grain. Beginning in verse 6, Ammon taught:
Yea, they [the sheaves--the children of the kingdom] shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them. But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the harvest, and they are his; and he will raise them up at the last day.[23]
That is a beautiful analogy, isn’t it? Through the protecting hand of a loving, caring, attentive master farmer, an eventual and bountiful harvest is made a reality.
Now finally to the last action--waiting. We could come up with many possible interpretations for this symbol, but right away, I think of pondering. One of my favorite stories from the life of President Hinckley is the rather simple story that he shares from his youth of frequently seeing his father sitting on a low stone wall in their yard with a tool in hand, lost in thought, pondering on the things that mattered most to him. In so many ways, such opportunities are lost in our society today--unless you and I make a conscious effort to create them. It is a choice we can make to live simply and quietly. President Packer said, “inspiration comes in peaceful settings.” There are other analogies that come to mind. Without faith and patience, a farmer will never harvest a single crop. In our Church you often hear references to the “law of the harvest”. What does that mean in our context today? Farming is waiting and so it is with spiritual nourishment. Endurance is required for both, but in the end, the fruit of the labor is often labor itself. I invite you to turn back to Alma 32 and go with me to the end of the chapter. In verses 41 and 42, Alma explains the rewards for nourishing our faith and testimony:
“But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life. And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.”[24]
Brothers and sisters, what we have done here today is to take just a few passages of scriptures that have a central theme. We have explored the possible lessons for life, particularly how we can take our faith and testimony to deeper more meaningful levels. As you seek to do just that in your life--patiently and consistently--I promise you that you will find applications and correlations with other parables of the Savior and with the words of His servants the prophets, that will open great vistas of meanings, even “hidden treasures” that will bless your life, particularly your eternal life.
I testify that these vistas, these hidden treasures are in reality the fruit spoken of by Alma, fruit that is “sweet above all that is sweet”. And that fruit is the greatest reality and truth of them all: the atonement of Jesus Christ. I further testify that His atonement was the ultimate act of courage and selflessness and the consequence of His life, His love, and His courage has not only eternal implications for all humanity, but also has implications for you and for me on profoundly personal levels.
I know that as you and I focus on this most significant event throughout our entire lives, then line upon line, feeling upon feeling, hungering upon thirsting, through passing years, we will taste of that precious fruit offered by the Father to all those who love His Son and who serve His children. I testify to you that the atonement is the very center of all true spiritual nourishment.
I prayerfully ask that I can be gathered together in my place and that that place might be with my eternal Parents and my Savior, Jesus Christ, and with all others that I love so dearly on this earth and who I long to be with eternally. And I pray the same for each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Matthew 13:3-9
[2] Alma 32:37
[3] Alma 32:38
[4] Alma 32:39
[5] 1 Nephi 11:25
[6] John 4:13-14
[7] 3 Nephi 20:8
[8] Matthew 20:22
[9] Doctrine and Covenants 89:19
[10] John A. Widtsoe, Conference Report, April 1922, pp. 97-98
[11] Doctrine and Covenants 78:10
[12] Moses 1:4, 6, 35
[13] Doctrine and Covenants 20:79
[14] John 1:4
[15] Doctrine and Covenant 88:7-13
[16] 1 Samuel 3:19
[17] The Lord’s Question, pp. 27-28
[18] Ensign, November 1991, p. 23
[19] Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, Volume 3, p. 112
[20] Romans 16:19
[21] 2 Nephi 32:4, 7
[22] John 15:2
[23] Alma 26:6-7
[24] Alma 32:41-42