Elder Bednar

So we had a treat this past week. Elder Bednar came and spoke to the New York City YSA crowd and did a Q&A. He said a lot of really cool things that I wanted to share. 

First: When asked about what he and the brethren were most concerned with our age group his reply was that young people only have a superficial knowledge of the gospel. We aren't really studying and knowing the doctrine. That we don't really understand the Atonement (he spent a lot of time talking about how we always focus on the repentance part of the Atonement, but that shortchanges what it really is. He talked about how the power of the Atonement helps us to do hard things and how it changes us completely from within. How we reach a certain point where we can't be determined enough or disciplined enough to overcome certain things or accomplish certain things but that through the Atonement we can, and we can be completely changed into a new being). In the end, he challenged us to have stronger foundations in the doctrine of the gospel and to really study and really apply it in our lives. That this will change our priorities and our daily decisions the most.  

I completely agree with him. I feel like I know that applies to me now, unfortunately, where I don't feel like I am as well versed in the doctrine as I should be. I am not really taking the time to study and learn and apply the doctrine daily like I could and should be doing. I also have a lot of friends that we have all discussed feeling like we fell short in this department, I just hope we can all set goals to do better and really follow through and change.

Second: Elder Bednar talked about covenants and what they really are and especially about our role in covenant making. One thing he discussed was how members of the Church who have made covenants say "I still have my agency so I can do what I want." He responded with a "No you can't!" He explained that when we enter into a covenant with the Lord that we expend that agency and from then on we are either keeping or breaking the covenant. There is no other choice. That really hit me hard because I had never heard that idea before, but it makes a lot of sense! Once we go ahead and enter into  a covenant we no longer have the agency to act as though we hadn't. Keeping or breaking - those are our only two options. It made me really consider my actions, I feel like my decisions carry a lot more weight to them when I have to throw them in one of two categories like that.

Third: As mentions above, he spoke a lot about agency - how we are moral agents to act and not objects to be acted upon. For example, he spoke of changing our prayers from objects to be acted upon to moral agents. He gave the example of the sacrament prayers where people say "help those who aren't here this week that they will be here next week" and that that is a prime example of turning people, who are moral agents, into objects. That rather we should pray that "we in the congregation have noticed that not everyone is there and that we will each do our own part to go and find someone and if they are sick, administer unto them or if they are offended, to succor them and that the only help we need from you Lord is to not all go to the same house." Of course we all laughed at this example but it once again really made me think about how I pray and the language I use. I feel like I really pray as though I am an object and I am waiting for the Lord to do the work rather than saying I am going to do this work and Lord give me the strength to accomplish this, but I am going to act. (On a side note, as a scripture study exercise Elder Bednar suggested reading through the Book of Mormon and really taking note of the way the prophets prayed and the language they used that made them agents to act and not objects to be acted upon. I plan to start that this week).

Fourth: I went home to my parent's ward where Elder Bednar was speaking in stake conference. He talked a lot about trials and burdens and how we talk of happiness as being a time when we won't have burdens or trials or we are past them, but that is incorrect. We will always have trials and troubles and worries. He talked about making sure our burden was made up of the stuff that mattered. He gave a parable of his friend who bought a new pick up truck with four wheel drive and he wanted to prove to his wife that it was a good investment. So he decided that he was going to drive up the mountain and cut a bunch of firewood for their wood burning stove to cut back on utility bills. So, he drives up the mountain and of course it begins to snow and the man is thinking, "no big deal, I have a brand new pick up" and this goes on for awhile. Inevitably, the man gets bogged down in the snow and try as he might he can't get out, so after awhile he decides to be proactive and start going to work. He gets out and cuts a bunch of firewood and loads up the back of the pick up. Afterward, he decides to try to get his truck out one more time before he starts freaking out, and this time he is able to back out and make it down the mountain safely. Now, Elder Bednar pointed out the importance of the weight of the load being the factor that allowed the man enough traction to get out of the snow bank he was in. That without the load he would have continued spinning his wheels and sinking lower and lower. 

This is us! We need the trials and the burdens in life to help us out - he said we all have to carry a load, the point is to make it the right load. To get rid of the things that really don't matter and worry about what does. And when we need extra strength to carry the load that the Savior is there to help us shoulder it. He gave the example where the people of Alma are being persecuted in Mosiah 24 and the Lord didn't take away their trials, but he did "strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to the will of the Lord"(Mosiah 24:15). We all have burdens and trials but they are what help us get back home safely and what can help us of the bogs of life. The trials are what help us progress and grow here and they are part of our earthly experience and they aren't going away! So embrace them and learn from them and rely on the Lord to help give you the strength to carry them with more ease. I really liked that. (His second scripture study idea was to pay attention to the word strength as it is used in the scriptures - which automatically made me think of the war chapters and the armies being described as being in their own strength or having the strength of the Lord with them and the kind of strength they had determined the outcome of the battle. I also plan to do this study along with the prayer study. So excited!)

Sorry this is such a long and text heavy post, but I really wanted to share what Elder Bednar shared. It made me so excited for General Conference coming up in a couple weeks when we get to hear all of the prophets and apostles speak. I am so grateful we have prophets on the earth today and that in a couple short hours they can give us so much direction and guidance. I am excited to start really preparing myself for Conference in a couple weeks that I can glean as much as possible from their words. I love this gospel and I really felt that strongly this week. Hopefully you made it to the end of this post!