By Bishop F.
Ross Boundy
Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Martin Luther,
the inspired Reformer, once wrote:
The kingdom of
God is like a besieged city surrounded on all sides by death. Each man (and
woman) has his place on the wall to defend, and no one can stand where another
stands, but nothing prevents us from calling encouragement to one another.
The metaphor
is powerful: a besieged city surrounded by a wall, with each called to defend
against an enemy determined to destroy the kingdom of God. How unseemly it
would be in these circumstances for one defender to challenge another's right
to stand upon the wall, or even worse to leave a critical defense post to
bicker with another over points of doctrine. Still, there are lulls in the
watching, and there are those whose attention flags, and even those who
question whether the time for danger is past. That's when we learn who the real
watchmen are: those who call out encouragement to others upon the wall of
faith.
Today I, too,
call encouragement to those who stand in other places on our community wall of
faith. From my own Christian Latter-day Saint tradition I would like to share
my belief in three principles: life is fundamentally a spiritual journey,
families are the foundation of happiness, and sharing with others is a moral
imperative. If my examples are parochial, I hope they will nonetheless spur
others to seek within their own faith tradition for what I believe are
universal principles.
First, I
believe the fundamental purpose of life is a divine imperative. An ancient Book
of Mormon prophet declared:
[The Lord]
doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save
it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him
and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and
white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembreth the heathen; and all
are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
If we are to
make the most of limited time here upon earth, we must embrace a spiritual
dimension. A spiritual perspective is one of God's most precious gifts, and we
need to guard it well against those who are ignorant of spiritual truths.
Second, I
believe that families are forever. With all of the frailties of your families
and mine, I am persuaded the best lessons of life are learned in families. A
Latter-day Saint leader has urged: "The best we can do in our Churches, or
government, or volunteer social programs can be done better even in the weakest
of families. Have faith in families."
In our
business, social, political, educational and religious pursuits we need to
never place inordinate demands upon families. We need to put our families ahead
of work, friends and the demands of religious commitments. A modern prophet has
encouraged us to: "Remember that the most important of the Lord's work you
will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home."
Third, I
believe in the Law of Consecration. Latter-day Saints believe it is possible to
build the kingdom of God upon the earth. We take literally the Biblical
admonition that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."
Since everything belongs to God, it follows that we are only temporary stewards
of money, time and talents.
I am persuaded
God does not need our money. He knows where all the gold in the world is
located. He could feed the hungry of the world in a heartbeat. But that is
neither His plan nor His timetable. To do so would be to undermine the very
purpose of earthlife. Another prophet has taught: "God does notice us, and
he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that the meets our
needs."
And
when we share, it should not be from what our pioneer forbearers called "the
leavins." A powerful example from my pioneer heritage comes from the days
when tithing meant a tenth and reckoning was easier for farmers. One elderly
religious leader told of cutting hay with his father, and how every tenth load
would be for the bishop's storehouse, to help those in need. A wise father's
children remembered how they always got the tithing load from the richest
bottomland where the hay grew the best. May it be so for all of us today.