Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.

Have you ever tried to hike up a snowy mountain in deep snow? I tried to once. And it wasn’t even very far to the cabin at the top of the hill, which was our destination. . I couldn’t believe how exhausted I was when almost every other step I was sinking in the snow up past my knees. I would try so hard to find the crustiest snow that would hold my weight, sometimes it would and sometimes it wouldn’t.

What could have helped me? Who has used snowshoes before? (Distributes your weight, helps hold you up.)

Well, we had one pair of snowshoes, to share. When I got my first turn with the snowshoes it was like heaven. They almost made me forget that we were still going uphill because it was so much more efficient.

I want to liken hiking up a snowy mountain to the theme for our Ward Conference. “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. We start out at the bottom of the hill and make a commitment to

The Word--which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We want to get to the top of this snowy hill, which is our ultimate destination, eternal life with our Heavenly Father. We do need to hear the word first. He has given us so many ways to hear the word. For example, prophets, leaders, Seminary, Scriptures, parents, church magazines, etc. These are the snowshoes. We can choose to take advantage of the snowshoes at the bottom of the hill, or we can try it alone looking desperately for the crusty snow so we don’t sink--kind of hit and miss.

On this hill of life, where does the doing come in? When can we get from hearing to doing?

I’m a big fan of Jane Austin. I love her books and the movies they have made of these stories. I had read a review of a new Jane Austin movie that was premiering on a cable channel. And I was so excited to see it and record it. It was on a Sunday and we had other things to do so I made sure to record it so I could watch it the next night. I was anticipating watching this all day long, and when I got my little kids to bed I sat down by myself to indulge. It was so good, even better than I expected. It was just getting to the really good part, the romance seemed to finally be coming together, and all of a sudden the tape stopped and started rewinding--it had run out of tape! I was so frustrated. I had this empty feeling all the next day. What good is watching part of a movie? What good is going partway up this mountain? If only we could have this constant reminder that it is not finished, that there is more than just being hearers of the word. Well we do. If we are hearing, taking advantage of these things, sincerely, the Holy Ghost will be with you to remind you the you’re not finished.

He will prompt you with thoughts, ideas, and feelings and you will be up there on that hill, teaching others how to strap on their snow shoes, sharing yours, and being an example for your friends and families. And they will know that you are committed to make it to the top.

Have you ever wondered if Christ would ever run out of His ability to help you, or His ability to help you every step of the way? Do you remember the story of the loaves and fishes, when Jesus Fed the 5,000? Jesus had been teaching and healing these 5,000 men, besides women and children. His disciples came to him and said, “This is a desert, it’s late, send the multitude away, that they might go to the village and buy victuals, or food.” But Jesus said, “They need not depart, give ye them to eat.” They said they had only five loaves and two fishes. He said bring them to me, he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, he blessed the food, his disciples passed it out, and when they were finished the leftovers filled twelve baskets! In Jerusalem somebodies church has a big rock which they say was the very place where Jesus blessed broke the loaves and fishes. On the floor under the stone is a mosaic of the loaves and fishes. While I was there I bought a plate that looked the same as the loaves and fishes on this mosaic to bring home--except that I never got it home. At least in one piece. I guess I didn’t pack it well because I got home with a sack full of tiny pieces, slivers, too numerous to count. I was sick until I heard Elder Holland talk about the loaves and fishes story. He said the whole point, the whole lesson of this story is this: Christ was teaching the multitude, and us (because we can read it in the scriptures) that no matter how many of us there are or how many times we need him he will not send us away. He has enough to go around. Do you think he would have run out of loaves and fishes if there had been 10,000 people instead of 5,000? Of course not. And he will not run out of help for you. Now I think of that broken plate, those loaves and fishes now divided into a zillion pieces and I realize that one of those pieces can feed me as much spiritual food as I can handle.

(March 17, 1997)

by Sally O Meservy