What I Got for Christmas 2010

This morning I was on an early morning Christmas errand.  As I traveled along the I-15 corridor, I was listening to FM100.3, the continuous Christmas music channel.  Only once a year at this time do you get to hear Burl Ives, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Johnny Mathis, Gene Autry, Mannheim Steamroller and Karen Carpenter in such concentrated doses.  It's great, isn't it?  Who doesn't love Christmas music?

This is the season of the year when we focus on Christ, His birth, ministry among men on earth and the atonement.  The inspired Handel oratorio, "The Messiah," gets lots of play time on the radio.  Handel borrowed freely from the pen of Isaiah.

Isaiah prophesies of the Savior's birth

It's also a time when I get a lot of suggestions from folks about what to write about.  I get forwards of e-mails like everybody else, most of which I pass along to the delete button.  But what follows came to me last week, and I was inspired and humbled by the content.  It filled me with gratitude for the Savior, His Church among men here on earth, the hope of what is to come, and the good bishops who fill the judgment seats throughout the Church worldwide.  I've changed it slightly to protect the anonymity of the contributor, but with permission I offer it here:

I feel impressed to record some of the past week's events, particularly today’s.  As many know, we have had quite the adventure over the past 18 months. The months of preparation and thousands of dollars in paperwork and supplies to get us moved to our pending foreign destination were taxing on all levels, emotionally, spiritually, mentally and financially. Those months and other events out of our control have eventually led to our current circumstances and financial woes.

I don’t know if it’s inherently built in as the oldest in my family, or if it’s a personality trait, though I have observed it with my father as well over the years.  It has always been tough to ask for help of any kind.  The thoughts resound:  "Plenty of others are in far worse circumstances than mine,” or “I should be able to handle it myself,” or "I am supposed to be self-reliant."

Sometimes one’s circumstances push you into a position that all but forces you turn somewhere for help. Such was our position. With reluctance, I forced myself to ask our bishop a few weeks ago for help with our rent. We have long since exhausted our remaining reserves and we had nowhere left to turn. I was filled with anxiety as the days approached that I knew I would have to sit down with the bishop and discuss our financial state. It’s always nerve-racking sitting down with a new bishop for the first time, but when the subject matter is asking for help with paying your bills, anxiety is the least of your emotional problems. The guilt, anger, shame, and heartache far outweigh the feelings of anxiety. It has been an emotional roller-coaster to say the least.

The meeting a few weeks ago went great. You need to understand the nature of our new bishop. For the ward Halloween party, he was simply dressed in jeans and a white dress shirt with no tie. Pinned all over his jeans were packets of Smarties. Yeah, he was dressed as Mr. Smartie Pants. 

He told me as I sat in his office, that when the stake president offered the calling of bishop to him, he simply asked him if he had to change. He said, "President, I don’t joke about two things, the scriptures and the gospel, and that I can promise you. As for the rest of it, life is hard enough without more seriousness. So, everything else in life I joke about. If I have to change and can’t make jokes about the rest of it, you better find another man.  Otherwise, I accept."  

He seems very serious and unapproachable on the surface, but that melts by the time sentence number two is out of his mouth. At the end of our meeting he asked if we needed help with food or any other bills. I told him I thought we could manage. As I was leaving, he told me to keep him posted if we needed for or had other needs. I walked out relieved and very grateful.

Within a week of meeting with the bishop, I had wrecked my Audi to the tune of $7000 in the first snow storm and [his wife] Ashley’s car would not start.  We had gone up to the mountains for Thanksgiving, and I thought when Ashley’s car did not start at high altitude it was just the -20F weather we had experienced. Turns out a few days later it was the battery.  It was totally dead.  It wouldn't jump or charge. Who knew some of these new electronic charged batteries cost over $200? 

I am known in our family as the one who stresses about our finances, so when Ashley started stressing and mentioning we needed food, I knew we were in serious trouble. 

The anxiety was building again. This time it wasn't because I was worried about the bishop.  It was the emotion a man feels when he’s lost control of everything and can’t provide even the basic necessities for his family. A man’s main purpose in life is to protect and provide for his family. I was in a position I could no longer provide either, or at least from my perspective that’s how it looked. It’s an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness.  I knew I had to face the bishop again and ask for food. 

I sent Bishop Jones a letter, explained briefly our past week’s trouble and the overall issues of work hours or lack thereof. Sunday night the bishop called me and Ashley into his office to chat.

He’s a good man. I’ve never had to ask for food. It’s a humbling moment. As part of filling out the paperwork, he asked me if I would be willing to go spend just an hour or two at the cannery near where we live. Without hesitation, I said, "Absolutely!" That's the one thing I’ve had plenty of lately -- time, time that I’d rather be working. 

In all my years I’ve never been to the cannery to offer service. It just always conflicted with the hours of my job. I was actually a bit excited to have something to do, but more importantly, to be able to give back in a small way. 

The Relief Society President came over the next day to fill out the food order with Ashley. (Ashley has already had some contact with her [the Relief Society President], and thinks she’s great.)  We woke up this morning and decided to pick up the food order, and then I would stay behind at the cannery and put in an hour or two worth of work to pay back what we were receiving. Little did I realize, those two hours of “giving back” would put me further in debt even more with the Savior.

I must admit, I felt guilty walking into the Bishop’s Storehouse.  Ashley in her Uggs and I was wearing a North Face polar fleece, with the four girls in tow and dressed in their nice clothes. Part of me felt we shouldn’t be there. The one thing that helped in softening those feelings was the bishop telling us not to be surprised if we saw an Escalade in the parking lot. He said no one is immune from needing help, and that’s what it’s for. 

Walking around filling our cart, you could tell which patrons inside truly needed the help, and which ones were using the system, and it had nothing to do with what they were wearing.  It was evident in their demeanor and spirit. It was an amazing experience.

As I walked across the parking lot after loading two shopping carts of food into the back of the Expedition, I couldn’t help but be full of gratitude. I walked inside and was directed where to sign in and where to go. After putting on my smock and hair net, I ended up in the back by the canning and boxing machine. Everything was just shutting down, and everyone was going on lunch break. 

Dale, one of the part-time paid employees of 22 years, told me to go to lunch and come back in 30 minutes. I asked him if I could stay and work somewhere else. He put me to work sweeping the warehouse. My mind drifted back to the first few weeks of my job at XYZ. I think I swept that warehouse every day for two or three weeks at $10/hr. We had the cleanest warehouse in West Valley. 

(l to r) Harold B. Lee, President Heber J. Grant, Marion G. Romney

Here I was almost twenty years later, sweeping a warehouse for free. (Truth be told, I think that warehouse was just as clean as XYZ’s after those first three weeks.)  My mind wandered from XYZ to Harold B. Lee, realizing he is given much credit for creating this whole welfare plan of the Church. I wondered if he ever could have dreamed how big his original idea had now become. I felt a sense of pride being a part of Harold B. Lee's vision about "putting the priesthood of God to work," and was proud to be sweeping the floors again, this time in a Bishop's Storehouse.

At 12:30 p.m., I started running the box machine. For the next hour and a half I made boxes for the cans of beef chunks. In that hour and a half, I was given more than a car load of food. During that time, the Spirit taught me a simple truth.  Here I had just been given hundreds of dollars in food for my little family, and all I had been asked to donate in return was an hour or two of my time to put boxes together?  I was sacrificing two hours as payment?  Talk about feeling guilty.  I made a couple hundred dollars an hour today, putting together boxes. Seems hardly like a sacrifice! 

Random thoughts ran through my head, memories of signs we've all seen: “Will work for food.” It made me wonder if people really are willing to put in a day's honest labor just to put food on the table.  It made it all real. It takes on a new meaning when you know someone else stood here putting cans into boxes, and those same cans are now in my car and will feed my family. 

I gained a real sense of the law of consecration.  How often do we sign up for service because that’s what we’re supposed to do, but never think through to the other side of what we are really doing?  I have now seen all the way through to the other side. 

At one point, I was overcome with pure gratitude for the sacrifice of good saints and the atoning sacrifice of my Savior. I tried to fight back tears as it sunk into my heart that all that I have and am is truly all from Him.  As I stood at that machine, I was filled with such humility, and could see clearly a better sense of the Atonement that I had never before known.

And so it is with the Atonement. We come unto Christ, sometimes a bit hesitant, or in circumstances that have forced us to ask for His help. The Savior in His infinite mercy and generosity gives us all we need and more, more than we can possibly fit into our cars.  He asks us through His inspired servants on our way out if we can possibly spare just a moment of our busy insignificant lives to repay a fraction of what we’ve just received.  Then we realize our insignificant fraction of that payback only blesses us more and in other ways, further adding to our debt of gratitude for Him. 

But here's the miracle:  As we leave, our bill has been paid in full. We are square, even. Christ has made up the difference no matter what those individual differences may look like. 

First, may we all remember not to judge our fellow men. What is under the surface we can see, only God knows in full.  We are required to reach out and to love them no matter what.  

Second, God is good and loves us.

And third, may we all remember the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

Giddy up Donkey

A picture is worth how much?  A thousand words.



Mormons and Fatalism

I was struck again yesterday with this question:  Knowing what we know about future prophecy as members of the Church, why aren't we more fatalistic?

The Gospel Doctrine lesson was about Daniel's interpretation of the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar.  Here's the image:

King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Image


The stone was cut out of the mountain "without hands" and rolls forth into the last days until it destroys all the governments left on earth.  In the end there will be only one government, the one to fulfill all the ancient prophecies that gave voice to Isaiah's prophecy in Handel's majestic "Messiah" oratorio -- ". . . and the government shall rest upon his shoulders," speaking of the Promised Messiah.  (See Isaiah 9:6).

The stone, of course, is the kingdom of God on the earth and will someday be merged with the kingdom of heaven yet to come down from above:

Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one sent down from on high, who is mighty and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth, yea, whose voice is unto men — Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.
Yea, a voice crying — Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom.
Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the people.
Call upon the Lord, that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that the inhabitants thereof may receive it, and be prepared for the days to come, in the which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth.
Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come, that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever. Amen.  (D&C 65).

In an inspired declaration by a living prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball gave the definitive interpretation of Daniel's dream in 1976:

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored in 1830. . .  This is the kingdom, set up by the God of heaven, that would never be destroyed nor superseded, and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would become a great mountain and would fill the whole earth”  (Ensign, May 1976, 8–9).

From its small beginnings in that room in a log cabin in Fayette, New York, on April 6, 1830, the Church has indeed rolled forth into every nation.  Rather than a military campaign, however, the Church continues to prepare the way for the Lord's Second Coming by building temples where all God's children may claim their promised blessings.  All that we do in the Church points to the temples, now approximately 150 either fully operational or under construction.  They dot the globe, and will continue to be announced and built.

The effect of those preparations will be to replace all the governments (and yes, corporations) built by men's hands, not through subversive activities but as the natural consequence of men making and perpetuating their feeble attempts at power and domination.  Freedom will prevail, though the struggle will be long and never ending until Christ comes. 

We seek peace in this world.  We will find it, however, only in our hearts and souls. 

On a Christmas Day, December 25th, 1832, this chilly verse from the Prince of Peace:

And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations.  (D&C 87:6).

And one further insight about how the preparations are being made for that day:

. . . have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.
And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.  (Moroni 7:29-32).

Every day somewhere in the world, because the sun never sets on the kingdom of God upon the earth today, the work of preparing the children of God for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ continues.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

President Gordon B. Hinckley declared:
 
“This Church is true. It will weather every storm that beats against it. It will outlast every critic who rises to mock it. It was established by God our Eternal Father for the blessing of His sons and daughters of all generations. It carries the name of Him who stands as its head, even the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. It is governed and moves by the power of the priesthood. It sends forth to the world another witness of the divinity of the Lord. Be faithful, my friends. Be true. Be loyal to the great things of God which have been revealed in this dispensation.”  (“Keep the Faith,” Ensign, September 1985, 6).



Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

 Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said: “Our Lord and Savior stands at the head of this church and directs it through his servants. This is the Lord’s church; it is not a church of men.”  (Ensign, November 1993, 5).

President Spencer W. Kimball

President Spencer W. Kimball concludes:
 
In the meridian of time, the Son of God, the Light of the World, came and opened the curtains of heaven, and earth and heaven were again in communion.
But when the light of that century went out, the darkness was again impenetrable; the heavens were sealed and the “dark ages” moved in. 

I bear witness to the world today that more than a century and a half ago the iron ceiling was shattered; the heavens were once again opened, and since that time revelations have been continuous. 

That new day dawned when another soul with passionate yearning prayed for divine guidance. A spot of hidden solitude was found, knees were bent, a heart was humbled, pleadings were voiced, and a light brighter than the noonday sun illuminated the world — the curtain never to be closed again. 

A young lad spoken of by some of our brethren today, Joseph Smith, of incomparable faith, broke the spell, shattered the “heavens of iron” and reestablished communication. Heaven kissed the earth, light dissipated the darkness, and God again spoke to man, revealing anew “his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7.) A new prophet was in the land and through him God set up his kingdom, never to be destroyed nor left to another people — a kingdom that will stand forever.

The foreverness of this kingdom and the revelations which it brought into existence are absolute realities. Never again will the sun go down; never again will all men prove totally unworthy of communication with their Maker. Never again will God be hidden from his children on the earth. Revelation is here to remain. 

In the early years of his newly established dispensation, the Lord set his divine law of succession, and prophets have followed each other and will continue to follow each other in never-ending, divinely appointed succession, and the secrets of the Lord will be revealed without measure.

By the power of God other books of scripture have come into being. Vital and priceless records of ancient America, with teachings of Christ, another testimony of his divinity, form the Book of Mormon, which we declare to be divine scripture, contemporary with and sustaining the Bible.

Since that momentous day in 1820, additional scripture has continued to come, including the numerous and vital revelations flowing in a never-ending stream from God to his prophets on the earth. Many of these revelations are recorded in another scripture called the Doctrine and Covenants. Completing our Latter-day Saint scriptures is the Pearl of Great Price, another record of revelation and translated writings of both ancient and modern prophets. 

There are those who would assume that with the printing and binding of these sacred records, that would be the “end of the prophets.” But again we testify to the world that revelation continues and that the vaults and files of the Church contain these revelations which come month to month and day to day. We testify also that there is, since 1830 when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and will continue to be, so long as time shall last, a prophet, recognized of God and his people, who will continue to interpret the mind and will of the Lord.

Now, a word of warning: Let us not make the error of the ancients. Numerous modern sectarians believe in the Abrahams, the Moseses, and the Pauls, but resist believing in today’s prophets. The ancients also could accept the prophets of an earlier day, but denounced and cursed the ones who were their contemporaries.

In our day, as in times past, many people expect that if there be revelation it will come with awe-inspiring, earth-shaking display. For many it is hard to accept as revelation those numerous ones in Moses’ time, in Joseph’s time, and in our own year — those revelations which come to prophets as deep, unassailable impressions settling down on the prophet’s mind and heart as dew from heaven or as the dawn dissipates the darkness of night.

Expecting the spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed communication. I say, in the deepest of humility, but also by the power and force of a burning testimony in my soul, that from the prophet of the Restoration to the prophet of our own year, the communication line is unbroken, the authority is continuous, and light, brilliant and penetrating, continues to shine. The sound of the voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a thunderous appeal. For nearly a century and a half there has been no interruption.

Man never needs to stand alone. Every faithful person may have the inspiration for his own limited kingdom. But the Lord definitely calls prophets today and reveals his secrets unto them as he did yesterday, he does today, and will do tomorrow: that is the way it is.

As we sang “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet” earlier in the afternoon, a thought ran through my mind which I have expressed before. I hope you were all thinking of Joseph Smith, of Brigham Young, of John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and all the other Presidents. I hope you were thinking of President David O. McKay and President Joseph Fielding Smith, President Harold B. Lee and all of those who have filled this position in these days.

They have contributed a great service. They have done a great work for the people of this world. They have organized the Church and continued to develop it, and it has grown tremendously under their care.

I hope we will always remember that and not let it all be centered in the living person who currently serves, because the works of God continue in all these areas.  ("Revelation: The Word of the Lord to His Prophets," Ensign, May 1977, 76).

* * *

So, why aren't Mormons more fatalistic in light of these prophecies about governments giving way to the kingdom of God rolling forth to crush them?  Because even though these eventualities will be painful beyond belief, we know what comes next.  There is nothing to fear.  All that is necessary is adequate preparation, and those preparations are well entrenched and ongoing in spite of all the opposition the world can muster.

And that should make us all more optimistic.

"No Other Gods"

This morning I stumbled over a thought-provoking article by a regular contributor to the Deseret News, Joseph Cramer, M.D.

Dr. Joseph Cramer

The author asks us to choose which of the two gods on earth, government or corporations, might be the god we choose to worship.  He begins this way:

"Monotheism is the singular feature of the occidental religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The adherents to these faiths are admonished to have no other gods before them. There is also the wisdom that with two masters one will love the one and hate the other or vice versa.

"It also seems to be the singular feature of secular living as well. One cannot have two masters. There are those who worship government and there are those who think corporations are divine. I use worship and divine because of the fervor both congregations attach to their points of view. Each side acts as if their chosen organizational messiah will save them, and provide all the answers to a happy and rich life. For those who resent the comparison of government and corporations to their personal god, look at the passions — anger, adoration, segregation of friends and family by their beliefs, self-righteousness, loyalty — and the commitment — time, money and self — used to describe advocates. All imitate the devotion of the most faithful zealot. We are cautioned not to speak about either religion or politics for good reason: they are the same thing."

This page has as its purpose the discussion (and the distinction between) those two seemingly unspeakable topics -- politics and religion -- with the intentional consequence of defining a path for earnest and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.  It is true, we cannot have it both ways.

Yesterday, while the debate raged on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. about extending unemployment benefits and tax cuts, one passionate Congressman on the floor of the House was heard to say (I caught the soundbite on the radio in the car but didn't get his name), "This is the season when we celebrate the birth of the poor baby Jesus Christ in the animal manger.  How can we turn our backs on the unemployed especially at this season of the year, Christmas, when it was He who taught charity.  We must do the right thing and provide this help right now.  We can't turn our backs on them at this season of the year when our Christian faith is so prominently on display or we would be hypocrites."  Isn't it interesting when a Congressman wants to evoke the image of Christ in the political debate, while erecting the government in the place of Christ as the solution? 

The "poor baby Jesus" can be such a useful device for a secular humanist, who simultaneously would dismiss Jesus as a myth.

The Congressman framed the argument perfectly.  Shall government continue to spend money it doesn't have, because it long ago exceeded in expenditures what it brings in from tax revenue and is now operating in the red with borrowed money, to provide entitlements (even if in the name of charity for the poor to improve their lives), or shall it cease and desist from further spending until it gets its own house in order?  Is the federal government so big it cannot possibly fail?  Can it continue to bail out corporations that are also by the government definition "too big to fail?"  Who bails out America? 

Is America too big to fail?  The answer is NO.

President Ezra Taft Benson

I was reminded this morning when I read Cramer's article about a pivotal General Conference address by President Ezra Taft Benson in April 1988, entitled "The Great Commandment -- Love the Lord."

Once again, he frames the opposite argument perfectly:

The great test of life is obedience to God. “We will prove them herewith,” said the Lord, “to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25). 

The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it. 

The great commandment of life is to love the Lord. 

“Come unto Christ,” exhorts Moroni in his closing testimony, “… and love God with all your might, mind and strength” (Moroni 10:32). 

This, then, is the first and great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30; see also Matthew 22:37; Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27; Moroni 10:32; D&C 59:5). . .

President Benson asserts, as he continues:

We must put God in the forefront of everything else in our lives. He must come first, just as He declares in the first of His Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities. 

We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives.

* * *

I said this talk was "pivotal."  I don't know where you were in your life in 1987, but I was a bishop and faced with a dilemma of choice.  I had made a decision, at the time it seemed a monumental decision, to choose God above all other considerations.  However, it meant certain displacement, uncertainty, inconvenience, and discomfort, but I knew it was the right thing to do because I could not choose both paths and be one traveller.  (See Robert Frost, "The Road not Taken"). 

We fasted and prayed as a family to know what we should do.  The decision was made, and then months later the Prophet of God arose in the keynote address of General Conference and confirmed the decision we had made together.  It proved later to be the pivotal choice in our family's lives.  Looking back, that one choice to put God ahead of all other people, regardless of the love and deep affection I had for those people, has made all the difference in what has evolved afterward. 

Loving God above all other considerations is a rather glib and almost trite profession, but I can assure you it is much, much more than that when action follows the mere profession of belief.  I long ago concluded the power to act is much more meaningful than the words we profess with our lips.  Once acted upon, the belief engenders power and certainty the likes of which mere mortals can only glimpse from afar who lack the resolve to change their circumstances.  We are designed by God to act and not to be acted upon.  (2 Nephi 2:26). 
 
To attempt to shift the blame to others for the natural consequences of our choices is antithetical to all God has revealed to us in the scriptures about our lives in mortality.

Mickey Mantle

I have mentioned before my admiration for Mickey Mantle as a baseball player.  I was remembering this morning why I admired him even more as a man.  He admitted to years of various forms of substance abuse.  His achievements on the field are even more astounding when factored against the performance "unenhancing" drugs like alcohol that coursed through his veins.  Upon receiving a liver transplant in an effort to save his life, he made an amazing statement I've never forgotten.  He said, “Don’t use me for a role model.”  He also said that he was committing the rest of his life to being a better example.  He finally acted upon his inbred ability as a son of God to act and not to be acted upon.  Mickey Mantle finally accepted the responsibility for his mistakes.  Unfortunately he died shortly thereafter.
 
I mention this only because the governments and corporations on this earth will never have the power to change human hearts aflame with faith, hope and charity.  Only God can do that.  Governments and corporations tend to enslave.  Only God can liberate and inspire fallen mortal man to greater heights.  Loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength is the only way human progress is achieved with any lasting benefits.  Everything else temporizes and fades in time. 
 
We do the best we can at whatever task comes to our hands with an eye single to His glory, remembering that which we can see with our eyes and touch with our hands will fade away because it tends toward entropy.  Only the unseen world is the real world and has eternal staying power. 
 
We build eternal families here on earth among those who are fallen, but once born again, we will live in eternal glory.  There isn't a government or a corporation here on earth to offer anyone that outcome.  So why would we ever give governments or corporations our allegiance, our worship or our obeisance?
 
President Benson summarized with these lines of poetry:
 
Who does God’s work will get God’s pay,
However long may seem the day,
However weary be the way.
No mortal hand, God’s hand can stay,
He may not pay as others pay,
In gold, or lands, or raiments gay,
In goods that perish and decay;
But God’s high wisdom knows a way,
And this is sure, let come what may —
Who does God’s work will get God’s pay.

(Anonymous) 

Joseph Smith

I conclude with the words of Joseph Smith:

Our only confidence can be in God; our only wisdom obtained from Him; and He alone must be our protector and safeguard, spiritually and temporally, or we fall.

We have been chastened by the hand of God heretofore for not obeying His commands, although we never violated any human law, or transgressed any human precept; yet we have treated lightly His commands, and departed from His ordinances, and the Lord has chastened us sore, and we have felt His arm and kissed the rod; let us be wise in time to come and ever remember that "to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (TPJS, 253).

In the days that lie ahead choosing God first is really our only choice, earthly governments and corporations built with men's hands notwithstanding.

Four Suggestions on Conducting Sacrament Meeting

One day I will write the definitive book on things I wished I had known at a younger age so I wouldn't have had to make all the mistakes myself to learn what would be considered "best practices."  Conducting sacrament meeting is in that long list -- how to do it and how not to do it.  I wish as a younger priesthood leader and new member of a bishopric I had focused more on the Savior as the centerpiece of the meeting.  I am not in an official training position in the Church now to do anything about giving counsel to those who do conduct that meeting each week, but I can offer some suggestions gleaned through observation.

Elder Russell M. Nelson

If I were conducting sacrament meeting today, I think I'd do things better than when I was actually in bishoprics and doing it then.  Like all topics in the "unwritten order of things" in the Church, this one also has a definitive and declarative Apostolic witness to which we can point.  Elder Russell M. Nelson offers it in an address given at a worldwide leadership training meeting on 21 June 2003.  It was reprinted in the August 2004 Ensign, (24-28), as an article titled "Worshiping at Sacrament Meeting."

In part, Elder Nelson said, "Bishoprics and branch presidencies have responsibility not only to plan these meetings, but to conduct them. They should do so reverently. Some in the congregation are praying for delicate promptings and communication from heaven. Establishing a spirit of reverence will help them receive those promptings. Remember: reverence invites revelation.

"Those conducting the meeting begin by extending a cordial greeting. Detailed announcements are more appropriately handled some other time. Because we invite all to come unto Christ, friends and neighbors are always welcome but not expected to take the sacrament. However, it is not forbidden. They choose for themselves. We hope that newcomers among us will always be made to feel wanted and comfortable. Little children, as sinless beneficiaries of the Lord’s Atonement, may partake of the sacrament as they prepare for covenants that they will make later in life.

"Our meetings are always to be conducted as directed by the Spirit (see D&C 46:2). Occasionally something unexpected may arise that a presiding officer may wish to clarify or correct, as prompted by the Spirit. Otherwise, no additional commentary is given after the final speaker has spoken."

In the spirit of that general instruction, let me underscore four particular points gleaned through participation in thousands of sacrament meetings over the years in many different wards and settings:

1.  Be on time.

It's always a good idea if you're in the bishopric to be in your seat at least five minutes before the meeting starts.  That way you can greet guest speakers, visiting authorities, and have a chance to make last minute adjustments under control.  As you sit reverently and listen to the prelude music, others in the audience will quietly take their seats too.  If you're not there, there is no sense by the attendees that things are getting close to getting started, so they will continue to visit and mingle and wander around the chapel.  The meeting actually begins the minute you take your seat on the stand and look into the faces of the ward members.  I found revelation flowing freely about certain ward members.  It's the reason presiding officers with priesthood keys sit facing their flock.  It's hard to explain until you have experienced it, but it is real.  Then start the meeting at the appointed hour.  That gives you a chance to assess the size of the crowd and make adjustments to the number of sacrament trays and emblems in place.  Anticipate early what might go wrong.  Don't react if you can be pro-active.  Be settled early, never introduce the spirit of not knowing what's going to happen next.  Planning is enhanced by punctuality.

2.  Don't try to be funny.

As the conducting officer, sacrament meeting is not the place to introduce humor.  Save your quips and the latest joke you've heard.  Set a reverential tone by the things you say in welcoming people and how you say them.  Sincerity is much more appealing than humor or sarcasm.  The world is full of self-appointed clowns and entertainers -- some are actually well-paid.  Appropriate humor is one of the charming attributes of prophets -- President Hinckley and President Monson are classic examples.  Their humor is always appropriate, self-deprecating and in good taste.  Many conducting officers thinking to imitate lose a lot in translation.  It's generally best to let the speakers introduce some humor if they choose, but the conducting officer should maintain the idea of setting the tone and the spirit of the meeting.  Elder LeGrand Richards and Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone were masters of humor.  Don't be tempted.  I've seen things escalate out of control from some unwise attempts to start the meeting, and raucous laughter has too often ensued, killing the spirit and the intent of worship for all in attendance.

3.  Never give announcements over the pulpit.

It takes a little more disciplined foresight and training, but with practice it can be done.  A written program is the proper place for all announcements.  Remember, sacrament meeting is a worship service and the only place on earth (except for a few notable exceptions) where we participate in revealed prayers on the emblems of the Lord's atoning sacrifice.  The texture of the meeting should be pointed toward the sacrament and anything we can do to focus our attention on that is desirable.  Resist the temptation to have someone who's a stakeholder in the Pinewood Derby take a minute announce all the rules and the date of the competition.  There should be no exceptions to that rule in my opinion.  Sacrament meeting is not a business meeting.  While there are ward business items to be accommodated, such as sustainings and releases, everything else should find its way into the written outline of the day's program or not brought up at all.

4.  Announce the whole program after the sacrament.

There is nothing more distracting than a conducting officer who is up and down during a meeting like a Jack-in-the-box.  Before or after the sacrament (local leaders may direct their preference), announce the balance of the program, including the closing hymn and the benediction, then sit down.  Your role is finished.  Don't ever announce most of the program then say, "And we'll go to that point in the program."  You have never heard a General Authority conduct a meeting that way.  Don't ever get up again at the end of the meeting unless the building is on fire or you have heard some egregious doctrine being taught that needs to be corrected.  Of course, the person conducting the meeting is always subject to the direction of the presiding authority, and the one who is senior always takes precedence.  Your final commentary about who said what and how they said it is not necessary.  Let the meeting play out and allow the Spirit to add the commentary, not you.

Just remember, I'm not king of the world here.  Take guidance from your local leaders on the hows and wherefores of conducting sacrament meeting. 

But if I were king of the world. . .