Following the Savior's Example (Luke 2:52)
Brent M. Strong
December 10, 2002
My dear brothers and sisters, it's a great honor for me to stand before you for a few minutes today and share with you my feelings about some of the truly important things in life. I would like to begin with a scripture found in the 43rd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants given at Kirtland, Ohio to the Prophet Joseph Smith in February 1831 when he was just twenty-six years old. Here we are told in verse 8, "And now behold, I give unto you a commandment, that when ye are assembled together, ye shall instruct and edify each other,..."
Of course, I would like to teach you something today by way of instruction, but more importantly, it is my desire that I might edify you. If I'm successful, you will leave this devotional with the resolve to change your life in some fashion and be better. I have pled with the Lord that this might occur.
The story is told of a man in a small village who because of his ingenuity and intelligence owned a very prosperous fish market. One day one of his customers came to him and said, "Everyone in our village knows that you are extremely bright and very successful. What is it that has made you so smart?" Without even pausing to reflect, the man replied, "It's the fishheads." "You mean," said the customer "that if I eat fishheads I'll be smarter?" "That's correct," said the shop owner. "How much do they cost?" asked the man. "They're $5.00 a head," said the owner. Wanting to grow smarter, the customer said, "give me three of them," and he placed $15.00 on the counter.
The next day the customer was back in the fish market. "I ate those fish heads," he said, "and not only were they terrible, but I don't feel any smarter." "You didn't eat enough of them," replied the shop owner. "How many do I need to eat?" asked the customer. "You need to eat at least ten of them," said the man. Thereupon, the customer put $50.00 on the counter and walked out of the shop with ten more fishheads.
The following day he was back. In disgust, he said that he had eaten all ten of those fishheads. "They were absolutely horrible," he said. "Why for that amount of money I could have bought ten entire large fish." "See," said the shop owner. "You're getting smarter already!"
I must tell you that my goal today is to make you smarter -- even to edify you -- that you might in some way change and improve your life. I assure you, however, that this will not occur as a result of your eating fishheads.
In Doctrine and Covenants 130:20-21 we are told, "There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."
Brothers and sisters, this is a pure law of physics. Most simply stated, it is "the law of cause and effect," or as the gospel tells us, "we will reap what we sow." Everyone-- your parents, your teachers, your church leaders, and especially I today for the few minutes I stand before you, want you to reap the wonderful blessings of the gospel because you have been great sowers! How does this occur?
Do you realize how critical right now, and the next few years of your life, are to you? Many of you within the last few months or a year or so have left the comforts, and security, of home and have launched out on this exiting adventure we call life. For the first time you are truly away from, and if you choose, free from the daily influence of your parents. You go to bed when you want; you get up when you want; you go where you want to go, and you basically do what you want to do. Are not the choices you are making right now choices that will, to a great extent, determine what will happen to you for the rest of your life? You now must choose. Will you be true to the Church and serve faithfully where- and whenever you might be called? Will you be honest? There is so much dishonesty in the world. Will you go on a mission? And will you go for the right reason? Whom will you marry? Will that marriage be honorable and in the temple? What will you study? What career path will you choose? Brothers and sisters, these are truly some of the most important decisions you will ever make, not only in this life, but throughout the eternities. And now, and during the next few years, you will be making these critical decisions. Let me give you some food for thought to help you in making such important decisions.
The scriptures don't say much about the Savior from the age of twelve until he began his three-year ministry at the age of thirty. What they do say, however, has been a great guide for me throughout my life. In Luke 2:52 we are told, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man." This scripture points out a fourfold development of the Savior which I believe is also significant for us. May I discuss briefly with you each of these four elements of development.
First, as the Savior did, we must increase in wisdom. This means that we must continually be growing intellectually. The 93rd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants tells us in verse 36 that "the glory of god is intelligence." The 130th Section tells us in verses 18 and 19 that "Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." In Doctrine and Covenants 90 verse 15 we are told to "study and learn and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues and people." To me, the scriptures are very clear that our gaining an education and thereby increasing our wisdom, is a very important part of our lives. May I assume that you feel that way because you have come to BYU-Idaho first and foremost to learn.
I am the first of any in my family as far back as I know to have graduated from college. I owe this accomplishment to my father who although he had no formal education, was one of the brightest men I have ever met. My father was a completely self taught man. Within a few weeks after he had purchased a saxophone as a young teenager, he was playing dances professionally and earning money. My father was an absolute genius in electronics and could literally repair anything electrical. I will always remember and never forget his applying for a job with the then Atomic Energy Commission now called INEL to work in electronics. Upon reading the letter of offer, my father sat down on our sofa and literally put his head in his hands and shed tears. He was told in that letter that there were no openings in electronics because he had no qualifications. However, the letter said there was an opening for a dishwasher. Can you imagine how my father felt? Can you understand why he became so insistent that I take advantage of my educational opportunities. How thankful I am for that support and encouragement.
Are you doing all you can while here at BYU-Idaho to increase in wisdom and prepare yourselves for what the future will certainly bring? I hope so. That is what the Savior did between the ages of twelve and thirty.
In addition to increasing in wisdom, the Savior increased in stature. This means, of course, that he was healthy as he grew into his marvelous manhood. Are you healthy, and are you focusing on things that will make you healthy throughout your lives? Upon returning from our mission in former Yugoslavia last summer the first thing Sister Strong and I noticed when we landed in Chicago was how many truly obese people we saw walking throughout the airport. When we landed in Salt Lake, it seemed we saw even more. Brothers and sisters, one of the major epidemics of our time is obesity which, for the most part, is caused because of the unhealthy life style most Americans live. How are you doing in your attempts to be healthy? For most of you it's not much of a problem right now. Let me assure you, however, that as you age, for most of you it will become one of your primary concerns. In an article I recently read in the October 2002 Ensign it stated that "In 1995 the Institute of Medicine reported that 59 percent of Americans were clinically obese (at least 20 percent over their ideal weight)." Since returning home from my mission, I have been amazed at the number of reports I have both read and heard on radio and television about alarming increases in heart attacks, diabetes, strokes, and myriad other maladies. From all I have gleaned, many of these illnesses are directly related to our life style, and especially to what and how much we eat. Are you going to be part of those statistics later in your lives? I am sixty-three years old, and I must tell you that with few exceptions, I exercise at least five times a week. I don't do this because I want to die healthy; I do it because I want to live healthy and be able to enjoy those things in life that good health can bring, especially in later life. In the words of the scriptures, are you increasing in stature, or are you increasing in girth because of a very sedentary life style? I am personally positive that our wonderful Word of Wisdom goes far beyond our traditional avoidance of coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco. May your focus during these critical early years in your life bring you to a correct understanding of the importance of increasing in stature as I know the Savior did.
In addition to increasing in wisdom and stature, the Savior also increased in favor with God and with man. May I address first my feelings about what we might do to increase in favor with man. For me, this aspect of the Savior's life deals with the social graces we develop as we interact with one another. There is little doubt in my mind that while he was growing up, the Savior mastered the social customs of his time and place. He certainly knew how to carry himself as he ministered throughout the Holy Land. How are you doing in your attempts to increase in favor with man? In other words, how are your social graces? I must be honest with you that as I move about the campus I frequently see and hear things that are disturbing to me. Dress in many cases is inappropriate. I often see semi-unshaven, shabbily dressed men wearing caps over unkempt hair walking about the halls between classes. I see young women wearing clothing that to me is very suggestive because their slightest movement exposes not-so-tiny peeks of a bare midriff. I wish you sisters knew what that can do to the thoughts of a young man. Please know that by so dressing, you are not increasing in favor with moral LDS men.
I often hear language in the halls that is, in my opinion, semi-crude and certainly socially inappropriate. People, for example, talking about our Prophet will sometimes refer to him as "Hinckley." On occasion, I have had students address me by my first name. Brothers and sisters, I am not a prude, but such things offend me. I am disappointed when young men don't stand to shake either my or my wife's hand. I am disappointed when my wife and I are referred to as "you guys." I may be a guy, but my wife certainly is not. There are other things I could but will not mention. Watch closely and listen carefully to our leaders and emulate their social behavior. I suspect you will never hear President Bednar refer to you as being "cool guys." Remember, with a bit of luck, and a little time, you are in the process of becoming just like your parents and other leaders. I hope that's not an objectionable thought. We adults pray for you to develop social graces by doing as the Savior did: growing in favor with man.
Finally, I pray for you to grow in favor with God. This, of course, has to do with our testimonies and our feelings about sacred things. How are you doing? In a meeting I attended in the mission field with Elder Holland, he said that the Prophet is almost embarrassed to say there are eleven million members of our Church. In fact, he said, there are far, even millions, less than that who hold current temple recommends and are faithful to the covenants they have made. Where do you stand?
Do you pray morning and night? Do you read the scriptures every day even when you are not taking a religion class? Are you honest? No matter what you are, if you are not honest, you are nothing. What do you do when you are all alone and there is no one except you and the Lord to see your behavior? That is when the real "you" can be seen. It's not when you are out in public and putting on airs as so many people do. Maybe the most important thing we can do in this life as we mature is to be in favor with God. It has been my experience that when that is happening, almost every other aspect of our lives falls into place.
My brothers and sisters, I pray that you are beginning to understand the importance I am placing on the Savior's example. I hope you will think seriously about patterning your own life after that example. If you do, you will constantly think, strive, and pray about growing in wisdom, growing in stature, growing in favor with God, and growing in favor with man. You will think about the many implications that such an example can bring into your lives. When and if this happens, your behavior will change, and you will become a better, more Christ-like person.
In October 1994 just a few months before President Hinckley became our Prophet, he gave a conference address in the priesthood session entitled "Don't Drop the Ball." That talk, I believe, has great applicability to what I have been sharing with you. He began his address by telling a true baseball story he said he was reminded of sometime earlier while watching a TV program on PBS. He said the event occurred in the World Series of 1912 between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants. It was an eight-game series because one of the games had been called at midpoint because of darkness. Playing fields were not electrically lighted at that time. It was the last game, and the score was tied 1-1. The Red Sox were at bat. A Boston batter knocked a high fly. Two New York players ran for it. Fred Snodgrass at center field signaled to the other player that he would make the catch. He came squarely under the ball, which fell into his glove, but then went right on through and fell to the ground. As you can imagine, a howl went up in the stands. The roaring fans couldn't believe that Snodgrass had dropped the ball. He had caught hundreds of fly balls before; but now, at this crucial moment, he dropped the ball in a World Series game. The New York Giants lost the game and the Red Sox won the series.
President Hinckley said that Fred Snodgrass came back the following season and played brilliant ball for nine more years. He lived to be eighty-six years old, dying in 1974. However, after that one slip in 1912, for the next sixty-two years when he was introduced to anybody, the expected response was always, "Oh, yes, you're the one who dropped the ball during the World Series with the Red Sox."
In the 1929 Rose Bowl football game a player named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble and ran almost the length of the field in the wrong direction toward the opposing team's goal line.
He was ultimately tackled and brought down by one of his own team, preventing his making a touchdown for the other team. Somehow Roy Riegels had lost his sense of direction in a moment of stress. His mistake cost his team the victory. Roy Riegels was a great football player. He lived to be eighty-four, but after his one Rose Bowl mistake he was ever afterward remembered as the man who ran the wrong way.
Brothers and sisters, President Hinckley tells us that this phenomenon is not peculiar to sports. It happens every day in life. There is the student who thinks he is doing well enough, and then under the stress of the final exam, he flunks out. There is the driver who all of his life has had a flawless driving record and then in a moment of carelessness is involved in a tragic accident. There is the trusted employee whose performance has been excellent, and then he succumbs to the temptation to steal a little from his employer. A mark is placed upon him which never seems to entirely disappear. There is the life lived with decency, says the Prophet, and then comes the destructive, ever-haunting, one-time moral letdown. There is the outburst of anger that suddenly destroys a long-cherished relationship. There is the little sin that somehow grows and eventually leads to separation from the Church. In all of these examples, President Hinckley tells us that someone somehow dropped the ball. Someone had the self-confidence, possibly even the arrogance, to think that they didn't really have to try, that they could make it with only half an effort. But the ball passed through their hands and hit the ground, and they gave away the game. Or they made a smart catch of someone else's fumble and ran the wrong way, only to give victory to their opponents.
Brothers and sisters, what President Hinckley is telling us is that we must constantly be alert. We must be unrelenting in our self-discipline. In reality, we must do as the Savior did: be constantly increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
May I share with you a story given by Elder Jeffrey Holland in the October 1980 New Era which clearly demonstrates what can happen to a person when life's focus turns to increasing in wisdom and stature and finding favor with God and man. This is the story of one Eli Peirce. Elder Holland says, "If there is one lament I cannot abide, it is the poor, pitiful, withered cry, "Well, that's just the way I am." I have heard that from too many people who wanted to sin and call it psychology. You can change anything you want to change, and you can do it very fast. It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes you to say "I'll change"--and mean it.
As you know, the Brethren used to announce in general conference the names of those who had been called on missions. Not only was this the way friends and neighbors learned of the call, more often than not it was the way the missionary learned of it as well. One such prospect was Eli H. Peirce. A railroad man by trade, he had not been very faithful in Church meetings, "even had my inclinations led in that direction, which I frankly confess they did not," he admitted. His mind had been given totally to what he demurely calls "temporalities." He said he had never read more than a few pages of scripture in his life, that he had spoken to only one public gathering (an effort which he says "was no credit to himself' or those who heard him), and he used the vernacular of the railroad and bar room with a finesse born of long practice. He bought cigars wholesale--a thousand at a time-and he regularly lost his paycheck playing pool. Then this classic understatement: "Nature never endowed me with a superabundance of religious sentiment or veneration; my region of spirituality was not high, but below the average." Well, the Lord knew what Eli Peirce was, and he knew something else. He knew what Eli Peirce could become.
When the call came that October 5, 1875, Eli wasn't even in the Tabernacle. He was out working on one of the railroad lines. A fellow employee, once he recovered from the shock of it all, ran out to telegraph the startling news. Brother Peirce writes, "At the very moment this intelligence was being flashed over the wires, I was sitting lazily thrown back in an office rocking chair, my feet on the desk, reading a novel and simultaneously sucking an old Dutch pipe, just to vary the monotony of cigar smoking. As soon as I had been informed of what had taken place, I threw the novel in the waste basket, the pipe in the corner and started up town to buy scriptures. Have never read a novel nor smoked a pipe from that hour. Sent in my resignation...to take effect at once, in order that I might have time for study and preparation." Then these stirring words: "Remarkable as it may seem, and has since appeared to me, a thought of disregarding the call, or of refusing to comply with the requirement, never once entered my mind. The only question I asked myself a thousand times ... was:
"How can I accomplish this mission? How can I, who am so shamefully ignorant and untaught in doctrine, do honor to God and justice to the souls of men, and merit the trust reposed in me by the Priesthood?"
With such genuine humility fostering resolution rather than defeating it, Eli Peirce fulfilled a remarkable mission. His journal could appropriately close on a completely renovated life with this one line: "Throughout our entire mission we were greatly blessed."
During the course of his mission, Brother Peirce was called in to administer to the infant of a branch president whom he knew and loved. Unfortunately the wife had become embittered and seriously objected to any blessing being given. With the mother refusing to leave the bedside and the child too ill to move, the two brethren retired to a small upper room in the house to pray for the baby. Suspecting just such an act, the mother sent one of the older children to observe and report back. In the upper room the two men knelt and prayed until they felt the child would live. Arising from their knees, they saw the young girl standing in the doorway gazing into the room. She stood entranced for some seconds, and then she said, "Papa, who was that man in there?" "Brother Peirce" was the answer. "No," she said, "I mean that other man." "There was no other," said her father. "Oh yes there was," the child insisted, "I saw him standing above you and Brother Peirce, and he was all dressed in white."
Now if God in his heavens will do that for a repentant, old cigar-smoking, inactive, stern swearing pool player, don't you think he'll do it for you? He will if your resolve is as deep and permanent as Eli Peirce's. In this church we ask for faith, not infallibility."
May I share with you a poem entitled "A Fence or an Ambulance" by Joseph Malius.
Twas a dangerous cliff, as they freely confessed,
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant.
But over its terrible edge there had slipped
Full many a youthful peasant.
So the people said something would have to be done,
But their projects did not at all tally;
Some said, "Put a fence 'round the top of the cliff."
Some, "An ambulance down in the valley!"
But the cry for the ambulance carried the day,
For it spread through the neighboring city.
A fence may be useful or not, it is true;
But their hearts became brimful of pity
For those who slipped over the dangerous cliff.
And the dwellers in highway and alley,
Gave pounds or gave pence, not to put up a fence,
But an ambulance down in the valley.
"For the cliff is alright, if you're careful," they said,
"And if folks even slip, or are dropping,
It isn't the slipping that hurts them so much
As the shock down below, when they're stopping!"
So day after day as these mishaps occurred,
Quick forth would their rescuers sally
To pick up the victims who fell from the cliff,
With their ambulance down in the valley.
Then an old sage remarked, "It's a marvel to me
That people give far more attention
To repairing results than to stopping the cause,
When they'd much better aim at prevention.
Let us stop at its source all this nonsense," he cried.
"Come neighbors and friends, let us rally.
If the cliff we will fence, we might almost dispense
With the ambulance down in the valley!"
"Oh he's a fanatic!" the others rejoined.
"Dispense with the ambulance? Never!
He'd dispense with all charities too, if he could!
No, no, we'll support them forever.
Aren't we picking up folks just as fast as they fall?
And shall this man dictate to us, shall he?
Why should people of sense stop to put up a fence
When the ambulance works in the valley?"
But a sensible few, who are practical too,
Will not bear with such nonsense much longer.
They believe that prevention is better than cure,
And their party will still be the stronger.
Encourage them then, with your purse, voice, and pen,
And while other philanthropists dally,
They'll scorn all pretence and put up a fence
Round the cliff that hangs over the valley.
Better guard well the young, than reclaim them when old,
For the voice of true wisdom is calling.
To rescue the fallen is good, but 'tis best
To prevent other people from falling.
Let us close up the source of temptation and crime
Than deliver from dungeon and galley.
Better put a strong fence 'round the top of the cliff,
Than an ambulance down in the valley.
Brothers and sisters, today I have tried to build some fences for you that will prevent the ambulances of life from coming to your aid because you have chosen unwisely and figuratively fallen. I have tried to give you some suggestions that will help you not to drop some of the major balls of life.
Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935) who was an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court from 1902-1932 was riding on a train, and when the conductor came by to pick up his ticket, the Justice couldn't find it. Recognizing Mr. Holmes as being very famous, the conductor said, "I'm sure, Mr. Holmes, that you will be able to find your ticket when you return home. I am certain that the Pennsylvania Railroad can get by without that ticket until you find it. Why don't you just mail it to us?" "Young man," said Mr. Holmes, "You don't understand. The problem is not where is my ticket; it's where am I going?"
I conclude today by asking you the same question. Where are you going in this life? Alma tells us in chapter 34:32, "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." I say to you that now is the time. The decisions you are making now, and the decisions you will make in the next few years, will be the most important you will ever make. They can, and will, build the fences you need to keep from falling into the valley. They can, and will, keep you from dropping the ball.
I pray for you to do as the Savior did: To increase in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and with man. I bear testimony to you that our church is true. I bear testimony to you that President Hinckley is a living prophet. I also bear testimony to you that the principles I have shared with you today are true, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
