Live to Make Good Memories | George I. Cannon | 1991

[Music] thank you president bunker for that uh introduction and i thank this wonderful quartet for the beautiful music that they've rendered and for the spirit that i feel here in this congregation uh today is president benson's 92nd birthday he's entering his 93rd year and i just wish he could have been here to have heard you sing that hymn but you didn't sing all of it there was one verse that was left off now i wouldn't ever want to offend elder bruce r mcconkie this hymn originally the text was by joseph murdoch and the music by joseph j daines but elder mcconkie added a fourth verse so i'm going to read it to you then heed the words of truth and light that flow from fountains pure yea keep his law with all thy might till thine elections sure till thou shalt hear the holy voice assure eternal reign while joy and cheer attend thy choice as one who shall obtain you are an inspiring and magnificent sight what an honor it is to be a sign to be here and to represent the brethren i feel most humble in this assignment and speak seek for the spirit of the lord to direct me as i share some thoughts i hope will be helpful i would like to ask you to walk with me for a few minutes down memory lane it was a little over 54 years ago that i registered as a freshman at the brigham young university the student body numbered approximately 1935. i was 17 years of age it was my first experience in living away from home i lived with my cousin heber who was a sophomore we rented a bedroom and a home between the upper and lower campus my sister jean who was a senior lived with a friend in an apartment close by we ate breakfast and dinner together and shared and preparing the meals my sister was a home economics major and she and my cousin cooked one week the next week her friend who was a drama major and i prepared the meals when gene and heber cooked we had great meals when vian and i cooked we had lots of dry cereal and fruit salad those days at the y were challenging growing exciting days i earned 25 cents an hour serving as the accompanist for the male chorus directed by dr franklin madsen i've had many opportunities to return to the y and always there is a flood of good memories i had lots of butterflies when i came to school there were times of homesickness and loneliness it was a time of learning how to learn and to be on my own i appreciated the good professors and the fine administration leaders and the genuine interests they had in us as students there were great mat dances on wednesday afternoons i don't know if they're still part of the y but they were lots of fun there were the twosie devotionals and friday assemblies in college hall it took me 10 years to graduate after my soft that gives some of you some hope doesn't it after my sophomore year there was a mission i returned for one quarter to batch with three return missionaries from the eastern states mission then came the call from uncle sam to serve in the air force my four-year tour of duty was mainly in north africa and italy after the war i felt i needed to start earning a living and building a career i lived at home in salt lake carried a full schedule at the university of utah and worked half a day after school of work a year of work and school i needed some more credit to graduate from the byu so i asked my boss if i could have a leave of absence to attend summer school at the y he said i think it's a good idea while you're there i suggest you look for a wife during summer school i began to date a wonderful girl by the name of isabel hales who was doing some graduate work at the end of the summer she went to chicago to study i was able to convince her to come home after a few months and in june we were married in the salt lake temple to marry isabel hales was the best decision i ever made i will always be grateful for the byu helping me find her those were meaningful and fulfilling days i owe so much to those who made it possible for me to come to the y and to all of those who were part of my life during those formative years elder richard l evans who was a member of the quorum of 12 and author of the spoken word for over 40 years wrote the following o beloved young friends remember life is forever but youth doesn't last very long live to make memories that will bless the whole length of your life i would like to paraphrase the words of elder evans and say to you tonight oh beloved young friends remember life is forever but these important years right now do not last very long but they are so very important live to make good memories that will bless the whole length of your life my message to you tonight is live to make good memories to help you do this i would like to share with you four l's 24 years ago i served as a mission president in england before each missionary would go home i would have the opportunity of interviewing the missionary and asking what he or she was taking home as a result of their mission experience i didn't want to know what was in their suitcase but what was inside of them one elder said to me i'm going home liking myself i said to him what do you mean by that he said all my life i've wanted to be someone else i was envious of the guy at high school who was the most popular one with the boys girls that's terrible to say that i hope they can take that off the video president i wanted to be him i wanted to own that red chevy that one of the fellows had at school i wanted to be the quarterback on the football team when i came to the mission field i wanted to be the assistant to the president or that elder who could always quote the right scripture at the right time i was always wishing i was somebody else however as i've served these two years i've come to realize who i really am i have a good relationship with my savior with my fellow man i have a greater love for my parents and family i realize i have talents i can develop and share and that others have their talents i'm grateful for what i have been given i'm no longer envious of what others have that i may not have i'm going home feeling good about myself i too had a good feeling about this elder and what was inside of him how happy i was that he had come to appreciate himself and make that part of his life's philosophy over the years it has been a joy to see how this young man has developed and matured as he shared himself and his talents with others in the 46 section of the doctrine and covenants verses 11 and 12 are these words of the savior for all have not every gift given unto them for there are many gifts and to every man is given a gift by the spirit of god to some is given one and to some is given another that all may be profited thereby the first l i would like to share with you as you live to make good memories is to like yourself jules pfeiffer wrote a humorous article entitled be yourself it contains some good advice ever since i was a little kid i didn't want to be me i wanted to be billy whittled and then billy william didn't even like me i walked like he walked i talked like he talked i signed up for the high school he signed up for which was when littleton changed he began to hang around herbie vandeman he mixed me up i began to walk and talk like billy whittled and walking and talking like herbie vandeman and then it dawned on me that herbie vandeman walked and talked like joey haverlin and joey haverland walked and talked like corki sabason so here i am walking and talking like billy whittleton's imitation of herbie vanaman's version of joy haverland trying to walk and talk like corki sabason and who do you think corki sabason is always walking and talking like of all people dopey wellington that little pest who walks and talks like me i have a younger brother his name is stan he's a university graduate in engineering who can fix and build anything when i took some aptitude tests in college to get some vocation suggestions the person giving the test said one area you should not go into is engineering he was right i have none of that ability when i try to fix our plumbing i have to call a plumber and to correct all the mistakes i've made i appreciate and love my brother but i'm not envious of him i'm grateful for his many talents around uh and this is very generous in sharing his talents around our house someone once said a bee may not be an eagle but it can sure make honey it is important to like ourselves and be ourselves often when i talk to the youth of the church i ask them to look at their thumbs i ask them what's unusual about their thumbs eventually they tell me that they are the only one who has that thumb of all the billions who have lived on the earth or who will live on the earth no one else will have a thumb exactly exactly like yours would you look at your thumb for just a moment doesn't that tell you how important and significant you are if you ever get discouraged and are feeling sorry for yourself take a good look at your thumb and then you can say i'm special no one else has my thumb and no one else ever will my wife has a fancy plaque on our refrigerator door it's not good english and you would flunk if you wrote it for your english professor but it contains imess a message i think that makes it okay i'm me i'm wonderful because god don't make junk you and i need to accept the responsibility to make our thumb the best we can we are responsible for it when in the mission field we had a wonderful sister missionary a convert to the church from france who used to put notes on my desk to cheer me up one day i found this note i believe it is a hindu proverb there is nothing noble in being superior to some other man the true nobility is in being superior to your previous self president mckay at one of his last conference addresses gave this counsel to the youth of the church our body will not fulfill its purpose it cannot without that life giving something within which is the offspring of deity as eternal as your father in heaven that spirit within you young man young woman is the real you what you make of yourself depends upon you as an individual you're in this world to choose the right or the wrong to accept the right or yield to temptation and a quote what a wonderful and important responsibility each of us has for our own thumb to make it the very best thumb we can and to light that thumb one other thought i would share concerning your thumb is learning how to make the best use of it some people put their thumbs up this way and are only interested in what they can get for themselves what's in it for me is an expression we hear much too often someone has said the smallest package in all the world is someone who's all wrapped up in himself that isn't the way to use that thumb turn it over and use it as a thumb that shares use your thumb to make others lives happier and better dr albert schweitzer an exemplar of christian service shared this thought as he was addressing a graduating class i do not know where all of you are going and i certainly do not know what you will do with your lives but let me tell you simply this unless you set aside some portion of your lives to help and serve others less fortunate than yourself then your lives will not really be happy the savior has told us if we will lose ourselves we will find ourselves i encourage you to live to make good memories by liking yourself now for l number two many years ago i heard a statement that has been helpful to me i don't know i don't know who said it but i'm glad they did it goes like this wise men learn from experience but super wise men learn from others experience i'm going to say that once more and then i want you all to repeat it with me wise man learn from experience but super wise men learn from others experience here we go wise man learn from experience but super wise man learn from experience the second l is learn from others do you believe in that i certainly do what a great opportunity you and i have to learn and grow from the experience of others i will share a few thoughts from special people in my life which have been helpful to me and i hope will be to you one of the wisest men i have known in my life was wayne b hales he served for 41 years as a member of the faculty of the brigham young university he was an outstanding scientist effective administrator inspiring church leader and a devoted husband father and grandfather he served 18 years as a bishop and state president he was the first state president on the byu campus for married couples president bunker told me that he and his wife went to present hills for their interviews when they were preparing to go to the temple to be married brother hales and his wife bell were great contributors to the byu and left a marvelous legacy for all of us to me one of the most important contributions this couple made was to have a daughter named isabel when president hales was asked by one of his bishops to give what would be a good philosophy of life for his ward members he wrote a statement for the bishop i'm going to ask his daughter isabel if she will share with you this code for living from her father this is a simple code for living by wayne b hills you are the descendants of great and good forbearers you will be the ancestors of generations to come are you willing to live upon the glories of the past or are you going to make significant contributions to the beauty goodness and truth of the future that all depends on you how well you one develop and use the god-given talents with which you were born and give creative and enduring service to your god and your fellow man to honor and cherish the name and cherish the blood and the name which your parents gave to you and pass them on to your children untarnished by the sins of the generation through which you pass then the future will rise up and call you blessed and you will inherit an immortality which is real and of great worth thanks isabel i want to share with you some wise experience i received from two general authorities the first was from elder and sister longdon when they were touring our mission one day i was visiting with sister london she said you know every morning i'm awakened by elder london repeating out loud to himself the fourth section of the doctrine of covenants he usually does it while he's shaving or showering i wake up every morning listening to the fourth section i thought that was such a good idea that i went back to the mission office and we commenced repeating it every day as individuals in the mission office sister cannon and i then visited the missionaries in their digs and we started to do it throughout the mission as i was getting ready to live leave the mission i thought it had been so helpful to me every day to repeat the four section of the doctrine and covenants i would follow elder longden's example and continue it for the rest of my life this i am doing every day i say the fourth section to george cannon out loud i encourage you to try it it's a great way to start the day it takes 65 seconds to say it slowly and out loud with over 86 000 seconds in a day it does not take a lot of time out of a day i encourage you to make the scriptures a part of every day of your life now i want to share an experience with elder legrand richards that great missionary apostle who wrote the book a marvelous work and a wonder when he was a young man he took out several life insurance policies elder fitments from beneficial life uh when elder richards reached 96 we invited him to come over to the office because he had outlived the mortality table on his life insurance we brought him over and told him that according to our company he should no longer be alive he had outlived the mortality table and according to our company he was dead we gave him a check for the value of his insurance and told him he could we could no longer keep it he took the check and put it into missionary work there was a reporter from the newspaper she said to him elder richards what is it makes you so young elder richards at 96 was young he was young in heart mind and spirit even though some of his body was deteriorating he had to have some toes cut off because of a circulation program problem the story is told that when this happened he said i would much rather die from the bottom up than from the top down this indicates the vitality and humor of elder richards his response to the reporter's question was i have a verse i've used all my life which has been a help to me this is the way it goes for every worry under the sun there is a remedy or there is none if there is a remedy hurry and find it if there is none never mind it that is sound advice from a person who lived life to the fullest i'm sure if you'll live it you'll add 10 years to your life now i want to share some thoughts from two educators dr terrell h bell a leader in the church who served as the u.s commissioner of education gave a commencement address at edinboro state college in pennsylvania he suggested to the graduates that they consider answering 10 questions to determine if they were really educated i'm going to give you a test will you answer these questions in your own minds and benefit from the experience of a nationally recognized educator time will only permit asking you the questions i hope sometime you can study the entire address one do you have a sellable specialized skill you can use to earn a good living i think it's safe to say that the feeling of worth and dignity is most often obtained through one's work the self-respect and self-confidence so important to all of us usually are byproducts of career choice in my view many people take an unnecessarily circus and hazardous route to adulthood simply because they lack a strong commitment in this primary requisite two have you learned how to learn three do you have a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for learning four can you communicate five have you developed a clear set of standards and ideals to guide your life and daily living six have you learned how to disagree without being disagreeable do you have the maturity to have your views challenged without losing your cool have you rid yourself of prejudice with all of the diversity and plural pluralism of our free society we must be understanding and tolerant seven have you educated your feelings your spirit and your inner soul eight what is the state of your mental health nine are you economically literate ten do you know yourself can you control your appetites and passions now let me give you another test this comes from a professor in chicago who is reported to have given the following tests to his students he told them they were not really educated unless they could say yes to all these questions let's see how you do has your education given you sympathy with all good causes and made you espouse them has it made you public spirited has it made you a brother to the weak have you learned how to make friends and keep them do you know what it is to be a friend yourself can you look an honest man or a pure woman straight in the eye do you see anything to love in a little child will a lonely dog follow you down the street can you be high-minded and happy in the meaner drudgeries of life do you think washing dishes and hoeing corn just as compatible with high thinking as piano playing or golf are you good for anything to yourself can you be happy alone can you look out on the world and see anything but dollars and cents can you look into a mud puddle by the wayside and see anything in the puddle but mud can you look into the sky at night and see beyond the stars can your soul claim relationship with the creator i've always appreciated the statement of elder marian d hanks of the quorum of the seventy the most important things in life are not things finally i would share with you a bit of george cannon experience there is no free lunch if there's any magic to life it is learning how to work with all your heart might mind and strength work is a blessing and not a curse satan's philosophy is the one that can get something for nothing the lord's plan is men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and do many things of their own free will and bring to pass much righteousness for the power is in them wherein they are agents unto themselves as you continue to live to make good memories i hope you will be willing to learn each day from others now we come to the third l i would like to read a portion of the 21st section of the doctrine covenants it was a revelation given to all the members of the church on april the sixth eighteen thirty i shall commence with verse four wherefore meaning the church here the savior is talking to you and me because you and i are the church thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them walking in all holiness before me here the savior is talking about the prophet joseph smith and those who will follow him as prophets now comes the most meaningful statement for you and for me for his word ye shall receive as if for mine own mouth in all patience and faith i would like to read that sentence again adding a name for present ezra taft benson's word ye shall receive as if from mine own mouth in all patience and faith then the revelation records the blessings that the savior has promised to each of us if we will receive and follow the words of the prophet for by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you yea and the lord god will disperse the powers of darkness from before you and cause the heavens to shake for your good in his name's glory the third l i would like to share with you is to listen to the prophet and follow him this wonderful prophet who is 92 years old today although his voice has been somewhat stilled he continues as the lord's representative here on the earth i feel one of the reasons the lord is preserving president vincent's life is so that we might further study and ponder the important truths which is given to us that we might continue to strive to make them a part of our hearts and lives today i would like to have each of us think of five of the messages which you've received from president benson to help remember them i would like to look at the five fingers on your hand would you hold your hand up look at your five fingers as i discuss each one of these important messages i'd like you to relate it to the fingers of your hand and try to keep these messages in your mind each day first look at your thumb since the very day president benson became president of the church he has instructed us to read study ponder and apply daily the great truths which we have found in the book of mormon listen to his words we invite each member of the church to read daily from the book of mormon the book of mormon was written for us today god is the author of the book it was meant for us every latter-day saint should make a study of this book a lifetime pursuit i feel certain that if in our homes parents will read from the book of mormon prayerfully and regularly both by themselves and with their children the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein as you look at your thumb each day remember the words of president benson our prophet he wants us to make the book of mormon a part of our daily lives and to study it as a family now look at your index finger here is another important message which he has given we must cleanse the inner vessel as he said at conference as i sought direction from the lord i have had reaffirmed in my mind and heart the declaration of the lord to say nothing but repentance unto this generation the plaguing sin of this generation is sexual immorality this the prophet joseph said would be the source of more temptations more buffetings and more difficulties for the elders of israel than any other end of quote if we are to cleanse the inner vessel we must forsake immorality and be clean i believe every day you and i will be challenged to keep ourselves morally clean each of us must determine within ourselves where we are going to stand president hubie brown who served in the first presidency of the church said at a tri-state fireside of the byu in 1962 sometimes you wonder why the church leaders speak so often and frankly on the evils of unchastity now i tell you one reason we think that sexual immorality is one of the most serious of sins because by it a person is warring or fighting against himself it might be called individual civil war because no man can do wrong and feel right about it there's always something in him that protests and he's fighting against himself we don't want our young people nor the older ones to be guilty of things of which they themselves cannot approve end of quote dr harry a bowman a renowned expert on courtship and marriage says when all is said and done there's nothing gained from premarital adventure except immediate pleasure and that at a tremendous risk an exorbitant cost no really intelligent person will burn a cathedral to fry an egg even to satisfy a ravenous appetite president benson has also told us in cleansing the inner vessel we must be honest we must be persons of integrity he said an honorable man or woman is one who's truthful free from deceit from cheating from lying from stealing or any form of deception a man's character is judged on how he keeps his word i believe every day you and i will be challenged to keep ourselves morally clean and to be a person of integrity i believe the greatest temptations coming from satan are to destroy our integrity and our virtue every day we must make a determination what we will do and where we will stand i encourage you each morning as you say your prayers to ask your father in heaven to help you to keep yourself honest and clean then each night as you conclude the day with prayer give an accounting to him now look at your third finger what comes to your mind this is a subject president benson has emphasized often we must beware of pride in the scriptures he says there is no such thing as righteous pride it is always considered as a sin we are not speaking of a wholesome view of self-worth which is best established by a close relationship with god we were speaking of pride as the universal sin pride is characterized by what do i want out of life rather than by what would god have me do with my life it is the fear of man over the fear of god selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride he says another face of pride is contention the opposite of pride is humbleness meekness submissiveness and teachableness we can choose to humble ourselves by conquering bad feelings towards our brothers and sisters esteeming them as ourselves and lifting them as high or higher than we are now we come to the fourth message the fourth finger it is a heartwarming message of love president benson has asked us to be good shepherds he said we are aware of some who are inactive of others who've become critical and are prone to find fault and those who've been disfellowshipped or excommunicated because of serious transgressions to all such we reach out in love we are anxious to forgive in the spirit of him who said i the lord will forgive whom i will forgive but of you it is required to forgive all men we encourage church members to forgive those who may have wronged them to those who have ceased activity and to those who become critical say come back come back and feast at the table of the lord and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the saints end of quote president benson is asking us to truly be our brother's keeper let us pray ponder and decide on someone today we can invite to come back now we come to the final finger of our hand it makes our hand complete this final message from president benson is the foundation of the gospel he says the great commandment of life is to love the lord god our father jesus our elder brother and our redeemer and the holy ghost the testator are perfect they know us best and love us most and will not leave one thing undone for our eternal welfare should we not love them for it and honor them first are we striving to put the lord first and to please him i testify to you president benson says that god's pay is the best pay that this world or any other world knows anything about and it comes in full abundance only to those who love the lord and put him first my beloved friends i invite you to take time each day to look at your hand and contemplate these five inspired messages of our living prophet president benson these are messages for you and for me let us make them a part of our daily living i leave my testimony with you that president benson is the lord's mouthpiece upon the earth today how blessed we are to have a prophet to guide and direct us in these latter days let us listen to him and follow him i have one more l to share when president hinckley visited us in the philippines i was with him for several days he quoted many times verse 24 of section 50 of the doctrine covenants as he talked to the members and missionaries i said to president hinckley i've never really been aware of that scripture until hearing you quoted he said to me that sums up what the gospel is all about here is verse 24. that which is of god is light and he that receiveth light and continueth in god receiveth more light and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day the final l i would share with you is to live by the light of christ which is within each one of you in chapters eight and nine of third nephi we read of the terrible destruction which took place on this continent how the whole face of the land was changed that there was thick darkness that there could not be any light at all and the wicked were destroyed and then came a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth upon all the face of the land yea verily i say unto you if ye will come unto me shall have eternal life behold mine arm of mercy is extended towards you and whoever whosoever will come him will i receive and blessed are those who come unto me behold i am jesus christ the son of god i created the heavens and the earth and all things that in them are i was with the father from the beginning i am in the father and the father in me and in me hath the father glorified his name and as many as have received me to them have i given to become the sons of god and even so will i too as many as shall believe on my name for behold by me redemption cometh and in me is the law of moses fulfilled i am the light and the life of the world i am alpha and omega the beginning and the end when the savior appeared to the nephites after his resurrection he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people saying behold i am jesus christ whom the prophets testified shall come into the world and behold i am the light and the life of the world and i have drunk out of that bitter cup which the father hath given me and have glorified the father in taking upon me the sins of the world in the which i have suffered the will of the father in all things from the beginning i invite you to read again chapters 9 and the third nephi catch the spirit of the light which can come into your life what promises and blessings are in store for you if you will accept and follow the light of the savior and make him the center of your life i conclude the fourth l living by the light of christ with these words of the savior and if your eye be single to my glory your whole body shall be filled with light and there shall be no darkness in you and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things thanks for coming thanks for listening thanks for being you i hope you will live each day to make good memories by liking yourself learning from others listening to the prophet and living by the light of christ may you go forward making each day a good day live it the best you can today is as much a part of eternity as any day a thousand years ago or if any will be a thousand years from hence each day is part of your eternal life may you find happiness and joy in all you do as you live by truth i leave with you my witness that god lives jesus christ is our savior and if you will live by his teachings and follow him you can have eternal life and peace within you are a special generation chosen to help prepare for the second coming of our savior may the lord bless you and be with you each day is my prayer and i say it in the name of jesus christ amen you

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Published: Mon Sep 27 2021