{"id":4525,"date":"1981-07-28T15:35:03","date_gmt":"1981-07-28T21:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speeches.byu.edu\/?p=4525"},"modified":"2023-08-10T10:20:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T16:20:07","slug":"form-godliness","status":"publish","type":"speech","link":"https:\/\/speeches.byu.edu\/talks\/spencer-j-condie\/form-godliness\/","title":{"rendered":"Having a Form of Godliness"},"content":{"rendered":"
The late Samuel Johnson once said, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like an imminent hanging to concentrate the mind upon a single idea!\u201d For the past several weeks my mind has focused upon a central theme which I would like to share with you today. Inasmuch as speakers generally learn more than listeners, I need to improve my life in a number of ways, so I\u2019ve chosen to speak to the topic \u201cHaving a Form of Godliness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Above the desk in my office are a number of photographs which are very significant to me. One of them is a picture of the Provo Temple taken at night. The illuminated golden spire of that temple is a light upon a hill which cannot be hid (see Matthew 5:14). When I look at that photo, I behold a beautiful building with unpretentious architectural lines. But within the walls of that temple, ordinances are performed which have eternal significance. Indeed, the lives of millions in an unseen world have been forever influenced by the ordinances performed therein. Instruction is given which provides us with an eternal blueprint, a spiritual life-script which, if followed carefully, will help us return to the presence of a loving Heavenly Father. I keep this photo nearby to remind me of covenants I have renewed in that holy place.<\/p>\n
Beneath the picture of the Provo Temple is a photograph of another building, an edifice embellished with nearly every imaginable form of ornamentation. This building is a virtual temple of art, the Vienna Museum of Art History. I keep this photograph near to remind me of some wonderful experiences which my family and the family of Professors Garold and Norma Davis, and 30 beautiful, inquisitive BYU students had in Austria just a year ago. This massive, ornate structure adorned in a neo-Baroque style houses more than a thousand of the world\u2019s greatest paintings and other works of art. In many respects it embodies much that is \u201cvirtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy\u201d (Thirteenth Article of Faith). Even devoid of its masterworks, this building would be a work of art in its own right. The grandeur of its architectural symmetry, its beautifully sculptured marble columns, and its ornate ceilings evoke feelings of awe and appreciation for the talents of the builders and those who gave of their means to help construct this beautiful building.<\/p>\n
On one occasion as I visited this inspiring museum, I reflected upon the words of the Savior to a boy prophet in the spring of 1820:<\/p>\n
They draw near to me with their lips . . . having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.<\/i> [Joseph Smith 2:19; see 2 Timothy 3:5]<\/p>\n
Each time I revisited this museum or a concert hall or the famous Vienna State Opera House, I felt inspired by the talents of others, all of whom lived as best they could within the light they\u2019d been given. But in each of these buildings returned the reverberating theme \u201c[they have] a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then, suddenly, I was struck with a three-hundred kilovolt question: It\u2019s wonderful that you belong to a Church which has a form of godliness and also the power thereof, but what of you and your personal<\/i> life? Bibbed and tuckered in your white shirt and Sunday suit, with your spit-shined shoes and your missionary haircut, Brother Condie, do you perhaps sometimes have a form<\/i> of godliness, but does your personal life really reflect the power<\/i> of the priesthood of God?<\/p>\n
Like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, I felt a pallor of gloom sweep my soul as I reflected upon the many times I had exercised my priesthood unworthily and the times I had partaken of the sacrament without sincere intentions of renewing covenants. I retrieved painful memories of having reproved others many times with sharpness without having been moved upon by the Holy Ghost (see D&C 121:43). I recalled the conscience-wracking consequences of covering my sins in an interview when the bishop asked me just one question: \u201cHave you been a good kid lately?\u201d I replied yes, but in my heart I knew, and I knew the Lord knew, that a more careful interview would have yielded some soul-searching signs of wavering worthiness.<\/p>\n
Brothers and sisters, for one of the few times in my life, I gained a glimpse into the depths of my own soul, and I didn\u2019t like everything I saw. Like Enos, the son of Jacob, I have observed through personal experience the egocentricity of sin. As Enos went hunting and his soul began to hunger for the things of the Spirit, his first recorded thoughts were upon his own<\/i> soul. It was not until he had prayed all day long and into the night and had received a confirmation of forgiveness of his own<\/i> sins that his thoughts were turned to his brethren, the Nephites, and then to the Lamanites (see Enos).<\/p>\n
Through personal experience I have found that when one does not have the Spirit of the Lord, any service within the Church becomes extremely arduous. Perhaps David described the predicament best when he wrote in Psalm 88:15, \u201cWhile I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.\u201d One of the Brethren described this phenomenon as \u201cgoing through life serving the Lord in such a way as not to offend the devil.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the other hand, when our spirits are in tune, the powers of heaven can and do distill upon us, drenching us with joy in serving the Lord through service to others. It is then that our confidence waxes strong before God and the Holy Ghost becomes our constant companion (see D&C 121:45\u201346).<\/p>\n
There are few examples more poignant than the life of King David in illustrating the corrosion of confidence in the sight of the Lord. As a na\u00efve shepherd boy whose thoughts were garnished with virtue, filled with faith and confidence, he slew Goliath while his compatriots cowered in the background. As a poet-king, anointed to that position under the hands of the prophet Samuel, he exemplified a form of godliness as he wrote of green pastures, still waters, and paths of righteousness. Filled with faith he humbly, yet confidently, proclaimed:<\/p>\n
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.<\/i> [Psalms 23:4, emphasis added]<\/p>\n
In his very next recorded psalm he asserted that those who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord must have \u201cclean hands, and a pure heart\u201d (Psalms, 24:3\u20134).<\/p>\n
But some time later, after becoming the king of all Israel, David, the shepherd boy grown tall, \u201clifted up his soul into vanity\u201d; and, following the lusts of a heart no longer pure, he committed a sin for which forgiveness is difficult, and then compounded it by covertly committing an even greater sin.<\/p>\n
The psalms of David provide us with an excellent barometer of his spirituality just as our own personal journals reflect our own spiritual strengths and weaknesses. Thus, it is of interest to read David\u2019s journal entry shortly after his encounter with Bathsheba. Wracked with unrelenting remorse he wrote in Psalm 51:<\/p>\n
Have mercy upon me, O God . . . blot out my transgressions.<\/i><\/p>\n
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.<\/i> [vss. 1, 11]<\/p>\n
No longer possessed of faith which fears no evil, David\u2019s green pastures had become deserts of despair. Without divine guidance, how was he now going to lead Israel and defend her borders? In 1 Chronicles 21, we learn that Satan placed in David\u2019s heart the desire to take a census of all his people. His chief commander, Joab, was a bit distressed at David\u2019s request, for had not God always helped his chosen people in battle, regardless of their numbers? Hadn\u2019t Jehovah trimmed Gideon\u2019s troops from 32,000 to 300 to prove that it was the Lord\u2019s power and not<\/i> sheer numbers which was responsible for the victory over the Midianites? (see Judges 7). Had not David the shephard boy been a majority of one in single-handedly defeating the Goliath-led Philistines? Little wonder that Joab questioned the king\u2019s sudden striving to find safety in numbers.<\/p>\n
President Harold B. Lee, upon becoming the prophet of the Church in July 1972, said:<\/p>\n
The safety of the Church lies in the members keeping the commandments.<\/i> [Church News,<\/i> 15 July 1972, p. 3]<\/p>\n
And what of the safety of a nation? Is our nation any less exempt from the blessings of obedience and the consequences of disobedience? Were the matter not so serious, I could chuckle at the similarities between David\u2019s census of the Israelites and our own nation\u2019s compulsive counting of nuclear warheads. How many missiles does it take to protect a nation in which abortion is currently the most frequently performed operation in hospitals and clinics throughout the land? (see Statistical Abstracts of the United States,<\/i> Washington, D.C., U. S. Department of Commerce, 1980, pp. 69\u201371). Is national security possible for a country whose citizens are addicted by the millions to movies, magazines, and television programs which vividly portray Satan\u2019s smutty smorgasbord on a daily basis? In my humble view, parity in nuclear numbers may numb our fears, but it is a sad substitute for spiritual strength and security.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, even within the Church, an undue concern with numbers can impair human relationships as people become pawns in a quantitative quest for perfection. But what of qualitative<\/i> perfection? Do our statistical reports sometimes have a form<\/i> of godliness devoid of godly power? Elder Dean L. Larsen reminds us that<\/p>\n
the qualities of the spirit are susceptible to assessment, but they must be assessed by spiritual means<\/i> [Dean L. Larsen \u201cSome Thoughts on Goal-Setting,\u201d Ensign<\/i>, February 1981, pp. 62\u201365]<\/p>\n
Paul\u2019s counsel to the Corinthians may be helpful to us in this regard. Said Paul:<\/p>\n
The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. <\/i>[2 Corinthians 3:6]<\/p>\n
I suppose the secular equivalent to this statement is the observation of Roy Frances that \u201ctoo much rigor often leads to mortis.\u201d<\/p>\n
I make no claim to being a theologian, but with my limited knowledge and perspective, it appears to me that in the eternal economy of things, the methods we use to achieve our eternal goals are often as important as the goals themselves.<\/p>\n
In the fourth chapter of Moses we learn of the council in heaven wherein Satan proposed what appears to be a very laudable goal:<\/p>\n
I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it.<\/i> [Moses 4:1]<\/p>\n
Now, what could possibly be wrong with such a lofty goal, to absolutely assure eternal salvation to all mankind? The Lord himself answered this question:<\/p>\n
Because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, . . . I caused that he should be cast down.<\/i> [Moses 4:3]<\/p>\n
In other words, exaltation is not<\/i> to be purchased by the surrender of one\u2019s free agency, but rather through the Atonement and \u201cby grace after all we can do\u201d (2 Nephi 25:23). This latter step involves the proper use of our free agency, not its enforcement by others.<\/p>\n
In the fourth chapter of Ephesians the apostle Paul explained that the Church was organized (Ephesians 4:11) \u201cfor the perfecting of the saints\u201d (Ephesians 4:12). And how is this perfecting process to proceed? By \u201cspeaking the truth in love\u201d (Ephesians 4:15).<\/p>\n
Alma gave his son, Shiblon, similar advice prior to his departure to win souls for the kingdom. Said Alma:<\/p>\n
Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions.<\/i> [Alma 38:12]<\/p>\n
As we continually contemplate this vital relationship between mortal means and eternal goals, it may be well to reflect upon the fact that the Savior called Peter and Andrew to become \u201cfishers <\/i>of men\u201d (Matthew 4:19), not<\/i> hunters. Whereas hunters pursue their quarry, assailing it with slings and arrows, the fishers of man are to use the methods of \u201cpersuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned\u201d (D&C 121:41). It is well to remember also that when we are fishing, the fish must take some of the initiative in order to swim into the net, and therein one finds an eternal meaning in one\u2019s life within the gospel net.<\/p>\nSunday Neurosis<\/b><\/h2>\n
In his book Man\u2019s Search for Meaning,<\/i> the Viennese psychiatrist Viktor Frankl discusses individuals whose lives have no sense of meaning. He refers to this empty feeling or existential vacuum as a \u201cSunday neurosis,\u201d a kind of depression<\/p>\n
which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest.<\/i> [New York: Pocket Books, 1963, p. 169]<\/p>\n
In other words, who are we and what are we on Sundays when we don\u2019t go to work to perform the roles of accountant, electrician, truck driver, beautician, or nurse? Or who are we after we have been released as bishop or Relief Society president or elders quorum president? Or, with the new consolidated meeting schedule, who are we on Sundays when we\u2019re not in church? Is the Sabbath a day of spiritual regeneration or one of emptiness and boredom, devoid of celestial content?<\/p>\n
One Sunday this past spring I emerged from a priests quorum meeting in one of the wards in our stake. I had been touched by the lesson given to a pride of prospective missionaries, young lions preparing to preach the gospel. The adviser\u2019s quiet, yet firm, testimony reminded me once again that the gospel really<\/i> is true. As I journeyed home that day, I felt no Sunday neurosis; it was more of a feeling of Sabbath nostalgia, a sense of longing for a celestial home. As I drove homeward, a familiar message found expression in song:<\/p>\n
Yet ofttimes a secret something<\/i> Our beloved prophet, President Kimball, has given us the solution to resolving feelings of emptiness in our lives:<\/p>\n When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves. In the midst of serving, there is the promise of Jesus, that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves <\/i>(see Matthew 10:39). . . .<\/p>\n
\nWhispered, \u201cYou\u2019re a stranger here.\u201d<\/i>
\nAnd I felt that I had wandered<\/i>
\nFrom a more exalted sphere.<\/i>
\n[Eliza R. Snow, Hymns<\/i>, no. 139<\/a>]<\/p>\n