What a powerful quote from our former Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley.
He was just the sweetest man. I remember the first time I saw him I
was attending the dedication of the Houston LDS temple and as he walked up to
address the crowd gathered there he began to put his hands out so that all of
the children could shake his hand. I certainly wasn't going to let an
opportunity to shake the Prophet of the Lord's hand pass me up so I reached as
much as I could and I got to shake his hand. It was a very memorable and
wonderful experience for me.
I first came across this quote when I was attending an EFY session
in my youth. It touched me more than almost anything I've ever read
or heard and I had kind of forgotten about this quote for years and then last
year I came across it again. I was having a hard day, you know we all
have those, where you accept that your make-up is just not going to make it
through the day, and I had started collecting inspirational quotes to try and
help pull me out of a spiritual slump that I had been in for what felt like
forever. I came across this quote again and it brought back a flood of
memories, mostly memories of what it felt like to, for lack of a better term,
feel on fire! You know...that burning in your chest that confirms to you
that you are loved, you're worth it, and that you are willing to do anything
and everything it takes to "fan the flame of your faith." Ever since that
time I've kind of made it my mantra, which is why it is the first quote I
wanted to share.
So the first part of the quote: “like the
polar star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands
the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God...” President Hinckley is referring
to the North Star and I just think that’s such a beautiful way to say it;
“polar star.” It isn’t just the North
Star in the sky; it’s the polar star in the heavens. It feels poetic! And looking at the word polar it can refer to
more than just the geographic location of the north and soul pole, it also
refers to magnetism and electricity which denotes that we are naturally drawn
to it. I love the analogy of the Savior
and the North Star. It is how we stay on
the path, how we can prevent ourselves from getting lost and if we follow the
Savior, He is as clear and constant as the North Star. And how true is that; constant, sure,
unchanging. Even if we feel like we
can’t see the star, if it’s covered by clouds in our life or forests that we’ve
created, it’s still there shining just as it did on a clear night. What a beautiful analogy.
President Hinckley uses again, an analogy stating that the Savior
is the “anchor of our immortal lives.”
Anchors keep you grounded, safe from storms, implanted deep in the earth
while waves make the boat seem rocky and out of control. He then says, “He is the rock of our
salvation, our strength, our comfort, the very focus of our faith...”
which for me is a very critical part of the quote/mantra. Focus is something that I have a lot of
respect for. It takes a lot for our
minds to focus, especially with our over-stimulated culture. In acting some people use the Suzuki method,
a method not only help actors with breath and core strength, and balance, but
also to assist with actors ability to have a single focus in a matter of
seconds and to hold that focus. The
actor will pick one tiny, specific spot and focus on it and it really starts to
feel like you and that spot are the only things that exist, everything else
around you kind of becomes insignificant.
That’s what I think of when President Hinckley says, “the very focus of
our faith.” We have to be that focused
on the Savior that other things of the world become insignificant and we have
to hold that focus with all of our core strength, which to me is your soul and
testimony of the Savior because our testimony is what gives us that
strength.
And finally the greatest part of the quote, “In sunshine and in
shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us...” and then
if I may add, that is when we truly LIVE!
If we continue to LOOK to the Savior and to our Heavenly Father whether
it’s our brightest day or our darkest hour, He will look down on us, He will
assure us that we are LOVED, and then we will truly LIVE a life worthy to be
with our families, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father forever. What greater promise is there? Well I’ll tell you right now, there isn’t
one. This is IT! This is answer, what
life is about, why we’re here. Isn't it awesome?!
So here’s the challenge for all of us: with the Savior serving as our North Star for
this immortal life, constant and unchanging...what are our clouds that cover Him
up and make the sky unclear? What are
our forests that we’re building, trapping ourselves under a canopy of trees that
we have built around ourselves? What
will we do this year to clear the forest, blow away the clouds to create the
clearest, brightest view of our Savior?
I know I have A LOT to work on...lots of trees to cut down in my forest
of pride. Lots to ponder and many
resolutions to make!! How exciting!!!
Resolutions to come in the next post and I would love to hear some
of your resolutions in the comments as well!
Till next time dear friends!
~emmy jean
Click here to read or watch the complete talk, "We Look to Christ" by President Hinckley given at the April 2002 General Conference
No comments:
Post a Comment