April 12, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I hope that each of you have had a wonderful Easter and a special Sabbath Day! I have really enjoyed the quiet time to ponder on the significance of this special season and the opportunity to remember that weekend thousands of years ago that was filled with such tragedy and horror, and such triumph and eternal magnificence!
Yesterday, as I read in Matthew 27, I was horrified by the thought of how cruel mankind can be and how blindly the masses can be persuaded to follow, and even join in on something that seems so naturally wrong and contrary to human nature. The way the Savior was treated by His fellowmen on that weekend long ago should have been repulsive and utterly unacceptable to all who participated. The Savior's quiet submission to the abuse of his aggressors should have awakened in each of them a sense of shame and abhorrence for what was happening, but it did not. Sadly, most seemed to join in and allowed themselves to be drawn in to observe, and even participate in something that, at some level, they all had to know was wrong.
I wondered what I would have done. How I would have reacted if I were one of the soldiers, or one in the crowd? Would I have listened to the whisperings of the Spirit, who even with a still small voice, must have been screaming to my soul, telling me this was wrong? Would this have led me to defy the masses? When I heard these screams in my soul would I have been paralyzed with fear and retracted into the shadows to observe in horror? Would I have not even heard this voice in my soul because I was so focused and caught up by the screams of the accusers, as I joined in on the hate driven throng?
I know what I hope I would have done, but I also realize that it is easy to sit in the safety and comfort of my home and idealize what my response might have been.
As I ponder on this, I realize that the only real way to determine how I might have reacted, is to observe how I listen to the warning voices of the Spirit as I live in a society that is filled with its own brand of voices that scream for my attention in areas that should also be abhorrent to my soul. As I think about it in this way, I see that I need to practice relentlessly on a daily basis in those small and seemingly inconsequential situations to listen to the Spirit, so that I will be listening to the right voices, and ready to stand against the masses, when I am faced with the challenges that will come in my own life. Those times when I must choose to listen to the Spirit, to the innate goodness of my own soul as a child of Heavenly parents, and to the voices of the Lord's prophets when these voices are telling me to defy the influence of evil that is increasingly around us.
This past week Deborah has been putting different pictures from the Gospel Art collection on our kitchen table to remind us in our passing by of the Savior, His ministry, and the events surrounding the Passover, last supper, crucifixion, and resurrection. This picture of the Savior stayed on the table for several days and as I took time to study it, I felt great love and confidence in my Savior.
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I thought of His strength, His unconditional love, His courage, His compassion, His kindness, His open arms. I felt peace knowing that He will be my judge and my advocate with the Father. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ which has been restored to help each of us to make and keep those sacred covenants that will bring us back into the loving arms of our Heavenly Parents. I am so grateful for the Savior, His willingness to sacrifice and to go through something that He must have known would be so challenging, that He might gain an understanding of how to help each one of us in our different challenges. I am so grateful for His unconditional love that continues to beckon me to follow Him.
While I am saddened by the suffering that our current condition has brought to so many, I am grateful for the opportunity to see life from a different angle. I am grateful for the different perspective I have gained from worshipping in a different way. I am grateful for the foresight of prophets so of God who prepared us for this very day. I am grateful for the many, many examples I see and hear about in each of you and the way you are rising up, reaching out, and worshiping in your own unique and wonderful ways. May all of us have the desire and the strength to continue forward, learning, loving and growing more and more each day as we seek to listen to the right voices.
With Love,
President Palmer
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