That We Might "Not Shrink" (D&C 19:18
David A. Bednar
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
CES Devotional for Young Adults • March 3, 2013 • University of Texas Arlington
I
am grateful to participate in this devotional with young people of the
Church from all over the world. I love you and appreciate this
opportunity to worship together.
Susan
has spoken and testified of important principles, and each of us will
be blessed and strengthened as we apply consistently her teachings in
our daily lives. Susan is a righteous woman, an elect lady, and the love
of my life.
I
have pondered and earnestly petitioned our Heavenly Father to know how I
might best be able to serve you tonight. I pray the power of the Holy Ghost
will be with each of us—that we may think what we need to think, feel
what we need to feel, and learn what we need to learn so we can do what
we know we should do and ultimately become what the Lord yearns for us
to become.
A Devoted Disciple and an Example of Not Shrinking
Elder Neal A. Maxwell was a beloved disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for 23
years, from 1981 to 2004. The spiritual power of his teachings and his
example of faithful discipleship blessed and continue to bless in
marvelous ways the members of the Savior’s restored Church and the
people of the world.
In
October of 1997, Sister Bednar and I hosted Elder and Sister Maxwell at
Brigham Young University–Idaho. Elder Maxwell was to speak to the
students, staff, and faculty in a devotional assembly. Everyone on the
campus eagerly anticipated his visit to the university and earnestly
prepared to receive his message.
Earlier
in that same year, Elder Maxwell underwent 46 days and nights of
debilitating chemotherapy for leukemia. Shortly after completing his
treatments and being released from the hospital, he spoke briefly in the
April general conference of the Church. His rehabilitation and
continued therapy progressed positively through the spring and summer
months, but Elder Maxwell’s physical strength and stamina were
nonetheless limited when he traveled to Rexburg. After greeting Elder
and Sister Maxwell at the airport, Susan and I drove them to our home
for rest and a light lunch before the devotional.
During
the course of our conversations that day, I asked Elder Maxwell what
lessons he had learned through his illness. I will remember always the
precise and penetrating answer he gave. “Dave,” he said, “I have learned
that not shrinking is more important than surviving.”
His
response to my inquiry was a principle with which he had gained
extensive personal experience during his chemotherapy. As Elder Maxwell
and his wife were driving to the hospital in January of 1997, on the day
he was scheduled to begin his first round of treatment, they pulled
into the parking lot and paused for a private moment together. Elder
Maxwell “breathed a deep sigh and looked at [his wife]. He reached for
her hand and said … , ‘I just don’t want to shrink’” (Bruce C. Hafen, A Disciple’s Life: The Biography of Neal A. Maxwell [2002], 16).
In
his October 1997 general conference message, entitled “Apply the
Atoning Blood of Christ,” Elder Maxwell taught with great authenticity:
“As we confront our own … trials and tribulations, we too can plead with
the Father, just as Jesus did, that we ‘might not … shrink’—meaning to
retreat or to recoil (D&C 19:18).
Not shrinking is much more important than surviving! Moreover,
partaking of a bitter cup without becoming bitter is likewise part of
the emulation of Jesus” (Ensign, Nov. 1997, 22).
Elder
Maxwell’s answer to my question caused me to reflect on the teachings
of Elder Orson F. Whitney, who also served as a member of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we
experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development
of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that
we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure patiently,
builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and
makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the
children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and
tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire”
(quoted in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 98).
And
these scriptures concerning the Savior’s suffering as He offered the
infinite and eternal atoning sacrifice became even more poignant and
meaningful to me:
“Therefore
I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my
mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how
sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear
you know not.
“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
“But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
“Which
suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble
because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and
spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
“Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men” (D&C19:15–19).
The Savior did not shrink in Gethsemane or on Golgotha.
Elder
Maxwell also did not shrink. This mighty Apostle pressed forward
steadfastly and was blessed with additional time in mortality to love,
to serve, to teach, and to testify. Those concluding years of his life
were an emphatic exclamation point to his example of devoted
discipleship—through both his words and his deeds.
I
believe most of us likely would expect a man with the spiritual
capacity, experience, and stature of Elder Maxwell to face serious
illness and death with an understanding of God’s plan of happiness, with
assurance and grace, and with dignity. And he surely did. But my
purpose today is to bear witness that such blessings are not reserved
exclusively for General Authorities or for a select few members of the
Church.
Since
my call to fill the vacancy in the Quorum of the Twelve created by the
death of Elder Maxwell, my assignments and travels have enabled me to
become acquainted with faithful, courageous, and valiant Latter-day
Saints all over the world. I want to tell you about one young man and
one young woman who have blessed my life and with whom I have learned
spiritually vital lessons about not shrinking and about allowing our
individual will to be “swallowed up in the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:7).
The
account is true, and the characters are real. I will not, however, use
the actual names of the individuals who are involved. I refer to the
young man as John and the young woman as Heather. I also use with
permission selected statements from their personal journals.
Not My Will but Thine Be Done
John
is a worthy priesthood holder and served faithfully as a full-time
missionary. After returning home from his mission, he dated and married a
righteous and wonderful young woman, Heather. John was 23 and Heather
was 20 on the day they were sealed together for time and for all
eternity in the house of the Lord. Please keep in mind the respective
ages of John and Heather as this story unfolds.
Approximately
three weeks after their temple marriage, John was diagnosed with bone
cancer. As cancer nodules also were discovered in his lungs, the
prognosis was not good.
John
recorded in his journal: “This was the scariest day of my life. Not
only because I was told I had cancer, but also because I was newly
married and somehow felt that I had failed as a husband. I was the
provider and protector of our new family,
and now—three weeks into that role—I felt like I had failed. I know
that thought is absurd, but it is one of the crazy things I told myself
in a moment of crisis.”
Heather
noted: “This was devastating news, and I remember how greatly it
changed our perspectives. I was in a hospital waiting room writing
wedding thank-you notes as we anticipated the results of [John’s] tests.
But after learning about [John’s] cancer, crock-pots and cookware did
not seem so important anymore. This was the worst day of my life, but I
remember going to bed that night with gratitude
for our temple sealing. Though the doctors had given [John] only a 30
percent chance of survival, I knew that if we remained faithful I had a
100 percent chance to be with him forever.”
Approximately
one month later John began chemotherapy. He described his experience:
“The treatments caused me to be sicker than I had ever been in my life. I
lost my hair, dropped 41 pounds, and my body felt like it was falling
apart. The chemotherapy also affected me emotionally, mentally, and
spiritually. Life was a rollercoaster during the months of chemo with
highs, lows, and everything in between. But through it all, [Heather]
and I maintained the faith that God would heal me. We just knew it.”
Heather
chronicled her thoughts and feelings: “I could not stand to let [John]
spend the night alone in the hospital, so I would sleep every night on
the small couch in his room. We had lots of friends and family visit
during the day, but the nights were the hardest. I would stare at the
ceiling and wonder what Heavenly Father had planned for us. Sometimes my
mind would wander into dark places, and my fear of losing [John] would
almost overtake me. But I knew these thoughts were not from Heavenly
Father. My prayers for comfort became more frequent, and the Lord gave
me the strength to keep going.”
Three
months later John underwent a surgical procedure to remove a large
tumor in his leg. John stated: “The surgery was a huge deal for us
because pathology tests were to be run on the tumor to see how much of
it was viable and how much of the cancer was dead. This analysis would
give us the first indication of the effectiveness of the chemotherapy
and of how aggressive we would need to be with future treatments.”
Two
days following the operation, I visited John and Heather in the
hospital. We talked about the first time I met John in the mission
field, about their marriage, about the cancer, and about the eternally
important lessons we learn through the trials of mortality. As we
concluded our time together, John asked if I would give him a priesthood
blessing. I responded that I gladly would give such a blessing, but I
first needed to ask some questions.
I
then posed questions I had not planned to ask and had never previously
considered: “[John,] do you have the faith not to be healed? If it is
the will of our Heavenly Father that you are transferred by death in
your youth to the spirit world to continue your ministry, do you have
the faith to submit to His will and not be healed?”
I
frankly was surprised by the questions I felt prompted to ask this
particular couple. Frequently in the scriptures, the Savior or His
servants exercised the spiritual gift of healing (see 1 Corinthians 12:9;D&C 35:9; 46:20) and perceived that an individual had the faith to be healed (see Acts 14:9; 3 Nephi 17:8; D&C 46:19).
But as John and Heather and I counseled together and wrestled with
these questions, we increasingly understood that if God’s will were for
this good young man to be healed, then that blessing could only be
received if this valiant couple first had the faith not to be healed. In
other words, John and Heather needed to overcome, through the Atonement
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the “natural man” (Mosiah 3:19) tendency in all of us to demand impatiently and insist incessantly on the blessings we want and believe we deserve.
We
recognized a principle that applies to every devoted disciple: strong
faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in
our lives—even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted.
Certainly, John and Heather would desire, yearn, and plead for healing
with all of their might, mind, and strength. But more importantly, they
would be “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to
inflict upon [them], even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19). Indeed, they would be willing to “offer [their] whole souls as an offering unto him” (Omni 1:26) and humbly pray, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
What
initially seemed to John, Heather, and me to be perplexing questions
became part of a pervasive pattern of gospel paradoxes. Consider the
admonition of the Savior: “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and
he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:39). He also declared, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first” (Matthew 19:30).
And the Lord counseled His latter-day disciples, “By thy word many high
ones shall be brought low, and by thy word many low ones shall be
exalted” (D&C 112:8).
Thus, having the faith to not be healed seemed to fit appropriately
into a powerful pattern of penetrating paradoxes that require us to ask,
to seek, and to knock that we might receive knowledge and understanding
(see 3 Nephi 14:7).
After
taking the necessary time to ponder my inquiries and to talk with his
wife, John said to me: “Elder Bednar, I do not want to die. I do not
want to leave [Heather]. But if the will of the Lord is to transfer me
to the spirit world, then I guess I am good with that.” My heart swelled
with appreciation and admiration as I witnessed this young couple
confront the most demanding of all spiritual struggles—the submissive
surrender of their wills to God’s will. My faith was strengthened as I
witnessed this couple allowing their strong and understandable desires
for healing to be “swallowed up in the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:7).
John
described his reaction to our conversation and the blessing he
received: “Elder Bednar shared with us the thought from Elder Maxwell
that it is better to not shrink than to survive. Elder Bednar then asked
us, ‘I know you have the faith to be healed, but do you have the faith
not to be healed?’ This was a foreign concept to me. Essentially he was
asking if I had the faith to accept God’s will if His will were that I
not be healed? If the time were approaching for me to enter the spirit
world through death, was I prepared to submit and accept?”
John
continued: “Having the faith not to be healed seemed counterintuitive;
but that perspective changed the way my wife and I thought and allowed
us to put our trust fully in the Father’s plan for us. We learned we
needed to gain the faith that the Lord is in charge whatever the outcome
may be, and He will guide us from where we are to where we need to be.
As we prayed, our petitions changed from ‘Please make me whole’ to
‘Please give me the faith to accept whatever outcome Thou hast planned
for me.’
“I
was sure that since Elder Bednar was an Apostle, he would bless the
elements of my body to realign, and I would jump out of the bed and
start to dance or do something dramatic like that! But as he blessed me
that day, I was amazed that the words he spoke were almost identical to
those of my father, my father-in-law, and my mission president. I
realized that ultimately it does not matter whose hands are on my head.
God’s power does not change, and His will is made known to us
individually and through His authorized servants.”
Heather
wrote: “This day was filled with mixed emotions for me. I was convinced
that Elder Bednar would place his hands on [John’s] head and completely
heal him of the cancer. I knew that through the power of the priesthood
he could be healed, and I wanted so bad for that to happen. After he
taught us about the faith to not be healed, I was terrified. Up to that
point, I had never had to come to grips with the fact that the Lord’s
plan might include losing my new husband. My faith was dependent upon
the outcomes I wanted. In a manner of speaking, it was one-dimensional.
Though terrifying at first, the thought of having the faith not to be
healed ultimately freed me from worry. It allowed me to have complete
trust that my Heavenly Father knew me better than I knew myself, and He
would do what was best for me and John.”
A
blessing was given, and weeks, months, and years passed by. John’s
cancer miraculously went into remission. He was able to complete his
university studies and obtained gainful employment. John and Heather
continued to strengthen their relationship and enjoy life together.
Some
time later I subsequently received a letter from John and Heather
informing me that the cancer had returned. Chemotherapy was resumed and
surgery scheduled. John explained: “Not only did this news come as a
disappointment to [Heather] and me, but we were puzzled by it. Was there
something we did not learn the first time? Did the Lord expect
something more from us? Growing up as Latter-day Saints, it was common
to go to church and hear the phrase, ‘every trial God gives us is for
our benefit.’ Well, to be honest, I could not see how this was
benefitting me!
“So
I began to pray for clarity and for the Lord to help me understand why
this recurrence of the cancer was happening. One day as I was reading in
the New Testament I received my answer. I read the account of Christ
and His Apostles on the sea when a tempest arose. Fearing the boat would
capsize, the disciples went to the Savior and asked, ‘Master, carest
thou not that we perish?’ This is exactly how I felt! Carest thou not
that I have cancer? Carest thou not that we want to start a family? But
as I read on in the story, I found my answer. The Lord looked at them
and said, ‘O ye of little faith,’ and He stretched forth His hand and
calmed the waters.
“In
that moment I had to ask myself, ‘Do I really believe this?’ Do I
really believe He calmed the waters that day? Or is it just a nice story
to read about?’ The answer is: I do believe, and because I know He
calmed the waters, I instantly knew He could heal me. Up until this
point, I had a hard time reconciling the need for my faith in Christ
with the inevitability of His will. I saw them as two separate things,
and sometimes I felt that one contradicted the other. ‘Why should I have
faith if His will ultimately is what will prevail,’ I asked? After this
experience, I knew that having faith—at least in my circumstance—was
not necessarily knowing that He would heal me, but that He could heal me. I had to believe that He could, and then whether it happened was up to Him.
“As
I allowed those two ideas to coexist in my life, focused faith in Jesus
Christ and complete submission to His will, I found greater comfort and
peace. It has been so remarkable to see the Lord’s hand in our lives.
Things have fallen into place, miracles have happened, and we
continually are humbled to see God’s plan for us unfold.”
I
repeat for emphasis John’s statement: “As I allowed those two ideas to
coexist in my life, focused faith in Jesus Christ and complete
submission to His will, I found greater comfort and peace.”
Righteousness
and faith certainly are instrumental in moving mountains—if moving
mountains accomplishes God’s purposes and is in accordance with His
will. Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in healing the
sick, deaf, or lame—if such healing accomplishes God’s purposes and is
in accordance with His will. Thus, even with strong faith, many
mountains will not be moved. And not all of the sick and infirm will be
healed. If all opposition were curtailed, if all maladies were removed,
then the primary purposes of the Father’s plan would be frustrated.
Many
of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can only be received
through the things we experience and sometimes suffer. And God expects
and trusts us to face temporary mortal adversity with His help so we can
learn what we need to learn and ultimately become what we are to become
in eternity.
The Meaning of All Things
This
story about John and Heather is both ordinary and extraordinary. This
young couple is representative of millions of faithful, covenant-keeping
Latter-day Saints all over the world who are pressing forward along the
strait and narrow path with steadfast faith in Christ and a perfect
brightness of hope. John and Heather were not serving in highly visible
leadership positions in the Church, they were not related to General
Authorities, and sometimes they had doubts and fears. In many of these
aspects, their story is quite ordinary.
But,
brothers and sisters, this young man and young woman were blessed in
extraordinary ways to learn essential lessons for eternity through
affliction and hardship. I have shared this episode with you because
John and Heather, who are just like so many of you, came to understand
that not shrinking is more important than surviving. Thus, their
experience was not primarily about living and dying; rather, it was
about learning, living, and becoming.
The
potent spiritual combination of faith in and on the holy name of Jesus
Christ, of meekly submitting to His will and timing, of pressing forward
“with unwearied diligence” (Helaman 15:6),
and of acknowledging His hand in all things yields the peaceable things
of the kingdom of God that bring joy and eternal life (see D&C 42:61). As this couple faced seemingly overwhelming challenges, they lived a “peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (1 Timothy 2:2). They walked peaceably (see Moroni 7:4)
with and among the children of men. “And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, [kept their] hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
For
many of you, their story is, has been, or could be your story. You are
facing, have faced, or will yet face equivalent challenges in your lives
with the same courage and spiritual perspective that John and Heather
did. I do not know why some people learn the lessons of eternity through
trial and suffering—while others learn similar lessons through rescue
and healing. I do not know all of the reasons, all of the purposes, and I
do not know everything about the Lord’s timing. With Nephi, you and I
can say that we “do not know the meaning of all things” (1 Nephi 11:17).
But
some things I absolutely do know. I know we are spirit sons and
daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. I know the Eternal Father is the
author of the plan of happiness. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and
Redeemer. I know Jesus enabled the Father’s plan through His infinite
and eternal Atonement. I know that the Lord, who was “bruised, broken,
[and] torn for us” (“Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King,” Hymns, no. 181), can succor and strengthen “his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:12).
And I know one of the greatest blessings of mortality is to not shrink
and to allow our individual will to be “swallowed up in the will of the
Father” (Mosiah 15:7).
Though
I do not know everything about how and when and where and why these
blessings occur, I do know and I witness they are real. I testify that
all of these things are true—and that we know enough by the power of the
Holy Ghost to bear sure witness of their divinity, reality, and
efficacy. My beloved brothers and sisters, I invoke upon you this
blessing: even that as you press forward in your lives with steadfast
faith in Christ, you will have the capacity to not shrink. I bear this
witness and I invoke this blessing in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, amen.
Thanks Chad!
A while ago, before Matthew was admitted to the hospital again, the Hargrove family brought a sign and some cookies over for Matthew. It was really sweet and it made him feel great. Thanks Hargrove family!
On April 26th, Fran Lowder and her husband came in to the hospital with a gift for T. Fran wrote a ton of college volleyball teams telling them about Matthew and what a huge volleyball player and fan he is, and the teams sent her back posters, letters, pictures, shirts, etc. The Lowders decorated his room with the stuff the teams sent, and she said stuff is still coming in for him. That was a really awesome thing for them to do for Matthew. I'm sure he'll be really excited when he wakes up. Thank you to the Lowders and all of the teams that sent their love and support.
Beautiful! I loved reading this! <3
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