Paisley: Hey, welcome back everyone. Paisley, imperfect
here and today, I had a special request for the talk that we're
going to be talking about today. That's brother wilcox's talk
from General Conference just last week. I actually got to
meet brother Wilcox in person a few months ago, he came down to
our area and did a special fireside for youth leaders, and
then he did one for the youth. He always knows how to make them
feel known and loved and like somebody might actually know how
they feel or what they're going through. So the talk from last
week is called, oh youth of the noble birthright, and it's
really directed at the youth, which means that it's not really
directed towards my usual audience. I mean, no offense, I
we're all in our 30s and 40s and 50s. I realized that we all
still feel like youth, but technically, also, though,
excuse me, didn't those of us in our 30s, 40s, probably even the
early 50s, didn't we all grow up being told that we were the
chosen generation. So you know, the reality that I am coming to
about that is that we were chosen to lead and teach this
generation, these guys. I don't know if you've had a calling in
young men's or young women's or even primary recently, but these
youth that are coming up behind us, these ones that are coming
up right now are incredible. It's our responsibility, my own
personal opinion, it is our responsibility to help teach
them. We were chosen to help teach them the things that they
need in order to properly accept their birthright, what Brother
Cox Wilcox is talking about. So all of that being said with this
talk being directed more towards the actual youth of today. I
want to look at it just a little bit differently. I want to look
at how we can help the youth that are within our own sphere
of influence know about their noble birthright and how to be
worthy of it, how to grow to accept it. And the first
thought, at least for me, is that we need to show them
through our own example. Again, we've been taught the things
that we need to know. We know what modesty means. It used to
be in our day. It was in the for the Strength of Youth. Pamphlet
was in there. I think it's still in there, but it's very
different than it was when we were that age. But we still
know. We know what modesty means. We know what it means to
live the Word of Wisdom. We know what it means to obey the law of
chastity. We know these things, and through our own examples, we
can help Brother Wilcox said, Excuse me. Quote, when we use
our moral agency to make and keep covenants with God, we
become heirs of the everlasting covenant God has made with our
forebears in every dispensation. Said, another way, we become
children of the covenant that sets us apart that gives us
access to the same blessings our forefathers and foremothers
received, including a birthright. And while you and I
may no longer be considered youth, and while we may have
already made all of the covenants that we can in this
life, are we choosing to keep them? Because keeping those
covenants, not just making them, keeping them, is required for us
to become the heirs that we are destined to be. But what are we
heirs of? Exactly? What is the birthright that we've been
promised? Brother Wilcox did a really good job of explaining
the biblical birthright and what that meant. I'm not going to get
into that here and try and re explain that he did such a good
job. You should really here's my plug for the talk that we're
studying. You should really go read his talk. I'll make sure
it's linked if you haven't read it, or if you didn't get to
listen to it. 100% recommend, in a nutshell, for us, this
birthright, our birthright is our opportunity to have all that
our Heavenly Father has, and to become all that he is, which is
different than the biblical birthright. Go check that out.
But. Why us? And this was my favorite part of this talk,
because it's how my brain has always thought about things, and
I've never heard anybody else, especially not from the pulpit,
put it like this before. He said, Why do Latter Day Saints
live so differently? There are many good answers, because you
are a child of God, because you have been saved for the last
days, because you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, but here's the
best part, and here's the way that my brain has always
responded to those statements, he said, but those answers don't
always set you apart. Everyone is a child of God. Everyone on
earth right now was sent here in the latter days. There are many
valiant Disciples of Christ who are not members of this church.
There must be more to it, and there is. Now I cheated a little
bit with that last quote. I took some stuff out, but I did it on
purpose, because I wanted to share with you those thoughts. I
wanted to share that quote that way, because that's the way that
I've always thought about it, too, even when I was a teenager,
you were saved for the last days. Well, so was she, but we
live very different lives. You, you are a child of God. You've
been saved for the last days, all of those things. I was like,
Yeah, but so has everybody else that's not that's not helping me
so but I pulled some pieces out, and the pieces that I took out
are the more to it, where he says at the very end, there must
be more to it, and there is the other pieces that I pulled out
are the more to it. Yes, everyone is a child of God. Yes,
everyone on Earth right now was sent here in the latter days.
Duh. Yes. There are many valiant Disciples of Christ who are not
members of the Church, of this church, but not all of them have
committed to live the Word of Wisdom or the law of chastity.
Not all of them are willing to serve missions. And the real
kicker, not all of them are willing to perform or
participate in sacred ordinances in the temple for themselves and
on behalf of their ancestors. Those are the bits and pieces
that I took out. Paraphrased. I did not quote him exactly, but
those are the pieces that I took out of that paragraph. And
brother Wilcox compares it to a cruise ship. He says, quote, our
mortal experience could be compared to a cruise ship on
which God has sent all his children as they journey from
one shore to another. The voyage is filled with opportunities to
learn, grow, be happy and progress, but it is also full of
dangers. God loves all His children and is concerned about
their welfare. He does not want to lose any of them, so he
invites those who are willing to become members of his crew.
That's you. Once we commit to live the Word of Wisdom, obey
the law of chastity, go to the temple. Once we commit to doing
those and participating in those sacred ordinances, we become
part of that cruise ship, cruise ship crew. We become part of the
crew. We put on a uniform. We take upon ourselves the name of
Jesus Christ, and once we've put on that uniform, we can no
longer take just be a passenger on the ship. Once we put on that
uniform, we become a member of the crew. We are not a
passenger. We're not just a standby. We're not on standby.
We are a member of that crew. We are the experiences of the other
passengers are largely dependent on our ability to serve them, to
teach them, to help them. He quoted sister Ardith cap as
having said quote, you can't be a lifeguard if you look like all
the other swimmers on the beach. You can't be a crew member
without your uniform. Also, with regards to that uniform, there's
no giving it back. Once you've put it on, it's on. You can try
and cover it up. You can add some flair. You can cut off the
sleeves. You can do whatever you want with it once you've put it
on, but you cannot take it off. That's not how that works. Like
I said, you can cover it up, you can put flare on it, you can do
whatever you want with it, but all that's going to do is make
you uncomfortable, and it's not worth it. Now, to be fair, I've
never been on a cruise before. I get seasick if I stand still on
a pier. I'm not joking. I get seasick on the pier. I live by
the ocean. I get seasick on the pier, but I imagine that the
cruise ship crew, that the crew on the ship, works pretty hard,
and the pressure of knowing that the experiences of the other
passengers are largely dependent upon the crew, that adds no
small bit of pressure. Yeah, excuse me. Brother Wilcox also
points out, though, that as members of this crew, we also
get something that the other passengers. Yes, do not
compensation.
So for all of the time that we put into our callings, for all
of the efforts that we make to attend the temple, for all of
the times we've said no thank you to something that might
sound a little tasty, and for all of the study and research
that we've put into our own family history, we are
compensated. He quotes elder Anderson as saying, quote, There
is a compensatory spiritual power for the righteous,
including greater assurance, greater confirmation and greater
confidence. Then he adds his own. He says this, you receive
greater happiness and peace, greater righteousness and
greater knowledge. Your compensation is not merely a
mansion in heaven and streets paved with gold. It would be
easy for heavenly Father to simply give you all that he has.
His desire is to help you become all that he is. And here it is,
thus your commitments demand more of you, because that is how
God is making more of you. So we put in the effort. We become the
crew. We put on that uniform, and then we serve the other
passengers on this ship from shore to shore. We serve the
other passengers, and we do our best. And then God is making
more of that is how God makes more of us. And then when we get
to the other side, not only does he give us everything he has,
but he has helped us in this process become all that he is,
all that he has, and all that he is demands more of us than it
does of another passenger on the ship. So yes, this talk was
directed at the youth. But how many of us non youth needed the
reminder that our commitment to live the Word of Wisdom, obey
the law of chastity, go on missions, service or senior and
participate in temple ordinances. How many of us
needed the reminder that those things are the things that make
us stand out, and those things that make us stand out are the
exact same things that qualify us for exaltation? He said, it's
a lot to ask of anyone, but you're not just anyone your
covenant relationship with God and Jesus Christ is a
relationship of love and trust in which you have access to a
greater measure of their grace, their divine assistance,
endowment of strength and enabling power. That power is
not just wishful thinking, a lucky charm or self fulfilling
prophecy. It is real that's us and it's those who come after
us, and the best way for us to help the youth is to show them
that real happiness and joy come from making these commitments,
these covenants, from putting on that crew uniform and using it
as a signal for others to follow. Now, thinking about this
crew, thinking about this cruise ship analogy, and being a member
of that crew, what if, just think about it for a second.
What if every single member of that every single passenger on
that ship, became a crew member. Think about the fun that we
could have on that cruise for the rest of the way across.
Think about how peaceful and how amazing that cruise would be
from wherever we are in the middle. We're not quite in the
middle. We're getting close to shore here. What if everyone
became a crew member before we got to the next shore? How
awesome would the rest of that cruise be? And one last thing,
this is applicable no matter how old you are, whether you're a
youth or a non youth. He said, Because he is full of truth. He
sees you as you really are, flaws, weaknesses, regrets and
all because he is full of grace. He sees you as you really can
be. He meets you where you are and helps you repent and
improve, overcome and become you've got this because Jesus
Christ has got you we can live up to these standards. It is not
too late for us, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, hundreds. It doesn't
matter. It is not too late for us, because He is full of grace.
He sees us as we really are flaws in everything, but he also
sees us as what we can become, what we can be, no matter where
we are, no matter how old we are, that is applicable. We can
do this because Jesus Christ has got us. We can live up to these
standards and we can show the youth that. Is where true
happiness and joy really come from, from being obedient to the
covenants that we have made with our Heavenly Father, the
promises that we have made, just keeping them. That's it. You
make a promise, you keep your promise. We just need to keep
our promises make and keep sacred covenants and enjoy the
blessings of exaltation. Thank you so much for being here
today. I get a little bit passionate about brother
wilcox's talks. It's hard not to, because he's so passionate
when he gives them. I appreciate that you were here. I appreciate
your time. Keep learning, keep growing, keep trying. It's never
too late. Keep trying and be of good cheer. Thanks so much,
everybody until next time you.