The Mark

In the most recent general conference, Elder Renlund told the story of George Herbert and Howard Carter who in 1907 teamed up to do archeological explorations in Egypt. They eventually were granted permission to do digs in the Valley of the Kings for the tomb of Tutankhamun. But after searching in vain for five years, Herbert was ready to give up. Carter requested one more season to try to find it, and so they made a final effort to find the tomb. Elder Renlund related, “Carter realized that the entire floor of the Valley of the Kings had been methodically excavated—except the area of their own base camp. Within a few days of digging there, they found the first steps leading down to the tomb. When Carter eventually peered into the antechamber of Tutankhamun’s tomb, he saw gold everywhere.” He summarized, “During those years of ineffectual searching, Carter and Carnarvon had overlooked what was literally under their feet.” His message was that we should not fail to see what is of most value in our lives because we think we need to search elsewhere for what we already have access to. For those of us who have received the gospel of Jesus Christ, we should focus on the great blessing it is to us already instead of searching endlessly elsewhere. It reminds me of this short parable that the Savior told: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field” (Matthew 13:44). When the man found the treasure, he put his full focus on that, selling his property so he could buy the field that contained the treasure. He didn’t keep searching everywhere else but recognized that this treasure was what he was truly searching for.  

Elder Renlund also taught in this address, “Some five centuries before the Savior’s birth, the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob referred to taking for granted or undervaluing what is nearby as ‘looking beyond the mark.’… Jacob’s prediction proved accurate. During Jesus’s mortal ministry, many looked beyond the mark, beyond Him. They looked past the Savior of the world. Instead of recognizing His role in fulfilling Heavenly Father’s plan, they condemned and crucified Him. They looked and waited for someone else to bring them salvation.” He then applied this to us in these words: “We need to guard against this tendency lest we miss Jesus Christ in our lives and fail to recognize the many blessings He offers us. We need Him. We are counseled to rely ‘wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.’ He is our mark. If we incorrectly imagine that there is a need for something beyond what He offers, we deny or diminish the scope and power He can have in our lives…. I encourage you to remember and always focus on Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and Redeemer, the ‘mark’ to whom we should look, and our greatest treasure.” As the world continually shifts its values, endlessly offering new solutions and novel sources of information, we must remember that our primary source of truth is Jesus Christ and His word given through ancient and modern prophets. We cannot forget that there is no mark “beyond” Him that will bring us joy outside of His plan and covenants. He declared simply, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Nephi put it in these words after declaring how we must enter the straight and narrow path given by the Savior and move forward with a steadfastness in Him: “And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end” (2 Nephi 31:21). This does not mean that we shouldn’t learn things in lots of different areas in life or find fulfilment in various experiences and talents that we might have. But it means that Christ should be the focal point of all we do; He is our center and we can understand the world and everything around us best through Him.

President Howard W. Hunter summed up what we should do this way: “What is our responsibility today as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? It is to see that our individual lives reflect in word and deed the gospel as taught by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. All that we do and say should be patterned after the example of the one sinless person to walk the earth, even the Lord Jesus Christ.” Surely life will take on the most meaning and bring us the most joy when we strive to always remember Him and put our covenants with Him at the center of our lives. The Savior declared, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). As we fully receive Him, all aspects of our lives will become more abundant.