High Council Speaking Assignment
P.D. Laws
Navarre, FL
20 October 1996
Rev-rent-ly quietly, lovingly we think of thee;
Rev-rent-ly quietly, softly sing our melody,
Rev-rent-ly quietly, humbly now we pray,
Let thy Holy Spirit dwell in our hearts today.
(Children’s Songbook, pg. 26)
Clara McMaster penned these words and the music that goes with them in 1959. Many of us sang this song in primary. I know that my Primary President was hopeful that the words and spirit of this song would sink deep into the minds and hearts of each child who sang. If you duck your head into a Primary singing time today you might hear these words:
Rev-rence is more than just quietly sitting:
It’s thinking of Father above,
A feeling I get when I think of his blessings.
I’m rev-rent, for rev-rence is love.
When I’m rev-rent, it shows in my words and my deeds.
The pathway to follow is clear.
And when I’m rev-rent, I know in my heart
Heav’n-ly Father and Jesus are near.
(Children’s Songbook, pg. 31)
This song, called “Reverence Is Love” was written in 1987. Though these two songs were written 28 years apart the message is the same. Primary children, young men and young women, and the adult population of the Church each have need to ponder the principle of reverence. President Spencer W. Kimball has identified reverence as one of the principles of the Gospel. he said:
We must remember that reverence is not a somber, temporary behavior that we adopt on Sunday. True reverence involves happiness, as well as love, respect, gratitude, and godly fear. It is a virtue that should be part of our way of life. In fact, Latter-day Saints should be the most reverent people in all the earth..
The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.223
The concept of reverence is a little broader than a noise factor. This is however an area in which each of us could use some improvement. How many of us enter the Chapel and reverently take our seats? Do we enjoy the Spirit of the prelude music, or are we chatting with others and distracting from this key gathering on the Sabbath day? We have all probably heard the expression that we come to church for one reason on Sunday, that being to partake of the Sacrament. Do we take the opportunity to intensely reflect on the power and magnitude of the sacrifice of our Savior’s Atonement during the passing of the emblems? In our family we are striving each Sunday to instill in ourselves and our children the desire to make this sacred time just that. As parents we have the responsibility to teach our children to honor the Lord by expressing an attitude of reverence during the sacrament. The Prophets have counseled us to have our families in place on time and prepared to partake of the Spirit of the meeting. Those of us with small children know that this takes more than a little bit of planning and foresight. One of the best behaviors that we can use to foster reverence in our children is family prayer. In 3 Nephi 18:21 we are commanded by the Lord:
Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.
Let me list for you some of the ways that reverence can increase our feelings of love, respect, gratitude, and happiness.
1) Reverence for our Heavenly Father, for His Son, and for their Plan for us IS love and vice-versa. We may exhibit this love in many ways:
- Honoring our baptismal/Temple covenants
- Keeping the Sabbath day holy
- Honoring Virtue & Chastity
- Obeying the commandments
- Reading & pondering the scriptures (ancient & modern)
- Accepting & magnifying Church callings
Relate: “I never saw my parents say no...” (This is not the Gospel of convenience, I have found that the most satisfying remembrances, events have come after inconvenience, middle of the night home teacher)
2) President Joseph F. Smith said:
"Self-respect requires, among other things, that one shall behave like a true gentleman, in a house of worship. No self-respecting person will go to a house devoted to the service of God to whisper, gossip and visit; rather, it is one's duty to put on self-restraint, to give one's undivided attention to the speaker, and concentrate the mind upon his words that his thoughts may be grasped to one's benefit and profit....Self-respect, deference for sacred things, and personal purity are the beginnings and the essence of wisdom.
(Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., pp. 334-336.)
I believe the wisdom spoken of is of a different sort than is available in the world around us. The Lord promises us not only “wisdom” but “great treasures of knowledge, even HIDDEN treasures”. We will not find eternal fulfillment in the learning and wisdom of men. Let me illustrate the difference:
In 1949 the magazine Popular Mechanics predicted, Quote:
“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.”
You and I live not 50 years later and we chuckle at the absurdity of such a thought. There are computers today much more powerful and yet so small that a two year old can carry easily carry one. Here is but one of literally thousands of paradigm shifts that occur with each passing year in the secular world. We have not been given the ability to see the future, but we do have, through the Gospel, a straight and narrow way to follow along which is an iron rod If we cling to the rod which is the word of God it will surely lead us to Eternal Life.
When I think of reverence and respect and their relationship, my mind instinctively wanders to my mother and more recently and forcefully to the wonderful mother of my children. I have experienced literal miracles beyond that of childbirth in 2 out of the 4 children we have. Sister Virginia Pierce touched this cord several weeks ago in General Conference listen again to the dialogue between a sensitive teacher and her students:
Our teacher moves her chair closer into the semicircle of five girls. "We have a guest waiting outside," she begins. "It is Sister Jonas. She has agreed to show us her tiny baby and tell us how she feels about being a new mother. As you watch this new little baby, would you also notice his mother. How she treats the baby. What she does, what she says. We'll talk about her visit after she leaves."
Sister Jonas comes in and spends seven or eight minutes talking about her baby and answering questions. The girls thank her and she leaves the classroom. "The baby was darling, wasn't he?" our teacher responds to the delighted hum of the class. "But what did you notice about the mother?" A minute of silence, then a response: "She was happy." Another: "She kind of rocked back and forth the whole time." A few more responses, then Katie slowly begins: "She talked -- ummm -- really quietly."
"Could you say more about that?" the teacher coaxes.
"Well, her voice reminds me of my mother's voice when she called from the hospital to tell us we had a new baby sister last year."
The teacher, turning to the other girls, "What do you think? Did anyone else notice her voice?" The girls become more thoughtful and begin to reply with words like reverence, heaven, love.
The teacher: "I think I understand. I believe those words come to our minds because we are recognizing a great gift from our Heavenly Father. He loves us and trusts us so much that He is willing to share His creative powers with us. We feel such gratitude and reverence for this trust. Motherhood is a divine role."
Each of us in the Church, whatever our station, has the opportunity yes, even the responsibility to show respect to our Lord by respecting our spouses, parents, children and associates.
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me.
Matthew 25:40
To the young people I say, be careful to honor your parents and your teachers. Give them the respect and dignity that is their right, all the while realizing that the inevitable role-reversal is only a few years away. Once you awaken from the teen years you will be amazed at the influence they have had on your life. My youth leaders always get a Christmas card! I will always be grateful for their example.
3) Gratitude: One of my favorite scriptures is: Psalms 8:4-5
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
What is man that He is mindful of us? Only the greatest and most prized possession of an all powerful God and Father who gave His Only Begotten to suffer unto death
and “after that he had been lifted up upon the cross, that he might draw all men unto him.”
3 Nephi 27:14
How does he draw “all men” unto Him? Through the covenants and ordinances of His Gospel.
Via our membership in His Kingdom we then are chartered to share the truths that we have learned (you knew missionary work was in there somewhere, right?)
Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.
D&C 88:81
When we are truly grateful for the gifts of the gospel we lose our fear of men and we forthrightly share our testimonies with our friends and neighbors.
4) Happiness: The Prophet Joseph Smith said:
Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God. But we cannot keep all the commandments without first knowing them, and we cannot expect to know all, or more than we now know unless we comply with or keep those we have already received.
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Five 1842-43 p.255
I believe that the greater our understanding of the Gospel plan is, the deeper and more meaningful is our reverence for our Heavenly Father and His Plan. President Brigham Young once said:
Much of the happiness of this life consists in having something worthy to do and in doing it well.
May we each find this special something in the Gospel of Jesus Christ always remembering that:
that the race [is] not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong
Ecclesiastes 9:11
And that the Savior of all mankind entreats us:
.....Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.
3 Nephi 15:9
That we may do so humbly and reverently is my humble prayer.