WE ARE PLEASED TO HAVE ELDER
JEFFREY R. HOLLAND AS OUR DEVOTIONAL SPEAKER THIS MORNING. HE REQUESTED A VERY BRIEF
INTRODUCTION AND WANTS YOU TO KNOW THAT HE LOVES YOU. ELDER HOLLAND WAS ORDAINED A
MEMBER OF THE QUORUM OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES IN 1994. FROM 1980 UNTIL HIS CALLING IN
1989 TO THE QUORUM OF THE SEVENTY, ELDER HOLLAND SERVED AS BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY'S NINTH PRESIDENT. HE IS A FORMER CHURCH
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AND DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF RELIGIOUS
EDUCATION AT BYU. ELDER HOLLAND EARNED BOTH BACHELOR'S
AND MASTER'S DEGREES IN ENGLISH AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION,
RESPECTIVELY, FROM BYU AND MASTER'S AND DOCTORAL DEGREES IN
AMERICAN STUDIES FROM YALE UNIVERSITY. HE HAS BEEN HONORED WITH THE
TORCH OF LIBERTY AWARD BY THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE OF B'NAI
B'RITH, HAS SERVED ON THE GOVERNING BOARDS OF SEVERAL
CIVIC AND BUSINESS-RELATED CORPORATIONS, AND IS THE AUTHOR
OF EIGHT BOOKS. ELDER HOLLAND AND HIS WIFE, PATRICIA, HAVE 3 CHILDREN & 13 GRANDCHILDREN ONCE AGAIN, ELDER HOLLAND, WE
WELCOME YOU TO BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY AND WE WANT YOU TO KNOW WE ALL LOVE YOU TOO THANK YOU. YOU LOOK SO GOOD. SISTER HOLLAND WALKED IN AND SAID, "I THINK I'M GOING TO CRY." YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND GIVE YOURSELVES 20 YEARS OR 30 AND YOU WILL KNOW HOW WE FEEL TO COME BACK HERE. WE LOVE THIS CAMPUS. WE'RE THRILLED TO BE WITH YOU ON
IT AND WE LOVE YOU PERSONALLY WITH ALL OUR HEARTS. YOU HAVE HAD AND YOU WILL HAVE
AND YOU DO NOW HAVE BETTER UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS THAN I
WAS BUT, YOU'LL NEVER HAVE ONE WHO LOVES YOU AND LOVES THIS
UNIVERSITY MORE THAN I DO. THANK YOU FOR SERVING HERE. THANK YOU FOR BEING IN
ATTENDANCE ON A BRIGHT, CLEAR, JANUARY MORNING. WE ARE GRATEFUL TO PRESIDENT AND
SISTER SAMUELSON FOR THEIR KINDNESS TO US AND THEIR
LEADERSHIP OF THIS UNIVERSITY. WE ACTUALLY KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT
THEIR JOBS AND WHAT THEY ENTAIL. YOU AND WE ARE VERY VERY LUCKY TO
HAVE THEM AT THE HELM OF THIS SPECIAL SCHOOL, AND WE PRAISE
THEM PUBLICLY FOR THE TIME THEY SPEND, THE SUCCESS THEY ARE HAVING, AND THE STRENGTH THEY BRING. I LOVED EVERY WORD OF THEIR
COUNSEL TO YOU LAST WEEK, AND I PRAY THAT MY REMARKS TO YOU ARE CONSISTENT WITH THEIR MESSAGES ABOUT LIGHT, ABOUT TRUST, AND ABOUT
THE PRIVILEGE IT IS TO HAVE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST ENHANCE
OUR STUDY AT BYU. PRESIDENT AND SISTER SAMUELSON,
WE DO LOVE YOU. YOU HAVE OUR PRAYERS, OUR
GRATITUDE, AND OUR SUPPORT. THE START OF A NEW YEAR IS THE
TRADITIONAL TIME TO TAKE STOCK OF OUR LIVES AND SEE WHERE WE
ARE GOING MEASURED AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF WHERE WE HAVE BEEN. I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU
ABOUT NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS BECAUSE YOU ONLY MADE FIVE OF
THEM AND YOU HAVE ALREADY BROKEN FOUR. I GIVE THAT REMAINING ONE JUST
ANOTHER WEEK. BUT I DO WANT TO TALK TO YOU
TODAY ABOUT THE PAST AND THE FUTURE NOT SO MUCH IN TERMS OF
NEW YEAR'S COMMITMENTS PER SE, BUT MORE WITH AN EYE TOWARD ANY
TIME OF TRANSITION AND CHANGE, IN YOUR LIFE AND THOSE MOMENTS COME VIRTUALLY
EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES. AS A SCRIPTURAL THEME FOR THIS
DISCUSSION, I HAVE CHOSEN THE SECOND SHORTEST VERSE IN ALL OF
HOLY SCRIPTURE. I AM TOLD THAT THE SHORTEST
VERSE, A VERSE THAT EVERY MISSIONARY MEMORIZES AND HOLDS
READY IN CASE HE IS CALLED ON SPONTANEOUSLY IN A ZONE
CONFERENCE, IS JOHN 11:35, "JESUS WEPT." ELDERS, HERE IS A SECOND OPTION,
ANOTHER SHORTIE WHICH WILL DAZZLE YOUR MISSION PRESIDENT IN
CASE YOU ARE CALLED ON TWO ZONE CONFERENCES IN A ROW. IT IS LUKE 17:32, WHERE THE
SAVIOR CAUTIONS, "REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE." HMMM. WHAT DID HE MEAN BY SUCH AN
ENIGMATIC LITTLE PHRASE AS THAT? TO FIND OUT, I SUPPOSE WE NEED
TO DO AS HE SUGGESTED. LET'S RECALL WHO LOT'S WIFE WAS. THE ORIGINAL STORY, OF COURSE,
COMES TO US OUT OF THE DAYS OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH WHEN THE
LORD, HAVING HAD AS MUCH AS HE COULD STAND OF THE WORST THAT
MEN AND WOMEN COULD DO, TOLD LOT AND HIS FAMILY TO FLEE BECAUSE
THOSE CITIES WERE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED. "ESCAPE FOR THY LIFE," THE LORD
SAID, "LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE. ESCAPE TO THE MOUNTAIN, LEST
THOU BE CONSUMED." WITH LESS THAN IMMEDIATE
OBEDIENCE AND MORE THAN A LITTLE NEGOTIATION, LOT AND HIS FAMILY
ULTIMATELY DID LEAVE TOWN BUT JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME. AT DAYBREAK THE MORNING
FOLLOWING THEIR ESCAPE IT SAYS, "THE LORD RAINED UPON SODOM AND
UPON GOMORRAH BRIMSTONE AND FIRE FROM THE LORD OUT OF HEAVEN; AND
HE OVERTHREW THOSE CITIES." THEN OUR THEME TODAY COMES IN
THE NEXT VERSE. SURELY WITH THE LORD'S COUNSEL
"LOOK NOT BEHIND THEE" RINGING CLEARLY IN HER EARS, LOT'S WIFE,
THE RECORD SAYS, "LOOKED BACK," AND SHE WAS TURNED TO A PILLAR
OF SALT. IN THE TIME WE HAVE THIS
MORNING, I AM NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE SINS OF SODOM AND
GOMORRAH, NOR OF THE COMPARISON THE LORD HIMSELF HAS MADE TO
THOSE DAYS AND OUR OWN TIME. I'M NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT
OBEDIENCE AND DISOBEDIENCE. I JUST WANT TO TALK TO YOU FOR A
FEW MINUTES ABOUT LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING AHEAD. ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF HISTORY
IS TO TEACH US THE LESSONS OF LIFE. GEORGE SANTAYANA, WHO SHOULD BE
MORE WIDELY READ THAN HE IS ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS, IS BEST KNOWN
FOR SAYING THAT THOSE WHO DISREGARD THE LESSONS OF HISTORY
ARE DESTINED, SADLY, TO REPEAT THEM. SO, IF HISTORY IS THIS
IMPORTANT -- AND IT SURELY IS -- WHAT DID LOT'S WIFE DO THAT WAS
SO WRONG? AS SOMETHING OF A STUDENT OF
HISTORY, I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND OFFER THIS AS A PARTIAL
ANSWER. APPARENTLY WHAT WAS WRONG WITH
LOT'S WIFE IS THAT SHE WASN'T JUST LOOKING BACK, BUT THAT IN
HER HEART SHE WANTED TO GO BACK. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT EVEN BEFORE
THEY WERE PAST THE CITY LIMITS, SHE WAS ALREADY MISSING WHAT
SODOM AND GOMORRAH HAD OFFERED HER. AS ELDER MAXWELL ONCE SAID, SUCH
PEOPLE KNOW THEY SHOULD HAVE THEIR PRIMARY RESIDENCE IN ZION
BUT THEY STILL HOPE TO KEEP A SUMMER COTTAGE IN BABYLON. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT LOT'S WIFE
LOOKED BACK WITH RESENTMENT TOWARD THE LORD FOR WHAT HE WAS
ASKING HER TO LEAVE BEHIND. WE CERTAINLY KNOW THAT LAMAN AND
LEMUEL DID WHEN LEHI AND HIS FAMILY WERE COMMANDED TO LEAVE
JERUSALEM. SO IT ISN'T JUST THAT SHE LOOKED
BACK; SHE LOOKED BACK LONGINGLY. IN SHORT, HER ATTACHMENT TO THE
PAST OUTWEIGHED HER CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE. THAT, APPARENTLY, WAS AT LEAST
PART OF HER SIN. SO, AS A NEW YEAR STARTS AND WE
TRY TO BENEFIT FROM A PROPER VIEW OF WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE, I
PLEAD WITH YOU NOT TO DWELL ON DAYS NOW GONE, NOR TO YEARN
VAINLY FOR YESTERDAY, HOWEVER GOOD THOSE YESTERDAYS MAY HAVE
BEEN. THE PAST IS TO BE LEARNED FROM
BUT NOT LIVED IN. WE LOOK BACK TO CLAIM THE EMBERS
FROM GLOWING EXPERIENCES BUT NOT THE ASHES. AND WHEN WE HAVE LEARNED WHAT WE
NEED TO LEARN AND HAVE BROUGHT WITH US THE BEST THAT WE
EXPERIENCED, THEN WE LOOK AHEAD; WE REMEMBER THAT FAITH IS ALWAYS
POINTED TOWARD THE FUTURE. FAITH ALWAYS HAS TO DO WITH
BLESSINGS AND TRUTHS AND EVENTS THAT WILL YET BE EFFICACIOUS IN
OUR LIVES. SO A MORE THEOLOGICAL WAY TO
TALK ABOUT LOT'S WIFE IS TO SAY SHE DID NOT HAVE FAITH. SHE DOUBTED THE LORD'S ABILITY
TO GIVE HER SOMETHING BETTER THAN SHE HAD. APPARENTLY, FATALLY AS IT TURNED
OUT, SHE THOUGHT THAT NOTHING THAT LAY AHEAD COULD POSSIBLY BE
AS GOOD AS THOSE MOMENTS SHE WAS LEAVING BEHIND. IT IS HERE AT THIS MOMENT IN THIS WHOLE
STORY THAT WE WISH LOT'S WIFE HAD BEEN A STUDENT AT BYU
ENROLLED IN A FRESHMAN ENGLISH CLASS BECAUSE, WITH ANY LUCK, SHE
MIGHT HAVE READ, AS I DID, THIS VERSE FROM EDWIN ARLINGTON
ROBINSON: TO YEARN TO GO BACK TO A WORLD
THAT CANNOT BE LIVED IN NOW; TO BE PERENNIALLY DISSATISFIED WITH
PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES AND HAVE ONLY DISMAL VIEWS OF THE FUTURE;
TO MISS THE HERE-AND-NOW-AND-TOMORROW
BECAUSE WE ARE SO TRAPPED IN THE THERE-AND-THEN-AND-YESTERDAY,
THESE ARE SOME OF THE SINS, IF WE MAY CALL THEM THAT, OF BOTH
LOT'S WIFE AND OLD MR. CHEEVY. NOW, AS A PASSING COMMENT, I
DON'T KNOW WHETHER LOT'S WIFE, LIKE MINIVER, WAS A DRINKER, BUT
IF SHE WAS, SHE CERTAINLY ENDED UP WITH PLENTY OF SALT FOR HER
PRETZELS. ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE
NEW TESTAMENT IS PAUL'S TOO-SELDOM READ LETTER TO THE
PHILIPPIANS. AFTER REVIEWING THE VERY
PRIVILEGED AND REWARDING LIFE OF HIS EARLY YEARS -- HIS
BIRTHRIGHT, HIS EDUCATION, HIS STANDING IN THE JEWISH
COMMUNITY -- PAUL SAYS ALL OF THAT WAS NOTHING -- "DUNG" HE
CALLS IT -- COMPARED TO HIS CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY. HE SAYS -- AND I PARAPHRASE - "I
HAVE STOPPED RHAPSODIZING ABOUT 'THE GOOD OLD DAYS' AND NOW
EAGERLY LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE 'THAT I MAY APPREHEND THAT FOR
WHICH CHRIST APPREHENDED ME.'" THEN THIS VERSE. NOTE IT ON THE SCREEN. NO LOT'S WIFE HERE. NO LOOKING BACK AT SODOM AND
GOMORRAH HERE. PAUL KNOWS IT IS OUT THERE IN
THE FUTURE, UP AHEAD WHEREVER HEAVEN IS TAKING US THAT WE WILL
WIN "THE PRIZE OF THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS." AT THIS POINT LET ME SORT OF
PAUSE TO ADD A LESSON THAT APPLIES BOTH IN YOUR OWN LIFE
AND ALSO IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS. THERE IS SOMETHING IN US, AT
LEAST IN TOO MANY OF US, THAT PARTICULARLY FAILS TO FORGIVE
AND FORGET EARLIER MISTAKES IN LIFE. EITHER MISTAKES WE
OURSELVES HAVE MADE OR THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS. THAT IS NOT GOOD. IT IS NOT CHRISTIAN. IT STANDS IN TERRIBLE OPPOSITION
TO THE GRANDEUR AND MAJESTY OF THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST. TO BE TIED TO EARLIER
MISTAKES -- OUR OWN OR OTHER PEOPLES -- IS THE WORST KIND OF
WALLOWING IN THE PAST FROM WHICH WE ARE CALLED TO CEASE AND
DESIST. I WAS TOLD ONCE MANY YEARS AGO
OF A YOUNG MAN WHO FOR MANY YEARS WAS MORE OR LESS THE BRUNT
OF EVERY JOKE IN HIS SCHOOL. HE HAD SOME DISADVANTAGES AND IT
WAS EASY FOR HIS PEERS TO TEASE HIM. LATER IN HIS LIFE HE MOVED AWAY
FROM HIS COMMUNITY. HE EVENTUALLY JOINED THE ARMY
AND THAT LED TO SOME SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES THERE IN GETTING AN
EDUCATION AND GENERALLY STEPPING AWAY FROM HIS PAST. ABOVE ALL, AS MANY IN THE
MILITARY DO, HE DISCOVERED THE BEAUTY AND MAJESTY OF THE
CHURCH, AND BECAME VERY ACTIVE AND VERY HAPPY IN IT. THEN, AFTER SEVERAL YEARS HE
CAME BACK TO THE TOWN OF HIS YOUTH. MOST OF HIS GENERATION HAD MOVED
ON, BUT NOT ALL. APPARENTLY WHEN HE RETURNED
QUITE SUCCESSFUL AND QUITE REBORN, THE SAME OLD MINDSET
THAT HAD EXISTED BEFORE WAS STILL THERE WAITING FOR HIS
RETURN. HE WAS STILL JUST TO THEM OLD
"SO AND SO," YOU REMEMBER THE GUY WHO HAD THIS PROBLEM, THAT
IDIOSYNCRASY AND THIS QUIRKY NATURE, AND DID SUCH AND SUCH AND SUCH AND SUCH, AND
WASN'T IT ALL JUST HILARIOUS. WELL, YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED? SURELY YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. LITTLE BY LITTLE THIS MAN'S
PAUL-LIKE EFFORT TO LEAVE THAT WHICH WAS BEHIND AND GRASP THE
PRIZE WHICH GOD LAY BEFORE HIM HE WAS GRADUALLY TAKEN AWAY FROM
THAT, DIMINISHED UNTIL HE DIED ABOUT THE WAY HE HAD LIVED IN HIS YOUTH, IT KIND OF CAME FULL CIRCLE, INACTIVE,
UNHAPPY, THE BRUNT OF A NEW GENERATION OF JOKES. YET HE HAD HAD THAT ONE BRIGHT,
BEAUTIFUL MID-LIFE MOMENT, AN EXCEPTION WHEN HE HAD BEEN ABLE TO RISE
ABOVE HIS PAST AND TRULY SEE WHO HE WAS AND WHAT HE COULD BECOME. TOO BAD, TOO SAD, HE WAS AGAIN
TO BE SURROUNDED BY A WHOLE BATCH OF LOT'S WIVES, THOSE WHO
THOUGHT HIS PAST WAS MORE INTERESTING THAN HIS FUTURE. YES, THEY MANAGED TO RIP OUT OF
HIS GRASP THAT FOR WHICH CHRIST HAD GRASPED HIM. AND HE DIED EVEN MORE SADLY THAN
MINIVER CHEEVY, THOUGH AS FAR AS I KNOW THE STORY, THROUGH
ABSOLUTELY NO FAULT OF HIS OWN. THAT HAPPENS IN MARRIAGES, TOO,
AND IN THE OTHER RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE. I CAN'T TELL YOU THE NUMBER OF
COUPLES I HAVE COUNSELED WHO, WHEN THEY ARE DEEPLY HURT OR
EVEN JUST DEEPLY STRESSED, REACH FARTHER AND FARTHER INTO THE
PAST TO FIND YET A BIGGER BRICK TO THROW THROUGH THE WINDOW
"PAIN" OF THEIR MARRIAGE. SPELLED P-A-I-N. WHEN SOMETHING IS OVER AND DONE
WITH, WHEN IT HAS BEEN REPENTED OF AS FULLY AS IT CAN BE
REPENTED OF, WHEN LIFE HAS MOVED ON AS IT SHOULD AND A LOT OF
OTHER WONDERFULLY GOOD THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THEN, IT IS
NOT RIGHT TO GO BACK AND OPEN UP SOME ANCIENT WOUND WHICH THE SON
OF GOD HIMSELF DIED TRYING TO HEAL. LET PEOPLE REPENT. LET PEOPLE GROW. BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE CAN CHANGE,
AND IMPROVE. IS THAT FAITH? YES! IS THAT HOPE? YES! IS IT CHARITY? YES! ABOVE ALL IT IS CHARITY, THE
PURE LOVE OF CHRIST. IF SOMETHING IS BURIED IN THE
PAST, LEAVE IT BURIED. DON'T KEEP GOING BACK WITH YOUR
LITTLE SAND PAIL AND BEACH SHOVEL TO DIG IT UP, WAVE IT
AROUND, AND THEN THROW IT AT SOMEONE. SAYING, "HEY! DO YOU REMEMBER THIS?" SPLAT! WELL, GUESS WHAT? THAT IS PROBABLY GOING TO RESULT
IN SOME UGLY MORSEL BEING DUG UP OUT OF YOUR LANDFILL WITH THE
REPLY, "YEAH, I REMEMBER IT. DO YOU REMEMBER THIS?" SPLAT. AND SOON ENOUGH EVERYONE COMES
OUT OF THAT EXCHANGE DIRTY AND MUDDY AND UNHAPPY AND HURT, WHEN
WHAT GOD OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN PLEADS FOR IS CLEANLINESS AND
KINDNESS AND HAPPINESS AND HEALING. SUCH DWELLING ON PAST LIVES,
INCLUDING PAST MISTAKES, IS JUST NOT RIGHT! IT IS NOT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS
CHRIST. IT IS WORSE THAN MINIVER CHEEVY
AND IN SOME WAYS, WORSE THAN LOT'S WIFE, BECAUSE AT LEAST
THERE HE AND SHE WERE ONLY DESTROYING THEMSELVES. IN THESE CASES OF MARRIAGE AND
FAMILY, AND WARDS AND APARTMENTS AND NEIGHBORHOODS, WE CAN END UP
DESTROYING SO MANY, MANY OTHERS. PERHAPS AT THIS BEGINNING OF A
NEW YEAR THERE IS NO GREATER REQUIREMENT FOR US THAN TO DO AS
THE LORD HIMSELF SAID HE DOES. AND I QUOTE: "BEHOLD, HE WHO HAS REPENTED OF
HIS SINS, THE SAME IS FORGIVEN, AND I, THE LORD, REMEMBER THEM
NO MORE." THE PROVISION, OF COURSE, IS
THAT REPENTANCE HAS TO BE SINCERE, BUT WHEN IT IS AND WHEN
HONEST EFFORT IS BEING MADE TO PROGRESS, WE ARE GUILTY OF THE
GREATER SIN IF WE KEEP REMEMBERING AND RECALLING AND
REBASHING SOMEONE WITH THEIR EARLIER MISTAKES, AND THAT
"SOMEONE" MIGHT BE OURSELVES. WE CAN BE SO HARD ON OURSELVES,
OFTEN MUCH MORE SO THAN WITH OTHERS. NOW LIKE THE ANTI-NEPHI-LEHIES OF
THE BOOK OF MORMON, BURY YOUR WEAPONS OF WAR, AND LEAVE THEM
BURIED. FORGIVE, AND DO THAT WHICH IS
HARDER THAN TO FORGIVE. FORGET. AND WHEN IT COMES TO MIND,
FORGET IT AGAIN. YOU CAN REMEMBER JUST ENOUGH TO
AVOID REPEATING THE MISTAKE, BUT THEN PUT THE REST OF ALL OF IT ON THE DUNG HEAP PAUL SPOKE OF TO THOSE PHILIPPIANS. DISMISS THE DESTRUCTIVE AND KEEP
DISMISSING IT, UNTIL THE BEAUTY OF THE ATONEMENT OF CHRIST HAS
REVEALED TO YOU YOUR BRIGHT FUTURE, AND THE BRIGHT FUTURE OF YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR FRIENDS AND YOUR NEIGHBORS. GOD DOESN'T CARE NEARLY AS MUCH
ABOUT WHERE YOU HAVE BEEN AS HE DOES ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE, AND
WITH HIS HELP, WHERE YOU ARE WILLING TO GO. THAT IS THE THING LOT'S WIFE
DIDN'T GET. NOR LAMAN AND LEMUEL AND A HOST
OF OTHERS IN THE SCRIPTURES. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT MATTER TO
CONSIDER AT THE START OF A NEW YEAR, AND EVERY DAY OUGHT TO BE
THE START OF A NEW YEAR AND A NEW LIFE. SUCH IS THE WONDER OF FAITH AND
REPENTANCE AND THE MIRACLES OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. WE STARTED THIS HOUR WITH A
LITTLE VERSE REMEMBERED FROM ONE OF MY BYU ENGLISH CLASSES. MAY I MOVE TOWARD A CLOSE WITH A
FEW LINES FROM ANOTHER FAVORITE POET WHOM I PROBABLY MET IN THAT
SAME CLASS OR ONE SIMILAR TO IT. FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BYU
STUDENTS IN THE NEW YEAR OF 2009, ROBERT BROWNING WROTE: SISTER HOLLAND AND I WERE
MARRIED ABOUT THE TIME BOTH OF US WERE READING POEMS LIKE THAT
IN BYU CLASSROOMS. WE WERE AS STAR STRUCK -- AND AS
FEARFUL -- AS MOST OF YOU ARE AT THESE AGES AND STAGES OF LIFE. WE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY. ZERO. FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS NEITHER
OF OUR FAMILIES WERE ABLE TO HELP FINANCE OUR EDUCATION. WE HAD A SMALL APARTMENT JUST
SOUTH OF CAMPUS, THE SMALLEST WE COULD FIND, TWO BEDROOMS AND A HALF BATH. WE WERE BOTH WORKING TOO MANY
HOURS TRYING TO STAY AFLOAT FINANCIALLY, BUT WE HAD NO OTHER
CHOICE. I REMEMBER ONE FALL DAY -- I
THINK IT WAS IN THE FIRST SEMESTER AFTER OUR MARRIAGE IN
1963 -- WE WERE WALKING TOGETHER UP THE HILL PAST THE MAESER BUILDING ON
THE SIDEWALK THAT LED UP BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT'S HOME AND THE
BRIMHALL BUILDING. SOMEWHERE ON THAT PATH WE PAUSED, STOPPED AND WONDERED WHAT WE HAD GOTTEN OURSELVES INTO. LIFE THAT DAY SEEMED
SO OVERWHELMING, AND THE UNDERGRADUATE PLUS GRADUATE
YEARS WE STILL ANTICIPATED BEFORE US SEEMED MONUMENTAL, NEARLY
INSURMOUNTABLE. OUR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER AND OUR
COMMITMENT TO THE GOSPEL WERE STRONG, BUT MOST OF THE OTHER TEMPORAL THINGS AROUND US SEEMED PARTICULARLY OMINOUS. ON A SPOT WHICH I COULD PROBABLY
STILL MARK FOR YOU TODAY, I TURNED TO PAT AND SAID SOMETHING
LIKE THIS, "HONEY, SHOULD WE GIVE UP? I CAN GET A GOOD JOB AND CARVE
OUT A GOOD LIVING FOR US. I CAN DO SOME THINGS. I'LL BE OKAY WITHOUT A DEGREE. SHOULD WE STOP TRYING TO TACKLE
WHAT RIGHT NOW SEEMS SO DIFFICULT TO FACE?" IN MY BEST REENACTMENT OF LOT'S
WIFE I SAID, IN EFFECT, "LET'S GO BACK. LET'S GO HOME. THE FUTURE HOLDS NOTHING FOR
US." THEN MY BELOVED LITTLE BRIDE DID
WHAT SHE HAS DONE FOR 45 YEARS SINCE THEN. SHE GRABBED ME BY THE LAPELS AND
SAID, "WE ARE NOT GOING BACK. WE ARE NOT GOING HOME. THE FUTURE HOLDS EVERYTHING
FOR US." SHE STOOD THERE IN THE SUNLIGHT
THAT DAY AND GAVE ME A REAL TALK. I DON'T RECALL THAT SHE QUOTED
PAUL, BUT THERE WAS CERTAINLY PLENTY IN HER VOICE THAT SAID
SHE WAS COMMITTED TO SETTING ASIDE ALL THAT WAS PAST IN ORDER
TO PRESS TOWARD AND SEIZE " THE PRIZE OF GOD" THAT LAY YET
AHEAD. IT WAS A LIVING DEMONSTRATION OF
FAITH. IT WAS "THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS
HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN. SO WE LAUGHED, KEPT WALKING, AND
FINISHED UP SHARING A ROOT-BEER, ONE GLASS, TWO STRAWS, AT THE
THEN NEWLY CONSTRUCTED WILKINSON CENTER. TWENTY YEARS LATER I WOULD ON
OCCASION, LOOK OUT OF THE WINDOW OF THE PRESIDENT'S HOME ACROSS
THE STREET FROM THAT BRIMHALL BUILDING AND PICTURE THERE ON
THE SIDEWALK TWO NEWLY WED BYU STUDENTS DOWN ON THEIR MONEY
AND DOWN EVEN MORE ON THEIR CONFIDENCE. AND AS I WOULD GAZE OUT THAT WINDOW
USUALLY AT NIGHT, I WOULD OCCASIONALLY SEE NOT PAT
AND JEFF HOLLAND BUT YOU WHO WERE WALKING THAT SAME
SIDEWALK. I WOULD SEE YOU SOMETIMES AT
COUPLES, SOMETIMES AS A GROUP OF FRIENDS, SOMETIMES JUST A LONE
STUDENT. BUT I KNEW SOMETHING OF WHAT YOU WERE FEELING AND SOME OF THE THOUGHTS THAT YOU WERE HAVING THOUGHTS LIKE IS THERE ANY
FUTURE FOR ME? WHAT DOES A NEW YEAR OR A NEW
SEMESTER OR A NEW MAJOR OR A NEW ROMANCE HOLD FOR ME? WILL I BE SAFE? WILL LIFE BE SOUND? CAN I TRUST IN THE LORD AND IN
THE FUTURE? OR WOULD IT BE BETTER, YOU MIGHT
BE ASKING, WOULD IT BE BETTER TO GO BACK, GO HOME WITH LOT'S WIFE? TO ALL SUCH OF EVERY GENERATION
I CALL OUT, "YOU REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE." FAITH IS FOR THE FUTURE. FAITH BUILDS ON THE PAST BUT
NEVER LONGS TO STAY THERE. FAITH TRUSTS THAT GOD HAS GREAT
THINGS IN STORE FOR EACH OF US AND THAT CHRIST TRULY IS THE
"HIGH PRIEST OF GOOD THINGS TO COME." MY YOUNG BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
I PRAY YOU WILL HAVE A WONDERFUL SEMESTER, A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR, A
WONDERFUL LIFE ALL FILLED WITH FAITH AND HOPE AND CHARITY. KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR DREAMS,
HOWEVER DISTANT AND FAR AWAY, LIVE TO SEE THE MIRACLES OF
REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS. OF TRUST AND DIVINE LOVE THAT
WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE TODAY, TOMORROW AND FOREVER. THAT IS A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION
I ASK YOU TO KEEP AND I LEAVE A BLESSING ON YOU EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, TO BE ABLE TO DO SO, AND BE THAT HAPPY. IN THE NAME OF HIM WHO MAKES ALL OF THAT POSSIBLE, EVEN THE LORD, JESUS CHRIST. AMEN.
That was a good talk. Thanks for sharing.
I wish I had found this earlier while going through an ending of a relationship. So powerful!!!