This
Week in Review
Thankfully
this has been a relatively quiet week, which also means that there is little to
report. Our dinner with the missionaries
went well. Ben kept them entertained
with his stories and explanations.
Monday night we had dinner with friends and Friday my visiting teachers
and their kids came over for a visit. We’ve
been working on reorganizing a few things which has been a particularly slow
process, but will hopefully make a big difference when it’s done.
Our
Cute Kids
Yesterday
after Ben woke up from his nap he came over to talk to me and very seriously
asked if I thought he was getting bigger.
I informed him that I thought he was growing up too quickly. He then informed me that he didn’t think he
was growing up at all. He said that he
had been waiting all day and he still wasn’t as big as daddy.
Thoughts
As
we’ve been working our way through Alma, we reached chapter 7, which is one of
my favorite chapters. Alma talks to the
people of Gideon about the Savior. Verses 11 and 12 are what make this chapter so
important.
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and
temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which
saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands
of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities,
that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may
know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their
infirmities.
I
am grateful to know that our Savior, the one who will stand as our advocate
with the Father, know everything that we have been through. He has felt our sorrows and understands our tears;
he knows and understands our pains and weaknesses.
When
I was in high school I got hurt playing basketball. I went to doctors and specialists and none of
them could fully determine the problem or offer a solution other than time that
would fix the problem or reduce the pain that I felt. I often remember thinking during these times
that even though no one else seemed to know what I was going through, my Savior
did. Since then and hopefully through
the rest of my life, I hope to always remember that when life gets tough and no
one else seems to understand, there is one person who does that I can turn to
whenever I need help, guidance or assistance.
Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland gave a talk while I was in college that helps illustrate
this point.
Consider, for example,
the Savior’s benediction upon his disciples even as he moved toward the pain
and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. On that very night, the night of the
greatest suffering the world has ever known or ever will know, he said, “Peace
I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”
(John 14:27).
I submit to you that may
be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise
faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder
whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the
Lord’s merciful heart. I can tell you this as a parent: As concerned as I would
be if somewhere in their lives one of my children were seriously troubled or
unhappy or disobedient, nevertheless I would be infinitely more devastated if I
felt that at such a time that child could not trust me to help, or should feel
his or her interest were unimportant to me or unsafe in my care. In that same
spirit, I am convinced that none of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the
loving heart of the Savior of the world when he finds that his people do not
feel confident in his care or secure in his hands or trust in his commandments.
Let me quote the
marvelous James E. Talmage on this matter:
Into every adult human life come experiences like
unto the battling of the storm-tossed voyagers with contrary winds and
threatening seas; ofttimes the night of struggle and danger is far advanced
before succor appears; and then, too frequently the saving aid is mistaken for
a greater terror. [But,] as came unto [these disciples] in the midst of the turbulent waters, so
comes to all who toil in faith, the voice of the Deliverer—“It is I; be not afraid.” [Jesus the Christ,
3d ed. (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1916),
p. 337]
Brother Talmage used
there the word succor. Do you
know its meaning? It is used often in the scriptures to describe Christ’s care
for and attention to us. It means literally “to run to.” What a magnificent way
to describe the Savior’s urgent effort in our behalf. Even as he calls us to
come to him and follow him, he is unfailingly running to help us.