My dear brothers and sisters, Aloha!
As I pondered what my message should be today, I decided that it should be something to which I could bear a personal witness and that could be reinforced by examples from my years of experience in Hawaii, Asia and the Pacific and BYU-Hawaii.
I have chosen to speak on generosity. Generosity is an essential component of true spirituality; it is the outpouring of a grateful heart that wishes to thank the Savior for His redeeming love, His infinite atoning sacrifice and His obedience to the will of the Father. As we become full of gratitude, it overflows into service for our fellow beings, and "inasmuch as [we] have done it unto one of the least of these [his] brethren, [we] have done it unto [Him]" (Matt 25:40).
This process is exemplified in the great story of Enos, in the Book of Mormon, who prayed earnestly for a remission of his sins. When this was granted and he felt his guilt swept away through his faith in Christ, he immediately "...began to feel a desire for the welfare of [his] brethren, the Nephites," and he continued praying earnestly for them. He then felt a great concern for the so-called enemies of his people, the Lamanites, and he prayed "...with many long strugglings for the Lamanite people" whom he considered his brethren.
Likewise the four sons of Mosiah, after their miraculous conversion, each declined the royal throne to be, instead, missionaries to the Lamanites, for they could not bear the thought that any living soul should perish through lack of knowledge of the plan of redemption.
We, too, can sing this "song of redeeming love" with our hearts and voices, as we did today: "Because I have been given much, I, too, must give. Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live I will divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see, who has the need of help from me." The song of redeeming love, it seems, is both a song of gratitude and a call to serve.
Closely related to or synonymous with generosity are service, love, and sacrifice. President Gordon B. Hinckley linked generosity and sacrifice beautifully when he said:
"Without sacrifice there is no true worship of God. ... The Father gave his Son, and the Son gave his life, and we do not worship unless we give--give of our substance, ... our time, ... strength, ... talent, ... faith, ... [and] testimonies" (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 565).
I attempted to organize my thoughts on generosity today under three main headings:
Gifts of Resources, Time and Attitude. However, I found it difficult to classify my examples under a single heading. They all seemed to involve all three of these elements. So, I will just tell you my stories and let you draw your own conclusions.
I would like to set the stage for our consideration of generosity with two stories: one, a personal story from the Ensign and the other a retelling of a famous parable from the New Testament.
This is the true story of "The Back and Forth Cow" as told by Lynn C. Jaynes in the January, 1994 Ensign:
Several years ago my sister, Jane and I inherited a wringer-type mop bucket. We were next-door neighbors, so sharing the bucket was a simple matter of organizing our cleaning days. Although we both had young families, lived on farms, and had large linoleum floors that needed frequent mopping, we didn't have any problems getting the bucket back and forth. She knew where I stored the bucket and I knew where she stored it, so we just helped ourselves on mop day.
Jane and I shared other things, too. I borrowed her bread pans on baking day, and she borrowed the pressure cooker during canning season. We planted gardens side by side and raised chickens in the same pen. We used each other's lawn mowers and fed each other's children. She taught my children piano lessons. When her three-year-old daughter "ran away" to my house, I assigned the little girl some work that was harder than usual - and she was soon ready to go back home.
We cried when changes in our husbands' employment separated us. Tearfully, we divvied up our wares. I knew I would miss her greatly.
About a year later, we were thrilled to be neighbors again. By that time, she had a pressure cooker and I had bought my own bread pans. I got to keep the mop bucket because Jane's new house was mostly carpeted. That's when we bought the five hundred-dollar milk cow.
I don't even recall now who bought the cow first. But our arrangement was for one family to milk her in the mornings and the other family to take care of her at night. The cow gave enough milk to supply both families, and we raised calves besides.
Through the years, both families occasionally had financial struggles. I remember a time when taxes came due for my sister's family. They were short about five hundred dollars. At that time, they owned the cow. So we bought the cow from them, and they were able to pay their taxes. Meanwhile, they still milked mornings, we still milked evenings, and nothing really changed.
Then one day we needed funds to pay medical bills. My sister and her husband bought back the cow.
I guess we've lost track now of how many times the cow has been bought and sold, but during these ownership shuffles, the cow has never even changed pastures or had her milking routine interrupted. As far as I could see, there was never any real advantage to ownership. Sometimes we had to concentrate to even figure out who the current owner was.
And Jane seemed to agree. One day as ownership was changing hands again, she remarked, "This is silly that we pass this cow back and forth and declare 'ownership' as if it really meant something. We ought to just give each other the money whenever it's needed." We laughed about it and dubbed the animal our consecration cow.
Awhile back the pump on our well broke. A new one was going to cost a fair bit, and my husband and I were trying to decide how to pay for it when the phone rang. It was my sister.
"I can't believe your pump went out! Listen, do you need us to buy the cow?"
I smiled. It didn't even matter that they already owned her.
We have all read or heard the story of the Good Samaritan, but t was brought to life for me in an unforgettable way by our dean of students, Isi Kongaika, a few years ago at another devotional at this pulpit. After telling the familiar story of the man beaten and robbed by a thief, Isi suggested that many in the world have the specific attitudes of the characters in the parable, and that we might check our own actions and attitudes in comparison:
Robber: What's yours is mine and I will take it from you any way I can get it, even by force or dishonesty.
Priest / Levite (who didn't want to get involved, and after all, were on their way to some important religious meeting) : What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours. I take care of myself and you take care of yourself. I don't bother you and you don't bother me.
Inn Keeper: What's mine can be yours if you pay me for it. Everything has a price.
Samaritan: What's mine is yours if you need it. I give it freely. It is not a loan.
Of course, as the Savior intended, the Samaritan should be our model. We all want to be the Samaritan, but do we sometimes play the other, less generous, roles in this drama?
Our lives were forever touched and changed by the generosity of others when we bought our home on Moana Street in 1984. It was a momentous time for us. I had just had a very spiritual confirmation that we should stay in Hawaii in connection with my calling as bishop of the Laie 5 th Ward. We had, with fear and trembling, mortgaged ourselves up to our eyeballs. In the final days of the transaction, the mortgage company inspected the house and made the condition that the home had to have a new roof within 30 days of closing. We were quite depressed when we got estimates of $5-7,000 for the job. We were basically penniless at that point.
In the midst of this, a generous brother-in-law said he would pay for the cost of the materials and the ward leaders came forward and organized a roofing party. On a Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. a crowd descended on the house (or ascended, I should say) and began to remove the 20-year old, rotten cedar shakes. Leading the way were John Feinga, David Almodova, Sione Langi and Likitoni Kauvaka along with dozens of others from both high priests and elders quorums. Two or three Polynesian brethren from other wards drove by and spontaneously stopped and joined in the work. They said, "This looks like fun. Can I help?" The whole YM-YW program was there. Easter Logan (Bishop Vonn Logan's father) brought his flat-bed truck and supervised the young men loading up the old roof parts being thrown down on the sides of the house.
When the old roof was gone from the top, the ground was clean, as the trash was shuttled continuously to the dump. The relief society and young women had a delicious meal for all participants at noon. By the end of the day, new plywood sheets and tarpaper covered the roof. The whole scene was repeated on Monday, which was the Memorial Day holiday, with the new shingles being laid in orderly fashion. We felt like we were at a barn-raising in the old West. We were also filled with love and gratitude for our brother-in-law, neighbors and ward friends. They had done something for us we could not do for ourselves.
We have since seen this scenario repeated many times over with friends, neighbors and ward members pitching in to help other families put on a roof, paint a house, stage a wedding reception or a graduation luau, with gifts of time, food and equipment and special expertise, such as electrical work, concrete work, carpentry, cooking, lei making, decorating, flower arranging, serving,
Someone has said that the way to learn wisdom is to observe wise men and women and see how they conduct themselves and make decisions. Linda and I have learned much over the years from our dear friends John and Adele Feinga, who have lived a life of service. John came here from Tonga as a labor missionary, helped build the BYU-H campus and chapels and eventually married Adele and settled here. He has served as bishop, stake president and is now a patriarch. He was also associate director of the BYU-H physical plant. He is a person that is wise, good and generous.
John Feinga and David Almodova, neighbors on Iosepa Street, often made a little extra money by taking on carpentry or building projects after their regular jobs. New non-LDS neighbors moved into the house down the street. These were the Clarkes. Bill Clark was a retired military man with his wife Pat and five children, plus his aged parents. As the Feingas go to know them, they found out that Mr. Clarke wanted a patio added to the rear of his home. John contracted with Mr. Clark to do it, working on it evenings and Saturdays, with the occasional help of David Almodova. Mr. Clark senior sat and conversed with them as they worked and they became good friends and learned a lot about the family. Nothing was said between the two workers, but as the completion of the job drew closer, they knew they were not going to charge anything. When it was all done, Mr. Clarke said, "This is beautiful, John. How much?" And John said, "There is no charge. It is our gift to you, our neighbor."
Some time later the bishop called one morning about 5:30 a.m. and told John there was an emergency and he should come to the church. He got there and found that Bill and Pat Clark and their five children were there in white, ready to be baptized. They wanted John to baptize them, and said they had been taking the missionary discussions but really had joined the Church because of John and David. "But we never preached the Gospel to you directly!" said John. "You did it with your generosity and your actions," was the answer. Brother Clark later became John Feinga's executive secretary and counselor when John was bishop. Brother Clark later moved to Utah and became a stake president and patriarch. His aged parents also eventually joined the Church.
St. Francis of Assisi said: "Preach the Gospel at all times.... If necessary, use words."
Dennis Largey came to BYU-H as a young non-member to play volleyball. He developed a testimony of the Gospel and was eventually baptized and had the strong desire to serve a mission. However, being the only member in his family (who were not happy with his decision to join the Church), he had no family financial help. He counseled with his bishop, Nolan Reed, who promised him that if he had the desire, a way would be opened for him. One day he went to the temple to specifically try and get some inspiration about how he might solve this problem of financing a mission. While he was there, he met a visitor from California in the dressing room and had a brief conversation. The visiting brother found out that he was a recent convert and asked if he planned to serve a mission. Dennis said yes, that he really wanted to but his family could not help him and that he had no resources. They both went through the session and afterwards the visiting brother gave him his business card and told him that he wanted to support him on his mission. He felt their meeting was inspired and said that he had supported other missionaries when moved by the spirit. Dennis Largey served an honorable mission to Ireland at age 23, and is now a professor of religion at BYU-Provo. I called him this week and verified the details of this story and tell it with his permission.
In our self-assessment, we may make the mistake of believing that we have little or nothing to give, or of saying, "If I were rich, then I would be generous." Remember, you do not have to be rich in material things to be generous. Generosity is an attitude, a way of traveling.
In the words of Emerson, "Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself" ("Gifts," in The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, New York: Wm. H. Wise and Co., 1929, p. 286).
The saintly Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who spent her life ministering to the destitute and dying, put this in perspective for us by her words and her actions:
"We must not drift away from the humble works, because these are the works nobody will do. It is never too small. We are so small we look at things in a small way. But God, being Almighty sees everything great. Therefore, even if you write a letter for a blind man or you just go and sit and listen, or you take the mail for him, or you visit somebody or bring a flower to somebody-- small things--or wash clothes for somebody, or clean the house. Very humble work--that is where you and I must be. "For there are many people who will do the big things. But there are very few people who will do the small things" (Mother Theresa).
When our oldest daughter, Betsy, was preparing to graduate from the 6 th grade at Laie School, which is a big deal in Laie, Linda promised to make her a special home-sewn dress for the occasion. Because she was not sure of the best kind of material or where to get it, she got some information from her new visiting teacher, Karen Miller. She bought the material and a pattern, but before she could start it, she had to fly to Utah quickly to be with her mother, who was dying. She had to stay three weeks, and missed the graduation. On the day of the graduation, though, she called Betsy and told her she was so sorry that she did not have time to make her dress. Betsy cheerfully said, "Oh, I had my dress. Sister Miller came and got the pattern and the material and made it for me. I wore it today." The picture is of Betsy receiving a special award in her new dress with Joe Ah Quinn as master of ceremonies.
Of course, all can assist in building the kingdom and helping others by paying our offerings to the Lord. In addition to paying an honest tithing, we should be generous in assisting the poor through the fast offering program. How much should we give? President Spencer W. Kimball suggested we should pay a generous fast offering, up to ten times the value of the food from which we abstain.
I appreciate the thought of C. S. Lewis on this subject. He said:
"I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. ... If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, ... they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them" (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity , 1952, p.67).
Lance and Londa Chase were among the first to warmly welcome us to Laie. Lance touched many lives through his long and distinguished faculty career at BYU-Hawaii and his ministry as bishop of the Laie 2 nd Ward. We all admired his grace, stamina and dignity as he battled cancer for several years. When he went to Utah for a painful bone marrow transplant, the doctors said he needed to recuperate in a secluded place, a controlled environment where he would not have contact with people and potential germs which might attack his weakened immune system. He also needed to continue to visit the clinic almost daily for several months of follow-up treatments. Being far away from his home in Hawaii made this a problem. Then former VP of PCC and former bishop of Laie 2 nd Brian Bolles and his wife Joan, came forward and said, "Please take over our home. We will move in with Joan's parents. Our home is yours for as long as you need it." Convenient for the Bolles? No. Londa Chase told me that the Bolle's home had a very nice cooling system, but that the air conditioning in Joan's mother's home was broken during that hot summer. The treatment lasted from June through October, almost five months. During this time, the family would come by occasionally to pick up clothes or other goods, and the Chases never felt any resentment or negative vibes from the children or the parents. They were always cheerful and supportive and considered it a privilege and blessing to be able to help.
Remember the Samaritan? "What's mine is yours if you need it."
Luke 11:41 tells us to "give alms of such things as ye have."
There are many seemingly small things that we can do that may be big thing to someone else (and notice, these may be simple, but are not always easy or convenient).
Sister Camilla Kimball, wife of President Spencer W. Kimball said that she felt the promptings of the Holy Ghost through generous thoughts, and that the challenge was to act on them. The more you act on them, the more often they come.
For you students, a few suggestions:
1. Tutor a friend or classmate to help them pass a class
2. Write a newsy letter to a missionary
3. Write a congratulatory note or e-mail to someone who has a notable achievement (I still have the first congratulatory note written to me by a fellow professor after my first concert as a green young faculty member in 1976. It meant a lot.)
4. Be a good listener to a friend who needs to talk about a problem
5. Include someone not usually in your circle of friends in an outing or activity or conversation at the lunch table.
There is no question that service helps us generate love and appreciation. We come to know people by serving them--we better understand their circumstances, their challenges, their hopes and aspirations.
Last Spring when the Concert Choir was in "boot camp", meeting four hours daily in final preparations for our international tour, it was hot and tiring and stressful. Then a choir pixie started writing short positive and complimentary notes anonymously to individuals. I received a couple my self. "They would say, "Thanks for your cheerful attitude and for working so hard in choir. I admire you. Love the choir pixie." These were spread throughout the choir. We never found out who wrote them, but it really had a positive effect on all of us. We began to treat every one in choir as if he or she were the one. I noticed that attitudes softened and people were easier and more positive with each other. Thank you, choir pixie, whoever you were.
Just last week, I witnessed a touching example of a gift of time and self. In preparing for the National Association of Teachers of Singing vocal competition in the musical theatre category, one of our talented singers, Amanda Vick, had prepared a lively number from the musical "Wicked", which she sang beautifully, but which needed more choreography and specific movements to bring it to life. I challenged her to spend some time on it, but wondered how it would happen, with just one day left. I was thrilled to see her wonderfully-detailed performance the next day, which won her 2 nd place in the musical theatre category.
I congratulated her and marveled that she had worked out all the stage movements in such a short time. She said that she owed it all to her friend Cy Wood, a talented singer and choreographer in his own right, who had volunteered to help her stage her number. Cy was also a finalist in the same competition but did not place. Someone suggested that he might have hurt his own chances of winning by spending so much time with Amanda. He cheerfully said, "I am so happy for her that she was a winner and that I could help her." I had them pose for this picture yesterday and have their permission to tell this story.
When I think of generosity, I think of the marvelous members on the neighbor islands who open their homes to our musical touring groups each year. Without their kindness and unselfishness we would not be able to accomplish our mission of representing the Church and the University in public ways and building the testimonies of the members through interaction with our students. I am truly humbled by the generous way they have opened their homes year after year. I have so many wonderful friends throughout the islands from these tours over the years. I thank them with all my heart for their sweet and sincere Aloha and their generous ways.
I also wish to acknowledge the many generous donors to the University who have come forward in the last few years to generously endow our school with scholarships and support for special projects and programs. You are angels who have followed the Lord's admonition to "...be free with your substance" (Jacob 2:17) and use your wealth to advance the Kingdom of God.
When I was stake president of the BYUH First Stake, I witnessed the power of generous giving in humble ways to make a significant difference in the life of a needy individual. Reyne Justo, a young man from Saipan, a member of the 2 nd Ward, suffered a brain aneurysm while working out in the exercise room. He was rushed to the ER at Kahuku and then to Queen's hospital in a coma. When our presidency visited him one Sunday, we found him lying in bed with his eyes open, fixed and staring. The doctor said he was probably in what he called "lock down syndrome", where he could understand what was going on around him, but could not move nor express himself. This was similar to a very serious stroke. He said that he might improve with stimulation, with company and people talking to him. Bishop Beaver put out the call to his ward, full of busy students like yourselves. A shuttle was organized by the ward student leaders and there was a different carload of ward members who went almost every day to spend some time with Reyne. They sang hymns, prayed with him, held his hand and talked to him. Eventually he could move one hand. He could squeeze your hand once for yes, twice for no. Then he could raise one eyebrow in a code. Eventually he could blink his eyes. The ward visitors continued for weeks.
Bishop Eric Beaver, a lawyer by training, researched Medicare laws and rules, welfare laws, student insurance policies and coverage. When Reyne's time in the hospital ran out, the Bishop helped qualify him for a care center where he would get further rehabilitation. He eventually arranged for a donation of a hospital bed, a free trip home to Saipan on a U.S. military plane, and even coordinated with the branch president in Saipan to have a member of branch flown here to be trained in how to care for Reyne and to fly home with him and his grandmother. There were many good Samaritans in this true story.
They were following the admonition of King Benjamin who said: "For the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God ... impart of your substance to the poor, ... such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief" (Mosiah 4:26).
There is another less obvious, yet important, way we all need to be generous. This is in expecting the best from each other, not questioning or doubting another's motives or being judgmental. Assume that there is a good reason for a person's behavior. Don't gossip or pass on negative comments that are unproven or speculator. One year we challenged ourselves in our family to improve on this and adopted the motto: "Your name is safe in our home." President and Sister Shumway are wonderful role-models for us all in this regard: always positive, always kind and non-judgmental.
In summary, Elder Richard G. Scott has articulated how generosity and kindness unlock the power of the Gospel in our own lives and those we serve:
"I am convinced that when we give unconditional love; when our interest is first in serving, building, edifying, strengthening without thought of self; when we do not expect an automatic return for each act of kindness, generosity, or sincere effort to help; when we are not concerned about what we will receive or what others will say or whether our own burdens will be diminished, but selflessly seek to build another, the miracle of the power of the gospel is released in our lives. When we permit the Lord to work through us to bless others, that sacred experience releases power in our own lives, and miracles occur. Well did the Master say, 'For inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these, ye do it unto me'" (from Richard G. Scott's The Power to Make a Difference).
The individuals in the stories I referred to today were not eager to be held up as role models. They did not want the spotlight. I used their names because I wanted you to hear real stories about real people in our community and our situation from whom we can take inspiration. I know that these stories and many like them are repeated every day in your lives and in your wards and living areas. I applaud you for your unselfish and anonymous acts of kindness and service to your fellows. I encourage you to follow up on those generous thoughts and remember that the inconvenience, the sacrifice is part of the gift, and is what makes it sacred and consecrates it. Never forget that service is a child of love and grows from the pure love of Christ manifest in his atonement for all mankind and our desire, in fact, our commitment, to be like Him.
I am forever changed for the better from my almost 30 years in this wonderful community and university, surrounded by so many kind and generous individuals. My family and I have truly been the recipients of all the things President Hinckley mentioned -- "gifts of substance, ... time, ... strength, ... talent, ... faith, ... [and] testimony."
Remember that God loves a cheerful giver!