Aaron Shumway (pictured right), a BYU–Hawaii alumnus, former adjunct professor, and son of former President Eric B. Shumway, spoke at BYU–Hawaii's devotional this past Tuesday, August 11, 2009, which was held at the Cannon Activities Center. Shumway, currently practicing law with Ashford & Wriston, began by recounting his strong ties to the university.
He then stated that he hoped hearts would change before they left devotional. He shared a statistical bombshell that he learned nearly twenty years earlier as a young missionary learning a foreign language at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. He was told by an instructor, "If Church statistics are accurate, half of you in this room will be less active in the Church within 20 years." He continued, "I remember looking to my left and looking to my right and seeing only strong, vibrant missionaries. 'There's no way that can be accurate,' I remember telling myself, 'at least not with this group.' " He has since seen this statistic fulfilled. Over the years, he has come to understand the absolute need to continually strive to be personally righteous. According to Alma's counsel, we must "have experienced a change of heart, and if [we] have felt to sing the song of redeeming love…can [we] feel so now?" (Alma 5:26).
Shumway emphasized the development of personal righteousness and addressed the difference between personal righteousness and public righteousness, or how we should live the gospel when others are not watching. He shared the Savior's parable from the New Testament about the Pharisee and the publican praying at the temple. The publican was a despised tax collector, yet he "stood 'afar off' and humbly acknowledged his sinful status before God and begged for mercy." The Pharisee, on the other hand, "loudly exclaimed his righteous deeds for all to hear." He noted, "I get the feeling that the publican would have prayed sincerely even if no one was watching," summing that public displays of righteousness are not sufficient to live the gospel. Our personal righteousness, he stated, is vital not only for our spiritual survival but also for the progress of the Church.
He illustrated personal righteousness with an example of a faithful sister in Tonga, Maamakamo Viau. Maamakamo “suffers from Weber’s Syndrome, a condition since early in her life that caused her left leg to swell to grossly abnormal proportions.” Although her childhood was fraught with struggles due to her condition, it was not until she got older that she faced overwhelming odds. After a near death experience in New Zealand, she and husband Eliesa returned to Tonga to live. Her leg swelled to the point of leaving her bedridden for the rest of her life. But with all the trials she faced, she endured and bore witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to her family, bringing her immediate family members into the waters of baptism. Her life, fraught with pain and distress from a weakening condition, left her as stalwart as Job. She states, "It is in my greatest pain and deepest distress that I feel the closest to Heavenly Father. . . . My testimony of the Gospel is firm and unwavering. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has given me life and has prolonged my life, especially in my condition, so that I can repent and change, and learn to love others and become worthy of living in His presence."
"It is not surprising that her name, Maamakamo, in the Tongan language, means 'light that beckons' or beacon light,' " stated Shumway.
He then shifted course, sharing a quote by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve: "Today I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls…. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes."
The contrast between Maamakamo's personal struggles and the pervasive evil in technology melded with two questions:
- Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?
- Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?
The physical challenges that Maamakamo faced and continues to fight against are just as cankerous as the internal struggles that cyberspace can unleash upon an inattentive soul. Prayer and daily scripture studies, he taught, can fortify our personal commitment to living the gospel, "no matter who is watching."
--Photo by Ian Nitta