With Unwearyingness Declared the Word

I was impressed to learn at the last general conference that President M. Russell Ballard had been a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints longer than anyone else living at the time. He was called as a member of the Quorum of the Seventy on April 3, 1976 where he served until he was called as an apostle on October 10, 1985. That makes for over 47 years of service in which he forsook his professional interests and devoted his life full-time to serving in the Church. He served almost exactly half of his life as a general authority—he lived 17,344 days before his call and 17,390 days from his call onward—and is an incredible example of selfless service in the Lord’s work. He gave his life for the Savior not by dying for Him but by living for Him and striving to serve the children of men across the world. He commented, “I would not do this for money. You could not hire me for money to do what I’m asked to do as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. But for the Lord, it’s the greatest privilege that could ever be given to a man. We are witnesses of the reality of the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

                In his final general conference address, President Ballard spoke of his love for the Prophet Joseph Smith. His grandfather was Hyrum M. Smith, an apostle and son of Joseph F. Smith who was the sixth prophet of the Church and son of Hyrum Smith. As a descendant of Hyrum Smith, he always seemed to have a special affinity for the prophet and his family. He expressed his gratitude in these words, “Because Jesus, our Savior and our Redeemer, spoke to the boy Joseph and opened up this dispensation of time that we now live in, we sing, ‘Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!’. We thank the Lord for Joseph Smith and for his courage to go into that grove of trees in 1820, near his home in Palmyra, New York. I’ve been thinking about all of the marvelous things that we know and all of the things that we have. My beloved brothers and sisters, my testimony to you this morning is how abundantly blessed we are to know all that we know because we have Joseph Smith, the prophet of this last dispensation of time. We have an understanding of the purpose of life, of who we are…. So my testimony this morning is that I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I also know that our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ appeared and spoke to Joseph and prepared him to become the prophet.” He bore that witness countless times in general conferences and in meetings large and small across the globe for decades. He had a sure witness of the Prophet Joseph Smith and was determined to carry on his family legacy of devotion to the Lord through his own ministry. Surely the Lord would say to him for his service, like he said to Nephi of old, “Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments” (Helaman 10:4). Indeed, he declared the word of the Lord with unwearyingness, and instead of seeking personal gain he has sought to build up the kingdom of God across the earth.

And so, we can honor his legacy and remember him as we likewise seek to serve the Lord in whatever capacity we are called to do so. We can do simply what he encouraged us in his final address: “We’re in the process of trying to prepare ourselves, a day at a time, to be a little better, be a little kinder, be a little more prepared for that day, which will surely come, when we shall pass back into the presence of our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” One of his most memorable talks for me was when he encouraged us to stay with the Old Ship Zion by being faithful throughout our lives to the Lord. He said, “Brothers and sisters, stay in the boat, use your life jackets, and hold on with both hands. Avoid distractions! And if any one of you have fallen out of the boat, we will seek you, find you, minister to you, and pull you safely back onto the Old Ship Zion, where God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are at the helm and will guide us right.” I hope we can all stay in that boat faithfully throughout our lives, just as President M. Russell Ballard did in his powerful example of faith and dedication to the Lord.