Good morning brothers and sisters. I am excited for the opportunity to speak to you today. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Chazlyn Robbins. I’m married to Tim, who is probably out in the foyer keeping our baby calm as this is her usual nap time. I am originally from Kaysville, UT. Tim and I met while attending Brigham Young University-Idaho. I was the forbidden freshman, he was the mature junior. We had several mutual friends who tried to set us up but I was writing to a missionary and Tim didn’t date freshman girls. Another year went by, and again several friends suggested we date. I had stopped writing my missionary and was now a sophomore, another year older and wiser too! We went out on what I thought were two great dates but Tim stopped calling and my roommates dutifully convinced me I was too good for him anyway. A couple of months later our paths crossed again and we decided to give it one more shot. Tim was a senior and on track to graduate in April and I was planning to move back home to Kaysville for the summer. I think the idea of moving to the dating wasteland of Great Falls, MT was motivation enough for Tim this time and after a few months of driving back and forth from Montana to Utah; we were engaged in August and sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on December 28th 2004. We moved to Great Falls in January of 2005 and we’ve been here for almost 7 years now. In May we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, we named her Hazel Anne Robbins. Welcoming Hazel into our family has been the most wonderful and the most challenging event of my life. Because of her smiles and giggles, her fuzzy head and her tiny toes, Tim and I are beginning to understand what it means to have joy and rejoicing in your posterity.
This month, the Stake Presidency has advised us to study the Christ-like attribute of gratitude. The Savior showed gratitude by devoting His life to teaching the gospel and serving others. In 3rd Nephi, the Savior commands us to be like Him. In response to the question What manner of men ought ye to be? He answered, Verily I say unto you, even as I am. We can follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving others as an expression of our gratitude to our Heavenly Father.
In the Book of Mormon, the prophet, historian Mormon tells us of King Benjamin, a holy man who reigned over his people in righteousness. In his old age, the King desires to confer the kingdom upon one of his sons. He asks his son Mosiah to make a proclamation to all the people in the kingdom so they will gather together at the temple to hear him pronounce Mosiah as his successor and to counsel his people to continue in righteousness. In his address, King Benjamin teaches that we can express our gratitude to God by serving our fellow man.
King Benjamin recounts how he has served the people and labored with his own hands not to boast of his greatness, but to teach his people that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” He reminds us that we are eternally indebted to our Heavenly Father, to render to Him all that we have and are. “I say unto you, my brethren, that God has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another.” From King Benjamin, we learn that everything we have is from God. “We all depend on the same Being, even God for all the substance which we have, for food , and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind.” He counsels us to express our gratitude to the Lord by serving those around us.
In a 1998 session of General Conference, Gordon T. Watts taught “The depth and the willingness with which we serve is a direct reflection of our gratitude.” We show our gratitude and love for the Lord by serving Him and keeping His commandments. We covenant to devote our time, talents and resources to the building up of the kingdom of God.
At one point, my motivation for serving the Lord was mainly to secure blessings from Him. In D&C 82:10, we learn that the Lord is bound when we do what He says. I know the Lord can only bless us when we are obedient to his commandments. I remember being frustrated when promised blessings were seemingly withheld even after I felt I was doing everything the Lord had asked of me. One night while talking to a friend about how angry I was that the Lord wasn’t holding up His end of the bargain after I had been righteous for so many years, she impressed upon me the importance of serving the Lord out of gratitude for all He has done for us. I remember saying “it isn’t fair for the Lord to keep these blessings from me when I have done all He has asked of me, I pay my tithing, I serve in my church calling, and I do temple work…she responded that isn’t why we do those things, we do those things because we love the Lord. We serve Him as an expression of our love and gratitude for our Savior and Redeemer. “Love for God includes devotion, adoration, reverence, tenderness, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, grace, service, gratitude, kindness.” Our love for God influences and affects every aspect of our lives. We show our love and gratitude to God by serving those around us. King Benjamin counseled his people to succor those that stand in need of your succor…adminster of your substance unto him that standeth in need…do not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain…impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief. Both spiritually and temporally according to their wants.
Mosiah 18:8-10 baptismal covenants mourn with those that mourn
Satan would have us believe we are on our own, accountable to no one. That all we do and are is here on this earth. The gospel of Jesus Christ teaches that we were created by an eternal and spiritual father who provided a way for us to not only return into His glorious presence, but to become like Him. We are not our own, for we have been bought with a price. Jesus Christ atoned for our sins and our infirmities that we might be healed and forgiven, made white in the blood of the Lamb. The greatest example of God’s love for his children is found in the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ.” We can show our gratitude for this divine gift by caring for others.
Stories from savior’s life of caring for others and expressing gratitude.
Testimony
No comments:
Post a Comment