Quick to Observe

To my son,

                In this week’s Come, Follow Me lesson we read in Doctrine and Covenants 95. In this section the Lord chastened the saints for not building the temple like they were commanded to. He said, “Wherefore, ye must needs be chastened and stand rebuked before my face; For ye have sinned against me a very grievous sin, in that ye have not considered the great commandment in all things, that I have given unto you concerning the building of mine house.” He then reiterated what He wanted them to do: “Yea, verily I say unto you, I gave unto you a commandment that you should build a house, in the which house I design to endow those whom I have chosen with power from on high” (v2-3,8). They had not focused on building the temple in Kirtland like He had commanded them in section 88 five months prior to this revelation. Though they were chastened, I love Hyrum Smith’s response to this new revelation. The manual records this: “After being chastised for not building a house of the Lord in Kirtland, Church leaders chose a site in a wheat field where they would build. Hyrum Smith, the Prophet’s brother, immediately ran to get a scythe and begin clearing the field. ‘We are preparing to build a house for the Lord,’ he said, ‘and I am determined to be the first at the work.’” I love that attitude—he wanted with all his heart to follow the commandments of the Lord and was eager to do what the Lord asked so he immediately started to work to build the temple. Ultimately that temple was built, and it was dedicated on March 27, 1836 (about three years later), and the saints were marvelously rewarded for their faithfulness as the Lord poured out His Spirit upon them in incredible ways.

                I want to encourage you to today be like Hyrum Smith in this story and to be quick to do what the Lord asks whenever you get the chance. When Ammaron spoke to the young Mormon (about ten years old), he said this: “I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe.” I love that phrase “quick to observe,” and that is exactly what Hyrum did in seeking to build the temple. It is the kind of person that we should strive to be. When the Lord invites us to act, we should seek immediately to follow those instructions and be quick to observe the commandments. I have not always done that in my life but I know that when I do the Lord has blessed me. A couple years ago I had stopped reading to you and your siblings at night because I felt like we were just too busy. But then I felt the Spirit tell me that I should start doing that again, and that’s when we read the story about the pioneers together. Since then we have been reading the Tennis Shoes series and it has given me a great opportunity to spend time with you at night and talk about important things. I’m grateful that listened to that prompting, and it has become a great tradition in our family to share stories together at night. I’m also sad that I haven’t always listened to other instructions or acted so quickly when I felt prompted. I encourage you to cultivate a spirit of obedience to whatever the Lord wants you to do and you will be greatly blessed in your life!

Love,

Dad