Good morning and aloha. I want to give special thanks to my wife for her introduction. I truly believe we were prepared in the pre-existence to be eternal partners and to be given the family that we have. We are excited to have our son Eric and his wife Brooke and their son Bridger here with us today. We have always been very close as a couple and have worked together on everything, including our business, so it has been a great experience for us to be here on a mission and working together on our assignments at BYU–Hawaii.
I had no idea that when I got to know President Wheelwright as Elder Wheelwright during the time we both served in the Scottish Mission, approximately 50 years ago, that it would lead to my speaking in a devotional at BYU–Hawaii today. This assignment has weighed heavily on my mind for quite a few months as I have prayed for inspiration and for a message that I could present here today that would be of value to you as students. I have tried to prepare what I think are some of life’s basic lessons that are founded in Gospel principles and that can make a big difference in your life as they have made in mine. These are all principles that I have used and have tried to convey to my family, the employees in our business, and in my callings in the Church.
As I have worked with many students on campus in various capacities, I see that all of you have a great desire to do well in your classwork, church callings, and work on campus or at the Polynesian Cultural Center, but many times I see students that lack self-control and have difficulty getting everything done on a timely basis. Being away from home for the first time can present new found freedoms and the realization that no one is going to make you get up in the morning and be on time or check on you to make sure your homework is done. I remember my first year in college as a freshman, and my best friend and I spent a little too much time skiing during the winter and playing golf in the spring. But, we knew that we were leaving on missions in the fall, and we didn’t think about what the consequences might be when we returned to school in two years. I can honestly tell you here today that there were some consequences when we returned to school. So, for that reason I have entitled my talk today “Organize Yourselves; Prepare Every Needful Thing.”
The scripture that I based my remarks on today has always been one of my favorite scriptures and comes from the Doctrine & Covenants 88:119.
“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”
When called upon to give a spiritual thought, I often use this one because it has so much to do with my success in life as a husband and father and in my church callings and employment. Let’s face it, if we are not organized, most everything we try to do will be some form of crisis management. I think we all know someone that fits into that category.
So, how do we follow the admonition of this scripture and apply it in our lives. Let’s begin by breaking it down. First of all, it says “organize yourselves,” and like everything else, it begins with us as a child of God, brought to this earth to gain a physical body and to prove ourselves as individuals. Although we are born with many of our personal attributes, in many ways we become a product of our home environment and tend to follow the lead of our parents and others around us. Let me tell you a little about my childhood and the way I was raised. My parents were second-generation owners of a grocery and general merchandise store in Teton Valley, Idaho. In addition to the grocery store, my father also farmed and we raised sheep. So, as you can guess, there was no shortage of work for me and my siblings when I was growing up as a kid. It seemed like I was always either in school or at work, and I never knew what it was like to have a day off. At the age of ten, I also worked for my uncles on their farm in the summer time, usually driving either a tractor or truck as they loaded hay bales in the field. I started working for $1.00 per day, and by the end of the first summer, I had made some money. My parents set me up a savings account, and then at the age of twelve, they helped me set up a checking account so that I had control of my own money. That was long before the day of credit and debit cards. They did require that I put at least half of my earning into savings for a future mission and college. One of my earliest jobs in the grocery store was stocking shelves on freight day, and I was paid 5 cents for each case of product that I could mark with the correct price and put neatly on the shelf. If I worked hard, I could earn $1.00 from the time I got to the store after school and until it closed. Now, I am telling you all of this to help you understand why being organized is so important to me. I had to be organized to go to school, hold a part time job from about the age of eight, and keep up with my homework in school. As I got into high school, I was involved in football and wrestling after school, and then I still went to the grocery store until closing and then home to do my homework. From time to time, I would also have to be at the grocery store early in the morning before school to help out in the meat department, and I became a meat cutter in the process. I had to organize every aspect of my life so that I could do well in school, participate in scouting, and have a little time to go with my friends and have a date for the Saturday night dance. Since this was all back in the '60s, there were no computers, and until I could take a typing class in high school, my mother had to type all of my term papers and book reports. She taught me another principle that I have used many times in my life with my children and many other people with whom I have been associated.
It is “ Do not let your lack of planning become my emergency.”
In other words, if she was going to type my book report, she would not be doing it late the night before it was due. I had to allow her several days to fit in the time to type it for me. It took pressure off both of us when I took a typing class and was old enough to type my own reports. Let’s hope all of us never let our lack of planning become someone else’s emergency. As a child and a teenager, my parents truly taught me to organize myself and “prepare every needful thing” as the scripture says.
Now let’s go back to the rest of the scripture, beginning with “establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”
This now becomes our responsibility to establish our own “house of God” as outlined here. As you establish your own, you will then be prepared to do the same with your spouse and continue it on as you bring children into the home. It begins with our faith and our daily prayer, asking for the Lord’s help to accomplish this as you strive to create your own “house of God.” It also suggests a house of learning where we continuously learn from the scriptures, from the General Authorities through conference talks, and from other good books. Lastly, it suggests a house of order where we place a priority on all that we face each day and organize our time so that all is accomplished in a meaningful way, and we feel good about what we have done. This can be as simple as making a list on paper or in your electronic device, beginning with the most important task for the day and then prioritizing all the others. Then, be sure that we begin the day with prayer and ask our Father in Heaven for the help we need to accomplish all that we are faced with.
In Doctrine and Covenants 88:74, it reads, "And I give unto you who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean.”
Then down in verse 80, it says, “That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you."
Although this was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1832, it applies to each of us today who is also part of the last kingdom of God to be established upon this earth in preparation for the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The reason why this university was established by a prophet, President David O. McKay, was to prepare young people, like yourselves, to go back to your native lands and build the kingdom of God.
Let’s reflect upon the words of President McKay at the groundbreaking ceremony for this great institution in 1955: “The world needs men [and women] who cannot be bought or sold, men [and women] who scorn to violate truth, genuine gold. That is what this school is going to produce. More than that, they’ll be leaders. Not leaders only in this island, but everywhere. All the world is hungering for them.”
Those of you here today as students are the men and women that President McKay was speaking of. You are here receiving the blessings of attending a special university set aside for the training and preparation of the future leaders of the Church throughout Asia, Polynesia, and the rest of the world. Based on the scriptures that I have quoted and the remarks by President McKay, the Lord has high expectations of each of you when you finish your education and leave this university. You will be sent forth to magnify your callings as spoken of in verse 80. You will become Elders Quorum presidents, Relief Society presidents, and even bishops and branch presidents. Having served as a former bishop at BYU–Idaho, I can guarantee that you will need to be organized to meet all of the demands on your time and still devote time to your spouse and family.
So let me give you a few of the basic tips that I used throughout my life to help me be organized and accomplish all of my daily tasks.
If you do not already possess the skills and attributes of an organized person, you can start with the following basics:
First, develop a daily routine of arising at the same time and using the time to exercise, have your scripture study, and prepare a list of the most important things you need to accomplish. Rank them in order from most important to least important. As each task is completed, cross it off the list. At night, just before you go to sleep, make your list for tomorrow so that you can be prepared.
Second, be an on-time person everywhere you go, whether it be going to church or class or even meeting your date. My father-in-law had a sign hanging in his office that said, “ I owe all my success in life to having been 10 minutes ahead of time.” Luckily, he taught that principle to his daughter, my wife, and so it has always been easy for us to make sure that we are on time. It was put to the test, however, when we were younger and had a young family, and we were busy getting four young children ready for church, but we generally made it before the meeting started.
Third, practice what you preach, or in other words, know what you stand for, and then live your life accordingly. Develop your own personal set of ethics, integrity, and standards that you are comfortable with and can live by for the rest of your life. Never waver from them, and they will define you as a person. If you tell someone you will do something, then make sure you do what you say you will do and make sure it is within the agreed upon time frame. Never let people down who are depending upon you.
It has often been said both in the Church, in the community, and in the work place that if you want something done right, ask a busy person, and they will get it done for you.
Fourth, become self-reliant. In the “Welfare Principles and Leadership” section of Handbook 2: Administering the Church, which is readily available for your viewing online at Lds.org, we are given the following counsel:
“Self-reliance is the ability, commitment, and effort to provide the spiritual and temporal necessities of life for self and family. As members become self-reliant, they are also better able to serve and care for others.”
“Church members are responsible for their own spiritual and temporal well-being. Blessed with the gift of agency, they have the privilege and duty to set their own course, solve their own problems, and strive to become self-reliant. Members do this under the inspiration of the Lord and with the labor of their own hands.”
The Church needs people who are self-reliant and who can be available to help others in need. In order to build the kingdom of God throughout the world, future leaders, that is those of you here today, will need to be strong as an individual and a family and be able to support those around you that have both spiritual and temporal needs. That is why you have been given the opportunity to come to BYU–Hawaii and receive an education and become spiritually prepared to lead.
Let’s talk for a moment about how we use our time. Those of you that have served missions should recall that on page 137 of the Preach My Gospel, it discusses using time wisely. I have modified them for our use here as students.
• How can goals help me be a more effective student?
• What should be the focus of my goals?
• What are my planning tools and resources, and how do I use them?
• How will I know if my goals and plans are helping to further the Lord’s work?
We are all given 24 hours in a day and are free to use them as we see fit. The patterns we develop now while we are away from home and the direct influence of our parents will set the pattern for the rest of our lives. Please think about the following statement by Elder Richard J. Maynes of the Presidency of the Seventy that he taught in an October 2013 Conference talk ("The Strength to Endure"):
“Heavenly Father has organized our journey through life to be a test of our character. We are exposed to both good and evil influences and then given the moral agency to choose for ourselves which path we will take. As the ancient Book of Mormon prophet Samuel taught, "Ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free."
Then think about this quote from Viktor E. Frankl from his book Man’s Search for Meaning.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
In Helaman 5:12 in the Book of Mormon, Nephi and Lehi are busy preaching the Gospel and are invited to pattern their lives after their forebears.
“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation where on if men build they cannot fall.”
In closing, I would like to reaffirm how important it is that we organize ourselves and prepare every needful thing, build our lives upon the rock of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, and to develop a plan for our lives that will provide for the success of our family and make us an instrument in the hand of God to build His kingdom throughout the world. That is why we are here at BYU–Hawaii, to prepare us for that responsibility. Consider the words of President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, about becoming a light unto the world ("A Living Testimony," General Conference April 2011):
“Each time you choose to try to live more like the Savior, you will have your testimony strengthened. You will come in time to know for yourself that He is the Light of the World. … You will reflect to others the Light of Christ in your life.”
I bear testimony that the Lord has put us on this earth to test us and give us the opportunity to pursue what we desire in life. We can all become an instrument in His hands to raise righteous families and to build the Kingdom of God. It is all up to us as individuals to see how well we can organize ourselves and prepare every needful thing as spoken of in the Doctrine and Covenants. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and that President Monson is a true and living prophet. May the Lord bless each of us as we journey through life, and may we all stay on the path of righteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.