Sunday, August 15, 2010

A friend of mine works in the Salt Lake temple the day before he works in the library with me.  One day a while back he looked especially tired.  He explained that the day before he had worked in the baptistry and that it was Prom night.  When I failed to see the connection, he told me that Prom day is the busiest day of the year in the baptistry as it is a tradition for young men and women to come to the temple and do work before going out to dinner and dance.  I couldn't help contrasting that with the way most of the world views prom night, as a time to get drunk, get a hotel room, and get into trouble.
While there is no doubt that there is a great and growing wickedness in the world at large, I would propose that there is an opposing movement for good, growing just as rapidly.  A few examples:
Everyday I see people of all faiths drawn to the family history library, wanting to know about their heritage.  I'm sure that many of them are being pushed there by their unseen ancestors who are eager for them to be their advocates in the mortal world.  The fact that they are responding to these promptings tells me that they are a part of the great movement for good in the world.
I have referred before to the fact that from a prominent point on a familiar horse trail I can see 3 operating temples.  (One lit up behind Sam in this photo)  Within the 60 mile radius of my mission there are at least 7 more.  Within an easy drive of my home in California I can attend 5 temples. Temples are now in very part of the world.  These are busy places, full of people who are trying to live good lives and care enough about each other to take time so that others can share the blessings they have.  Most do so on a regular basis.
I am in awe of the young people in my life, especially my own children, who I see working so hard, tirelessly raising their children to have strong values in a world that increasingly belittles them.  It is not easy to choose the good path, but the rewards are great and very real.
Today our Sunday school teacher quoted Hezekiah to us.  Hezekiah has helped his people prepare for the coming siege of the Assyrians.  He says to his people (paraphrasing), "Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the [world] nor all the multitude that is with them: for there be more with us than with them. . . with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles."
And so I would propose that as the polarization of our planet increases we each take the attitude of Hezekiah.  Be strong and courageous, be not dismayed.  Every time we make a good choice we are enlisting legions of angels to back us up.  We are not alone.  We know good will ultimately prevail.

1 comment:

  1. Great Blog. Inspiring. Sorry I am a week late in reading it- I was out of town.

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