It is Finished

Happy Easter!  What a wonderful season this is!  Spring temperatures, flowers, marshmallow peeps, and most important of all, an opportunity to remember the gift and sacrifice of our Savior!  Next week we will be blessed to be able to listen to the voices of Prophets and Apostles!  And this week we have a chance to reflect upon the great price our Savior paid for us!

The Pietà by Michelangelo

This morning as I was getting dressed, I listened to Elder McConkie's wonderful talk, "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane" and I was struck by one of the scriptures that he quoted from.  It informs us of the Savior's final words in mortality.  "[Jesus] said, It is finished: and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost" (John 19:30).  The Joseph Smith Translation corroborates this statement, telling us: "Jesus when he had cried again with a loud voice, saying, Father it is finished, thy will is done, yielded up the ghost" (JST Matthew 27:50).

It was the word "finished" that stood out to me in these verses.  The Savior still had people to teach and a work to organize in the Spirit World; the Resurrection to accomplish; Apostles, Prophets, and faithful saints to visit; a Restoration of the Gospel to accomplish; hearts to touch and souls to save.  And all of this was to occur before His triumphal return and millennial reign of glory, to say nothing of that time shortly before the Final Judgment when an angel shall sound his trump and proclaim to all the world, "It is finished; it is finished!  The Lamb of God hath overcome and trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God" (D&C 88:106).  And even then,

"The works of God continue,

 And worlds and lives abound; 

Improvement and progress

Have one eternal round."

Hymn #284

What then does it mean to be finished and how do we come to that certainty that the Savior had in that moment that His offering had been enough?

As is usually my habit when I come across a word or phrase in the scriptures that I suddenly realize I don't fully understand, I decided to see how it was used in other places throughout the scriptures.  One verse in particular stood out to me.  In April of 1838, as the Saints were trying to reestablish themselves in Missouri, having been virtually expelled from Kirtland and their Temple, the Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Joseph.  In this revelation, the impoverished and exiled Saints were commanded to "re-commence laying the foundation of [the Lord's] house" (D&C 115:11) at Far West, Missouri--a Temple yet to be built in these last days because of the expulsion from Missouri later that year.  And then the Lord gave them this instruction about this Temple: "Thus let them from that time forth labor diligently until it shall be finished, from the corner stone thereof unto the top thereof, until there shall not anything remain that is not finished" (D&C 115:12).

As I read that verse, it hit me: When the construction of a Temple is finished, it is then that it is fit to be dedicated to the Lord so that the real work can begin taking place in that Temple.  Finished does not mean that the work ends.  In fact, it often means that the real work has just begun.  Being finished in the godly sense means being ready to bless the lives and souls of those around us.

Of course the Savior's atonement had been efficacious and had been blessing the lives of our Father's children since before Adam, making it possible for Adam and Eve to immediately access the Savior's redeeming power from their first moments in mortality.  But by finishing His atonement, the Savior ensured that there would never be any doubts or questions.  It would work for every son or daughter of God who exercised faith in the Savior unto the repentance of his or her sins.

How did the Savior know it was finished?  We don't know, but there must have been some form of assurance from the Father that His offering was finished and acceptable; that His atonement was ready to do the full work of salvation and exaltation.  I believe that we too can be blessed to know when we have done enough and finished certain parts of our lives.  Like a baker, there may be times when we will check our cake only to find that the middle still needs a little more time, but I believe that when we have done all that we can do, the Spirit will let us know when are where we are to go and what we are to do there and who we are to bless.

Brett

Things of Incalculable Worth

Wow, it is amazing to think that this semester is winding down so quickly!  I find the deadlines coming closer and closer and myself still having a ton of work to do to prepare for them to come.  To be honest, it scares the living daylights out of me when i think of just how much there is left to be done, but somehow I'll manage.  I had a great day yesterday.  Rob was at DFW for several hours on a layover between Costa Rica and Salt Lake City, so I was able to go out and go to lunch with him for a couple of hours and hear about his trip.  Monkeys, crocodiles, sloths, beaches, and zip lines!  Central America sounds like a blast, and a whole lot better than the Central America from the books I've been reading for my class on the historiography of modern Latin America.  One of these days I need to take a trip outside of the United States.  And at least once in my life, I'd love to go and see some of the homelands of the people that I taught while I was a missionary.  I've always wondered how much of a difference it would have made in my teaching if I could have truly understood the circumstances that the wonderful people I taught had come from.  All jokes aside, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi were not Third World Countries.  (Well, maybe Mississippi.  Just kidding).

Record of the Twelve Apostles, 14 and 27 February 1835
Joseph Smith Papers Project

This morning during my scripture study, I came across a comment that impressed me.  Speaking of the baptisms at the Waters of Mormon, Mormon writes that "they were in number about two hundred and four souls" (Mosiah 18:16).  The thing that impressed me here, and that I had never seen before, was the specificity of the number.  Mormon did not write, "about two hundred souls" or even "about two hundred and five souls"; he wrote "about two hundred and four souls."  That meant that somebody had been keeping a record of the names and numbers of those who entered into the baptismal covenant at the Waters of Mormon.  And more than that, this list of names and numbers was available to Mormon some four or five hundred years later, when he was editing the records that came to be known as the Book of Mosiah.

This set me to thinking about journals, records, and record keeping and just how important they are to us.  I was reminded of a quotation by the Prophet Joseph Smith about record keeping, which when I found it, proved to be even more valuable than I had previously realized.

On February 14, 1835, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was officially organized for the first time in this dispensation.  Prior to that time, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had held the office of Apostle, and there was a First Presidency over the Church, but no Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Because the Quorum of the Twelve hold the keys of the Kingdom and are necessary to the reorganization of the First Presidency upon the death of the President, this was an extremely important event in the history of the Church.  Some two weeks later, Joseph Smith called the Twelve together to give them some instructions.  He said:

"I have something to lay before this council, an item which they will find to be of great importance to them.  I have for myself learned--a fact by experience which on reflection gives me deep sorrow.  It is a truth that if I now had in my possession every decision which has been given upon important items of doctrine and duties since the rise of this church, they would be of incalculable worth to the saints, but we have neglected to keep records of such things, thinking that perhaps they would never benefit us afterwards, which had we now, would decide almost any point that might be agitated; and now we cannot bear record to the church nor unto the world of the great and glorious manifestations that have been made to us with that degree of power and authority which we otherwise could if we had those decisions to publish abroad.  Since the twelve are now chosen, I wish to tell them a course which they may pursue and be benefitted hereafter in a point of light of which they, perhaps, are not now aware.  At all times when you assemble in the capacity of a council to transact business let the oldest of your number preside, and let one or more be appointed to keep a record of your proceedings and on the decision of every important item, be it what it may, let such decision be noted down, and they will ever after remain upon record as law, covenant and doctrine.  Questions thus decided might at the time appear unimportant, but should they be recorded and one of you lay hands upon them afterward you might find them of infinite worth not only to your brethren but a feast also to your own souls" (Joseph Smith, February 27, 1835, Record of the Twelve Apostles, Joseph Smith Papers Project).

Of all of the things that Joseph could have taught the Twelve during their first full meeting as a Quorum, he taught them to keep a record, promising them that as they did so, they would be blessed to find revelation, insight, and the power to testify boldly within those pages.  I believe that this principle applies not only to those called to the Quorum of the Twelve, but to each Latter-day Saint.  This week I came across a diary that gave me some important insights into my ancestor, William Franklin Dowdle (known in parts of Idaho as "Dowdle Bill").  Those insights were probably not what most would consider spiritual, but they gave me a better understanding of my family and tied me more closely to my ancestors.  As I read those entries, I felt a bond develop which I had not felt before.  The mere fact that I could learn more about my third great grandfather was a blessing and even a kind of spiritual experience.

There is a kind of power that comes as we read the diaries, letters, or other records that contain information about our ancestors.  I am perhaps not the best about finding the names, dates, and other things necessary to take names to the Temple.  I need to work on that and find ways to provide the Temple ordinances to my kindred dead.  But I have been greatly blessed by being able to learn about the details of the lives of my ancestors.  I have seen evidence of revelation and inspiration in their lives. I have seen some fall short, only to witness the power of the Atonement in healing those affected by those mistakes.  I have seen others serve faithfully and leave legacies of faith and devotion.  In each case I have been inspired and enlarged.  With each ancestor, I have felt my understanding of my own life grow.

I suspect that I am not alone in the feeling that I would give anything to have in my possession diaries and records from each of my ancestors.  If we feel this way, so will our children, our grandchildren, and so on down the line.  Even as we search out our kindred dead, let us leave a record of our faith and lives for those who will come after us.  Some day our testimonies recorded and our experiences that we have detailed will bless a descendent in a time of crisis or in a moment where he or she needs an added measure of faith.  May we leave for them a record that may touch their hearts and build their faith in just such moments!  And may we leave an honest record also.  Our descendants will need to know about our struggles and challenges and even some of our imperfections, almost as much as they will need to know about our faith.  Such things give them hope when they struggle and help them to gain faith in the power of Christ's atonement when they are less than perfect!

Brett

Blessed Savior, Dear Redeemer

My token picture next to the horned frog on TCU's campus

I apologize for a short blog entry today, but Julianne is only in town for a few more hours and as much as I like writing, I'd rather spend time with her.  We've had a wonderful few days together.  She got into town about 7 pm on Friday and I made dinner for her.  Then on Saturday, our one real day to go and do activities together, after I showed Julianne around TCU's campus we went to the Dallas Museum of Art.  They have a wonderful collection, and we only scratched the surface of it.  But I must say there is something wonderful about seeing works by Monet and Picasso first hand.  The prints are beautiful and moving, but there is always something unique about seeing the original.  Yesterday on Sunday, we went to Church at my old ward so I could introduce Julianne to a few people who had really wanted to meet her and then since my brother Rob was at DFW for a few hours en route to Costa Rica, we went over to the airport to say hello to him.  All in all, it has been an amazing time and it is hard for me to see it coming to an end.

My short thought for the day comes after a question from a former bishop of mine this week.  He asked me what the difference between the duties of Savior and Redeemer is.  With Easter coming up, I thought this was an interesting question to ponder.  While I am sure there are probably some semantics at work here, this is what I came up with.

When I think of a savior, I think of someone who saves a person who otherwise would not be able to survive, who is in mortal or spiritual peril.  Each of us, as a result of our fallen natures has become "carnal, sensual, devilish, knowing evil from good, [and frequently] subjecting [ourselves] to the devil" (Mosiah 6:3).  The prophets speak of us being lost and hopeless, unless there is an atonement and a Savior.  Amulek explained, "For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made" (Alma 34:9).  In His capacity as our Savior, Jesus Christ offers to save us from our carnal selves, from that natural man within us that is "an enemy to God" (Mosiah 3:19).  He thus responds to and helps us to change our sinful nature which comes as a result of our mortality and our subsequent sinful choices here.

On the other hand, when I think of the term redeem, I think of one who restores an item or a person to its former high value.  And (please forgive the carnival analogy) I also think of someone who earns a prize and then gains the right to redeem that prize.  In His capacity as our Redeemer, Jesus Christ does both of these things for us.  In a sense we are like those prizes at a carnival that nobody ever seems to win because the games are rigged and it is nearly impossible to win.  Through His atonement, the Savior did the impossible and lived the perfect life, wrought the perfect atonement, and gained the victory over death.  As a result of this feat, Mormon tells us that He "hath ascended into heaven and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men" (Moroni 7:27).  He earned the right to redeem us.  He won the prize.  And because of Him, none of us need remain in an unredeemed state.  He will take any who are willing to come.  (Who doesn't want to leave a carnival as soon as possible, right?)

But beyond that, He restores us to our divine state.  He restores us to our capacity as our Father's children.  Because of the fall and our fallen natures, that divinity is occasionally obscured by our own poor choices.  We fall short of who we really are, and what we were really sent here to do.  But because there is a Redeemer, none need to remain in a lost and fallen state.  None need to be motivated and moved by the natural man.  We can be returned to that state of holiness and divinity with which we left the presence of our Heavenly Father.  And in actuality, because of the Savior, we can become more than we were then and better than we were in our premortal lives.  God did not send us here just to hopefully get a few of us back to our former status.  He sent us here to help us to grow and increase and become like Him, to become more than we had ever been before.  We can do this because we have a Savior who cleanses and removes our fallen nature and who restores to us our divine nature.  He truly is our "Blessed Savior, and Dear Redeemer."  May He guide us and may we be both saved and redeemed by His divine power!

Brett

We Will Serve the Lord

It is hard to believe that it is already Spring Break and that by the end of this week, the month of March will be over half-way finished.  Spring Break in graduate school really doesn't mean much other than you don't have to attend your regularly scheduled classes.  This break from classes gives you time to sort of catch up with the numerous assignments that are looming on the horizon.  So I will be spending a lot of time reading and writing this week in preparation for the second half of the semester.  But there will be one fantastic part of my break this coming Friday, when Julianne is coming to visit for the weekend!  After two long months, I am very excited to see her again!

"The Consecration of Joshua," Arnold Friberg

I've been thinking a lot lately about personal discipleship and what it means.  Making the switch from a YSA ward to a family ward has caused me to consider my personal discipleship and just what the Lord expects of me.  For perhaps the first time in my life, I have found it difficult to go to Church because I feel like something of an outsider there.  So on Sundays, it has taken extra effort to get up and get ready for Church.  (Of course I should note that this is not necessarily due to any failure on the part of my ward members, who seem to be wonderful and loving people who just don't know me that well).  But in experiencing this challenge, I have realized that this challenge presents me with an opportunity to deepen my level of commitment to the Lord.  Just because something is hard doesn't mean we ought to give up or that it isn't worth doing.  Indeed, the hard things in life are often the things that we most certainly should not give up on because they are the things that are most worth doing.  I have realized that even if I feel like an outsider, I need to be at my meetings because I love the Lord and I want to grow closer to Him.

This week I was reminded of the story of Joshua, a story that we perhaps don't discuss enough in the Church.  If ever a person (excepting the Lord) was put into an unenviable position, it was Joshua.  Succeeding Moses could not have been easy and the Lord knew that.  He reassured Joshua, "as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  Be strong and of a good courage....Only be thou strong and very courageous....Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest" (Joshua 1:5-7, 9). The number of times that the Lord urged Joshua to be strong and courageous surely showed just how difficult a situation Joshua had been placed in.  He was to take over for one of the greatest prophets who would ever serve and testify of the Lord.  The weight of this duty would require every ounce of strength and courage that Joshua could muster, but he had the promise that the Lord would be with him to guide him and strengthen him in his duties.

Joshua magnified his calling to the best of his abilities and established Israel firmly in the land that the Lord had promised them, leading them by the power of revelation and by faith in the Lord's power to make good on His promises to them.  At the end of his life, after the dramatic events of crossing Jordan and watching the walls of Jericho tumble, Joshua had but one piece of counsel for the children of Israel: "Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:14-15).  Joshua wanted the people to serve the Lord sincerely and to stop giving their allegiance to the false gods that had captured their worship in earlier days.

Serving the Lord in sincerity and truth is our aim and our desire.  And no matter what anyone else does or says, we can serve the Lord.  The beauty of true worship is that it is an individual choice.  Of course it is always easier when we feel the strength of combined worship, unity, and fellowship.  Of course it is easier when we feel like we fit in and we are comfortable.  But if for a small moment we must worship without that usual feeling of comfort, we can and should still do so.  In the end, our worship is a reflection of how we feel about the Lord, not about how comfortable we feel in the ward we are attending.

I've discovered another thing.  There are people there who are reaching out to me and welcoming me if I am willing to accept their friendship.  More often than not my feelings of discomfort have more to do with my inability to give others the benefit of the doubt and to see their warmth and friendship than with their unwillingness to befriend and fellowship me.  Worshipping the Lord entails learning how to see others the way that He sees them and accept their goodness the way that He accepts them.

I am grateful for the way that He has been teaching me through this experience.  I have much to learn as I strive to become a true disciple and worship Him in sincerity and truth.  But as a first step, I can determine with Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Brett

Loving and Serving God's Children

Dad and me at my MA graduation

I can hardly believe it is already March!  March is a wonderful month because it means flowers, warmer temperatures, and a much anticipated visit from Julianne later this month.  March also means that May and my much anticipated return home for the summer is coming ever closer!  But one thing March also means to me is my Dad, whose birthday is this coming Thursday.  Since I won't be close enough to celebrate with him, I thought I'd write a little bit about him on my blog today.

The best example of service I have ever known is my Dad.  During my growing up years that I remember, my Dad was an assistant principle at Joaquin Elementary School in Provo.  While I'm sure he would disagree with me, it always seemed to be a difficult position: all of the work of a principal without the pay of a principal.  In that position though, my Dad began (I use this term loosely) doing something that he carried over with him when he became the principal of Joaquin; he made friends with everyone, particularly the secretaries and janitors, and found ways to help ease their workloads.  I am absolutely certain that shoveling the walks at the school did not fall within the duties of the assistant principal, and I know that it didn't fall within the duties of the principal, but every time it snowed Dad went in early to help the janitors clear the walks.  He knew (and still knows) about the lives and families of each of the teachers, secretaries, and janitors he worked with and took more than a superficial interest in them.  When one of his teachers was having a hard time, he knew about it and he offered his help.  More than that, Dad knew the names of every student in his school and he knew many (if not most) of their parents: a significant accomplishment in a school that had high turnover rates due to the income level of the families in his school.  On top of all of this, Dad never neglected his duties at home nor his callings at Church, a characteristic that he continues to exemplify.

The thing that impresses me about my Dad is that most of the service he rendered while he was a principal was not part of the day to day duties his position encompassed.  He did all of those things, and did them marvelously well, but then he found time to reach out serve in unexpected ways that most of us never think of.  The fitting moment for me came a couple of years ago when my Dad had his retirement party in the school library at Farrer Elementary.  It wasn't filled with stuffy administrators or people from the District Office (no offense intended to them).  It was filled with teachers, janitors, secretaries, students, and parents.  Watching the emotions that the students and parents expressed as they wished him well was a moment I will never forget because it was the outcome of all those acts of service and words of encouragement that Dad offered because he loved the people he worked with.  It was a scene that made me think of the Savior and the kind of people who would have shown up to say goodbye to him.

In a world where we are encouraged to climb ladders and hobnob with the rich and famous, the Savior admonishes us to remember and spend our time serving "the least of these" (Matt 25:40), who truly are our brethren and sisters.  I am grateful that for nearly 32 years, I have been blessed to have an example of a Dad whose interests have been in blessing the lives of those around him.  He serves without being asked and loves without expecting anything in return.  I hope to be able to follow his righteous example to me.

Happy birthday Dad!

Brett

"Our Doubts are Traitors"

"Our doubts are traitors,

And make us lose the good we oft might win

By fearing to attempt."

--William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act 1, Scene 4.

This week I had an interesting experience.  I was asked to look over an article that was submitted to a journal.  The article deals with Church education and one of my advisors is on the editorial board of the journal, so I assume that is how it ended up being sent to me.  As I read through the article I noticed a couple of places where the author used some notes that I had compiled while researching for Education in Zion and for my thesis.  This was fine, as I had done much of that research while working for Education in Zion and I had also given copies of those notes to a friend or two.  But it served as a good reminder to me that it was time for me to actually submit some of my thesis chapters to journals to be published as articles.

But as weird as this sounds for someone who writes a blog post and puts it up for friends and family to read each week (usually without much editing because I don't have time to edit it), I am terrified of submitting my writing to editors and reviewers.  In my mind, my writing is never quite polished enough or never interesting enough to turn it over to a board of editors.  I have heard some of the conversations of friends about published articles not being very good or being deeply flawed or whatever, and so I know how petty and even rude historians can be about works they disagree with.  But in expressing all of these fears and doubts about my own work, I am preventing myself from having opportunities that might otherwise be mine for the taking.

In thinking about these fears, and other fears and doubts in my life, I was reminded of Shakespeare's wise words quoted above.  The use of the word traitor is interesting and quite fitting.  Our doubts and fears are always our own creations.  They are a part of us and they do indeed betray us because they never have our own best interest at heart.  If we let them, our doubts and fears will hold our faith and confidence hostage forever, never allowing us to progress despite our deepest yearnings for eternal growth.  Worse than that, our doubts and fears cause us to believe the worst of ourselves, the worst of others, and even the worst of God.  Rather than believing that we are sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father with divine potential, we are forced to believe that we aren't good enough and that we will never be good enough to match up to our greatest desires.  Rather than believing that our family, friends, neighbors, and peers are generous people who want to help us achieve our goals, we begin to believe that they have low opinions of our efforts and can only see the flaws in our work.  Finally, rather than really believing that our Heavenly Father has a plan for our growth, development, and eventual exaltation, we believe that His plan is for better and more capable people than us, imaginary people who don't struggle as much as we do or need as much help as we need.

When put in print, of course, we all see the absurdity of these fears and doubts, the fallacy of the games our minds play with us.  But doubts and fears are powerful foes and never give up easily.  Most of the world suggests that we must begin by reshaping our view of ourselves.  Such an approach is understandable, for at their core, our doubts and fears are personal indictments we make about ourselves.  But perhaps the true way to overcome them is to begin by reshaping our view of our Heavenly Father and of His children.  The Prophet Joseph Smith reminded us that "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 343).  It is so very important for us to know that God loves us personally and blesses us personally.  We can begin by praying to see more clearly God's blessings to us personally and then we must open our eyes and take note of and express gratitude for those many blessings He does bestow upon us.  When we come to a sure knowledge of God's love for us, we cannot help but come to a sure knowledge of our misunderstanding of our own selves and our own capacities.  Secondly, we can pray to see the charity, love, and compassion in others more clearly, particularly that compassion shown toward us.  As we notice these things, we must take note of and express gratitude for those many kindnesses.  Finally, it will help us to overcome our doubts and fears if the things we attempt to do ourselves are not so much focused upon ourselves as they are upon serving our Father and His children.  Our greatest talents and abilities are not to be found in lifting ourselves up, but in lifting and building those around us.

In my life I have been grateful for the examples of those around me who did not take counsel from their fears, but who did what they knew to be right.  My brother Rob has done this so often for me, whether it was his willingness to set out on adventures as a child, to blaze the missionary path for his younger brother, or to be willing to try his hand at a tough business a second time after the first attempt didn't go so well.  I have watched Rob have some setbacks and disappointments, but more often than that I have watched him grow and succeed through his willingness to try.  I hope some day I can be more like him in this regard.

Brett

Walking on Holy Ground

This was a great week.  Valentine's day was wonderful!  Even though I would rather have been spending the day with Julianne, I enjoyed the 75 degree temperatures and sunshine in Texas.  And even more than that, I enjoyed receiving a thoughtful card and a package from Julianne, as well as a nice little note from my parents.  Julianne spoiled me, sending me both a box of cherry chocolates and a box of milk chocolate sea foam (chocolate covered honeycomb).  They are both my favorites and I've had to try to keep my consumption at acceptable levels so as to make the chocolate last longer.  It is hard to believe that February is over half-way over.  I couldn't be more excited because it means that Spring is coming soon with flowers, blossoms, and consistently warm temperatures!

The Garden Tomb in the Spring

This morning when I woke up, I started thinking back about one of my favorite stories that my grandpa used to tell.  It was about President Kimball and a trip that my grandparents took to Jerusalem with President and Sister Kimball in 1979 for the dedication of the Orson Hyde Memorial Gardens.  Because it was such a memorable event to have the President of the Church traveling in the Holy Land (up to that point, trips like this had been infrequent), BYU decided to send a photography crew to capture the occasion.  Understandably, they wanted candid shots of the President of the Church walking where the Savior had walked.  And they didn't really want his secretary in these pictures.  But just prior to this trip, President Kimball had had an operation to relieve the effects of a subdural hematoma and he was still recovering from the the effects of this operation.

During a fireside years later, my grandpa recalled, "Everywhere we went, I held his arm because he was a little unsteady....We went to the Garden Tomb. And President and Sister Kimball and my wife and I sat in there on that stone bench.  We read the scriptures and President Kimball gave a prayer.  He commented on [the scene] and we meditated.  And then he said, 'I really believe this is where they laid our Lord.'  We stepped out into the bright sunshine....The flooring is uneven because it is made of stone.  I was afraid the President would trip and fall, so I was holding him by the arm.  But again, [the photographers] wanted to take his picture, and without me in it.  And so, reluctantly I let go of his arm.  And as I stepped away I said, 'Now, President Kimball, be careful.'  He turned to me and he smiled and quietly said to me, 'Don't worry Arthur, I'm used to walking on holy ground.'  So I stepped away and they took the picture."

Over the years, I've thought a lot about President Kimball's response, "Don't worry Arthur, I'm used to walking on holy ground," and particularly with regards to this situation.  By this point in his life, President Kimball had spent years walking the halls of Temples and other places of holy ground.  He knew how to recognize holy ground by the way that it felt and the thoughts it inspired him to think.  And this was holy ground!  The fact that the pathways were uneven and even treacherous for one who was still recovering from the effects of a major surgery did not make this ground any less holy.

In this story, my grandfather was right to be worried.  But at the same time, President Kimball was right to be confident.  Each of us will, from time to time, find ourselves upon holy ground that might also be rocky and potentially dangerous terrain.  Our own homes are perhaps the holiest ground most of us tread in this life, but as we all know, family life can be uneven and challenging, and it can be easy to slip and fall if we are not careful.  Our wards and stakes are holy ground where we can be lifted up and edified.  But we also know people who have been offended and deeply hurt by uncaring comments and hurtful remarks.  Just as the dangers of an uneven path did not stop President Kimball from walking on the path at the Garden Tomb, so the rockiness of these terrains should not prevent us from walking on these paths.  The key for us is to do what President Kimball did and focus upon the holiness of the ground and not the unevenness of the paths that cover it.  If, from time to time, someone is a little insensitive or unkind (or even downright mean), we can still know that we are on holy ground, seeking to do the will of our Father in Heaven.  The benefits and blessings of standing on holy ground deeply outweigh the dangers of the uneven paths we must sometimes walk.

Brett

(Hopefully this makes some sort of sense.)