Below is my notes to a talk I will give tomorrow at sacrament meeting. I thought to share it with those I care about and love. Hope it is not to sappy for you.
The Old Man
The Love of Christ
February 8, 2009, Halandri Branch concluding speaker
Christ’s love for us & our love for him.
Working on building Personal relationship
Charity
My love of music has sustained me even when I was in positions where some might have said, “Not even his mother could love him.” However, I am sure my mother would always love me – she is the embodiment of charity. Love of music has come to me even though I’ve been rejected by many music purveyors and providers. As a young 5th – 6th grader and my experience with a church choir performing on a San Diego television station let me understand the “P” word or “mouth only, with no noise”. As a father I sang a solo at my son’s missionary farewell, never to be called on to speak again; well, at least not for a long time and then under conditions…..
I was not given the gift to sing pleasing to the ears of man; rather, I was given the gift to appreciate music and song.
What I like about music is not only can it be inspiring and soothing; it teaches through Spirit.
At the last baptism our Branch choir’s performance is a great example. I have been listening over the last few weeks to past general conference tapes from the Branch library (could only find two, are there others). At each conference there are usually several sessions where the Tabernacle Choir performs. In none of their, the MTC’s performances did they have the power and majesty as did our little Branch choir and violinist at that baptism. For the Spirit was strong and taught the reality of the worth of a special soul in the sight of our Lord.
Today I will frame my talk around another hymn from which has and had great meaning to me in moments of deepest darkness. Each of you may take way something a little different from the hymn as we sing at the conclusion of my discourse. I do hope you all take away a feeling of The Love of Christ for you as an individual. Please turn to I Stand All Amazed, on page 22 in the Greek hymnal or #193 in the standard hymnal and refer to it as I speak.
This hymn spoke volumes and with such great power to me at that time of darkness only God Himself could have voiced. It taught me of Jesus love for me. It taught of His love for me personally as an individual.
A little background is in order. Even before investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I was keening interested in spiritual things; including religions and had even read the Bible several times. I especially liked the New Testament and would find tears coming to my eyes as I read either the words of the Savior or passages about His works for each of us individually. However, it was only after I had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that I acquired insight into why reading the scriptures had affected me so much; and this song sums up that understanding or should I say feeling.
Let’s look to a few scriptures together and hopefully, with the aid of the spirit you will obtain insight as to why I feel this way:
1* St. John 15:12 – 15 Love one another “Friend” I am His friend
2* St. John 10:17 -18 Father Loves Him, No one takes his life rather He gave for me
3 1 Ne. 11:16 - 21 God the Father was immortal while Mary His mother was mortal – Christ did not have to die because of the Father, but could because of His mother
I read a book a long time ago by the author of “Jonathon Livingston Seagull” whose name escapes me, called something like “The Reluctant Messiah” or maybe that was the subtitle. Any way it was about a messiah who used his agency not to suffer & die for us.
4 1 Ne. 11:26 – 27 Baptized like me; ask I do nothing that He is not willing to do
5 1 Ne. 11:33 Lifted up for my sins as well as those of others
7 2 Ne. 7:6 Sacrifices for sin
6 Matt. 26:28 First sacrament = Blood for sin
8 D&C 19: 13 -20 Repent or Suffer
9 Mosiah 14:6 – 12 (Isaiah) esp. 10-12 Gave His soul as an offering for sin, will divide with us all his father has, bore our sins, and intercedes with the Father on our behalf
*D&C 58:42 The Lord will remember our sins no more if we repent. We are to be like Him, so neither should we be harrowed up in past sins after repenting.
10 Alma 22:15 (Aaron teaching king Lamoni’s father) the king told Aaron he would “give up all to receive this great joy”
Aaron told him to pray
22:18 In his prayer the king said he would, “give up all sins to know Thee”
And after his prayer he fell to the earth as if dead, as have other scriptural heroes, sometimes being carried away in the Spirit. Whereupon, his wife finding him in such condition wanted the life of the man she suspected of killing her husband. Aaron caused the king to arise and the king
11 Alma 22:23 After received forgiveness & the spirit, “King did minister (share/preach) to his wife & servants…” He shared that which he now did hold most dear
12 Alma 22:25 The king did minister unto the masses Why? When we receive something of great worth the natural response of man is to share that joy with those they care about or love and thus continue in the spirit and have it grow.
There is another good song, not a hymn, which was very popular a few years ago, and while I am not sure of its official title, I call it, A Fathers Love. The refrain goes something like this, “A father doesn’t love his child just every now and then. A father’s love is forever, Amen & amen.”
If time permits: tell the story of the boy who had a fight at school which was strictly against his fathers rules, his fathers responded not in anger, but, with words his father had passed on to him, “A father doesn’t love his child just every now and then. A father’s love is forever, Amen & amen.” The song continues with the boy’s life which was not so good and ends with him at the gates of heaven & his thoughts (maybe some of our thoughts), “if they know half the things I done they’ll never let me in” & then from within the walls he hears the refrain again, “A father doesn’t love his child just every now and then. A father’s love is forever, Amen & amen.”
I try, with the emphasis on the word try, live so as to have His love and presence daily.
I try not to do the things I do, looking for a reward. I try to do them because they are the RIGHT THINGS to do. I don’t find my self hungering for my kingdom on high or for a reward in the hereafter, as I hear many proclaiming. That is too far in the future for me and I am not all that tenacious, require a lot of my Lords charity just to return and strive in the straight and narrow, and rather see joy on my wife, children’s, and friend’s faces or in other words their salvation rather than my own. That is what brings me happiness. I would rather know Jesus and His Father here and now and do their will in my everyday life. Doing things for our reward in the hereafter is greatly over rated; we need to do what is right in the here and now and “let the consequence(s) follow”. The scriptures and the Spirit have taught us that we can. It is my humble prayer that each of us take Him up on His promise of true and everlasting friendship.
Testimony
Enough for now. If you want the real feeling you have to come and visit. As Martha and Melisa use to say, "If you wantta know, you gotta go," when talking about what happens on the GSU SCUBA trips.
