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| Source Great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands “anxiously engaged in a good cause.” |
Elder Perry, I think you must be the youngest 90-year-old in
the whole Church. You noticed how he jumped out of his chair.
My beloved brothers and sisters, each time I enjoy a fresh,
vine-ripened tomato or eat a juicy peach right off the tree, my thoughts go
back 60 years to when my father owned a small peach orchard in Holladay, Utah.
He kept beehives there to pollinate the peach blossoms that would eventually
grow into very large, delicious peaches.
Father loved his gentle honeybees and marveled at the way
thousands of them working together transformed the nectar gathered from his
peach blossoms into sweet, golden honey—one of nature’s most beneficial foods.
In fact, nutritionists tell us it is one of the foods that includes all the
substances—enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water—necessary to sustain life.
My father always tried to involve me in his work with his
hives, but I was very happy to let him tend to his bees. However, since those
days, I have learned more about the highly organized beehive—a colony of about
60,000 bees.
Honeybees are driven to pollinate, gather nectar, and
condense the nectar into honey. It is their magnificent obsession imprinted
into their genetic makeup by our Creator. It is estimated that to produce just
one pound (0.45 kg) of honey, the average hive of 20,000 to 60,000 bees must
collectively visit millions of flowers and travel the equivalent of two times
around the world. Over its short lifetime of just a few weeks to four months, a
single honeybee’s contribution of honey to its hive is a mere one-twelfth of
one teaspoon.
Though seemingly insignificant when compared to the total,
each bee’s one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey is vital to the life of the hive.
The bees depend on each other. Work that would be overwhelming for a few bees
to do becomes lighter because all of the bees faithfully do their part.
The beehive has always been an important symbol in our
Church history. We learn in the Book of Mormon that the Jaredites carried
honeybees with them (see Ether 2:3) when they journeyed to the Americas
thousands of years ago. Brigham Young chose the beehive as a symbol to
encourage and inspire the cooperative energy necessary among the pioneers to
transform the barren desert wasteland surrounding the Great Salt Lake into the
fertile valleys we have today. We are the beneficiaries of their collective
vision and industry.
The beehive symbol is found in both the interiors and
exteriors of many of our temples. This podium where I stand is made from the
wood of a walnut tree grown in President Gordon B. Hinckley’s backyard and is
adorned with carved beehive images.
All of this symbolism attests to one fact: great things are
brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands
“anxiously engaged in a good cause” (D&C 58:27). Imagine what the millions
of Latter-day Saints could accomplish in the world if we functioned like a
beehive in our focused, concentrated commitment to the teachings of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Savior taught that the first and great commandment is:
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. …
“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets” (Matthew 22:37, 39–40).
The Savior’s words are simple, yet their meaning is profound
and deeply significant. We are to love God and to love and care for our
neighbors as ourselves. Imagine what good we can do in the world if we all join
together, united as followers of Christ, anxiously and busily responding to the
needs of others and serving those around us—our families, our friends, our
neighbors, our fellow citizens.
As the Epistle of James notes, service is the very
definition of pure religion (see James 1:27).
We read of the service Church members provide around the
world and especially the humanitarian service given in times of crisis—fires
and floods and hurricanes and tornadoes. These much-needed and much-appreciated
emergency responses should certainly continue as a way of bearing one another’s
burdens. But what about our everyday lives? What would be the cumulative effect
of millions of small, compassionate acts performed daily by us because of our
heartfelt Christian love for others? Over time this would have a transformative
effect upon all of our Heavenly Father’s children through the extension of His
love to them through us. Our troubled world needs this love of Christ today
more than ever, and it will need it even more in the years ahead.
These simple, daily acts of service may not seem like much
in and of themselves, but when considered collectively they become just like
the one-twelfth teaspoon of honey contributed by a single bee to the hive.
There is power in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is
tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Christian kindness, it will sweeten
and nourish the world with the life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and
charity.
What do we need to do to become like the dedicated honeybees
and have that dedication become part of our nature? Many of us are dutiful in
attending our Church meetings. We work hard in our callings and especially on
Sundays. That is surely to be commended. But are our minds and our hearts just
as anxiously engaged in good things during the rest of the week? Do we just go
through the motions, or are we truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ?
How do we take the seed of faith that has been nurtured in our minds and plant
it deep in the fertile soil of our souls? How do we make the mighty change of
heart that Alma says is essential for our eternal happiness and peace? (see
Alma 5:12–21).
Remember, honey contains all of the substances necessary to
sustain mortal life. And the doctrine and gospel of Christ is the only way to
obtain eternal life. Only when our testimony transcends what is in our mind and
burrows deep into our heart will our motivation to love and to serve become
like unto the Savior’s. It is then, and only then, that we become deeply
converted disciples of Christ empowered by the Spirit to reach the hearts of
our fellowmen.
When our hearts are no longer set upon the things of this
world, we will no longer aspire to the honors of men or seek only to gratify
our pride (see D&C 121:35–37). Rather, we take on the Christlike qualities
that Jesus taught:
• We are gentle and meek and long-suffering (see D&C
121:41).
• We are kind, without hypocrisy or guile (see D&C
121:42).
• We feel charity toward all men (see D&C 121:45).
• Our thoughts are always virtuous (see D&C 121:45).
• We no longer desire to do evil (see Mosiah 5:2).
• The Holy Ghost is our constant companion, and the
doctrines of the priesthood distill upon our souls as the dews from heaven (see
D&C 121:45–46).
Now, brothers and sisters, I’m not encouraging religious
zealotry or fanaticism. Quite the contrary! I’m simply suggesting that we take
the next logical step in our complete conversion to the gospel of Christ by
assimilating its doctrines deep within our hearts and our souls so we will act
and live consistently—and with integrity—what we profess to believe.
This integrity simplifies our lives and amplifies our
sensitivities to the Spirit and to the needs of others. It brings joy into our
lives and peace to our souls—the kind of joy and peace that comes to us as we
repent of our sins and follow the Savior by keeping His commandments.
How do we make this change? How do we ingrain this love of
Christ into our hearts? There is one simple daily practice that can make a
difference for every member of the Church, including you boys and girls, you
young men and you young women, you single adults, and you fathers and mothers.
That simple practice is: In your morning prayer each new
day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one
of His precious children. Then go throughout the day with your heart full of
faith and love, looking for someone to help. Stay focused, just like the
honeybees focus on the flowers from which to gather nectar and pollen. If you
do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover
opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible.
President Thomas S. Monson has taught that in many instances
Heavenly Father answers another person’s prayers through us—through you and
me—through our kind words and deeds, through our simple acts of service and
love.
And President Spencer W. Kimball said: “God does notice us,
and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets
our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other” (Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 82).
I know that if you do this—at home, at school, at work, and
at church—the Spirit will guide you, and you will be able to discern those in
need of a particular service that only you may be able to give. You will be
prompted by the Spirit and magnificently motivated to help pollinate the world
with the pure love of Christ and His gospel.
And remember, like the little honeybee’s one-twelfth
teaspoon of honey provided to the hive, if we multiply our efforts by tens of
thousands, even millions of prayerful efforts to share God’s love for His
children through Christian service, there will be a compounding effect of good that
will bring the Light of Christ to this ever-darkening world. Bound together, we
will bring love and compassion to our own family and to the lonely, the poor,
the broken, and to those of our Heavenly Father’s children who are searching
for truth and peace.
It is my humble prayer, brothers and sisters, that we will
ask in our daily prayers for the inspiration to find someone for whom we can
provide some meaningful service, including the service of sharing the gospel
truths and our testimonies. At the end of each day, may we be able to say yes
to the questions: “Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped
anyone in need?” (Hymns, no. 223).
This is God’s work. May we be about it as faithfully as the
dedicated little honeybees go about theirs, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
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