As a boy, while working in the fields with my mother, she
taught me one of the most important lessons in life.
It was late in the morning, the sun was up, and we had
been hoeing for what I thought had been a very long time.
I stopped to look back at what we had accomplished and said
to my mother, "Look at all we have done."
Mother did not respond.
Thinking that she had not heard me, I repeated what I
had said a little louder.
She still did not reply.
Raising my voice a little higher, I repeated again.
Finally, she turned to me and said, "Edward, never look
back; look at what we still have to do."
My dear brothers and sisters, the covenant we made with the
Lord when we were baptized, "to stand as witnesses of God
at all times and in all things, and in all places that
[we] may be in," is a lifelong commitment.
President Uchtdorf counseled, "Those who have entered the
waters of baptism and received the gift of the Holy Ghost
have set their feet on the path of discipleship and are
charged to follow steadily and faithfully in the footsteps of
our Savior" (close quote).
The Lord through His servants calls us to serve in various
callings, which we accept with total commitment.
When a release has been extended and a call in a
different assignment has been issued, we joyfully accept it,
knowing as our forebears knew that "in the service of the
Lord, it is not where you serve but how."
Thus when a stake president or a bishop is released, he
joyfully accepts his release.
And when a calling's extended to serve in any way which the
Lord, through His servants, "seeth fit," he is not
overshadowed by his previous experience, nor does he look
back and think that he has served enough.
He is "not weary in well-doing" because he knows
that he is "laying the foundation of a great work"
with a clear vision that such efforts bless lives for
eternities.
Thus, "out of small things proceedeth that which is
great." We should all be "anxiously engaged in a good
cause, and do many things of [our]
own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles counseled: "The past is to be learned from
but not lived in.
We look back to claim the embers from glowing
experiences but not ashes.
And when we have learned what we need to learn and have
brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we
look ahead and remember that faith is always pointing
towards the future."
While my mother's lesson of looking ahead was directed in
the visible weeds in the field, it was less in
comparison to what the early Saints went through.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin described this experience so
well (open quote): "In 1846, more than 10,000 people left
the thriving city of Nauvoo, which had been built on the
banks of the Mississippi River.
With faith in prophetic leaders, those early Church
members left their 'City Beautiful' and struck off into
the [wildness]
of the American frontier.
They did not know exactly where they were going,
precisely how many miles lay ahead, how long the journey
would take, or what the future held in store for them.
But they did know they were led by the Lord and His
servants" (close quote).
They knew how it was to go ahead and believe.
Over a decade and a half earlier, some of these members
were present when a revelation was received: "For verily I
say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments,
whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in
tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in
the kingdom of heaven.
Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present
time, the design of your God concerning those things which
shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after
much tribulation" (close quote).
We too can look ahead and believe.
We can embrace the invitation of our Lord, who, with
stretched-open hands, invites us: "Come unto me, all that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Our dear prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, his
counselors, and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have
extended an invitation for us all to participate in the work
of salvation.
The new converts, youth, young adults, those who have retired
from their professions, and full-time missionaries need to
be equally yoked in hastening the work of salvation.
President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles once attended an ox pulling contest, where he drew
out an analogy.
He said of the experience: "A wooden sledge was weighted
with cement blocks; ten thousand pounds--five tons.
...
The object was for the oxen to move the sledge three feet.
...
I noticed a well-matched pair of very large, brindled
blue-gray animals, ... the big blue oxen of seasons past."
In speaking about the result of the contest, he said:
"Teams were eliminated one by one.
...
The big blue oxen did not even place.
A small nondescript pair of animals, not very well matched
for size, moved the sledge all three times."
He was then given an explanation to the surprising
outcome: "The big blues were larger and stronger and better
matched for size than the other team.
But the little oxen had better teamwork and coordination.
They hit the yoke together.
Both animals jerked forward at exactly the same time and the
force moved the load" (close quote).
As we look ahead and believe, we need this same teamwork in
hastening the work of salvation.
As we invite others to come onto Christ, in our individual
capacities we need to follow the counsel of President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf to "stand close together and lift where
we stand." We can tap our full potential, just as was
observed by Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve.
I quote: "As I travel throughout the Church I marvel
at the positive things that are occurring.
Yet I never feel that we as a people are living up to our
real potential.
My sense is that we do not always work together, that we
are still too much interested in aspirations for personal
honors and success, and show too little interest in the
common goal of building the kingdom of God." May we all
unite in a common objective "to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man."
Our Savior Jesus Christ, who sees from the beginning to the
end, knew very well the road He would travel to Gethsemane
and Golgotha when He proclaimed, "No man, having
put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for
the kingdom of God." In the sight of the Lord it is not so
much on what we have done or where we have been but much
more on where we are willing to go.
Our guiding principles were taught to us by the Prophet
Joseph Smith (open quote): "The fundamental principles of
our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets,
concerning Jesus Christ, ...
He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and
ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to
our religion are only appendages to it."
I testify that as we follow the example of our Savior
Jesus Christ and raise our hands to the square with
action in sustaining our beloved prophet, President
Thomas S. Monson, we will find peace, comfort, joy, and we
"shall eat the good of the land ... in these last days."
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.