{"id":1288,"date":"2013-02-12T17:42:22","date_gmt":"2013-02-13T00:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speeches.byu.edu\/?p=1288"},"modified":"2021-03-15T10:46:15","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T16:46:15","slug":"living-reverent-life","status":"publish","type":"speech","link":"https:\/\/speeches.byu.edu\/talks\/donald-l-hallstrom\/living-reverent-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Living a Reverent Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
Being on the Brigham Young University campus with you extraordinary students, our remarkable administration (including my colleague and friend President Cecil O. Samuelson), and the outstanding faculty is always a thrill. Whenever I am here, nostalgically I recall entering BYU as a freshman (now forty-five years ago) and then meeting Diane here four years later. How else could a boy from Hawaii and a girl from southern Alberta, Canada, meet, fall in love, and marry? We both graduated in 1973, and she did it six months pregnant! Facilitating the introductions needed to begin eternal relationships is an important role of this university.<\/p>\n
One of the things we deeply enjoy during these devotionals is the performance\u2014the worshipful performance\u2014of a highly accomplished choral group or choir. Today is no exception. It always causes me to think of the story I heard about someone who observed the signboard in front of a church that is not of our faith. Announcing the coming week\u2019s sermon, the sign said, \u201cWhat Is Hell Really Like?\u201d Along the bottom of the sign, as if in response, it said, \u201cCome Hear Our Choir!\u201d I believe we could put a sign in front of the Marriott Center on devotional days with the bold but accurate words \u201cWhat Is Heaven Really Like? Come Hear Our Choir!\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane and I have been privileged to observe the influence of BYU around the world. During our worldwide travels and while residing in international locations, we have personally witnessed the impact of performing groups, study abroad students, faculty lecturers, and outreach programs in building relationships of trust for the university and for the Church. Additionally and significantly, graduates of this institution are powerful tools of the Lord, actively and effectively being used to further His kingdom throughout the world.<\/p>\n
The good accomplished by this university is extraordinary. Each of us should want to be an active participant in that good. In the \u201cPreface to the doctrines, covenants, and commandments given in this dispensation\u201d (heading of D&C 1), speaking of \u201cthe only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth,\u201d the Lord states that He is \u201cwell pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually\u201d (D&C 1:30). I am confident the Lord is well pleased with BYU\u2014\u201ccollectively.\u201d Let each of us \u201cindividually\u201d be a positive contributor to the Lord\u2019s joy in this institution.<\/p>\n
We meet here today in the name of Jesus Christ. We meet under the direction of His holy Apostles, who have given me this assignment to be with you. It is not important that I am the one here. I am simply an ambassador, an envoy. My desire is to appropriately represent the Lord and His Apostles and for the true teacher in this meeting to be the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n
When we gather in a meeting of the Church like this one, we all have an important duty. Most may assume that I have the greatest responsibility: to give a talk that is informative and interesting. I fully accept my role and have prayerfully prepared; however, I share the success of this meeting with each of you. Some may leave inspired, others not. It is really our choice. Each of us has access to the inspiration and revelation that can come to us directly from the Spirit, unfiltered by a speaker. All have different needs and circumstances, and the Spirit can effectively communicate with each of us. Consequently, different messages may be heard today. That is as it should be.<\/p>\n
The Doctrine and Covenants states (and this was given by way of commandment) \u201cthat when ye are assembled together ye shall instruct and edify each other, that ye may know how to act . . . upon the points of my law\u201d (D&C 43:8). In the next verse it says, \u201cAnd thus ye shall . . . be sanctified by that which ye have received, and ye shall bind yourselves to act in all holiness before me\u201d (D&C 43:9). We share the responsibility to instruct and be edified, but the duty to act is ours individually. And that is the key! When we participate with the intention to act (meaning to improve), the Spirit has full access to our hearts and minds. \u201cAnd it shall come to pass, that inasmuch as they . . . exercise faith in me\u201d\u2014remember, faith is a principle of action and of power\u2014\u201cI will pour out my Spirit upon them in the day that they assemble themselves together\u201d (D&C 44:2). That is my hope for this meeting.<\/p>\n
I speak of a subject today that may appear to be an unusual one for this setting. I speak of reverence. Upon hearing that word, many may quickly reflect that reverence is merely the act of keeping our children and ourselves quiet when we attend meetings of the Church. I suggest that is not reverence\u2014it is simply one of the ways we demonstrate our reverence. Reverence is to revere, to have a profound love and respect for Deity. In referring to God the Father, latter-day scripture reads: \u201cBefore whose throne all things bow in humble reverence, and give him glory forever and ever\u201d (D&C 76:93).<\/p>\n
With the Pharisees and Sadducees gathered together, one of them, a lawyer, asked Jesus Christ:<\/p>\n
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?<\/i><\/p>\n
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.<\/i><\/p>\n
This is the first and great commandment.<\/i>\u00a0[Matthew 22:36\u201338]<\/p>\n
While serving as president of the Church, David O. McKay stated:<\/p>\n
Inseparable from the acceptance of the existence of God is an attitude of reverence, to which I wish now to call attention most earnestly to the entire Church. The greatest manifestation of spirituality is reverence; indeed, reverence is spirituality. Reverence is profound respect mingled with love. It is \u201ca complex emotion made up of mingled feelings of the soul.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0[Thomas]\u00a0Carlyle<\/i>\u00a0[the Scottish philosopher]\u00a0says it is \u201cthe highest of human feelings.\u201d I have said . . . that if reverence is the highest, then irreverence is the lowest state in which a man can live in the world.<\/i>\u00a0[CR,<\/i>\u00a0October 1956, 6; quoting Charles Edward Jefferson,\u00a0The Character of Jesus<\/i>\u00a0(New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1908), 312, and Thomas Carlyle, \u201cOn Boswell\u2019s Life of Johnson\u201d (1832)]<\/p>\n
In April 2001 general conference, President James E. Faust said:<\/p>\n
I fear that through prosperity many of us have been preoccupied with what Daniel called \u201cgods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know\u201d<\/i>\u00a0[Daniel 5:23].\u00a0These, of course, are idols.<\/i><\/p>\n
In reverence for the sacred, overarching and undergirding all else is a love and respect for Deity. During most of the world\u2019s history, mankind has labored much in idolatry, either worshiping false gods or becoming preoccupied with acquiring the material opulence of this world.<\/i>\u00a0[\u201cThem That Honour Me I Will Honour<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0Ensign,<\/i>\u00a0May 2001, 45]<\/p>\n Today I do not wish to only address lofty doctrines and principles, although they are essential in providing a clear vision. I want to be practical. I hope to discuss ways in which each of us can elevate our actions, not just our thinking. Indeed, my aspiration is for each of us to want to live a more\u00a0reverent life\u2014<\/i>a life reflective of our love for God the Eternal Father and Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior.<\/p>\n Do not confuse reverence with being quiet. Of course there are times and places when reverence is shown by not speaking or by using hushed tones. Also, in the correct setting and circumstance, being boisterous and reverent are not conflicting. Real reverence is simply not doing anything disrespectful, demeaning, or degrading to the Godhead. It has to do with how we think, how we act, and how we speak. It relates to our integrity and the way we treat one another. The level at which we keep the covenants made in the holy ordinances is a powerful indication of our reverence.<\/p>\n Spencer W. Kimball, while he was Church president, counseled:<\/p>\n 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.<\/i>\u00a0[We Should Be a Reverent People<\/i>\u00a0(Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1976), 2]<\/p>\n Those who seek a reverent life have continual and vital opportunities to worship Deity and elevate their reverence. These include public worship, family worship, and personal worship.<\/p>\n Public worship is when we assemble as children of God, as brothers and sisters, as a community of Saints. These meetings are sometimes large like stake or even general conference or are sometimes small like a quorum or Relief Society meeting or a Sunday School class. Our devotional assembly today is a form of public worship. In each of these meetings we pray, we teach, we testify, and we edify\u2014all with the purpose of increasing our understanding of our Father in Heaven, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We then have the responsibility to translate that ever-increasing knowledge into wisdom\u2014to continually lessen the gap between what we know and how we live.<\/p>\n Temple worship is a sacred form of public worship because it directly involves ordinances and covenants that connect us with Deity. How connected are you to the temple and your covenants? Are you regularly using this holy form of public worship to strengthen your knowledge and your wisdom? As I have sought to live a reverent life, my prayers have focused more on a desire to live true to my covenants.<\/p>\n The most important of public worship meetings outside the temple is sacrament meeting. In addition to the worshipful activities that are part of most Church meetings, this service centers on the living ordinance of the sacrament. As we begin and end the meeting and, specifically, in preparation to partake of the holy sacrament, we sing and we pray. Are we full participants? Are our minds and our hearts there or are they somewhere else? Are our smartphones off or do we text and tweet (or, for us older people, email) during the ordinance or during any part of the service? When the speakers speak, especially if they are less polished orators, do we arrogantly disconnect, thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve heard it all before\u201d?<\/p>\n If we are guilty of any of these mistakes, what we are doing is reducing\u2014perhaps eliminating\u2014the ability of the Spirit to communicate with us. And then we wonder why we are not edified by sacrament services and other Church meetings.<\/p>\n Public worship is a magnificent opportunity to develop reverence.<\/p>\n Public worship should promote family worship. In 1999 the First Presidency counseled parents and children<\/p>\n to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction, and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the divinely appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately perform.<\/i>\u00a0[First Presidency letter, 11 February 1999; cited in \u201cLetter Regarding Parents Teaching Children,\u201d\u00a0Church News,<\/i>\u00a027 February 1999, 3]<\/p>\n Of course these same principles have been repeatedly taught by numerous Church leaders in countless ways over many years.<\/p>\n We live in a world of busyness. Traveling throughout the Church I sometimes privately inquire of local leaders\u2014and these are good Latter-day Saints\u2014\u201cAre you holding family prayer and family home evening?\u201d<\/p>\n Often I receive an embarrassed look and the explanation \u201cWe are so busy. Our children\u2019s school and extracurricular activities, music and other lessons, social schedule, and Church functions keep them almost fully occupied. My spouse and I are tied up with work, Church, and other commitments. We are seldom together as a family.\u201d<\/p>\n The spirit of the First Presidency\u2019s counsel is that if we are so busy doing good things that we do not have time for the essential things, we must find solutions.<\/p>\n When children are raised with reverence\u2014when they see parents whose lives are reverent\u2014they are more likely to follow this divine pattern.<\/p>\n Ultimately, reverence is a personal matter. Public worship leads us to family worship, which leads us to personal worship. This includes personal prayer, personal gospel study, and personal pondering of one\u2019s relationship with Deity. \u201cFor how knoweth a man the master . . . who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?\u201d (Mosiah 5:13).<\/p>\n Elder D. Todd Christofferson said:<\/p>\n The importance of having a sense of the sacred is simply this\u2014if one does not appreciate holy things, he will lose them. Absent a feeling of reverence, he will grow increasingly casual in attitude and lax in conduct. He will drift from the moorings that his covenants with God could provide. His feeling of accountability to God will diminish and then be forgotten. Thereafter, he will care only about his own comfort and satisfying his uncontrolled appetites. Finally, he will come to despise sacred things, even God, and then he will despise himself.<\/i>\u00a0[\u201cA Sense of the Sacred<\/a>,\u201d CES fireside address, 7 November 2004, BYU, Provo]<\/p>\nPublic Worship<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Family Worship<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Personal Worship<\/strong><\/h2>\n