Anchored in Christ

In the new Presidents of the Church manual on the teachings of Howard W. Hunter there’s an interesting story about a devotional that he gave at BYU.  The story reads as follows: “On February 7, 1993, President Hunter went to Brigham Young University to speak at a fireside that was attended by 17,000 people. He was just beginning his address when a man rushed onto the stand, carrying a briefcase in one hand and a black object in the other. ‘Stop right there!’ the man shouted.  He threatened to detonate what he claimed was a bomb unless President Hunter read a prepared statement.  President Hunter refused and stood resolutely at the pulpit the entire time the man was threatening him.  As fear and commotion spread through the building, the audience began to sing ‘We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.’  After a few minutes of suspense, two security personnel restrained the man, and President Hunter was lowered to the floor for safety.  When order was restored, he rested briefly and then continued with his remarks. ‘Life has a fair number of challenges in it,’ he began, and then added, ‘as demonstrated’” (see here).  What a story!  Two things in particular impress me about this account.  The first is the way that President Hunter responded in such faith, just as ancient witnesses of the Savior.  The second is how well this incident related to the message President Hunter gave in the talk. 

                President Hunter’s actions during the experience remind me of many others in the scriptures who would not submit to fear by compromising the testimony of the truth.  This man wanted to force President Hunter to speak his message instead of the Lord’s, but President Hunter did not fear man more than God.  In the same manner, when Peter and John were put in prison for preaching about Jesus in Jerusalem, the leaders of the city let them go but “commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.”  But Peter and John responded, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:18, 20).  Even if it meant putting themselves in harm’s way, they could not be deterred from preaching what God wanted.  Moroni had the same attitude.  After the end of the Nephite civilization, the Lamanites “put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.”  Moroni would “not deny the Christ” and so he had to be on the run for his life (Moroni 1:3).  Similarly Paul when he was told that he would suffer and be put in bonds if he went to Jerusalem, Paul responded, “What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).  He knew that the Lord still had a mission for him in Jerusalem and in Rome, and so he could not be silenced in what he knew he needed to preach.  All of these prophets showed their determination to be true to their testimony even if it meant potential physical harm. 

                The second thing that impressed me as I listened to this talk that he gave was how well the message of the talk connected with this experience.  The main thrust of his message that day was that even though we face great wickedness and challenges in these last days, we can still go forward in faith.  He told the students, “You have every reason in this world to be happy and to be optimistic and to be confident” (see here).  He also told them, “We all have difficult moments individually and collectively, but even in the most severe of times, anciently or modern, those problems and prophecies were never intended to do anything but bless the righteous.”  Certainly the experience of that night was one of those “difficult moments!”  President Hunter also quoted this statement from President Joseph F. Smith: “You do not need to worry in the least, the Lord will take care of you and bless you. He will also take care of His servants, and will bless them and help them to accomplish His purposes; and all the powers of darkness combined in earth and in hell cannot prevent it.”  That’s exactly what President Hunter did—he did not worry and instead trusted in the Lord that he would take care of his servants.  And the Lord indeed protected His servant on that day.  Despite a frightening few moments, President Hunter had “faith and hope… anchored in Christ” and that’s what won the day.  We must likewise put our faith in Christ first despite the wickedness and calamities around us, and that anchor will secure us through all the storms ahead.