True Devotion (2024)

My dear brothers and sisters, it is a great privilege and a wonderful honor for me to be here, but Imust say that it has caused a certain degree of stress. I love to teach the gospel. I love to learn ofthe Lord. My biggest concern about giving this address is that I do not bring sufficient honor toour Father and His Son Jesus Christ, not only today, but in my personal life.

I shouldn't feel that I am alone or without help. I know many people are praying for me. All thereligion faculty are praying that I won't embarrass the Religion Department with what I say orhow I say it. Anyone who works at BYU-Idaho who knows me is praying that I won't bring thisinstitution into disrepute. And, most of all, my wife is praying that I won't say some of the dumbthings that she has heard me say so many times before.

However, as great as my efforts are to do well, I know that any success, or strength, or wisdom,or revelation, or comfort, or appreciation that comes as a result of your being at this devotionalassembly, will occur as a direct blessing that we receive from the hand of God himself. Myresponsibility is to do all I can, to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in helping prepareyou for the reception of His Spirit. You and I both know that it is the Spirit of the Lord, the HolyGhost who does the teaching in this Church. Regardless of the charisma and charm, or thedeliberate and somewhat monotonous way in which a speaker presents his message, every one ofus can be uplifted, empowered, enriched, and blessed as we feel what the Lord would have usfeel and as we are attuned to that Holy Spirit. Therefore, my responsibility and desires to be aninstrument in the hands of the Lord should be no greater than your responsibility and, hopefully,your desires to hear the word of the Lord, not necessarily my words, but that which our HeavenlyFather would like you to hear and act upon.

Now, I am much older than most of you here today. There are a few who are older than I. Forexample, President Bednar is older than I by, I think 2 months, though he looks much youngerand certainly behaves and acts much more dignified than I. Perhaps some of us who are olderand who have had more of life's experiences than some of you, have a different vantage pointfrom which we look upon the works and glories and mercies of God. It is my great desire to helpeach of us gain the desire to develop what I will refer to as "True Devotion."

One dictionary defines devotion as "great love or loyalty, enthusiastic zeal" or "religiousworship" (Oxford American Dictionary, 1980, p. 176). From this same dictionary, we find thatthe word "devout" is a derivative of the word "devotion." Devout means "earnestly religious,earnest, sincere."

I have often wondered about my devotion to God, my earnestness in serving Him, my great loveto and for Him, my enthusiastic zeal for this great work in which we are all involved, first andforemost by covenant, and secondly, by our faithfulness to the gospel cause. I have tried todetermine some of the components that make up true devotion and will now share some of themwith you.

To whom are we devoted? Let us begin with Him to whom the greatest Being that has ever livedon the face of this earth gave all glory, honor, credit, faith, and devotion; that Being to whom ourown Savior, Jesus Christ constantly referred as His Father. Who is this Father to whom we havebeen taught to address ourselves in sacred, sincere prayer (Moses 5:8)?

We use the name "God" most often to refer to our Heavenly Father. Certainly that is appropriateand right. We know that He is the literal Father of our spirits (Hebrews 12:9). We therefore,have the privilege and responsibility of communicating directly with our Father. He is also theliteral Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ, but also the literal Father of the physical body of ourLord. This is why we refer to the Savior as "the Only Begotten of the Father" (D&C 76:23),because Jesus is the only person whose physical father is the same as the Father of His spirit. Noone else has that distinction.

Our Heavenly Father is also known as "Man of Holiness" (Moses 6:57). He is a "Holy Man." The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: "God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man,and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!" This truth has been captured in the famous couplet,authored by Lorenzo Snow, which states: "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, manmay be" (Lorenzo Snow, Biography and Family Records of Lorenzo Snow, p. 46, Spring, 1840).

This Man of Holiness is, as was stated before, the Father of Jesus Christ, both spiritually andphysically. Therefore, Jesus is appropriately known as "the Son of Man of Holiness," or "theSon of Man" (see Mormon Doctrine, p. 742; also Topical Guide, "Jesus Christ, Son of Man", p.256).

Our Father is holy, as is His Only Begotten Son. He was and is the focus of the Savior's loveand devotion. The Savior taught, "I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him[meaning, the Father]. . . . as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. I do alwaysthose things that please him. I speak that which I have seen with my Father" (John 8: 26, 28-29,38).

If the greatest of all men felt that way about Heavenly Father, how much more should givereverence, praise, thanks and demonstrate our love and appreciation to this God of Gods?

As the great prophet Enoch saw a vision of "all the inhabitants of the earth," he noticed that thewondrous Being, the "God of heaven" who "looked upon the residue of the people" who livedbefore the flood of Noah, wept (Moses 7:21,28). Enoch couldn't understand why, knowing thatthis great Being was "holy and from all eternity to all eternity" (Moses 7:29). He was told:

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. . . unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they shouldlove one another, and that they should choose me, their Father: but behold, theyare without affection, and they hate their own blood (Moses 7:33).

I believe that, not only did the people before the time of the flood, hate each other, but they hatedtheir God and Father, as well as the Son of God, who spoke with these prophets.

We must not ever speak of our Father or His Beloved Son irreverently. It brings shame to Hischildren, and especially to those of us who understand our true relationship with Him. Speakingirreverently is much more than taking His name in vain, although that is a very serious sin andbreach of our covenants. Sometimes we speak a little carelessly about Deity. We are taught veryclearly in the Doctrine and Covenants about the sacred nature of the name of Heavenly Fatherand His Son, Jesus Christ. We are taught the reason for naming the higher priesthood afterMelchizedek.

Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek wassuch a great high priest. Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, afterthe Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of theSupreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church,in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the MelchizedekPriesthood (D&C 107:2-4).

In our work, play, or anytime, we must communicate with others our love, respect, and devotionto our Father in Heaven.

Who is Jesus Christ? The Only Begotten Son in the flesh. He is known as the Eternal Father ofheaven and earth (Alma 11:39). He is our Brother, our Savior and our God. He has createdworlds without number, including this one (Moses 1:33). His sacrifice and atonement is infiniteand eternal (Alma 34:8-10). He speaks like the Father. He speaks as the Father. He thinks likethe Father. He acts like the Father (Hebrews 1:1). He looks like the Father. He and the Fatherare united in all things, so much so, that we seldom feel the need to differentiate betweenHeavenly Father and Jesus Christ when we talk about how much the "Lord" has blessed us, orhow much we depend upon the "Lord." What is their united purpose? To bring to pass theimmortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). We then have the same responsibility andopportunity to speak as reverently, to love as devoutly, to appreciate as sincerely, our Savior andRedeemer, as we do the Father of our spirits.

I have sung hymns of praise all my life, not always realizing the significance of the words I wassinging, nor He to whom the hymn was directed. The longer I live and the more I learn of themajesty of our Father and His Son, the more I realize my dependence on the Lord. There is aninteresting verse in Ether 12 which has taken on additional meaning for me. It is verse 27. Youare all very familiar with it. You have heard it mentioned many, many times. Very often it isused to show how our weaknesses can be made strengths. Let me suggest something. Let's readthis verse very slowly, especially the first part of it.

And if men come unto me. . .

First of all, when men come unto Christ, something happens. Ether 12:27 was written byMoroni. He teaches much more about coming unto Christ in the last chapter of the book ofMoroni, the third and second to the last verses. Let's read those two verses.

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of allungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God withall your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by hisgrace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect inChrist, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace ofGod are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christby the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in thecovenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy,without spot (Moroni 10:32-33).

It is by "coming unto Christ" that we are made perfect and in no other way. There is much moreto "coming unto Christ" than simply being a member of His Church and attending our meetingseach week. When men go through the process of coming unto Christ (denying themselves of allungodliness, loving God with all their might, mind and strength), then the grace of God issufficient to make us "perfect in Christ." We can then be sanctified and made holy, without spot.

Now, back to Ether 12. You see, to me, verse 27 is not a generic verse with application toanyone who has a multitude of weaknesses. It is directed to those who are truly making the effortto come unto Christ. Now, what happens "if men come unto me?"

I will show unto them their weakness.

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Notice: the word "weakness" is singular, not plural (weaknesses). You would think that if theLord is going to go to all the trouble of helping us make our weaknesses strong, He would atleast, suggest that we have more than one weakness to overcome. But that is not what I think Heis trying to teach us. He uses the same word, "weakness," singular, again when He says:

I give unto men weakness that they may be humble.

What weakness can we possess that will help us more than any other to be humble? And whatdoes it mean to be humble? President Spencer W. Kimball once said:

Humility develops through prayer and study. Somebody asked me this morning,'How do you keep humble? Sometimes I am humble and sometimes I amunhumble. How do you keep humble?' I think there is a formula that will neverfail. First, you evaluate yourself. What am I? I am the circle. I am the hole inthe doughnut. I would be nothing without the Lord. My breath, my brains, myhearing, my sight, my locomotion, my everything depends upon the Lord. That isthe first step and then we pray, and pray often, and we will not get up from ourknees until we have communicated. The line may be down; we may have let it fallto pieces, but I will not get up from my knees until I have establishedcommunication--if it is twenty minutes, if it is all night like Enos. If it takes allday long, you stay on your knees until your unhumbleness has dissipated, untilyou feel the humble spirit and realize, 'I could die this minute if it were not for theLord's good grace. I am dependent upon him--totally dependent upon him,' andthen you read the scriptures. Could you read these scriptures . . . and not be liftedand inspired? Can you read about the prophets--David O. McKay--and not feelweak and small in comparison? Well, you can create humility, and humility has tobe fed, too, in the same way, with the right kind of vitamins. And when you havesuccess, you do not glory in it for you, you glory in it for the Lord (The Teachingsof Spencer W. Kimball, p. 233).

President Kimball mentioned two things that I think answer the question I proposed about theword "weakness" in Ether 12:27. First, humility is the realization that without the Lord, we arenothing, absolutely nothing. Secondly, we must realize that we are completely and totallydependent upon the Lord for our very existence, even the very air we breathe. To me, this is themeaning of the word "weakness." The weakness the Savior gives to those who seek Him, whocome unto Him, is the recognition of their absolute and total dependence upon Him foreverything they have and are.

If we read Ether 12:27-28 in its entirety, we can see that the Lord desires us, (and we areidentified with the Gentiles--see D&C 109:60) to be "brought unto [Christ]--the fountain of allrighteousness." Why? Because Jesus Christ is "the Way, the Truth and the Life" and "no mancometh unto the Father, but by [Him}" (John 14:6). " . . . there is none other name under heavengiven among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Without Jesus Christ there is no joy,no hope, no faith, no truth, no eternal family, no celestial life, no life at all. Certainly, He is andmust be viewed as the focal point of our lives, our hearts and feelings, our minds and thoughts,our acts and in every part of our lives. Do we not even covenant, and renew that covenantweekly, to "always remember Him." (D&C 20:77, 79)

The need for humility, the recognition of our total dependence and our sincere, heart and spirit-felt gratitude for the mighty and marvelous works of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ should beevident to every living soul. But I know that I do not "always remember Him" as I havecovenanted to do.

Mormon, the great editor of the Book of Mormon, almost seemed angry with the wickedness ofthe children of men when they forsook the blessings of the gospel and the kindness of the Lordand didn't realize what He had really done for them. Notice what Mormon says in Helaman12:1-2.

And thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of thechildren of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness dothbless and prosper those who put their trust in him. Yea, and we may see at thevery time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields,their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner ofprecious things of every king and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them outof the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that theyshould not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for thewelfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do hardentheir hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet theHoly One--yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly greatprosperity (Helaman 12:1-2).

I have thought, on occasion, of Mormon's words that people "do trample under their feet theHoly One." How could anyone trample the Holy One of Israel under their feet? It is almostbeyond comprehension that people would do such a thing. And then I found a very consciencecrushing verse. 1 Nephi 19:7.

For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body andsoul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God ofIsrael do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I wouldspeak in other words--they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of hiscounsels (1 Nephi 19:7).

You see, I have trampled the very God of Israel under my feet before, because I have set Him atnaught (meaning of no value, worthless) and have not kept His commandments. I am sure thatwhen I have not kept His commandments I didn't think that I considered Him or Hiscommandments to be of no value. That is just the problem--I didn't think! I didn't rememberwhat He has done for me. I didn't recognize or consider His pre-mortal stature as Jehovah--theGod of Israel, the creator of this earth and millions of earths like it. I didn't think about Hisdivine, prophecy-fulfilling birth; His exemplary life; His soul-saving teachings; His compassion-filled ministry; His selflessness; His ever-present desire to save and exalt His brothers andsisters, his children. I didn't think of His excruciating pain and blood soaked clothing inGethsemane; His humiliating arrest and trial; His death and resurrection; His ministry to othernations and people; His appearance, along with the Father, to Joseph Smith; the restoration ofHis gospel to the earth for the benefit and blessing of you and me. I had no idea or realizationthat my very life and being depends upon Him.

King Benjamin understood how much we need the Savior, and yet, how little we realize what Hedoes for us each and every day.

I say unto you , my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praisewhich your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you,and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and hasgranted that ye should live in peace one with another--I say unto you that if yeshould serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving youfrom day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and doaccording to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment toanother--I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would beunprofitable servants (Mosiah 2:20-21).

This is a tremendous list of some of the countless things that we receive from the Lord each andevery day. How often do we truly stop and appreciate our great blessings? No wonder KingBenjamin told us that we "cannot say that [we] are even as much as the dust of the earth"(Mosiah 2:25). Mormon said:

O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less thanthe dust of the earth. For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither,to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God(Helaman 12:7-8).

But the children of God (generally speaking) seldom even listen to Him, or consider His wordsand the words of His prophets important enough, even to read and study, let alone obey!

May I be bold enough to suggest that all the times I thought I had come up with such a good idea;or on those occasions when I just happened to say the right thing, or be in the right place; or howlucky I was to find something, had very little to do with my great abilities or luck, but everythingto do with the power and blessings of the Lord to one of His children. Let us look at anotherblessing, given by our Father to every soul that is born into this world. Doctrine and Covenants88 teaches us that Jesus Christ is:

the light of truth; Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is inthe sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. Asalso he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof bywhich it was made; As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by whichthey were made; And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth uponwhich you stand. And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is throughhim who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth yourunderstandings; Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill theimmensity of space--The light which is in all things, which giveth life to allthings, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of Godwho sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst ofall things (D&C 88:5-12).

There is very little, if anything, that we achieve or acquire on our own without the help andblessings of the Lord. I have come to know this and better understand it.

Now with all of these truths about how we are so dependent on the Lord, so richly blessed(beyond our imagination) with knowledge, truth, covenants, priesthood, blessings, temples,commandments, the soft and tender feelings of the Spirit of the Lord, etc.; how can we possiblynot be a humble and a grateful people? And yet, listen to another commandment given to us bythe Lord.

Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things (D&C 59:7).

And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, savethose who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments(D&C 59:21).

I am convinced that we as Latter-day Saints, indeed, of all the world can do better with regard toshowing our love and true devotion to God.

We can better appreciate the beautiful surroundings where we live, no matter where it might be. Have you noticed the beautiful sunsets? Do we appreciate the myriad hues of green, particularlyin the spring when the leaves first come out on the trees, that the Lord has chosen to color somany living plants? Do we acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our lives, the food we eat,which grew without our toil and sweat? Do we recognize the truly unfathomable blessing ofbeing members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ with all its attendant and eternal blessingsand possibilities, including eternal and forever families, spouses, children, etc.

Once we understand the unpayable debt we owe to such a philanthropic Father, how can we becareless about covenants? How can we be nonchalant about church callings and responsibilities? How can we be lackadaisical in taking advantage of such a wonderful opportunity to study at thisuniversity? How can we even think about being absent, or even late to a formally scheduleddevotional, whether it be offered here on Tuesdays or on Sundays, when we have the privilege ofshowing our true devotion to a truly devoted Father? Though we can never repay our Father forall that He does for us, we could act as though it were possible.

I have shared with you some very sacred and personal thoughts and feelings. I have tried toexpress, as best as I can, with all the weaknesses that I have the desire I have to be better; to bemore appreciative, to be more obedient, to be more devoted to the greatest cause and truth in allthe world. I know that I will stand ashamed before the Lord at some future day, when I find outall that He truly did for me while on this earth that I didn't appreciate, or even know about.

I humbly pray that I will not take the great mercy and grace of the Lord for granted. I pray that Iwill "always remember Him;" that I will do all in my power to demonstrate my love and truedevotion to my Lord and my God that I may not have to stand with shame and embarrassment,when I find out how much more I have received from Him than I ever realized. In the name ofJesus Christ, Amen.