Many of you may remember Neal A. Maxwell, of the Quorum of the Twelve. This man knew the English language better than most, and his usage of words was truly phenomenal. The images and thoughts, created from his well-chosen words, typically cause us to think at a higher level.
Two talks, given by him, made me think deeply about how we live our lives as Relief Society sisters. His message is to be more like Jesus Christ, and to overcome the world. Jesus Christ is our example, even as women, for when it comes to devotion, obedience, and commitment, there is no difference between the sexes.
How much of the world, and worldly things, do we let into our lives? Well, that’s a loaded question, isn’t it? We all let too much in. The scriptures tell us we cannot serve two masters (Matt. 6:24), and to live IN the world, but not OF it (John 17:14-16; 2 Cor 10). Everyone has their own opinion on this, and it most definitely is between you and God. But Elder Maxwell provokes some thoughts.
Explaining the term “anxiously engaged”, he says, “I am even more anxiously engaged in the restored gospel than ever because the restored gospel is so engaging…it is an ‘inexhaustible gospel’. To be anxiously engaged really does mean that we are engaged intellectually as well as spiritually, and life in the kingdom… is also very engaging. So although some people at my stage of life might say, in effect, ‘Been there, done that,’ not I. I feel instead this sense of anxious engagement in something that I have yet to take the full measure of…Anxiously engaged does not mean hectically engaged. Rather…a deep, quiet commitment.”
Elder Maxwell spoke of what C.S. Lewis called “the tether and pang of the particular” (“The Brook”, The Pilgrim’s Regress). While he was speaking to a young, recently widowed mother, without bemoaning herself, she described her difficulty in adjusting to her new life. This was her tether and pang of the particular. “Whatever circumference of our tether is, we ought to be content with that and live within the tether and pang of the particular…For you to be strong is absolutely crucial…sisters.”
“When we begin to submit ourselves by letting our wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him. And that hard doctrine lies at the center of discipleship.” We must be ‘willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict’ (Mosiah 3:19). When we are truly ‘swallowed up’ (Mosiah 15:7), then we are on the road to discipleship. “But that can’t happen with the sort of superficiality with which some approach discipleship.” I feel his sharp words have balm in them.
Elder Maxwell offers us the grand key to live by; to know the “deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10) Do we know the deep things of God? How do we learn the deep things of God? What is our devotion? Our obedience? Commitment?
We all have trials to bear. Joseph’s heaviest burden was in Liberty Jail, where he was told “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7). And Paul reminds us “Knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Rom. 5:3-4). Elder Maxwell continues, “You may wonder, ‘Is there no other way?’ And I answer, No, there is not. There is no other way. And thus, in this discipleship about which I am speaking, it is so essential that out of these experiences we form character. It is much easier in this life to be a character than to have character. ..but to develop it is not a pain-free process.”
Which pain would you rather endure, God’s shaping tool? Or the world’s butcher knife? Peter said, ‘Of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage’ (2 Pet. 2:19). Hear Elder Maxwell’s poetic warning. “Brothers and sisters, there are so many personalized prisons! Craving power and the spotlight sucks out the spiritual oxygen, leaving some ‘past feeling’ (see Eph. 4:19; 1 Ne. 17:45; Moro. 9:20).
Elder Maxwell urges us to choose first the kingdom of God. “Like the prodigal son, we too can go to “a far country,’…The distance to ‘a far country’ is not to be measured by miles but by how far our hearts and minds are from Jesus! (see Mosiah 5:13). Fidelity, not geography, really determines the distance!…All the quick fixes do not really cure the emptiness and boredom of secularism.”
He continues, “Let us adopt the attitude recommended by President Brigham Young: ‘Say to the fields, …flocks, …herds, …gold, …silver, …goods, …chattels, …tenements, …possessions, and to all the world, stand aside; get away from my thoughts, for I am going up to worship the Lord”
Ultimately, we have been commanded to become like Jesus Christ, through our devotion, obedience, and commitment. (3 Ne. 27:27; Matt. 5:48; 3 Ne. 12:48). We must know who we are, for that is how we will act. (Rom. 8:16).
“Please, submit your will to God. It is the only gift you’ve got to give. And the sooner it is placed on the altar, the better it will be for all…Yes, we are free to choose the mortal perks with their short shelf life. However, ahead lies that great moment when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ! (Mosiah 27:31; D&C 88:104)”.
Neal A. Maxwell, “Insights from My Life”, Ensign, Aug. 2000
Neal A. Maxwell, “The Tugs and Pulls of the World”, Ensign, Nov. 2000