Yesterday afternoon, Corey and I had the privilege of sitting on the stand during Bishop Gerald Causse's, the presiding bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, devotional here at BYU-Idaho. It was an exciting experience as we were led to our seats and told that in a few short moments, Bishop Causse would be entering in and sitting directly in front of us. What!
Out of respect, we all stood as he walked onto the stage, and Corey and I both had the privilege to shake his hand before he settled in to his seat.
If you have not yet had the privilege of being in the same breathing space as a general authority, let me tell you that it is one of the most gracious, spiritual experiences one will ever have in this life. The Spirit I felt when I shook this man's hand opened up my heart to him as more than a man, but a man called by a higher authority; my heart softened as the Spirit whispered that this man is someone I should listen to, someone I should learn from.
He may not be an apostle, but the confirmation I felt was just the same as when I met L. Tom Perry last year, shortly before he passed away. A man of God is a man of God--no matter how low or high the position. Their purpose is one in the same.
It is safe to say that Bishop Causse is still human; he is still susceptible to making mistakes just as you and I. I do not look up to him because he holds a position of power in the Church.
Not at all.
I do, however, revere him as a man who has taken his calling from God in stride. I esteem him as someone who knows he is less than God, someone who righteously exercises his priesthood obligations, someone who teaches by and through the Spirit of God rather than his own wisdom.
What he taught those in attendance yesterday resides in my heart today and, I would hope, every day from here on out:
Something he said while making this point struck me:
"Eternity is made up a succession of now's, not a string of tomorrow's."
Our eternal clock is made of an infinite array of numbers. It'll never stop ticking. We will have infinite ticks and tocks to reflect on what we have done in this life. Do we want to say we gave up or do we want to say we tried our hardest to get there?
Out of respect, we all stood as he walked onto the stage, and Corey and I both had the privilege to shake his hand before he settled in to his seat.
If you have not yet had the privilege of being in the same breathing space as a general authority, let me tell you that it is one of the most gracious, spiritual experiences one will ever have in this life. The Spirit I felt when I shook this man's hand opened up my heart to him as more than a man, but a man called by a higher authority; my heart softened as the Spirit whispered that this man is someone I should listen to, someone I should learn from.
He may not be an apostle, but the confirmation I felt was just the same as when I met L. Tom Perry last year, shortly before he passed away. A man of God is a man of God--no matter how low or high the position. Their purpose is one in the same.
It is safe to say that Bishop Causse is still human; he is still susceptible to making mistakes just as you and I. I do not look up to him because he holds a position of power in the Church.
Not at all.
I do, however, revere him as a man who has taken his calling from God in stride. I esteem him as someone who knows he is less than God, someone who righteously exercises his priesthood obligations, someone who teaches by and through the Spirit of God rather than his own wisdom.
What he taught those in attendance yesterday resides in my heart today and, I would hope, every day from here on out:
Developing a vision for eternity.
His main focus was about time and how little of it we are given in this life.
We shouldn't waste it on things of minute importance, or waste it by trying to slow it down--because that won't ever work. Instead, we should recognize life as a "wonderful moment of eternity."
Bishop shared with us five points which will aid us in developing this vision;
1. Learn from the past and move forward.
We all know the famous scene in The Lion King where Rafiki hits Simba in the head with his stick. When Simba asks what that act of violence was about, Rafiki responds, "It doesn't matter it's in the past." Nothing we have done in the past will hold us back from progressing--as long as we are willing to change. We don't need to change the past; we only need to learn from it and move on. It's over and done. There's nothing we can do about it.
2. Don't get discouraged. It is never too late.
It's the little things that will give us momentum to win the race today. It's the little victories that make us champions today. He gave an example of John Akhwari who represented his country in the 1968 Olympics. He finished beyond last due to a dislocated knee. When asked why he continued the marathon, he said, "My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race."
Likewise, Heavenly Father did not send us here to start the journey. He sent us here to finish.
Moment of truth: I can't run a mile without stopping to walk. I get tired, my stomach will cramp or maybe I'll get distracted by something. Despite what slows me down, it doesn't take away my potential to finish my mile. It might just take much, much longer than those who are career athletes. It's no different with the gospel. Don't get discouraged because you see members living the gospel perfectly. You'll get there. It's a process. Use the Atonement to help you. It isn't for the sinners. It's for the imperfect. It's for us all.
3. Don't wait. Now is the time.
"Eternity is made up a succession of now's, not a string of tomorrow's."
Our eternal clock is made of an infinite array of numbers. It'll never stop ticking. We will have infinite ticks and tocks to reflect on what we have done in this life. Do we want to say we gave up or do we want to say we tried our hardest to get there?
4. Accept God's timing.
Should we despair when blessings are slow to come?
While the Lord may be sending blessings at the speed of a snail, they will come. God never strays from his promises. Some blessings come quicker than others, but it is all in the Lord's timing. He knows better than we do. He knows what we need at what time.
In the words of Jeffrey R. Holland, "Some blessings come soon, some come later, and some don't come until Heaven"; but they come.
5. Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life.
Make it a priority to repent before you go to sleep so that you can effectively and righteously begin the remainder of your mortal journey. When you wake up, leave yesterday behind you and tomorrow before you; leave only room for now.
I appreciated his talk so much. The Spirit was an active participant in yesterday's devotional and I couldn't be more grateful for the blessings of comfort and encouragement the Lord rained down on me. I appreciate men like Bishop Causse who take time to listen to the Spirit, to know what the speak on so the Spirit can uplift and edify those who are seeking to change and progress.
While the words were heard from the mouth of a man, the affects and desires of many to change were felt through the Spirit of God. I know when we listen to the words of our leaders, we can feel the subtle influence of the holy ghost which will aid us to develop the capacity to progress in this life. We can also learn and feel from the Spirit whom the Lord has called to lead us back into His arms. It just so happens that this devotional was one of those sacred experiences for me; it was a sacred experience which allowed me to reaffirm and strengthen my testimony and conviction that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true and living church and that our leaders truly are called of God to lead and guide us in our daily efforts to become like the Savior, Jesus Christ.
