Don't Get out of the Boat!

This past weekend my husband and I had the great opportunity to attend our stake conference and listen to Elder Holland speak. Elder Holland was visiting to reorganize our stake presidency, and in addition to hearing him speak, my husband was able to enjoy a ten minute interview with him. Guess there are some perks to being a bishop!

For those of you reading this who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the Mormon church), let me take a second to clarify the above "church jargon."

In the Mormon church (often called such because we believe in a companion volume of scripture, The Book of Mormon, as well as the Bible) congregations are organized geographically into wards. Each ward has a bishop who presides over that ward and it's organizations---primary for children, youth programs, Relief Society etc. Several wards are organized into a stake, over which a stake president and his counselors preside. Area presidencies preside over several stakes, with the apostles presiding over and working with those presidencies.

The interesting and cool thing about this highly organized method of running things, is that all callings (positions or jobs) in our church are voluntary. No one gets paid; there is no compensation---except some hoped for heavenly blessings. No calling lasts forever(the exception being if an individual is a general authority---the Prophet or an apostle).Those serving in leadership positions did not aspire to be there (trust me on this one---being a bishop/bishop's wife was never on my husband's or my to do list!), and they often do not feel qualified. Fortunately, a willing heart and hands---along with some heavenly help---often makes up what an individual may lack.

And that's a lot of info. in a couple of paragraphs. In summary, it was a great and rare experience that we were able to hear on of the twelve apostles speak in our stake. Oh, and one more hugely important aspect of our religion is that we believe Jesus Christ's church is on the earth today, organized just as it was---as He had directed it to be---when Christ himself was on the earth. We believe that God has always and will always provide direction for his people through the voice of a living prophet and his apostles. This principle of revelation is something I have believed in for a long time. Hearing Elder Holland speak this weekend, made it impossible to deny. He is a man who knows and loves both God and his son.

Saturday night, Elder Holland spoke for nearly an hour---with no text in front of him, except his scriptures---about trials and hard times we all face. He began by talking about nearly every difficult circumstance a person may have to deal with in his or her life---death of a loved one, illness, divorce, financial problems, heartache over children . . . The list goes on and on. Elder Holland then proceeded to give some simple, yet profound, help and hope for those times in our lives. I want to attempt to share that advice here, because it was both uplifting and inspiring. And I'm sure someone out there reading this, could maybe use a little inspiration or uplift today.

First---we all feel broken at some time in our life. No matter what has brought us to that state (our own actions or one of the many things listed above), it is important to remember that God loves broken things, and he is prepared to fix them. Some examples Elder Holland gave---

-It takes broken clouds to make rain.
-It takes broken earth to grow grain.
-It takes broken grain to make bread.

We take the broken bread of the sacrament to renew our covenants and help us begin to be whole again. We may not feel good now, but we're going to be great. The thing God loves the most is a broken heart, and our broken hearts refine us into the great people we can become.

Second---"Endure, and save yourself for days of happiness ahead." Elder Holland attributed this quote to the poet Virgil. After reading it twice, he assured us that there will be times of happiness in our future, no matter how difficult or bleak things may seem right now. The downward plunge of the roller coaster is going to level out and even head uphill again.
We need to remember that right now, we are all of God. We are his spirit children. But someday we will be of him and like him, and that is not an easy path.

The last thing Elder Holland talked about is what we must not do in the midst of our trials. He pointed out that the first rule of sailing is, "don't get out of the boat---especially during a storm." Yet how many of us are inclined to do that very thing, to abandon ship when the going gets tough? I know I've been there a time or two myself.

Instead, in the middle of the storm is the time we need to stay in the boat, hunker down, and hang on tight. Referring to the story of Jesus calming the sea during a storm (see Mark 4: 36-40), Elder Holland reminded us that our only hope is He who has control over the wind and the waves. It is He who will see us through our difficulties, but if we leave the boat, we are left alone to flounder in the waves. Staying on board does not assure that the ride will always be smooth, but we will reach our destination. Elder Holland reminded us that the road to salvation has always gone through Gethsemane---again not an easy path.

But if Christ, with all he had yet to endure in his mortal life, could tell us to be of good cheer (see John 16:33), then we can be of good cheer. We can get up, go on, endure a little longer, and hang on for those happier times that will come.

I'm sure I haven't conveyed the smallest portion of Elder Holland's great and inspiring words, but I do hope that someone out there gains something from my notes and poor attempts at sharing them. There were many moist eyes last Saturday, several tissues dabbing at wet cheeks, a few laughs interspersed, and dead silence when Elder Holland pounded on the pulpit and told us, "Don't get out of the boat!"

It is a message I'll never forget, one I'm sure I will turn to during difficult days.
I hope, whatever stage you are at, whatever difficulty you may be facing, that you'll be able to hang in there and sit tight too.