Let your LIGHT Shine

This talk was given in the Northridge 3rd Ward in Orem, Utah on July 29, 2019 two days before Kim and I left on our mission to Suva, Fiji to be ITEP missionaries.  We will be working in the secondary and elementary schools helping the teachers to become certified.

I’ve had several scriptures going through my mind the past month or so that I’d like to share:

14 …. I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

15 Behold, do men light a ^acandle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;  (isn’t that a beautiful image!)

16 Therefore let your ^alight so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and ^bglorify your Father who is in heaven.

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt ^alove the Lord thy God with all thy ^bheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy ^cmind.

38 This is the first and great ^acommandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt ^alove thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the ^alaw and the prophets.

7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Mosiah 23: 10 Nevertheless, ^aafter much ^btribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an ^cinstrument in his hands…..

Moses 1:39 This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

I’ve never been one who felt like I could share the gospel with a complete stranger…or even share the gospel with some of my friends.  But we have been given the greatest gift of all time…knowledge of Jesus Christ and who we are, where we came from and where we are going and what our Heavenly Father wants from us.  Do we really want to hide that under a bushel?   Or do we want to share our light so that others can glorify God.  Jesus Christ wants us to share the gospel, and we can do that by teaching or by example.  Sometimes the only way to share the gospel is by our examples.  We share our light by the way we live our lives, how we treat others…we made a covenant at baptism to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places…to let our light shine before this people. And as we share our light, we become instruments in God’s hands to help Him in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.  And we are willing to do that…to make the sacrifices necessary to do that…because we love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and our fellowmen.

WE went to China 2 years ago to teach English through a program sponsored by the Church through BYU.   We had no idea what we were getting in to.  In 2 days we will be leaving for the MTC in New Zealand and 10 days later, on to Fiji.  We will be working in the schools owned by the Church teaching courses to the teachers to help them become certified.  Again, we have no idea what we are getting in to.  For those that don’t know the story, Kim and I taught English at a university in Xi’an China.  We went in August 2017 for 10 months. We were home for only 4 months before we were asked to return to Xi’an in 4 months to take the place of a couple that was called to be a mission president.  When we got that call to return, we were in the process of submitting papers to go on a mission.  We had been asked to come to this particular mission because of our experiences in teaching and Kim’s administration experience in the public schools.  Katie was expecting her 4^th child and I had committed to her to teach her preschool when she had the baby which was due the week they wanted us to return.  This was not the best time to return to China, despite how much we loved our time there previously. After much consideration, prayer, and discussions with our children and my aging parents, we decided that this was what the Lord wanted us to do.  This was where we needed to be.  Two days after returning to China, we received our call to teach education courses to the teachers at the church owned schools in Fiji.  So, we have been given many opportunities to let our light shine.  We had a remarkable experience with our college students.  We learned so much about some of God’s precious children.

In 1991 President Dallin H Oaks gave a devotional address at BYU where he spoke about China.  Quoting from that address, He said: “People sometimes ask me about what can be done to “open China.” In response, I state my belief that China is already “open”—it is we who are closed. We are closed because we expect the Orient to be the same as the West, China to be the same as Canada or Chile. We must open our minds and our hearts to the people of this ancient realm and this magnificent culture. We must understand their way of thinking, their aspirations, and their impressive accomplishments. We must observe their laws and follow their example of patience. We must deserve to be their friends.”

We definitely left feeling honored and blessed to have served these people who are so different from us but are so much like us.

The church has a great relationship with China but we still have restrictions. There are no missionaries serving in China.  We were not missionaries or set apart as such. But we were reminded often of our important role.

We are allowed to hold church meetings.  But not with the Chinese.  The Chinese members of the church are allowed to hold church meetings.  But not with foreigners.  We are told that there is a small branch of Chinese members who meet together but we are not told who they are or where they meet.  We cannot talk about the church to any of the Chinese people.  If they ask us questions about our religious beliefs, we have to politely decline giving an answer.  So, what is the reason for the church in sending 80 English teachers to China every year?  To let their light so shine among this people, that they may see their good works…. To plant a seed.  To prepare the people so that when the day comes when their government will allow missionaries to come into their country and will allow them to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, they will have had an example set for them.  It’s also to help prepare us so we will know their ways and their culture and know better how to be their friends.  

there were times, though, when I so wished I could just tell my students a little bit about our religion.  To help them see that they are children of a God who loves them.  To tell them about Jesus Christ who loves them equally and who sacrificed all things so that they could not only have life after death but so that they could have comfort and strength and peace in times when they need it the most.  That they have a purpose. But I couldn’t. 

Each day our classes would start with 4 or 5 students asking me a question.  They could ask anything they wanted.  Just to give them the opportunity to speak.  One day a student asked me: “If we existed before this life, would you want to know about it?”

When he asked me that, I just looked at him.  Then I think I asked him to repeat the question to make sure I understood him correctly.  Was he really asking me if I believed in a pre-existence?  Would I want to know about it?  WHY yes, I would.  And not only would I but I DO know about it.  But I was restricted in what I could say.  So I told him as much as I thought I dare—yes I would want to know and I actually have a belief that we existed but it’s part of my religious belief and I’ve made a commitment to not talk about it. And he understood.

The biggest thing I learned while living in China…in a country where most of the 1.4 billion people don’t even believe that a God exists….was that they have some hope and/or faith that life maybe existed before and they definitely believe that life continues after this life. 

The Chinese have a holiday that they call Tomb Sweeping.  In this holiday, families gather pictures of items that their deceased family members might need, like computers, cars or clothing.  They also purchase fake money.  Then on the night of tomb sweeping, they build a small fire and burn the money and the pictures believing that these things will be sent to their ancestors.  Now if that’s not a belief in life after death than I don’t know what is!!!

Because I know they had these strong feelings toward their families, I did a unit on families, as did many teachers.  Each week we discussed different members of the family.  I began by having them make a pedigree chart.  All my students could fill in their parents and most could fill in grandparents.  But very few knew anything about their great-grandparents.  So, there was a great assignment, to talk to their parents and grandparents and find out who their great grandparents are.  Then I gave them an assignment to find out something about one of their great-grandparents and come back to class ready to share their story. Then a story about one of their grandparents.  And then their parents.  And lastly, a story about themselves.  We talked at length about who they were.  I couldn’t tell them they were a child of God but I could tell them that they are who they are because of their parents – their grandparents – and their great grandparents.  The lives they lived have a great influence on their life today.  I talked to them about how important they are and how they each have purpose!  I asked them to look inside themselves and find out who they are.  What is it that they can do in this life.  What is their purpose?  During all our discussions each week, I always brought in examples of my own family and my ancestors and talked about our relationships and how much my family means to me.  I wanted them to know they could make a difference and living a good life and making good choices will bring them happiness.  That love is the tool that will change the world.

Did I teach the gospel?  Not really BUT yes kind of.  I planted a seed.  I gave them something to think about. I tried to let them see my light so that one day when the gospel is introduced to them, whether in this life or the next, that the seed I planted will come out of its hiding place and start to grow.

I’d like to share a few profound comments from students that shows that the seeds have been planted and the light has been shone.  These are students who most do not believe in a loving Heavenly Father or Jesus Christ.  But who believe in family and are trying to believe in themselves:

“Not everything in life works out exactly as planned but if you trust in the cycle of the seasons you know that in the long term you will reap the harvest you have sown.”

“Families are the aggregate of love.  The harbor of feelings. The cradle of growth. The spiritual paradise.”

*“It is true that everybody should be virtuous. Good and honest is the basic thing for everyone.  Good and honest is the best thing that my parents gave me.  I don’t want to be a person who has too much money or is very famous.  I just want to try my best to do what I should do and to be more kindly and modest.”

*talking about her grandparents, one student said, “though they will leave us one day, you know death is not the ending of life but forgetting is.  The most honor I show them is remember them and pass on their story, generation after generation.”

“Grandparents that have passed are now standing in front of me…in family research.”

The seeds for doing family research are being planted all over China. ….^aturning the ^bhearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers,”  What an honor for me to see their spirits searching, longing, and having faith that there is more than what the eye beholds.

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are asked to share our light.  We are asked to stand as a witness.  We are asked to search out our families and bring them all into the fold.  We are asked to Help others Come unto Christ.  We have been asked to Love our neighbors as ourselves.

One day in RS the RS president made the comment that she knew God loved all of us but she didn’t really comprehend how that is possible.  A few days later as I walked down the street I thought of all the people I had met in China.  I thought of the great love that I had for them and how much I was going to miss them when I returned home the following week.  I thought about how my heart just kept expanding so that I could continue to love more and more people.  And I had a little glimpse into how God can love ALL of us.  I was kind of like the Grinch…my heart grew 10 Times at least!!!

Again Quoting Dallin H. Oaks:  “I believe that in China the Lord will do his own work, and, as he has said in modern scripture, his work will be done “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:68).  In the meantime, we are privileged to be good friends to our Chinese brothers and sisters.”

Kim and I have had the privileged to be GOOD Friends to our Chinese brothers and sisters.   The gospel is rolling forth in God’s way and in God’s time, according to his will. 

Now we move onward to Fiji.  And again We really do not know what to expect. It will be a totally different experience.  Here we will work with members of the Church of Jesus Christ.  We will be teaching in Church owned schools where the students address their teachers by Brother and Sister.  We will be free to talk freely of Jesus Christ  and His light and His gospel and the joy that it can bring into our lives.  We are anxious and willing to stand as a witness once more and let our light so shine before this people.

The Gospel is true.  Heavenly Father Loves all His children—rich and poor, black and white, tall and short, old and young. Asian or Fijian.  I’m grateful to have the gospel in my life.  As Elder Clark said in priesthood session of conference, “have we not cause to rejoice?”  I rejoice in the knowledge of my Savior and his love for all mankind.  All the good that we do is because of LOVE. I rejoice in the prospects of the gospel going forth to China.  I rejoice in the prospects of serving the people of Fiji as we help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am grateful to each of you and the support we feel from you.  We are blessed to have been among so many good friends for so many years who have shared your light with us and shown us the way. 

I am so grateful that 3 of our daughters, a son in law and 8 of our grandchildren have joined us today. I love the gospel.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ….I will go and let my light so shine before this people….

I say that in HIS name, even Jesus Christ, AMEN.

       

A bit of background:  In 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball spoke to regional representatives to the church all over the world about the importance of taking the gospel to all nations.  In his address, he specifically brought up China:  He said, “By comparison with the widespread breakdown of morality and discipline in the western world, the Chinese are a disciplined, industrious, frugal, closely knit people. Their moral standards are very high by modern western standards. . . . Family life is strong, with old family members still given great respect and care.
…..When we are ready, the Lord will use us for his purposes.
There are almost three billion people now living on the earth in nations where the gospel is not now being preached. If we could only make a small beginning in every nation, soon the converts among each kindred and tongue could step forth as lights to their own people and the gospel would thus be preached in all nations before the coming of the Lord.

In January of 1979 Jimmy Carter announced that the US would begin diplomatic recognition with China. Immediately a trip taking the Young Ambassadors was planned. Miracles happened over and over again until Pres. Oaks saw his dream come true.   Forty years later, BYU wanted to take their performing groups back to China for an anniversary performance.  But this time, they wanted to bring more than the Young Ambassadors.  Again, through many miracles, the vision to unite and celebrate with this country came to pass. They performed with 10 different groups in Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an.  Because we were in Xi’an we were encouraged to do what we could to support these efforts of BYU.  Kim was inspired to buy a row of seats that we could offer to some of our students.  We had 17 tickets that we did drawings for in each of our classes.  We showed previews to the show to help the students know what the performance was.  The students that won the tickets were excited.  The highlight though of the night wasn’t the performance but the greeting of the performers after the show.  Our students met them, took pictures with them and simply fell in love.  More seeds were planted…more light was shared. 

Elder Oaks:  People sometimes ask me about what can be done to “open China.” In response, I state my belief that China is already “open”—it is we who are closed. We are closed because we expect the Orient to be the same as the West, China to be the same as Canada or Chile. We must open our minds and our hearts to the people of this ancient realm and this magnificent culture. We must understand their way of thinking, their aspirations, and their impressive accomplishments. We must observe their laws and follow their example of patience. We must deserve to be their friends.

As we become friends of China, and as we learn from them, our Father in Heaven, who has made “all nations of men . . . and [has] determined . . . the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26), will bring his purposes to pass in that great nation “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:68).