Permaquotes
Every Thursday, starting this week we will post an article inspired by a General Conference Address.
After moving into our house several years ago, I decided I wanted to put a few favorite quotes on the kitchen wall. We included a quote by President Benson (one of my all-time personal favorites – a topic for another day), my husband’s favorite scripture (Helaman 3:35) and two General Conference quotes. The thought was to replace the General Conference quotes each six months, after each Conference. But we never did. The two quotes are just too classic, too ever-pertinent to our lives. And so they stayed. The first is by Elder Oaks. (You can find the entire talk here.)
“It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something….
“Now is the time for each of us to work toward our personal conversion, toward becoming what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. As we do so, we should remember that our family relationships… are the setting in which the most important part of that development can occur” (emphasis his).
Part of the reason I wanted to keep this quote is because I am a “do” and “know” kind of person. I have spent a great deal of my life subconsciously equating my worth with the things I have accomplished. (e.g.,I was a good student. I got a scholarship. I got two degrees. I had good bullets on my résumé. Therefore, I am a worthwhile person.) It’s been hard for that “accomplishment equals worth” mentality to not creep into my views of gospel living. (e.g., I read my scriptures every day. I do my visiting teaching (well, most of the time). I strive to magnify my callings. I’m convinced the gospel is true. Therefore I am a good person.) Elder Oaks put me in my place in this talk! He said:
“[T]he Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become” (emphasis his).
Doing comes pretty naturally to me. Becoming is another story. And family life, as wonderful as it is, has uncovered the weak spots in my character and who I am (or am not). (Did I mention that I’m not a fan of having my weaknesses spread out in front of me? I don’t do pain!) And, so, Elder Oaks’ quote stays so I don’t forget how important becoming is. My heart has to change, not just my actions! (I’m hoping I’ve at east made some progress since I put the quote up….) The other quote is from Elder Eyring. (His talk is one of my all-time favorites. I’ll most likely mention it again.)
“Another fallacy is to believe that the choice to accept or not accept the counsel of prophets is no more than deciding whether to accept good advice and gain its benefits or to stay where we are. But the choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.”
We are pretty passionate about prophet-following in our home. Elder Eyring’s talk is one that keeps us that way! One interpretation we have of this quote is that if we follow the prophets on the “little things,” at least two things can happen: 1) We can have the Spirit with us as a direct result of the desire and effort to obey, and 2) We will already be in the habit of following the prophets if and when “bigger things” are asked of us. We have found that the more we seek to trust in and follow the prophets, the more grateful we are for prophets to guide us in these crazy last days!
I’d love to hear what some of your favorite General Conference quotes are! Wanna share?
May 18th, 2006 09:42
Very nice post!
Along the same doing vs. becoming theme, I like what Elder Eyring said in his most recent conference talk:
“We are safe on the rock which is the Savior when we have yielded in faith in Him, have responded to the Holy Spirit’s direction to keep the commandments long enough and faithfully enough that the power of the Atonement has changed our hearts. When we have, by that experience, become as a child in our capacity to love and obey, we are on the sure foundation.
From King Benjamin we learn what we can do to take us to that safe place. But remember: the things we do are the means, not the end we seek. What we do allows the Atonement of Jesus Christ to change us into what we must be. Our faith in Jesus Christ brings us to repentance and to keeping His commandments. We obey and we resist temptation by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. In time our natures will change. We will become as a little child, obedient to God and more loving. That change, if we do all we must to keep it, will qualify us to enjoy the gifts which come through the Holy Ghost. Then we will be safe on the only sure rock.”
Personally, for the last year or so I have been trying to actively focus on being more aware of whether my behavior is more humble, submissive, and as a little child- and trying to be less consumed by lists of do’s and don’ts. I’m a slow learner, but I would say that I really have felt more spiritual progress with this approach.
May 18th, 2006 10:42
Elder Stone’s “Zion in the midst of Babylon” has become something of a mantra in our household–whether we’re talking about a watching a certain movie or not or the general influences of the zeitgeist of Babylon and what it would tell us we should do.
We are in a stage now such that we are building the very foundations of a gospel life together. Rob was just baptized in December; we married when I was (quite absolutely) inactive. So, as I reclaim my faith, and he crafts his own, we are very aware that precedents we set and the decisions we make now really will color our path for years to come (if not for eternity itself).
So, so very often, when we feel the world creeping in to what we’re building, we say “Zion in the midst of Babyon!” and the image of the Manhattan temple reminds us to have as few connecting points as we need.
May 18th, 2006 11:58
C. Jones - Thanks for sharing that. I actually considered quoting part of Elder Eyring’s talk as well…interesting how there are themes that appear and re-appear in what we hear from our leaders!
Naiah — Elder Stone’s talk was probably the one that hit me the most profoundly as I listened to Conference. I was sobered by his comments about how sometimes Babylon creeps in almost without us recognizing it. We always have to be on guard! It’s pretty sobering, actually, but also exciting to try to take on that challenge of creating a Zion-like home and life!
May 18th, 2006 20:30
I have to admit that these years with young children have meant that I don’t really hear much in sacrament talks, or general conference talks. Sometimes I manage to go to one session without kids.
Various talks I have heard or read have touched me, but years later I have forgotten specifics. I think it is wonderful that some of you write them down to remember forever! Hmmm, I wonder if I could start doing that.
May 19th, 2006 06:38
I have talked about obedience to leaders counsels on my blog and also in response to other blogs. I have been amazed at some of the “hostility” to the concept of doing something even if it seems small and with no point. I have tried hard to make the doing part of my life. Like you I am not perfect and I still need to learn much. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
May 19th, 2006 09:12
My favorite quote from General Conference was actually from a poem that President Monson read. It was just a line that I wrote down right away and have remembered ever since. (I may be a little off)
“We live on, not because of ourselves, but because of the people who care.”
At the time it hit me deeply because I realized that the misery I was wallowing in could be the cause of deep hurt in the lives of those who love me. As I’ve grown I’ve seen it also as a good reason to become involved in the lives of others, and to care about them to give them a reason to “live on.”
May 28th, 2006 21:37
[…] Every time I watch this short, 11-minute film, I rededicate myself to following the prophets. It’s also a sobering reminder than none of us is immune to the danger of apostasy. I am reminded of that permaquote on my wall from Elder Eyring, telling me that this is way I can find safety in this crazy world. Oh, how grateful I am for living prophets! […]
June 19th, 2006 06:43
[…] I was intrigued by a couple of things about this experiment. First of all, it’s something that can be done in the normal course of life – no checklist items required! Awareness is really all that is necessary. It’s also an experiment in becoming, not doing. (Obviously, with Elder Oaks’ quote on the wall, that concept really got my attention!) It’s also an experiment designed to help me try to be more like Jesus (think of the Primary song) – to try to love more as He did. […]