Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget.

Given on Sunday, 26 May 2013

Memorial Day is a significant holiday. In many areas outside of California, it marks the beginning of the summer season. We enjoy the time off from work, the barbecuing, and the time with family and friends.

But an important part of Memorial Day is memory: remembering. We should remember the sacrifices that were made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have.

I see many vehicles with the inscription: “In memory of Joe Doakes,” or some other individual. I often wonder if it is the window or the whole vehicle that is dedicated to their memory, and if they treat the car differently because of that.

To me, Memorial Day is also a time to remember our kindred dead. Many of them paid a great price to come to this land of promise and of freedom.

The Lord told the brother of Jared: “Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God.  And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off” (Ether 2:12, 10).

Sometime later, he stated through Lehi: “Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring.  And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever” (2 Nephi 1:7).

There are both blessings and curses associated with living in the Promised Land. How do we qualify for the blessings and avoid the curses? The name of tomorrow’s holiday gives us a clue: we must remember. It is up to us to avoid spiritual senility, and we can help each other.

Helaman counseled his sons: “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12).

What is it we should remember? First of all, we should remember why we are here in the first place. I don’t mean why we are here in church today, but why we are here on earth. We need to remember our Heavenly Father’s plan.

In Revelation 12, we gain an understanding of why we are here. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

“And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:7 – 9, 11; italics are mine).

 These verses describe the war in heaven, which is not unlike many of the battles we are fighting today. How were Satan and his followers defeated? Look at verse 11 again: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” So we see that he was beaten through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, through the power of our testimonies, and through our sacrifice.

We must remember the Atonement of our Savior. This is absolutely critical to our salvation. That is the main reason we meet here each Sunday. If you pay close attention to the sacrament prayers, you will note each week that we “eat in remembrance of the body of [the] Son,” and drink “in remembrance of the blood of [the] Son, which was shed for [us]” (D&C 20:77, 79; italics are mine). So we are gathered to remember the Savior’s sacrifice for us.

In addition, in each of the prayers, we covenant to “always remember him.” When the bread is blessed, we covenant to keep his commandments, and when the water is blessed, we are promised the presence of his Spirit. This is also very important to us.

If we do not attend our sacrament meetings frequently, it becomes easy for us to forget what the Savior has done for us. When we forget, it is easy for us to fall into the traps of Satan.

If you ponder the covenants contained in the sacrament prayers, the significance of the promise of the companionship Holy Ghost may strike you.

Christ taught his apostles this important truth: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).

This is a great twofold blessing. Not only does the Savior promise that the Holy Ghost will teach us all things, but he will also bring all things to our remembrance. As we get older, this doctrine becomes more and more comforting.

The key to this remembering that brings and maintains testimony is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion. It is the Holy Ghost who helps us see what God has done for us. It is the Holy Ghost who can help those we serve to see what God has done for them.

Now if we always remember the Savior, and always keep his commandments, and have his Spirit to be with us, as we partake of the sacrament and then live our lives throughout the coming week, doesn’t it follow that it will be much easier for us to keep our foundation on the rock of our Redeemer? When the storms howl around us as they did in Oklahoma this week; when the ground shakes as it did in Northern California; when the hail and mighty rains beat upon us as it did in San Antonio yesterday, we will be able to withstand all of this and remain true and faithful to our covenants.

If we forget, we may be swept away.

Now we have some brand new graduates here today, and we congratulate each of you, and also who will graduate in the coming weeks. That is an important accomplishment.

While you progressed through school, you learned (or at least filled your minds) with many things. If I were to ask one (or all) of you to come and share some familiar concepts, could you do it? And you not-so-recent grads can ask yourself the same question.

Let’s start with the Pythagorean Theorem. Do you still remember it?

How about the quadratic equation?

Dangling participles?

Avogadro’s number?

The Krebs cycle?

Punnett’s squares?

I could go on, but I will spare you on that count. My point is, these are probably familiar to you, but because you no longer study them, you might struggle a little to explain them. If we reviewed, you would have an “Oh, yeah” moment, and your memory would be refreshed. When we say “use it or lose it,” it refers to your brain, too.

The truths of the gospel are much the same. If I asked one of you to explain the plan of salvation in 500 words or less, could you do it? Could you explain the Atonement of Jesus Christ? The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood?

More important than explaining, though, is testifying. Can you testify with conviction of the plan of salvation, the Atonement, the power of the priesthood? Can you testify of the gift of the Holy Ghost?

Alma posed a related question in chapter 5: “And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God?  Have ye received his image in your countenances?  Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

“Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you?

“And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?”(Alma 5:14 – 15, 26). What happened yesterday is not enough. We need to continue to feel the Spirit today!

Each of us is here because we have felt the Spirit in our lives, and received a witness that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. Are you doing all you can to maintain that testimony? Just as you may have forgotten the ins and outs of the Pythagorean Theorem, you forget your testimony if you do not nourish it.

Alma spoke of an experiment: “Now, we will compare the word unto a seed.  Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

“Now behold, would not this increase your faith?  I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.

“But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow.  And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith?  Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.

“And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed?  I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.

“Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away.

“And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.

“And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect?  Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand”

(Alma 32:28 - 34). But pay attention to what he says next: “And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us.  And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.

“But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.

“Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

“And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.

“But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.

“And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst” (Alma 32:37 - 42).

If we do not nourish the tree, it will die. This doesn’t mean it was a bad tree; it means that we didn’t take care of it. If I neglect my testimony, it doesn’t mean that the church isn’t true; it means that I was careless in my discipleship.

So I must remember to take care of my testimony. I must continue to nourish it by feasting upon the word of Christ. I nourish my testimony by praying in faith for a continued witness that the church is true, and for the strength to endure to the end. I nourish my testimony by attending my meetings and renewing my covenants. I nourish my testimony by remembering to take care of it.

Saying “I’ve read the Book of Mormon once; I don’t need to read it again” makes as much sense as saying “I had dinner once; I don’t need to eat again.” You just wouldn’t do that.

Finally, we need to remember to serve. That is a topic for another Sunday. Service keeps things in perspective. It helps us to be thankful for what we have received, and it strengthens our love for one another. The service we give should be a sacrifice. In doing so, we are a greater blessing to our brothers and sisters.

One way we serve and nourish our testimonies is to share them with our friends and neighbors. If you are not sure of how to do that, “ask the missionaries; they can help you.”

I close with the words of King Benjamin to his people: “And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.

“But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish.  And now, O man [and woman], remember, and perish not” (Mosiah 4:29 - 30).

I pray that we will always remember to build on the rock of our Redeemer. I pray that we will always remember him, and that we will remember his Atonement and our own testimonies.

I testify to you that this is God’s work. He lives and loves us. May we never forget this.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.