Engaging in a Good Cause by President Baclayon

Last week my family had the wonderful opportunity to see Janice Kapp Perry, composer of several well-known church songs found in the hymnbook and the Primary Songbook, at the stake center. She gave a wonderful musical fireside about her songs she has written. As my daughter sat on my lap, we sang her songs from memory, and I thought about the impact of her songs on my family. It was a special moment to be able to sing such inspiring songs with the original composer. How I wished my mother or brother could have been there, to sing “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus,” which holds special meaning for both of them. While she was talking about her life, there was one thing she said that surprised me. She mentioned that she didn’t start composing songs until she was over forty. This is in stark contrast to the world’s statement, echoed by American Mathematician, Richard Hamming, “You have got to do it when you are young or you will never do it.” What a blessing it was for her to find her talent when she was older and have the courage to develop and share her talent with others. Talking of doing something significant, Hamming further says,” When they were young they had independent thoughts and had the courage to pursue them.”

Now, I am not trying to give a talk about trying new things in your old age. The principle we learn here is not to get stuck in a rut. A lot of people who are young are not in a rut yet. But most of us have been in the church for a long time, and have developed a familiar pattern within our church lives. We should be pushing ourselves to try to do more. What can I do? Who can I serve? What can I learn? What talents can I develop? In the church, just as in life, we often find our comfort level and set up camp. We might have been baptized. We might have a calling. We might be worthy of a temple recommend. Though some may view the church as an organization with positions to fill, the gospel is not a static entity. It is dynamic. More properly put, it inspires dynamic change within people. If we have come to a point where we have lost that spirit that makes us want to improve and make ourselves better, we are sinking in despair. The rivers of Babylon have taken us and we are floating downriver on our raft of content.

The basic principles and ordinances of the gospel represent this dynamic spirit. The fourth article of faith reads, “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” We start with faith. Finding something that is true, and then acting on that truth is the essence of faith. Prophets old and new have taught us of the inseparable connection between faith and work. In the New Testament, James taught us, “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” More recently, President Hinckley said, “We walk by faith. We move forward on our eternal journey, one step at a time.” Faith needs righteousness in order to maintain its strength. It needs righteous and works in order to grow. C.S. Lewis said, “What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step.” If we profess faith, yet fail to work, we are telling the root to grow but withholding nourishment. Faith is shown by our deeds. We should be as serious about nourishing our faith as we are about nourishing our physical bodies, both of which may cry out in hunger.

When we have found our faith, we then repent of what we have done wrong. Repentance is another principle where action is at the very core. When we repent, we often think about the sorrow since it is the strongest feeling, but a larger part of repentance is returning. We need to return to righteousness. Of repentance, Elder Neil L. Anderson said, “repentance is more a journey than a one-time event. It is not easy. To change is difficult. It requires running into the wind, swimming upstream.” Repentance requires work. Work is the only way we can improve. Imagine for a minute that you were to take a test for a class. How much would you learn if the teacher simply wrote the answers on the board and told you to write the correct answers? Just as we need to study to learn, we need to work to receive forgiveness for our sins and eventually salvation. Repentance requires us to have a desire to change, and then act on that desire. In Doctrine and Covenants 58:43, we learn that in order to repent we must both confess and forsake our sins. To truly repent, we confess our sins, and the make sure we strive to stay on the path of righteousness.

Once we have faith and have repented of our sins, we then are baptized into the church. Many people view baptism as a culminating event. Once we receive baptism, we have reached the end of a journey. Although many have come a long way to baptism, it is merely a doorway leading to another path. There are many that sit right inside the doorway of baptism opining their need to rest, then never rise again after feeling the comfort of idleness. They see the worn path true disciples of Christ take, and become even more tired in anticipation of future labors before even taking a step. Of baptism, Neil A. Maxwell said, “Upon receiving the ordinance of baptism, one officially becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ. This discipleship involves constant challenges as we strive to follow His example and become perfect as He has commanded.” Even after baptism, when we stop striving to be better, when we stop nourishing our testimonies, our spiritual strength becomes weak. We become unable to cope with the harshness of life and gospel living. Our spirits deteriorate and lose strength we once had.

The Lord knows of the difficulties of gospel living, so he has given us a gift, the gift of the Holy Ghost. In Doctrine and Covenants 121:46 we read, “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth.” The Doctrine and Covenants further teaches us that the Spirit will enlighten our minds and fill our souls with joy. Of the Holy Spirit, President Joseph F. Smith said, “The spirit of God may be enjoyed as a temporary influence by which divine light and power come to mankind for special purposes and occasions.” We are given the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us to choose the right and bring to pass God’s purposes. If we fail to work, fail to fulfill our callings, fail to keep the commandments, we are rejecting this gift from our Heavenly Father, essentially telling Him that we don’t’ need it.

I am eternally grateful to those influences in my life, who choose to be anxiously engaged in a good cause. One great example is my wife. For the last six years, she has become a single mother on Sundays. But despite the difficulties of driving two small children to church in the difficult traffic we sometimes see outside, she chooses to faithfully support her husband and bring herself and her children to learn the doctrines of Christ in a language that is not her native language.

Brothers and sisters, our greatest example of being engaged in a good cause and work is the Savior, Jesus Christ. In Luke 9:58, we read, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” He has endured all that we have endured and more. He is the perfect example. In closing, I would like to share a poem I found that is relevant to this topic. It is called “The Mountain.”

Here I stand, at mountain’s foot,
And glance up at the peak,
Where trials end, and faithful sent
To dwell amidst the meek

My vision’s blurred by fog and rain
That wander on the slopes
Elusive, clouded, volatile
Become my journey’s hopes

The gate I’ve passed, to enter on
The straight path to the top
But ridges with their summer breeze
Content me, so I stop

I pause a bit on mountains walls
And help those passing by
My duty done, bumps overcome
I return to meadow nigh

But difficulties can arise
With one hand to assist
The other, waiting for relief,
Is helpless at the wrist

The only way to truly help
Wayfarers on the way
Is to join them on the path
And share their joys and frays

Take a step, though each one hurts
Endurance is the key
To gaining strength and preparing us
For life and eternity


It is my prayer that as we strive to become anxiously engaged in a good cause, that we look to His example. In the name of Jess Christ, Amen.