Elder Bednar Devotional at BYUI January 2016

This week for FHE we watched this amazing devotional given last week by Elder Bednar. We adapted the Warning and Promise delivered by Elder Bednar for our family...

"In the authority of the Holy Apostleship I now raise a voice of warning and make a solid promise:
If the day ever were to come that intellectual arrogance, a lack of appreciation and a spirit of demanding entitlement take root… within (our family), then in that day, the Spirit… will be well on the way to being extinguished and the heavenly influence and blessings that have prospered this… (family) and the people associated with it will be withdrawn. Conversely as long as intellectual modesty, humility, gratitude, obedience and frugality continue to characterize those who learn and serve…(here) then this (family) will shine forth ever brighter as a beacon of righteousness and of inspired educational innovation.” Elder David A. Bednar BYU-I Devotional January 2016

I love Sister Bednar's advice to "get out of the boat" and to "look to Jesus!"  I want to be brave and courageous and to move forward in the directions my Heavenly Father wants to send me!  

I transcribed the last 3 1/2 minutes of Elder Bednar's talk.  It is excellent, and I have not seen it printed elsewhere so I am going to include it here:

"Brothers and Sisters, in particular:  A warning is most needed when we do not think we need to be warned.

Using the language of the Old Testament Prophet Haggai  I invite you to “Carefully and prayerfully consider your ways!” 

• ·         Is your pride allowing intellectual arrogance to creep into your mind and heart? 
• ·         Are you forgetting the Lord and failing to appreciate His bounteous blessings and promises?
• ·         Are you turning inward becoming increasingly self-centered and gradually developing an attitude of personal privilege and entitlement?

 These insidious spiritual flaws can develop in us so subtly that we may not recognize or respond to them.  As you ponder these questions sincerely and with real intent, I promise the Holy Ghost will help you to see yourself as you really are and to identify both the things you presently are doing well and the course corrections you need to make in your life.  With all my soul, I believe consecrated people like you, in this sacred and set apart place, with the help of the Lord and by the power of His Holy Spirit can attenuate the pride cycle so prominently highlighted throughout the Book of Mormon.   You can prosper and remain submissive.  You can succeed and avoid arrogance. You can receive blessings with gratitude and not be seduced by a sense of self-serving entitlement.  You can increase the intensity of the righteous light that shines forth from BYU Idaho. I love you. I love BYU Idaho.  I invoke the Lord’s blessings upon you both individually and collectively even the spiritual capacities and gifts that will be necessary for you to overcome and avoid the pride that so often follows periods of great prosperity. I testify of and witness the living reality of our Heavenly Father and his beloved Son. I know Jesus the Christ is our resurrected and living Savior.  I witness that the Father and the Son appeared to and instructed Joseph Smith, thus initiating the restoration of the Gospel in the dispensation of the fullness of times.  Of these truths I testify and I invoke these blessings upon you, in the Sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Today is Friday, Feb 5th, and this morning the general EFY registration opened for all.  I was anxious about wanting the cousins to all get to go together.  I wanted them to all get to share that week long experience at BYU Provo.  My kids were signed up to register several weeks ago as part of preregistration that they did back in November.  The cousins had not done that, and so they had to wait until today to register.  However, when we tried to register for the week in Provo, on our pre-registration day, the spots were all full!  This morning as I got up to go running, and stopped by my computer and noticed that there open spots to Provo.  I quickly transferred my kids to the Provo section excited that their dreams were going to come to pass!  I emailed Heidi and Brad and I left on our run.  While out there in the cold, we talked about offering to pay for one of Katie's two boys so they could go.  The cost is $475/participant.  Brad hesitated, but by the time we got home, we agreed that our heart would want all of our family together, and that we would be willing to give that amount to them so they could be one with the cousins and not be left out.  I quickly called Katie and made the offer to pay for one of her boys.  That was at 8:00 am.  The registration link was to open at 9:00, in just one hour.  I explained that we would try to do a conference call, and get all the cousins (my two, Seth, and Katie's two oldest sons) so they could all get into the same session.  She said she would call Jeff and let me know.  We tried to log in about 20 minutes prior to the opening, and found that the website was at capacity, and we had to leave it open on the computer and wait for our turn to get in.  I opened several computers, and my kids were all here helping so we could try to get everyone in the same session.  It was working!  I had a page open for one of Katie's boys and she had the other one, and then she said that she didn't feel good about this and didn't thing we should proceed.  What?  She declined and said "my boys need to learn about choices, and I don't think this is the right thing for my family." 

I know this is not really right, but I felt as if we were standing at the door of the wedding feast, and she was saying, "you know what, I really don't want to come in!"  I feel that EFY is a spiritual feast - it is a church administered program, as Elder Bednar talks about in the talk referenced above.  It is one of the abundances that we are so blessed to have right here.  If the tree of life were planted at the temple, would we ever go to get some of the fruit or would we stand back and have excuses that we didn't want that kind today?  Our scripture this morning, in the middle of this mess, was Alma 33.  

19 Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

 20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

 21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

 22 If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.

 23 And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen.

Powerful lesson for me today.  I want to be a Zion community, I believe that means that I have to be willing to share all that I have with those in need.  I am. Today I witnessed my own family, refusing to partake of the fruit of the tree.  

My favorite scripture lately has been D&C 88:32

32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received.

I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the abundance that He provides for me! Thank you Heavenly Father!  I will keep running, working, striving to be worthy in everyway to partake of the fruit of thy tree!  I love You!