They
That Have Wandered
Ken Allen, Palo Alto Second Ward, August 29, 2010
Picture in your mind a
tomato. Can you tell by its
looks whether it is homegrown and vine-ripened or store-bought? But can you taste the difference? Over the years my wife Sue and I
have grown tomatoes. When our children were young they would help themselves
to the rich red, juicy tomatoes right from the vine. One day our young son saw a bright
red tomato on the kitchen counter, so he grabbed it, took one bite—and
then spit it out. Despite its
rich red skin color, that store-bought tomato was tasteless. We tried to explain the difference,
but it was a long time before he touched another tomato. Over the years we have
experimented with different ways of growing tomatoes. Sue has been much more successful
than I. For one, in the past I
would enthusiastically water the plants every day with a gushing hose. Sue cautioned me to water seldom--but
slowly, patiently and deeply.
Deep watering, it seems, nurtures deep roots. And if the plant becomes accustomed
to frequent watering, its roots remain shallow. Unfortunately when the heat of summer comes and the
topsoil dries out, along with the shallow roots, the leaves yellow and wilt. It takes just the right amount of
water meted out over time to promote a strong healthy plant that will
withstand the rigors of the day and bear good fruit. So what can we learn from tomato
plants? Parents are the planters
and keepers of the plants. The
plants are offspring, to be nourished so that they can be self-sustaining and
bear fruit. The tomatoes,
whatever their flavor, represent the fruits of labor. Watering represents teachings. The style of watering can be compared
with the style of teaching, whether with patient love and attention, whether
thoughtful and deep--or shallow, artificial, and deceptively incomplete. Your offspring, whether plants or
children, will respond accordingly. Who are the good parents? According to Doctrine and Covenants
68:28, they are they who teach their children by example and precept to
“pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.” Prayer means to communicate with the Lord and listen to
the Spirit. To walk uprightly is
to live a life of true integrity, for integrity is a person’s most precious
possession. We have a wonderful educational
infrastructure in the Church.
Primary and Sunday School provide year-round education at an
age-appropriate level, seminary gives high school-aged students the
opportunity to delve deeper into the Gospel, encouraging prayerful and
independent understanding, and Institute of Religion courses provide the
tools to understand the Gospel at an adult level. Missions provide the opportunity for an immersion
experience to test all that learning and discover what one missed. One may be ill equipped to face the
sharp-challenges to testimony with only a pre-school level of
understanding. However, an institutional
education is not enough. Elder
Robert D. Hales has said: “It is impossible to
overestimate the influence of parents who understand the hearts of their
children. Research shows that during the most important transitions of
life—including those periods when youth are most likely to drift away
from the Church—the greatest influence does not come from an interview with
the bishop or some other leader but from the regular, warm, friendly, caring
interaction with parents.” The challenge is to cultivate a
loving, learning environment in the home. It is hard to be open to listening and learning when
pulled onto different paths by the enticings of louder and more insistent
voices. By nature, we respond to
stimuli, with instant gratification a powerful motivation. Fast and flashy, funny and thrilling,
ego-satisfying, sweet and stimulating highs are all around. In contrast, it is so sad that
some people have no desire to have a true spiritual experience. Spiritual experiences are simply not
on the list of to-do items—ever.
Perhaps pseudo-spiritual
experiences, just like store-bought tomatoes, have dulled the senses. Perhaps a sincere prayer has gone
unanswered for too long--and that has tried patience to a point of rejection
of God and true faith. I am reminded of the story of
Heidi, the illiterate little Swiss orphan who had gone to live with her
bitter and recluse grandfather atop a mountain, and then was sent away to the
cold, loveless city where she was to begin her schooling. She prayed to no avail to return to
the mountain. But then she gave
up on God. Then a loving friend
taught her that prayers would be answered by God when we are ready to receive
and act the answer. She said:
“Our dear God is a good father for us all, who always knows what is good for
us, even when we do not know it ourselves. When we want something that is not good for us, He does
not give it to us, but instead gives us something better, but only if we
continue to pray sincerely and not flee from Him or lose all trust in
Him.” With new resolve, Heidi
learned to read. She fell in
love with the parable of the prodigal son. Soon after Heidi did return to the mountain. There she read the parable to her
bitter grandfather, who finally recognized the message expressed in that
touching story of fatherly love for a wayward son. Grandfather realized that he had been the wandering,
rebellious son. With that
realization, he returned to his home and friends and family. It was the love of a little girl who
had been prepared by God as a messenger that changed his heart. God does answer prayers—when we
are prepared. One of my most enduring memories
is the image of our then-wayward son sitting in the Garden of Gethsemane,
pondering what Christ did. There
is nothing more profound than the personal impact of the atonement of Christ. When a wayward child recognizes the
need to change and indeed makes the change by renouncing wayward ways, angels
in heaven rejoice and mothers weep for joy—and Christ himself knows His
sacrifice was not in vain. Sometimes we feel helpless. Yet we are not powerless. I refer to the power in the
priesthood that is upon us and our children. We can and should learn to put temple worship to work for
us in our lives and in the lives of our children. For those who are eligible to go
to the temple, you must start by going to the temple fasting with a prayer in
your heart and questions in your mind.
Be a student who is open to the further light and knowledge the Lord
has promised. Pay close
attention to the ceremony and recognize it as a table of contents to
understand the Great Testaments of the Savior. Recognize that the testaments are messages of, by and for
God’s Children of the Covenant. Look beyond the mechanics of
temple worship. Come to
appreciate that there is much to be learned in repetition. Recently I walked along the sidewalks
the length of Palo Alto. So I
had plenty of time to stare at the sidewalk. Every so often I came upon a random letter engraved in the
concrete. An S, a W, a C--or was
it G? The symbols kept
reoccurring, seemingly at random.
Yes, it was definitely a G.
Then I looked around.
Where were those letters?
What did the symbols mean?
Then came the epiphany.
These symbols marked where underground utilities cross the
sidewalk—sewer, water, gas.
So it is with spiritual symbols.
Ponder the symbolism of the entire
temple ceremony from the end unto the beginning--from baptism to sealing--in
one eternal round with no sense of time but encompassing an eternity. Then open your heart to receive
visions and personal revelation--revelation relevant to your deepest personal
concerns. As you listen to the words of the
temple ceremony, your mind will resonate with familiar phrases and you will
be revealed scriptures you have already studied suggesting to your mind
answers to your questions. Pay
attention to those promptings.
Then return home and reread and ponder those scriptures. You will then continue to receive the
further light and knowledge promised to you. You will discover that priesthood
power underlies all that occurs, priesthood power that is independent of age
and gender and time. But to access
that priesthood power, you must receive them by covenant and you must make
and keep those covenants. To
make and keep those covenants also requires that you think about how to
implement the challenges of temple worship in your daily life. The sacrament and the sacramental
prayers become an extension of those covenants, for example. Formulate from what you have
extracted from your very personal temple experience into a plan of action to
implement the temple covenant principles in your personal life, in your home
life, in your interactions with your spouse and family, and with your
friends. I can promise you that
it will be transformative. I could go into much greater
detail as to how some of the symbols of temple worship can impact your
interactions with wayward children but time does not permit. So I will leave you with a few
questions to ponder. For example, were Adam and Eve
poor parents? Were Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob poor fathers?
All had wayward sons. All
play integral roles in the narrative of temple worship. To those who are tempted toward
different paths, do take the time to listen for a sweet heart song. Perhaps you may then see that much of
the messages of the secular world are wrapped in a package intended to be
alluring, and addictive and generally intended to cost you in time and wasted
money for the profit of others.
The messages are loud, incessant, at best confusing, often misleading
and even deceptive, unhealthy, distracting and destructive. Of course it is not all bad, but the
key is what your core set of values is.
Are your roots deep enough to withstand the intense bombardments of
the secular sunlight and to produce good fruit? No matter who you are, you can
ponder the scriptures as they relate to temple worship, particularly in the
Pearl of Great Price. Drink
deeply and quench your thirst from the fountains of living waters. You may
discover the great sermons in the Book of Mormon—Jacob, King Benjamin,
Alma the Younger, Christ—and there you may gain insights into some of
the transcendent elements of the endowment. As you dig deep, you will find the water you seek at the
bottom of the well of knowledge and wisdom. To you parents of wayward
children, past, present and future, take heart. You are not alone.
Even the prophets of modern times have had their share of wayward
children—Brigham Young, Spencer Kimball, Hyrum Smith—whose
rebellious son Joseph F., like Alma the Younger, eventually emerged to become
the Lord’s prophet. Some come
back like the prodigal son. For
others, it takes longer. It is
indeed heart wrenching to feel so helpless. I have been there.
However, it has been the
experience of observers of wayward children whose parents have followed the
priesthood/temple path--that hearts soften, cracks in the defensive armor
appear and the new-found perspective of power in the priesthood equips
parents to respond with love and with a spirit appropriate to the occasion. The secret is not that temple
worship changes the wayward child, but that temple worship changes the
parent, so he or she can see relationships in a whole new way—the way
God sees them. May you recognize that the power
in the priesthood manifest in the sweet tasting pure love of Christ is the
source of power for growth and change—every time you taste a real
tomato. |
They
that have wandered.doc