Last Lecture
I don’t think there is a better last lecture than the takeaways
I had from this talk. Wow!
“Finishers Wanted”
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
In life, as in business, there has always been a need for those personswho could be called finishers. Their ranks are few, their opportunitiesmany, their contributions great.
Shall I falter,or shall I finish?
we sympathize with those whofalter. We honor those who finish.
We are constantly making smalldecisions. The outcome determines the success or failure of our lives.That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, to set a course, and at leastbe partly ready when the moment of decision comes. True finishershave the capacity to visualize their objective.
faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for onewill dispel the other.
Frequently God’s help comes silently—and though silently, occasionallywith dramatic impact. Such was my experience some years ago when, asa mission president, I was afforded the privilege to guide the activities ofprecious missionaries whom He had called. Some had problems, othersrequired motivation; but one came to me in utter despair. He had madethe decision to leave the mission field when but at the halfway mark. Hisbags were packed, his return ticket purchased. He came to bid mefarewell.
We talked; we listened; we prayed. There remained hidden the actualreason for his decision to quit. As we arose from our knees in the quietof my office, the missionary began to weep almost uncontrollably. Flexingthe muscle in his strong right arm, he blurted out, “This is my problem. Allthrough school my muscle power qualified me for honors in football andtrack, but my mental power was neglected. President Monson, I’mashamed of my school record. It reveals that ‘with effort’ I have thecapacity to read at but the level of the fourth grade. I can’t even read theBook of Mormon. How then can I understand its contents and teachothers its truths?”
The silence of the room was broken by my young nine-year-old son who,without knocking, opened the door and, with surprise, apologetically said,“Excuse me. I just wanted to put this book back on the shelf.” He handedme the book. Its title: A Child’s Story of the Book of Mormon, by Dr. DetaPetersen Neeley. I turned to the author’s preface and read that this bookwas written with a scientifically controlled vocabulary to the level of thefourth grade. A sincere prayer from an honest heart had beendramatically answered.
My missionary accepted the challenge to read the book. Half laughing,half crying, he declared: “It will be good to read something I canunderstand.” Clouds of despair were dispelled by the sunshine of hope.He completed an honorable mission. He became a finisher.
Comments
Post a Comment