Brothers and sisters, Aloha. My thanks and love to Julie for her gracious introduction and tender remarks and testimony. I am humbled and honored to be in your presence at this great university. Having just come from the Southern Nevada Desert we call home, this beautiful setting is truly heavenly.
Many of you are probably surprised to see a Federal Judge from Nevada as the devotional speaker-so am I. President Wheelwright suggested this opportunity when we met at a social gathering several months ago in Nevada. I confess that I did not take his proposal to speak here seriously. You should never make the same mistake. When President Wheelwright speaks, you should listen and be ready to act.
My topic today is "Reach out, that we perish not." My prayer is that the Holy Ghost will be with me and the words that I speak. May it also be with you so that you will find inspiration to act on this message.
Upon King Benjamin's command, Mosiah "made a proclamation throughout all the land." As a result, "the people gathered themselves together throughout all the land, that they might go up to the temple to hear the words which King Benjamin should speak unto them." [Mosiah 2:1] King Benjamin ends one segment of his inspired address to the people with the following words:
"But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not." [Mosiah 4:30]
When King Benjamin encourages us to "remember, and perish not," he is speaking of the spiritual death, which comes from our own disobedience. Perish not is a critical warning.
Perish Not
I enjoy running and have completed several marathons, including the Boston Marathon. The marathon is a long distance race that is one of the most recognized and revered sporting events in the world. Athletes run 26.2 miles [42.195 kilometers]. This year thousands of runners will compete in hundreds of organized marathons.
Successful completion of a marathon depends on preparation, fuel and assistance. A typical marathoner will run more than 600 miles in the final few months leading up to the marathon. World class runners will run many more miles.
During the marathon a runner must take in fuel-water, sports drink and food. Not just any food will do. Food for a distance runner is usually something easily digested that gives quick energy. Oranges, bananas and sports gels are the most common on a marathon course, though at one point in the Boston Marathon, a woman offers brownies. She is mostly ignored by the runners, but appreciated by all for her thought.
Every marathon includes legions of volunteers who assist the runners throughout by manning water and fuel stations on the course, providing first aid when needed, and staffing the start and finish lines.
It is not uncommon for a marathoner to "hit the wall." This refers to a time in the race when the body loses energy and is overcome by fatigue, often after 18 to 20 miles. If you watched the marathon during the recent Olympics in Beijing, China, you noticed the runners drop off the pace of the eventual winner late in the race. One by one they were hitting the wall. Some runners were even unable to finish. Proper training, fueling and adherence to a planned pace made the difference.
Similarly, we must avoid hitting the wall in life. According to King Benjamin we must watch ourselves, our thoughts, our words and our deeds, and obey God's commandments, and with faith, endure to the end. If we are diligent in these things, we perish not.
Not unlike the marathon, success in our eternal progression depends upon preparation, fuel and assistance. Daily we must prepare and train for the challenges of the world and Satan. We fuel ourselves through prayer, scripture study, the sacrament, and reliance on the Holy Ghost.
It is the last of the three elements I would like to focus on today-assistance. No runner can finish without help. None of us can meet the standards outlined by King Benjamin without help.
It is written in Ecclesiastes that "two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up." [Ecclesiastes 4:9-10] If one is helpful, think how much more desirable it is to have the assistance of many.
Reach Out
At the end of Proverbs in the Old Testament we are given the words of King Lemuel as taught to him by his mother. The identity of King Lemuel is otherwise unknown to us. He is not mentioned in any other scripture. But this thirty-first chapter is a thorough list of the qualities he was directed to seek in a wife.
Lest you think my focus will shift to marriage-it will not, though I do commend the reading of Chapter 31 to all; married and unmarried, male and female. For our purposes today, let's go to the twentieth (20) verse where the compassion of this remarkable wife-to-be is described by King Lemuel's mother.
"She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy." [Proverbs 31:20] We should all reach out to the poor and the needy.
The Poor and Needy
Who are the poor and needy? Am I poor and needy? King Benjamin rhetorically asks, "are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all substance which we have... [including] a remission of your sins." [Mosiah 4:19-20] Clearly, we all have need of temporal and spiritual nourishment.
These inquiries bring to mind the questions of the lawyer who tempted Jesus saying, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" [Luke 10:25] The question was effectively countered with a question by Jesus, "What is written in the law? How readest thou?" [Luke 10:26]
And the lawyer, "answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." [Luke 10:27] Jesus confirmed the accuracy of his answer and encouraged him to do it that he should live.
But the lawyer, as lawyers often do, asks one more, well-known, question of Jesus: "And who is my neighbor?" [Luke 10:29] Then Jesus gave the parable of the good Samaritan. And when the lawyer identified the Samaritan, rather than the Levite or the priest who passed by on the other side, as the one who was a neighbor to the one who fell among the thieves, Jesus said unto him, "Go, and do thou likewise." [Luke 10:37]
Where do you and I find the poor and needy that we may be a neighbor to him? Must we be out searching the roadways for someone to help daily?
Some time ago, I had worked a full morning in court. During the lunch recess I had to run an errand. Famished because I did not have breakfast, I longed for something to eat so that I would have the energy to finish the day. The lunch recess was not long enough for a sit-down dining experience. If only I could find something fast for lunch. As I drove down the street headed back to the court house, I spotted my opportunity-a Burger King restaurant-on the right hand side of the road. With no time to go in to place an order, I entered the drive-through lane. Unfortunately, in my haste, I drove right past the speaker for placing my order. I was now immediately behind a car waiting at the window.
Realizing my mistake, I put the car in reverse and looked over my shoulder. There behind me was another car. It would be impossible to go back and place an order now. I put the car back in drive and decided to use my negotiating skills to get something-perhaps a milkshake, or some French fries. When the car ahead pulled out, I drove up to the window with ten Dollars in my outstretched hand. The window popped open, the man put a bag in my lap and grabbed my ten Dollars. The window closed. There was no time to negotiate. An instant later, the window again sprang open and the man gave me some change, with the admonition to "move it buddy, it's the lunch hour and we're very busy."
I drove away with the bag I had been given and my change. I don't know what the person behind me had for lunch, but I did have something to eat. Finding the poor and needy is something like my lunch experience that day-we get what is given to us. We cannot place an order for those we would like to reach out and serve. Always be prepared to reach out to others and impart of your substance and spirit.
Reach Out and Invite
Allow me to illustrate with a personal experience. When I was a young child, I was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perhaps many of you are also converts and can identify with my story. Our family lived in a small trailer. A neighbor family, the Kimballs, belonged to the local LDS ward.
The mother of that household, Betty Kimball, invited my younger sister and me to attend Primary with her two daughters. My mother granted permission. For more than a year, we attended Primary at the chapel in a nearby town, Valpariso, Florida. Betty Kimball always drove us there and brought us home. Betty Kimball reached out. It proved to be an unexpected benefit in my life. We moved away from that area and so did the Kimballs. We lost contact.
More than fifteen years later, when some members encouraged me to listen to the missionaries, I knew something of what they spoke. Betty Kimball's kindness to reach out to the poor and needy-a nonmember child-had prepared me.
We are encouraged to warn our neighbor. [D&C 88:81] A testimony of the gospel should not be offensive in its delivery, but should be delivered in a kind and loving manner. What could be more tender than taking a child to Primary?
Reach Out By Example
At about the same time, half-way around the world in the Philippines, a member of the U.S. Air Force reached out to a local man, David D. Lagman. In 1940, 16-year-old David had read an article about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Readers Digest magazine. Seventeen years later, he met Airman Brent Brown.
Airman Brown stood out among the other personnel David knew and worked with at Clark Air Force Base. The difference was in his habits, his speech, and his countenance. When asked about the difference, Airman Brown told David of his membership in the Church. Pamphlets were provided at first, then a copy of the Book of Mormon. David read them all and said, "this is the church I've been looking for."
There were no missionaries in the Philippines at that time. Finally special permission was obtained from the First Presidency, and fifty years ago last month on September 6, 1958, David Lagman was baptized. He was the first official member of the Church in the Philippines and later, the first Elder. From his home town of San Fernando, he held many callings including, District President and then, Counselor in the mission presidency three times.
Because of the lifestyle and spirit of Airman Brown, David Lagman was touched. The impact of this simple encounter under the influence of the Spirit was obvious several years later when the Lagman family was sealed to each other in the Salt Lake Temple. We can reach out to others just by living a Christ-like life.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said in the First Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting,
"Let us cultivate within our people a constant awareness of opportunities to reach out to others. Let neighborliness, an outreach with love toward others, become the attitude of our people wherever they are across the entire world." [11 January 2003, 19].
Reach Out in Callings
Hopefully each of you have an opportunity to serve in a calling in the Church. Inspired callings allow us to reach out to a specific individual or group of individuals.
When our oldest daughter traveled across the country to a university in Boston, the entire family was concerned and prayed for her well-being. Now, many years later, she fondly recalls a kind bishop who always knew her name and insured she received a calling where she could serve others. Jennifer was called to play the piano in the Tongan Branch Primary. That Bishop was your president, Steven C. Wheelwright.
President Henry B. Eyring has counseled that through callings, "[y]ou can forget yourself and begin to pray for and love those you are to serve." Then, he continues, you will be able to "measure success by the degree to which it changes the hearts of the people you serve." [Ensign, November 2007 at 57] Reach out in your callings to change hearts.
Reach Out in Word
Peter wrote that we should be "holy in all manner of conversation." [1 Peter 1:15] In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord clarifies that we must "Cease to contend, one with another; cease to speak evil one of another... and let your words tend to edifying one another." [D&C 136:23-24]
I labor daily in an arena, the courtroom, where the written and oral word does not always edify. Yet, our words are an effective way to reach out to others. The expression of a kindness can soften a heart or lift another's soul. The well-known saying in many homes adds practical guidance, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In our family, that principle is brought to mind by the famous potato salad story.
It seems that Julie's family was having dinner many years ago. Her father's parents, her paternal grandparents, were also there. The women had worked for some time in the kitchen preparing the meal. After tasting the potato salad, my father-in-law said to his wife, "Loraine, that is the worst potato salad you have ever made." His mother quietly responded, "Loraine didn't make it, I did." He never again said a negative word at the dinner table.
When we extend a kind greeting, acknowledge someone's birthday, or offer encouragement before one tackles a difficult task, we can edify. Reach out with kind words.
Reach Out at BYU–Hawaii
Each person enrolled or employed at BYU–Hawaii commits to live the Honor Code. Many other universities have adopted codes of conduct. A unique feature of the BYU Honor Code is the agreement to encourage and help others fulfill their responsibilities under the Honor Code.
If you see a roommate, or someone in your class, or your ward, struggling to maintain his or her commitment, reach out. Failure to help may result in their departure from BYU–Hawaii, which could lead to their departure from the Church, which could lead to the loss of generations who will follow.
Jesus Christ Reached Out
Jesus Christ set the example by constantly reaching out to the needy and the poor. He reached out his hand and caught Peter, saving him from sinking in the water. [Matthew 14:31] He reached out "healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." [Matthew 4:23] He reached out to raise from death. [Matthew 9:25] He reached out and opened the eyes of the blind. [Matthew 9:29-30] He reached out and blessed their little children, one by one, and prayed unto the Father for them. [3 Nephi 17:21]
If we will but make Jesus the pattern for our life by reaching out to the poor and needy, that is, all those around us, eternal life can be ours. We will perish not, because we know that "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." [Matthew 25:40]
Reach Out in Testimony
I bear personal testimony confirmed by the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ. I have a firm knowledge of the atonement of Jesus Christ and that he is our Savior and Redeemer. I testify that a living prophet, even Thomas S. Monson, leads and guides the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that we are the beneficiaries of God's prophets, seers and revelators on the earth today.
I know these things because Betty Kimball took me to Primary in my youth and opened my mind and heart to the lessons of the gospel. After reading the Book of Mormon, I kneeled at my bedside for the first time in my life at the age of twenty-four. An answer came from God and it has made all the difference in my life. Betty Kimball is with us today. With thanksgiving in my heart I celebrate her for reaching out. May each of you reach out to another, and may you give thanks for the Betty Kimballs in your life.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.