Elder J. Christopher Lansing, Area Seventy, North America Northeast Area, discussed our time and development here on Earth through personal trials in his Devotional address, “That’s Life,” on Tuesday, October 30, 2012.
Elder Lansing opened his talk by expressing to students the importance of this specific period in their lifelong journey. “This is a wonderful time in your lives to learn and develop attitudes of Godliness. Your experiences here in an environment where the Church is strong will become a foundation for you to build upon when you leave campus and begin your lives with professional, family, and church responsibilities.”
Elder Lansing later discussed the trials and challenges of life and how we choose to deal with them. “I suspect most of us have experienced both self-inflicted challenges as well as some that could be termed the ‘bad bounces’ of life. Anyone who has ever played a game in which a ball is involved knows all about bad bounces. They are part of the game. They are not predictable in either their size or frequency. Everyone, over time, has them. While they are not always welcome, the best players are able to take advantage of these bad bounces and turn them into opportunities to score. In order to return to Heavenly Father and stay true to our desire to live with him again, we must find a way to work through these obstacles and discover what is really important to us in life.”
In discussing the aspect of prayer and relying on the Lord in times of need Elder Lansing said that we too must do our part to better each situation. “The take-away for us then is that we should not expect the Lord to remove our challenges by promising Him that we will always be faithful if He does. That sounds very much like a foxhole prayer to me. During a time of war soldiers in foxholes will pray, “If you save me, God, from my enemy I will be good always.” Rather the principle is to endure well and then you will be blessed. That is a marvelous life lesson for each of us.”
Recounting a personal experience, Elder Lansing shared that his soon-to-be-born grandchild would have Down syndrome. While this trial would not be easy, he chose to view it positively, “The challenges we have in life are ultimately helpful and even essential, as distasteful as they may be, but they are for our own good… Such is life for you and me.” Elder Lansing continued later by adding that, “the greatest example we have is the life of the Savior. He who lived a perfect life was born in the humblest of circumstances. The Scriptures teach us that He increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God. He began his prophetic mission at age thirty and set examples for us to live by. He taught that the worth of individuals is great... The Atonement in which he fulfilled the will of the Father makes it possible for us to live with the Father and Son forever. What a great example of endurance for you and me.”
See Elder Lansing’s complete Devotional address from October 30, 2012.
University Devotionals are held each Tuesday at 11 AM in the Cannon Activities Center. Previous Devotionals can be viewed or read at http://devotional.byuh.edu/.