And Always Remember Him, Ward Conference Talk, March 16, 2008

After completing this talk, I read it and noticed that it seemed to jump around a lot. (It was also too long.) After re-reading it several times, I decided that was OK. The point of the talk is that we need to remember who we are, why we are here on Earth, and what we need to do to get back “home” to our Heavenly Father. The scriptures, the Church, and the entire Gospel are all about that. They all point to Christ, who is the way (John 14: 6). So, even though it jumps around, it all points to Christ.

As Elder David A. Bednar said in our December 2007 stake conference, take out your paper & pencils, but don’t bother to write down what I have to say. Instead, write down: 1.) Scriptures & quotes that particularly touch you and 2.) Things the still small voice (the Holy Ghost) whispers to your mind or heart. Then, after you leave church today, go and do what the Holy Ghost suggested to you.

In June of 1897, Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem about the British Empire which, at that time, was at its peak. The poem expresses pride in the British Empire, but also an underlying sadness that the Empire will surely go the way of all previous empires of the Earth. Kipling recognizes that it is all in vain in the light of God's dominion over all the world. Following are the first three verses of Recessional:

God of our fathers, known of old--

Lord of our far-flung battle line

Beneath whose awful hand we hold

Dominion over palm and pine--

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget - lest we forget!

The tumult and the shouting dies;

The captains and the kings depart:

Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,

An humble and a contrite heart.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,

Lest we forget - lest we forget!

Far-call'd our navies melt away--

On dune and headland sinks the fire--

Lo, all our pomp of yesterday

Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!

Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,

Lest we forget, lest we forget!

In General Conference, Oct. 2003, Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley said, “It was said that at one time the sun never set on the British Empire. That empire has . . . diminished. But, [now] it is true that the sun never sets on this work of the Lord . . . across the [whole] earth. And this is only the beginning. . . . That is my faith. That is my belief. That is my testimony.”

Two hundred years ago, Joseph Smith was a two-year-old toddler in New England - and the kingdom of God was not to be found upon the face of the Earth. Now, the sun never set on the kingdom of God and, as Pres. Hinckley said, that is only the beginning.

Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget!

With this great progress the Church is making, is there something the Lord would have us not forget? Yes, yes, yes! In fact, our lives, individually and as a church, depends upon us not forgetting. Forgetting what? Forgetting the Lord, of course - and the Plan, the Plan of Salvation, and our covenants. Just a few minutes ago during the Sacrament, we had the opportunity to renew our covenant to “always remember Him” (D&C 20:77,79). Always! In fact we had that opportunity twice, with the bread and with the water.

The Book of Mormon makes it crystal clear how quickly and how easy it is to forget. And it very graphically tells of the dire consequences of forgetting. Talking about “the flattering words of Amalickiah” Alma said, “Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one.” (Alma 46:8) Helaman’s son, Nephi, wrote “And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.” (Helaman 12:3) So, exactly what is it that we need to remember?

The theme for our conference is 3 Nehpi 20: 26, 29. After his resurrection, Christ visited America and told the surviving Nephites his purpose in visiting them - “The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant— And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people;”

Before the world was created we all made covenants with our Heavenly Father. To a large extent, those covenants, and the way we honored them, influenced our being born in a time and place in history where the Church has been restored and temples dot the land. (President Spencer W. Kimball) If we have been baptized, or received the Priesthood, or gone to the Temple - then we have made additional important covenants. The Lord remembers His covenants with us. Do we remember that we have made covenants with Him? Do we remember what those covenants are, what we promised to do? We must, or we may lose them. If we don’t remember Heavenly Father’s Plan for us, and if we don’t remember our parts in that Plan, the things we have covenanted to do, then how can we Choose the Right, as they say in Primary?

Twenty some years ago, Pres. Ezra Taft Benson was talking about missionaries in General Conference. He said that occasionally some missionaries forget why they are on a mission. He said, “We call missionaries like that tourists.” (Have any of you had a missionary companion who was a tourist?) If you send a son or a daughter on a mission for the Church, do you want them to be tourists - or to be hard-working and effective missionaries? What do you think Heavenly Father wants of us? According to the Plan of Salvation and to our premortal covenants, we were not sent to Earth to be tourists! Especially those of us who are here - those who have made covenants to do more. We have much important work to do while we are here, and the time is short. We have a mission to accomplish, not an open sightseeing itinerary. Therefore, we must make choices wisely.

Fifteen years ago, Elder Maxwell said, “If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.” He went on to say “We will never know the Keeper of the celestial gate’s welcoming embrace if we now embrace, instead, the things of the world!” (Neal A. Maxwell, ‘I Will Arise and Go to My Father’, Ensign, Sept. 1993.) Pres. Kimball wrote about The False Gods We Worship (Ensign, June 1976). Now, instead of idols made of metal, stone, or wood, we have: sports, movie & rock stars, cars, boats, travel, business, careers, money, fame, self indulgence, status, cultural activities, and on and on. If you tell me what you spend most of your time doing, he said, I will tell you who or what you worship. Nephi, the son of Helaman, in The Book of Mormon wrote, “O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you? But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world” (Helaman 7:20-21). In the Old Testament, Joshua said, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Can we say the same thing?

Some years ago there was a cute “good news, bad news joke”: The driver of a car said to the passengers, “The good news is that we are making great time. The bad news is that we are going the wrong direction.” Are any of us going in the wrong direction? Do any of us have problems or difficulties in your lives? I suspect that we all do. Dealing with those challenges requires that we exercise our agency and make choices. Last October [2007] in General Conference, Elder Oaks said that making good choices is not enough. Often, instead of something good, we need to choose something better. Frequently, in fact, we need to make the best choice, not simply a good or a better choice. How do we make these choices? It is not hard for most of us to choose between good and bad. However, how can we tell better from good and best from better? Lehi had the Liahona to show him the way. Most of us have something better - the Gift of the Holy Ghost (which is actually the best, not just better.) Are we enjoying that gift? In visions, Lehi and Nephi were shown how to move in the right direction when engulfed in worldly darkness - hold fast to the iron rod. Again as we learn in Primary, the iron rod is the word of God . . . (Hymn 274). The scriptures, the teachings of the prophets and apostles, the Church magazines, yes - and even our talks and lessons on Sundays. All of these give us the information we need to make better and best choices. Our baptismal gift will help us with the specifics of the choices, “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). To deal correctly with all the trials of our time, we need to remember who we are, remember why we are here, remember the covenants we have made, know where to look for help in choosing the right, and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost in all that we do. “If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.”

Let me give you some more examples:

1. Next Sunday is Easter. Christ has risen. He has atoned for all of our sins, sorrows, burdens, and woes. Come to Sacrament next week in a state of repentance, prepared to offer your broken heart and contrite spirit to the Lord and ask his forgiveness. “Drop your burden at His feet and bear a song away” (Hymn 125).

2. Also next Sunday in Relief Society and Priesthood meetings the Teachings for Our Times lesson will be based on Julie B. Beck’s Oct. 2007 General Conference talk entitled, “Mothers Who Know.” Her talk is a resource for getting information that you will need to make better and best choices. Sisters, it is not intended to depress you or make you feel inadequate. On the contrary, it is intended as a standard, an ensign, a beacon to help you move in the right direction. It is a reminder of the eternal covenants that Heavenly Father’s daughters made with Him long before the world was. Brethren, all of you have a mother, wife, daughter, granddaughter, or niece who needs this information. As priesthood holders and heads of households, you need to encourage the sisters to move toward Sis. Beck’s beacon. In many cases, you will need to do more than simply encourage. Together, you will have to make the difficult “better and best” choices, and do what needs to be done, to make embracing these eternal standards possible. “High on the mountain top a banner is unfurled. Ye nations, now look up; it waves to all the world.” (Hymn 5) “E’en in the darkest night, as in the morning bright, be thou my beacon light, guide me to thee.” (Hymn 101)

3. Alma, in The Book of Mormon, talked of true conversion to the Gospel, “And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality and incorruption? I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?” (Alma 5:14-16) Sometime later, Alma talked to his son, “O remember, remember, my son Helaman, how strict are the commandments of God. . . . O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.” (Alma 37:13,35)

4. Have you ever wondered what it will be like at “judgment day?” All of us will stand before Christ and be judged of Him. What things do you think will be most important to Him? A lawyer asked Jesus a question like that. Although his question was not sincere, he received a very significant answer. “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:35-40). Do we remember to love our God? Do we remember to love our neighbors? Do we always remember to love our spouses? Have we learned to always feel unconditional, Christ-like love? Can we be like Jesus and our Heavenly Father without it?

5. In the latter days, the Lord told Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer that the Gospel is not all work and no fun. He told them that, if they honored their covenants and did the work they were given, they could have something even better than fun, they could have great joy, “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!” (D&C 18:15-16) This revelation was given to three individuals in the context of missionary work. However, it applies to all of us and to all areas of the Gospel. We can all find great joy: if we bring someone back into church activity, if we do temple ordinances for those who can no longer do them for themselves, if we “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. . .” (Mosiah 18:8-9) If we bring children into mortality and raise them in the Gospel as did the Ammonite mothers of Helaman’s time. “Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:21). “And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it” (Alma 56:48). Concerning children, Christ’s beloved apostle, John, wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4). For all of us, how great will be our joy no matter how or how many souls we bring unto the Lord.

As Pres. Faust used to say at the end of a talk, “So what!” What is the point of all this? The point, brothers and sisters, is that we need to remember, remember the essence of the Gospel. We need to remember who we are. We need to remember that we have made covenants with Heavenly Father and what we promised to do in those covenants. We need to remember why we are here. We are not tourists but have an important mission. We need to remember not to worship false gods. We need to remember that if we do not choose the kingdom of God first, it will, in the end, make no difference what we chose instead. We need to remember where to find help making better and best choices and how we may know the truth of all things. We need to become truly converted to the Gospel, and come unto our Heavenly Father, and help as many as we can come with us. We need to know that, through Christ’s atonement, “Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can not heal” (Hymn 115). And, we need to know that great joy, in this world and the next, is the reward for doing these things. “And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me! ”(D&C 18:15-16)

O, Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget - lest we forget!