November 2014 VT Message

It's my month to give the message and since November is designated to 'pick a talk from General Conference,' I've chosen "Which Way Do You Face?" by Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy. I love the tagline to this talk which says, "Trying to please others before pleasing God is like inverting the first and second commandments."

How true! Some people lower the standards God set when they get bullied or are peer pressured. Right is right no matter how many people say it's wrong. He said, "In Lehi’s dream, this fear was triggered by the finger of scorn pointed from the great and spacious building, causing many to forget which way they faced and to leave the tree “ashamed” (see 1 Nephi 8:25–28)."

He talks about having the courage to stand for what's right. "While it certainly takes courage to face perils, the true badge of courage is overcoming the fear of men." Then he said, "Courage is not just one of the cardinal virtues, but as C. S. Lewis observed: “Courage is … the form of every virtue at the testing point.” When faced with standing for what's right will we have courage and not be afraid of people or will we cave?

He said that some people's examples in the scriptures can give us courage to face our own experiences the same way:

• Mormon: “Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear” (Moroni 8:16; emphasis added).

• Nephi: “Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world” (1 Nephi 6:5).

• Captain Moroni: “Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country” (Alma 60:36)."

Elder Robbins said that the Savior always knew the direction He faced. "The Savior, the only perfect being who ever lived, was the most fearless. In His life, He was confronted by scores of accusers but never yielded to their finger of scorn. He is the only person who never once forgot which way He faced: “I do always those things that please [the Father]” (John 8:29; emphasis added), and “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30).

"Between 3 Nephi chapter 11 and 3 Nephi chapter 28, the Savior used the title Father at least 150 times, making it very clear to the Nephites that He was there representing His Father. And from John chapters 14 through 17, the Savior refers to the Father at least 50 times. In every way possible, He was His Father’s perfect disciple. He was so perfect in representing His Father that to know the Savior was also to know the Father. To see the Son was to see the Father (see John 14:9). To hear the Son was to hear the Father (see John 5:36). He had, in essence, become indistinguishable from His Father. His Father and He were one (see John 17:21–22). He flawlessly knew which way He faced.

"May His inspiring example strengthen us against the pitfalls of flattery from without or of conceit from within. May it give us courage to never cower or fawn at the feet of intimidation. May it inspire us to go about doing good as anonymously as possible and not “aspire to the honors of men” (D&C 121:35). And may His incomparable example help us always remember which is “the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:38). When others demand approval in defiance of God’s commandments, may we always remember whose disciples we are, and which way we face."

It's my heartfelt belief that by studying the scriptures and emulating examples of the people mentioned in the scriptures we can have courage to stand for what's right and not cave.