May Christ Teach You What is Yours to Do
My missionary farewell talk.
Francis of Assisi lay dying
at age 44, blind, his body sick and emaciated from a lifetime of fasting, poor
nutrition and leprosy contracted from many years of giving aid to lepers. Assisi chose not to consider his own health
in his decisions to succor others. I
have thought a lot about Assisi’s deathbed last words to his longtime friends
Bernard and Giles. He said, “I have done what is mine. May Christ teach you what is yours to do.” (Reluctant
Saint by Donald Spoto, p. 215)
I believe Assisi’s followers
eventually changed the Catholic Church and maybe Christianity as a whole as they
emphasized serving Christ through helping others. Assisi was committed to a cheery upbeat
ministry. He never preached the popular gospel
of fear. He believed in being an example
of joy, peace, love and happiness, despite his poverty and suffering. He was a troubadour of happy songs, of faith
and a preacher of good will. Is there
any more powerful way to influence for good than love? I have
done what is mine. May Christ teach you
what is yours to do.
But how do we come to a point
where we know what is ours “to do?” Do
we really believe we can be guided in this way?
In 2 Nephi 32:5 it says, “For
behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive
the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.” I believe that this means God will show us
“all things” that we can do to express love and do Christ like service.
I did a lot of indexing last
year. There is something about it that grabs you as you become a part of making
all those names available for research. I learned of someone who indexes 10,000 names
a month. I was impressed…I did about
10,000 names last year. This man has
chosen what he would “do” to build the kingdom. Indexing in one of those sweet
little choices that can be done by teens on up in a little as 15 minutes a day,
but after a while you want to do more.
More than 20 years ago I
committed to go to the temple weekly. It
is something I have time to do and I rarely miss. For me making a commitment makes a difference,
until the spirit takes over and moves me forward. But what has impressed me in this choice is
the workers I have seen, every week, over the years. I have talked to some of these wonderful
women. They have chosen what they would
“do” for Christ, working two 5 hour shifts a week for the entire 17 years the
Bountiful Temple has been open. Recently
there was a story in Mormon Times about Arthur Jensen of Rigby Idaho. He turned 100 on May 10. For 31 years he has been in the temple 5 days
a week doing two endowments each day. He
has completed more than 9000 endowments in these 31 years. I am also impressed
with the many teens who have committed to regularly doing baptisms for the dead
at a young age. This will certainly set
them on a lifelong love of temple work.
A woman sat by me in the 12:00 PM temple session recently and told me
that she had come at 6:00 AM and this was her third session. These people always humble me. I do
think that as we make our choices to serve that we get addicted to the spirit
it brings to our souls and we want to do more.
My friend and our Ward
member, Jolene Alphin took her love of the Handcart Pioneers and began
collecting their stories and writing them in a form to inspire us in her book
“Tell My Story Too.” She is definitely
the most knowledgeable source anywhere for accurate information. She was the main adviser for the stories in
the movie the “13 Miracles.” I have had
a little peek at her dedication to these stories, but perhaps no one but her
husband knows the full extent of her sacrifice to do them right. She doesn’t get a lot of sleep at times.
I am impressed with those
that decide genealogy is their thing to “do.” I want to get there
sometime. My sister-in-law Jacquie
inspires me and Kate Danials in our Ward.
Kate is not only a person who does the work but she is always willing to
come and help you do yours.
I know that many of the young
parents in our Ward have decided that they would take seriously the call to
teach their children the gospel. I know this because I have heard wise talks
and sweet testimonies given by some of your children. I believe the greatest regrets of life are
letting the world pull us into misguided endeavors as young parents. Taking children to church is not enough
anymore. Nothing we choose to do will be
as important as helping our families know Christ. Young parents, I know you don’t believe it now
but there will be plenty of time later for your personal indulgences. And whatever you do, don’t teach the gospel of
fear, or be too serious, be a happy troubadour of love, like Francis of Assisi.
My thing “to do” for Christ,
the last few years, has been to encourage others to write their family
stories. But in the process my students
have motivated me to produce and keep writing and I am always inspired by their
stories. I do believe that writing our
stories, spiritual experiences and testimonies may be the most important thing
we will leave to influence future generations to carry on in building the
kingdom. Writing for our families is
more than a worthy choice “to do.”
Soon, I will be a full time
missionary with my husband. This will be
our second mission. We served 2 years as
intercity missionaries in Ogden. It was
a joy beyond my ability to express. This
time we will spend 18 months in the Canary Islands working with Young
Adults.
Because we have many senior
friends we know how lots of them are serving.
A Dr. and his wife from our old Ward have spent 8 years, going to third
world countries 5 times a year to teach local Drs. how to resuscitate newborns. My good friend, and her still working husband,
told the missionary department that they had six months that they
could devote to a mission. They had a
choice experience serving in a small branch in Mississippi working as mentors
and reactivation to a struggling branch.
We have missionary companions from our Ogden experience who wanted to go
to Africa and are now in Kenya. I know
people who are serving their second mission in Russia because they loved it the
first time. We have good friends that
taught Institute at the University of Samoa as a mission call. There is an infinite number of things that we
can do, as we are led by Christ, as we seek to build the kingdom and serve
others. The Holy Ghost will be our guide.
As our seasons of life change so will our options. I believe that Christ will “show us all
things that we should do.” And with our
last breath we can say as Francis of Assisi, “I have done what is mine.”
When I was 10 years old my mother was inactive. She had a beautiful soprano voice and when the
ward in Wellington, Utah discovered her talent they began inviting her to sing
at various functions. She often sang a
popular song of that day called, “The Bridge Builder.” These singing experiences brought my mother
back to church. This song was always her
favorite and mine. I have known every
word from the years of hearing her sing it.
We are all Bridge Builders. It is
part of doing “what is mine.” (This song was sung)
THE BRIDGE BUILDER
An old
man going a lone highway.
Came at
even' tide cold and gray.
To a
cavern vast and wide and steep.
With
waters rolling cold and deep.
The old
man crossed in the twilight dim.
The
sullen stream held no fear for him.
But he
turned when safe on the other side.
And
build a bridge to span the tide.
"Good
friend", said a fellow pilgrimed near.
"You
are wasting your strength with building here.
Your
journey will end at the close of day.
You
never again shall pass this way.
You've
crossed the ravine deep and dark and wide,
Why,
build this bridge at even' tide?"
The
builder lifted his old gray head,
"Good
friend, in the path I have come", he said.
"There
followeth after me this day,
A youth
whose feet must pass this way.
The
chasm that was naught to me.
To that
fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He too
must cross in the twilight dim.
Good
friend I'm building this bridge for him."