Atoning Donuts

A boy named Steve was struggling in school. He been kicked out of several classes, but a kind seminary teacher finally allowed him into his sixth-period class. One day, the teacher planned a special lesson. He asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. The teacher asked, “How many push-ups can you do?”

Steve replied, “I do about two hundred every night.”

“Two hundred?” the teacher said. “That’s pretty good. Do you think you could do three hundred?”

Steve answered, “I don’t know—I’ve never done three hundred at a time.”

The teacher said, “Can you do three hundred in sets of ten?”

“Well, I think I can,” Steve answered. “Yeah, I can do it.”

“Good! I need you to do this on Friday.”

Well, Friday came, and Steve went to class early and sat in front. When class started, the teacher pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts. They were the big, extra-fancy kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was excited. It was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

The teacher went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want a donut?” Cynthia said yes.

He then turned to Steve and asked, “Would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?”

Steve said, “Sure,” and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve sat again at his desk. The teacher put a donut on Cynthia’s desk, then went to the next student and asked, “Joe, do you want a donut?” Joe said yes.

The teacher asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?”

And so it went, down the first aisle, and down the second aisle, until they came to Scott, the captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. When the teacher asked, “Scott, do you want a donut?” his reply was, “Well, can I do my own push-ups?”

The teacher said, “No, Steve has to do them.”

Scott replied, “Well, I don’t want one then.”

The teacher then turned to Steve and asked, “Would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?”

Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, “Hey! I said I didn’t want one!”

The teacher said, “Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it,” and he put a donut on Scott’s desk.

Now, by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could see beads of perspiration on his brow. The teacher started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

The teacher asked Jenny, “Do you want a donut?” Jenny said no.

Then the teacher asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?” Steve did ten, and Jenny got a donut.

By now the students were beginning to say no regularly, and there were many uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also really putting forth a lot of effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. Sweat was dripping onto the floor beneath his face. His arms and face were red from the effort.

The teacher said he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for those uneaten donut, so he asked Robert to make sure Steve did the push-ups. The teacher started down the fourth row.

During his class, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters on the sides of the room. When the teacher realized this, he did a quick count and saw thirty-four students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

The teacher went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

A student named Jason came to the door and was about to come in when all the students yelled, “No! Don’t come in! Stay out!”

Jason didn’t know what was going on. Steve looked up and said, “No, let him come in.”

The teacher said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him.”

Steve said, “Yes, let him come in.”

The teacher said, “Okay, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?”

“Yes.”

“Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?” Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

The teacher finished the fourth row, then started among those seated on the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face, and by this time there was not a dry eye in the room.

The last two girls in the room were cheerleaders. The teacher went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a donut?

Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

The teacher said, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?”

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then the teacher turned to the last girl. “Susan, do you want a donut?” Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, “Can I help him?”

The teacher, with tears of his own, said, “No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?”

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

The teacher turned to his class and said, “And so it was that our Savior, Jesus Christ, prayed, ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ With the understanding that Jesus had done everything that was required of Him, He collapsed on the cross and died—even for those that didn’t want His gift. And just like some of us, many choose not to accept the gift that was provided for them.”

The First Great Commandment

King Benjamin has always been a favorite of mine. I can imagine a sweet old man that has worked hard his whole life, not unlike our beloved prophet today. I can see his trembling old body as he stands before his people looking more like a giant among men as the spirit pores from his countenance.

In his heart felt way he pleads for us to lay aside our natural man, to forget about ourselves and turn to a loving God who we are forever indebted to. He truly understood who to look to for peace, strength and life. Our Heavenly Father has given us everything, "He who created us from the beginning, and is preserving us from day to day, by lending us breath" asks only that we keep His commandments.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty."

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,”Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before."

I testify that we have all been called to the work, we have all been given the charge and if we truly love God we must share, we must work, we must believe and we must testify! 

Christ is pleading with us. "What I need are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do."

Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world!

Go and Do

I've always wondered, why didn't God just tell Lehi to grab the Brass Plates on his way out of Jerusalem? He knew that they would need the sacred text, He didn't forget, God doesn't make mistakes. The trials that Nephi and his family were called to pass through were not a deviation of God's plan but a part of the plan all along. 

Retrieving the plates was probably the hardest thing any of the four brothers had ever been asked to do. This experience tried and stretched them, but more importantly it molded them and shaped them into the people that God needed them to be.

Laman was willing to approach Laban first, but to no avail. He was even willing to enter a second time along side his brothers to offer all of their worldly possessions to purchase the Brass Plates but again they were chased out. At this point the trial became too much for the Eldest brothers. Nephi's faith was the only one strong enough to trust God for a third time.

Upon entering the city, Nephi finds his faith tested even farther then before when he finds Laban on the ground next to his sword and is commanded to kill him. For a moment his "go and do" attitude falters. For the first time "his heart shrunk" away from the task the Lord had given him. But even through this most testing moment Nephi, consciously aligns his will with God and "obeys the voice of the Spirit" and 

proves himself faithful once again.

Why didn't God "deliver Laban into his hands" the first time around? Why was Nephi subjected to repeated failure, loss of all his worldly possessions, beatings by the hand of his own brothers and then finally forced to stand on his own to face what easily could have been his death? Probably for a lot of reasons but in the end he went completely on faith. He was "led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which he would do." Only then was he ready. It was always God's plan for Nephi to return home with the Brass Plates. God was always willing to deliver the plates into his hands, but Nephi and his brothers had a few things to learn along the way.

Like this experience, our trails are not a deviation away from God's plan but part were always apart of our story. God has big plans for us, much bigger then we have for ourselves. As we strive to become the best man or women we can be, God is working hard to make us into Gods, fit for his kingdom. 

Sometimes our trails are caused by careless others who break hearts and burn bridges. Sometimes our trails come because we fall short and have to learn from the consequences of our actions. But a lot of the time our trials come because the world is difficult, the world is unfair, but with God nothing is wasted. He is refining us, He is preparing us. 

Paul understood this perfectly. When referring to the Savior, he said, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."

Notwithstanding My Weakness

Often times as a missionary I feel inadequate compared to the task laid ahead of me. The Lord has called me to be his servant and has placed me in some very humbling circumstances. I have visited the home of a young widow who is struggling to find direction for her family. I have listened with broken heart to the remorse of a grown man who wished he had done different. I have been witness to the results of abuse and neglect that has impacted a women's whole world. 

As my heart breaks for the sweet people that The Lord has led me to, I feel I can do little more then pray. Pray that this gospel can find place in their hearts, pray that God will heal up their wounds and broken hearts. Never before have I really understood the responsibility to "mourn with those that mourn".

I think all of us feel that we fall short of what is expected of us. We compare our weaknesses that we are so familiar with to others strengths. We don't know how we can possibly fill the shoes of those who went before. Our only hope being that God will make up for our list of shortcomings.

Even prophets notice their weaknesses. Nephi persisted in a major task “notwithstanding my weakness.”(2 Ne. 33:11). Jacob, wrote of his “over anxiety” for those with whom he was not certain he could communicate adequately. (Jacob 4:18) Our latter-day prophets have met those telling moments when they have felt as if they could not meet a challenge. Yet they did. Teachings of the Prophets: Spencer W. Kimball tells this story,

"On July 8, 1943, President J. Reuben Clark Jr. of the First Presidency called Spencer at home. He said that Spencer had been called to fill one of the two vacant seats in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. To this, Spencer responded: “Oh, Brother Clark! Not me? You don’t mean me? There must be some mistake. I surely couldn’t have heard you right. … It seems so impossible. I am so weak and small and limited and incapable.” Spencer assured President Clark that there could be only one response to a call from the Lord, but his willingness to serve did not immediately overcome his feelings of

inadequacy and unworthiness.

"Those feelings intensified over the next few days, during which Spencer had little or no sleep. While he was in Boulder, Colorado, to visit his son, he went walking in the hills early one morning. As he climbed higher and higher, he reflected on the magnitude of the apostolic office. He was tormented by the thought that he might not measure up, that his calling might have been some mistake. In this frame of mind, he approached the peak of the mountain he was climbing, where he fell in prayer and meditation. “How I prayed!” he recalled. “How I suffered! How I wept! How I struggled!” As he agonized, a dream came to him of his grandfather Heber C. Kimball and “the great work he had done.” This awareness calmed Spencer’s heart. “A calm feeling of assurance came over me, doubt and questionings subdued. It was as though a great burden had been lifted. I sat in tranquil silence surveying the beautiful valley, thanking the Lord for the satisfaction and the reassuring answer to my prayers.” On October 7, 1943, at age 48,

Spencer W. Kimball was ordained an Apostle."

I know that The Lord qualifies those that he chooses!

I know that our weaknesses can become strengths through Him. 

Broken Things to Mend

A Talk by Jeffery R. Holland

The first words Jesus spoke in His majestic Sermon on the Mount were to the troubled, the discouraged and downhearted. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” I speak to those who are facing personal trials and family struggles, those who endure conflicts fought in the lonely foxholes of the heart, those trying to hold back floodwaters of despair that sometimes wash over us like a tsunami of the soul. I wish to speak particularly to you who feel your lives are broken, seemingly beyond repair.

To all such I offer the surest and sweetest remedy that I know. It is found in the clarion call the Savior of the world Himself gave. He said it in the beginning of His ministry, and He said it in the end. He said it to believers, and He said it to those who were not so sure. He said to everyone, whatever their personal problems might be:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

He is saying to us, “Trust me, learn of me, do what I do. Then, when you walk where I am going,” He says, “we can talk about where you are going, and the problems you face and the troubles you have. If you will follow me, I will lead you out of darkness,” He promises. “I will give you answers to your prayers. I will give you rest to your souls.”

My beloved friends, I know of no other way for us to succeed or to be safe amid life’s many pitfalls and problems. I know of no other way for us to carry our burdens.

I promise you He is not going to turn His back on us now. When He says to the poor in spirit, “Come unto me,” He means He knows the way out and He knows the way up. He knows it because He has walked it. He knows the way because He is the way.

Brothers and sisters, whatever your distress, please don’t give up and please don’t yield to fear. “Be not afraid, only believe.”

If you are lonely, please know you can find comfort. If you are discouraged, please know you can find hope. If you are poor in spirit, please know you can be strengthened. If you feel you are broken, please know you can be mended.

May we all, especially the poor in spirit, come unto Him and be made whole, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, amen.

Honor Christmas in my heart

Luke 24 tells a story of two apostles walking on Emmaus road

soon after Christs resurrection and ascension.

  

"...And behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened..."

While they were walking they were joined by the Savior himself but they didn't recognize him. Christ asked them why they were so sad, and they responded with a questions, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?" They explained the details of the last few days of Christ's life as they continued to walk.

The stranger began to expound scriptures, explaining that these things had been prophesied by many prophets, still they did not recognize Him.

It wasn't until he later sat to eat with them, and blessed and broke the bread that, 'their eyes were opened, and they knew him'.

"And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"

The Christmas season is now behind us, will we like these men of old quickly forget our time we spent with the Savior? It had only been a few days since he had left but "their eyes were holden that they could not see him." Each of us have drawn closer to our Savior with the Christmas spirit, I know that I have come to know him better from the time I have spent with him. Let us not forget the feelings we have had the the lessons we have learned. "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way." 

Let us cry like Ebenezer Scrooge " I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."  Let us move into the new year better people because of the things we learned this season.

 

Coming to know my Savior

"Is not the greatest need in all of the world for every person to have a personal, ongoing, daily, continuing relationship with the Savior?"

This week I have gained a stronger relationship with my Savior through the power of the priesthood.  While at Zone Training I stood in the hallway listening to a simple yet profound testimony of the power of the priesthood. My testimony grew as I listened to this persons expression of gratitude that the priesthood power is given to men to hold in their hands, to act and bless the lives of all those around. The spirit spilled out into the hallway where I stood testifying of the truths he spoke. The priesthood is real, it is powerful enough to create worlds, and personal enough to heal broken hearts. What an amazing gift we have been given!

I have been supported and guided in my mission as I have asked for priesthood blessing regularly. I have struggled to ask for blessings, feeling like something must be wrong if I need a blessing, but I have come to know that these blessings can change my life. Countless prayers have been answered through the simple words declared in my blessings. I have felt guided, protected and watched over with each one. Most importantly I have come to know my Savior better. Through the priesthood I have felt his arms around me, I have heard the precious words that he knows I needed to hear. I have a stronger relationship with Him because of the priesthood power in my life.

I am truly grateful for worthy priesthood holders. These men are humble servants of a Heavenly Father who carry a great responsibility. I'm thankful for their examples of discipleship and their willingness to serve. 

I love my Savior more than I could ever say. Because of Him I have reason to rejoice, I can repent, I can be sealed to my family forever, I can be truly happy. Only He knows the depths of my trials and pains. He is the only one who can offer me peace. Coming to know my Savior more has been the greatest blessing of my mission. My mission has given me a small glimpse into His life as I have walked as his representative. Learning from my Savior gives me the opportunity to see people the way he sees them, the way they may become.

3 Nephi 17:21 and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.