Book of Mormon - Week 19

Thought: - If you ponder the scriptures and begin to do what you covenanted with God to do, I can promise you that you will feel more love for God and more of his love for you, and with that, your prayers will come from the heart, full of thanks and of pleading. You will fill a greater dependence on God. You will find the courage and the determination to act in his service, without fear and with peace in your heart. You will pray always, and you will not forget him, no matter what the future brings. (Henry B. Eyring, "Prayer" Ensign, Nov. 2001, p. 17)

Gary's Green Verses

Date	Chapter	Verse	Comments
May 24	Alma 50	22	We need to work on recognizing the Lord's deliverance, understanding that it comes in His ways and in His time.
May 25	Alma 51	31	How can Every person in the cause of right be stronger than any person who is not?
May 26	Alma 52	19	Councils should be an important part of our lives, be they ward, presidency, husband-wife, family, business, neighborhood or friends.
May 27	Alma 53	20-21	A pretty good check-list, the one that struck me most was "true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted."
May 28	Alma 54	17	They have been holding a grudge for over 500 years! Do we hold grudges?
May 29	Alma 55	1	When we are in the wrong-we usually know & we can always know it.
May 30	Alma 56	47	We all have people we love who have not yet gained their personal testimonies, but they need to know that we know.
May 31	Alma 57	21	Obedience with exactness doesn't
June 1	Alma 58	37	Lots of stuff comes up in our life, much of it because somebody else didn't do what they said they would, but I love Helaman's attitude, "It mattereth not-we trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness"

A couple of things:

1. There is a little confusion concerning future class plans. Here is the scoop as I understand it.

              A. The class which has been meeting on Thursday evenings at the Granite Tabernacle will begin again on September 13th, from 7-8:30 pm. The class will run for 10 weeks-until the Thursday before Thanksgiving (November 15). We may extend it a few weeks more, but we'll decide that in November. Our topic will be the Book of Mormon-2nd half; Alma 30-Moroni 10. I will be sharing the teaching responsibility with a life-long friend and fellow teacher named Mark Stuart. Mark is retiring this week from being a Seminary and Institute teacher for 36 years. Having him as a partner will give me more flexibility to be able to get away to help with my family and my sanity. I am confident that the teaching will also take a step up when it is Mark's turn to teach.

              B. The class I have been teaching on Wednesdays at the Parley's View 3rd and 5th Ward  building will not be held in the fall. I have loved teaching that class and I wish I could have figured out a practical way to continue teaching there. I hope that many of my friends from that class will be able to attend the Thursday class. Maybe someday we will be able to find out a way to get it going again.

              C. I plan to continue sending out a weekly E-mail and Blog throughout the summer. I hope that many of you will continue reading a chapter a day and will join with me in finishing on the 239th day of the year. (August 26th). If any of you would like to be taken off the E-mail list, please reply to this E-mail.

2. Many years ago when I was teaching classes for recently returned missionaries, we would plan a time to go to the temple as a class. I haven't done that in many years, but thought it wouldn't hurt to set a time and see if anyone is able to respond. My suggestion is that those who are able attend the 1 pm session in the Salt Lake Temple on Saturday, June 16. Many of you are aware that the Salt Lake Temple will be closed from June 25th until August 11th. You are probably also aware that temple workers who live outside the Salt Lake Temple district will not be able to continue working in the temple when it re-opens in August. This session on June 16th will be my last opportunity be an ordinance worker in this temple of temples.

3. While reading the story of the 2000 Stripling Warriors this week I came across an article on "Honor" written by a gentleman named William C. Tanner and thought you would enjoy reading it.

In the Clint Eastwood film, Letters from Iwo Jima, there is a poignant moment transcending the intensity of battle between enemy forces.  The Japanese military officer is visibly moved upon learning that the American GI he had ordered his men to provide medical treatment for had received a virtually identical message from his mother that he, himself, had been given by his own mother.  Both had been admonished to act honorably because that is the right thing to do.  Doing the right thing for the right reason—in this case, living a life of honor—was a commonly held important value for both soldiers raised in different cultures and on opposite sides of the conflict. 

At its core, honor is about individuals behaving with integrity because they are committed to the principle of doing so, even when this might be extremely difficult or require much sacrifice.  Living with honor earns the respect of others, as virtually everyone values those who live their lives consistent with the truths they understand, responding to the best within them. 

In a world filled with people who do not speak or act with integrity, it is refreshing to deal with a person we can trust.  We trust those we believe we can count on to do what they say they will do and in every way seek to act honorably. 

I count as one of my very best friends a man in Costa Rica, Eladio Campos.  My relationship with this simple, uneducated person began some five years ago with a handshake.  We both periodically refer to this event when we looked each other in the eye, grasped hands firmly, and I told him that I would purchase his land for precisely the amount of money he was seeking, (which seemed to be a reasonable and appropriate price).  Eladio has said that from that point forward, many of the legal documents, attorney participation, and other procedures involved in the actual purchase several months later were largely unnecessary, primarily because each of us absolutely believed in the word of honor of the other.  Over the years, we have had numerous interactions with one another, and central to them all has always been the implicit confidence that we could trust in one another in matters large and small, because at all times, in spite of our other personal shortcomings, both of us have consistently demonstrated to one another that we take seriously the responsibility to live with honor.

                                                                                            In earlier times and in some cultures, even today, the concept of honor was characterized by people in such cultures believing that ‘my word is my bond’.  Under these circumstances, even deeply avowed enemies could depend on the fact that if a general or king gave his word that he would desist from fighting, such commitment could be absolutely depended upon.  Sir Thomas More taught this deep personal conviction to his daughter, Meg, when he said, ‘When a man takes an oath, he's holding his own self in his own hands like water, and if he opens his fingers then, he needn't hope to find himself again.’  Oh, that more people were like Thomas More in identifying integrity & honor with the very essence of who they are!

To live a life of honor, one need not be a soldier, a statesman or negotiate business transactions.  Fortunately, there are people all around us who exemplify living on this higher level;--Returning excessive change given us in mistakenly by a cashier; …standing up for one others who are being bullied or otherwise taken advantage of; …refusing to compromise one’s standards when others would try to persuade them that “it’s no big deal; no one else will ever know” 

Each of us can enjoy the benefits from applying this lofty principle more consistently in our lives.  Ultimately, it’s a matter of believing that we are more likely to experience trust, honesty, dependability, in our relationships with others to the extent we choose to be honorable in all our dealings with them.  And it is self-evident that in order to treat others with honor, we need to be committed to being honest with ourselves, as well.

Consider This:   Think how much more likely you are to experience HONORABLE behavior from others as you insist on being HONORABLE in your personal life.  Determine those principles & values about which you feel strong enough that you are willing to practice them consistently;--with absolute HONOR.  Decide one or two specific ways in which you can begin now to more fully live a life of HONOR. . .’