The Heart and a Willing Mind | Donald L. Hallstrom | 2010

Описание: Donald L. Hallstrom encourages us to learn to love God with our hearts and with a willing mind, to dedicate ourselves to Him and His service.

Donald L. Hallstrom was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional address was given on December 7, 2010.

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"Diane and I are thrilled to be in Provo, where we met 39 years ago. We are always edified by the spirit of BYU. Thank you for your kindness and gracious hospitality and for what you will teach us during our brief time with you.

We love and respect President Samuelson, a valued colleague and friend, and his dear Sharon. As we consider the intellectual, leadership, and (most important) spiritual abilities of President Samuelson and those who administratively assist him, we know you are extraordinarily well led at this university. We love BYU. It is a lustrous jewel in the crown of the Church.

I wish to offer a brief insight into my life experience to provide some personal context for the subject I will address today. I was born in Hawaii when it was a territory of the United States, 10 years before statehood. Raised in the islands in a multicultural environment, I left for higher education on this campus and then for a mission to England. After marriage to a Canadian girl and our graduations here at this university, we returned to Hawaii to raise our family.

My father first went to Hawaii in 1940 as a young missionary for the Church. He was there when the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor violently thrust the U.S. into war. He served three years as a missionary, went home to Salt Lake City, and joined the army. After boot camp and officer candidate school, he married my mother in the Salt Lake Temple, and they were stationed in Hawaii. They spent the remainder of the war on Oahu in a tiny cottage with the windows painted black so no light would shine through as a protection against enemy bombers. In 1945 they returned to Salt Lake City, stayed nine months, and then returned to Hawaii as a permanent home. My mother passed away in 2001, and my father died last year—both in Hawaii. When my father died, it had been nearly 70 years since he first arrived in the islands. I treasure my upbringing in culturally diverse Hawaii; it has significantly influenced my perspective of the equality of God’s children.

Ten years ago, after receiving my call as a General Authority, my wife, Diane, and I were assigned to the Asia North Area, which then comprised the countries of Japan and South Korea and included doing humanitarian work in North Korea. We lived in Tokyo and stayed three years in that assignment. After two years at Church headquarters, we then were sent to the Church’s Asia Area, which encompasses 25 countries and territories and over one-half the world’s population. After four years of living in Hong Kong, we have now been back at Church headquarters for nearly a year and a half. In my current assignment we assist the Quorum of the Twelve in supervising the Church throughout the world.

With this growing perspective of the people of the world, heightened by the fundamental purpose of my ecclesiastical responsibilities, I have spent much time pondering how the gospel is established in an individual life, in a family, in a country, and, indeed, throughout the world. The words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith often come to my mind: “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33).

The Lord, of course, understands the process of developing a testimony and the combined force of sincere and righteous people necessary to build His Church in any area of the world.

There are two ways the Church grows: (1) by converts, of which there are hundreds of thousands each year; and (2) multigenerationally, with children following the example of member parents. Both are essential to the future of the Lord’s kingdom and complement one another, as the conversion of today is the multigenerational growth of tomorrow..."