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Grateful Endings

Arriving late to school one morning, Pres Summerhays saw a chalkboard eraser lying on the ground outside the school and decided to try and throw it through an open second story window. His aim was good enough to hit Ott Romney, the East High football coach, right between the eyes. The coach signed him up for football. In 1929, as a junior at the University of Utah, Pres was an acknowledged leader on the team. A “triple threat” in the backfield, Pres could throw, kick and run and led the Utes to the Rocky Mountain Conference Championship while also earning All Conference and All American honorable mention distinctions for himself.

There were high expectations for the 1930 season when during practice Pres suffered a broken bone just above his left ankle that placed him on the sidelines for most of his senior season.  Being interviewed from his hospital bed, Pres responded to questions about the team and himself.  

“I am sure that my injury will not mean the doom of championships at Utah as so many football critics fear…As for me, it is hard to pass out of the game during my last year, but the breaks of football can be bad as well as good.  I have had my share of both.” (Utah Chronicle, October 1930). As his football career ended unexpectedly, he maintained gratitude for all he had been able to experience.
 
“Everyone’s situation is different, and the details of each life are unique. Nevertheless, I have learned that there is something that would take away the bitterness that may come into our lives. There is one thing we can do to make life sweeter, more joyful, even glorious. We can be grateful!…Being grateful in times of distress does not mean that we are pleased with our circumstances. It does mean that through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present-day challenges…The Lord has given us His promise that those “who [receive] all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto [them], even an hundred fold, yea, more.” (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2014). 

Unfolding Plan

Later in life, the prophet, Joseph Smith, recalled the 1823 death of his oldest brother, Alvin, as “a very solemn and awful time…” Reflecting on the loss of those he loved he stated, “…it has been hard to be reconciled to these things I have sometimes felt…” (Discourse, 9 April 1842 as reported by Wilford Woodruff).   

 Years after Alvin’s death, as preparations were being made for the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Joseph had a vision of the celestial kingdom where he saw his brother Alvin and “marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized of sins.”

The Lord then taught him that “All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;” (D&C 137:6-7)

This knowledge came with joy but understanding the process has unfolded over time. It was not until 1840 that the Prophet would teach the doctrine of baptism for the dead and it wouldn’t be until 1842 that he would record the method and procedures for performing and recording those ordinances. It would be 76 years until Joseph’s nephew, President Joseph F. Smith, would see and record a vision of the Spirit World and revelation continues. There is still so much that we do not understand but we trust that understanding will come according to His wisdom and our need.

When we find ourselves in a place when we have experiences and find it “hard to be reconciled to these things [we] have sometimes felt…”, when our understanding is insufficient for the hopes we seek, we can trust in the Savior of the World who knows intimately the feeling of being forsaken and assures us, “…your Father which is in heaven give[s] good things to them that ask him…” (Matthew 7:11) We can rely on His wisdom and give time and space for the tapestry He is weaving in our lives and the lives of those we love. As we follow Him and invite His Spirit to walk with us, clarity and understanding will come piece by piece, bit by bit with assurances and hope in His unfolding plan and purposes, whereby all His promises will be fulfilled.

Living Water

The peak of Mount Waialeale in Kauai is often shrouded in clouds that make it one of the rainiest spots on earth. These mountain rains create spectacular waterfalls on the face of the lush green cliffs. On a backcountry tour, a truck drove us through verdant growth followed by a float down canals built by early sugar plantation workers that were fed by those same rain waters.

The next day, not far from where we had tubed, we drove to Waimea Canyon, where parts of the landscape looked more like our arid, rugged desert home in Utah. A stark contrast to the greenery of the day before, I thought of the various landscapes that exist simultaneously in our lives. Deep, cutting wounds that miraculously can bring their own refined stability standing side by side with the beauty created by the constant flow of blessings from our Heavenly Father. The two scenes, however, do not stand alone, they are intertwined as the remnants of the mountain rains flow through the gorge creating rivers of life winding through the canyon.

 

“…Unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.” (D&C 63:23). The gospel of Jesus Christ can bind each part of our lives together with the water of His love, His healing, His strength, and His power, refreshing and renewing both our blessings and afflictions, turning everything to our gain.

Another Testament

As we finish the Book of Mormon in Come Follow Me, I have pondered the effect of this book on my life. My first experiences of studying on my own came from the scripture reader recorded on a tape cassette with several pictures on each page that told stories of prophets of ancient America.  As I learned to read, I began to decipher the more mature language of scripture.  My reading was slow but steady enough that when a Primary teacher read us Moroni 10:4-5 and bore her witness that we could pray and receive an answer for ourselves, I felt compelled to ask.
 
That night I knelt by my bed and asked Heavenly Father if the Book of Mormon was true.  I was not concerned that I didn’t feel anything that night.  I simply asked again the next night and the next night until one night as I repeated my question, another question came to my mind, “Why are you asking what you already know?”  As those words sounded in my mind, I remembered the many moments of peace, comfort and learning I had received while I read.  I understood with clarity that I did know that the Book of Mormon was true.  
 
Through my life, I continue to experience peace, comfort and clarity as I read and study the Book of Mormon.  The doctrines of Jesus Christ taught there settle into my heart and my mind and change me.  Each time I read it, I marvel that a book written for everyone continues to answer my specific questions and needs over and over again.  When I have needed hope, comfort, understanding and clarity, it has flowed bit by bit and piece by piece as I spend time with these ancient prophets.
 
From the beginning of the book, the prophets of the Book of Mormon fore saw and then lived the ultimate destruction of their people and mourned for them.  Yet, their testimonies also bear witness of the ultimate triumph of faith and hope in the Savior, Jesus Christ in the midst of awful gloom.  “…Be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up…and his mercy and longsuffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life rest in your mind forever.” (Moroni 9:25)
 
The Book of Mormon stands with the Bible to testify that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Advocate and the Author and Finisher of our faith.  He has a plan for each of God’s children and has the power to write for us all glorious endings that will fill every desire of our hearts.  Trust Him, rely on Him, follow Him, press forward with Him.   The ending will be better than we can now hope.  
 

Light of the World

I have always loved the lights of Christmas.  From the single light in each window of my childhood home to the lights draped on homes, parks and shopping centers, the lights of the season were welcoming and enchanting.   For a few years I had the privilege of singing with the Mormon Youth Chorus and on the day after Thanksgiving, we sang in the Tabernacle with the doors flung open as the switch was thrown and Temple Square was flooded with light.  In moments like those I could picture how the angels felt as they heralded the coming of the Light of the World.  

It is unlikely that I was one of the angels seen in the field on that holy night singing, but wherever I was on that sacred night, I am sure I was singing then as I sing now, “Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God in the Highest!”  He had sent His Son, “love’s pure light… the dawn of redeeming grace.”  In every “dark street shineth the everlasting Light.”  “Light and life to all He 

brings, ris’n with healing in His wings”.  “The heav’nly star its rays afar on ev’ry land is throwing, and shall not cease till holy peace in all the earth is growing.”  “Born to raise the sons of earth.  Born to give them second birth.”  “Fear not…Glad tidings of great joy I bring, to you and all mankind.”

The music of His light brings hope to the hopeless, strength to the weary, mercy to the weak and if there are “…moments when the melody of joy falters below our power of expression, we may have to stand silent for a time and simply listen to others, drawing strength from the splendor of the music around us. Many of us who are “musically challenged” have had our confidence bolstered and our singing markedly improved by positioning ourselves next to someone with a stronger, more certain voice. Surely it follows that in singing the anthems of eternity, we should stand as close as humanly possible to the Savior and Redeemer of the world—who has absolutely perfect pitch. We then take courage from His ability to hear our silence and take hope from His melodious messianic intercession in our behalf.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, April 2017)
 
Come to Him, stand close, let His hope and light wash over you, let Him do His work of healing, refining and redeeming.  He is come!

Anticipate Miracles

In 1915, while serving as a missionary, twenty one year old Lyman Holmes Rich recalled waking “as a hungry lad on the shores of the Pacific at Seaside, Oregon while traveling without purse or script.  The previous night we slept in a school house…with newspapers for coverings, as the people who attended our meeting had not seen fit to take us home.  The Lord must have prompted Sister Clara Stucki, for she had sent a nice fruit cake to the post office at Seaside and it was, I believe, the grandest cake I ever ate.” (Letter to Bill Rich, July 5, 1957)

His witness that the Lord was watching over him on “hungry” days was also a witness of the miracle of the anticipation of God who saw his hunger in advance and prompted Sister Clara Stucki in Paris, Idaho to put a fruit cake in the mail to a boy whose own mother had died when he was six days old. 
That fruitcake fed his body and brought him the care of an angel mother.  “I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee” promises the Lord. (Abraham 2:8)
 
Whether great or small, “God has not ceased to be a God of miracles… neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.” (Mormon 9:15; Moroni 7:29).  In anticipation of the miracles each of us would need, God sent a tiny Baby to Bethlehem.  That Baby did not bring deliverance in the way those of His day expected, He brought much more. He brought strength for what we cannot do, light in the darkness, the ability to turn affliction for our gain and the miracle of making mere mortals become like Him with all that He has.  He knows your heart, He knows your needs, your desires, your hopes, your dreams and He and His angels will go before you anticipating all you require “to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88)
 

Healing

In 1896, my eighteen year old great grandfather, William Henry Summerhays, began a two year mission to the Southern States Mission.  He and his companions were to travel primarily on foot, without purse or script.  As he departed to serve in the Florida Conference, the Sunday School presented him with a journal where he detailed miles traveled, lessons taught, the people he stayed with, those who protected him from those who wished him harm and so many events of his two years of service. He was diligent in keeping this record so when my parents were called to the Florida Tallahassee Mission in 2007 and our third son was called to serve in the Florida Jacksonville Mission in 2021, I pulled out William’s journal to compare some of the places he lived and served.  

Using a history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the South and William’s journal, I began to place his mission in a time when the church was so small, there were not even branches in most of the areas William served.  As I became acquainted with those William came to love, I began to attach scanned pages of his recorded memories to the Familysearch page of those who were included in his journal.  There I noticed that not one had received an ordinance beyond baptism and confirmation during their lifetime.  Temples were so far away.
 
Though there were many blessings those faithful members could not obtain in their time on earth, the fruits of their labors have continued to grow.  In the wisdom of God and by the infinite atoning power of Jesus Christ, all the blessings they desired are now theirs and the gospel they loved continues to grow in its reach including the dedication of three temples with two more announced in Florida. 
 
Those temples stand as a witness that while there is so much we cannot do in our lives, through Jesus Christ,  “Temple blessings can heal hearts and lives and families…God in His infinite capacity, seals and heals individuals and families despite tragedy, loss and hardship….You will find healing for that which needs healing.” (Elder Dale G. Renlund, April 2018). For all we cannot do, He can.

Infinite

“Because you breathe and live and have part of God within you, you have the power to influence others for good…to bless, lift, inspire and strengthen,” was the testimony of a man who stood at the pulpit of a meeting in a branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unlike any I had ever been to.  The branch exists for inmates transitioning from prison to civilian life.   Their worship service does not include the sacrament, rather, once a month, the sacred sacrament prayers recorded in scripture are read from the pulpit and all are given a moment for reflection where there was a feeling of what it means to “hunger and thirst after righteousness” with the yearning of those who want to obtain that blessing.  
 
Gratitude was expressed to the Savior for His “help making it through each day.”  A brother testified, “As you go through struggles, you will see sandaled feet and crucified hands lifting you up.” Several bore gratitude for the teachings of their youth, “I thank my mom for teaching me to pray and read the Book of Mormon.”  Twenty years after turning from faith, one shared his witness that the doctrines he had taught on his mission were true and bore witness that “we worship the God of Plan B,C,and D” and we can exhaust the alphabet without Him exhausting His efforts and ability to help us.  
 
In that meeting we caught another glimpse of just what the infinite power of the atonement of Jesus Christ looks like.  Infinite means infinite for us and for those we love.  “We read of those who turned away from what they were taught or who were wrestling with God for forgiveness, such as Alma the Younger, the sons of Mosiah, and Enos.  In their moments of crisis, they remembered the words of their parents, words of the doctrine of Jesus Christ.  Remembering saved them.  Your teaching of that sacred doctrine will be remembered.” (President Henry B. Eyring, October 2024)
 
Remember, remember, He is reaching out so “cry unto God for all thy support;…let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.” (Alma 37:36).
 
His power is infinite.

All Things in Thankfulness

As a child, Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday.  Mashed potatoes were my favorite food and there were always copious amounts of all kinds of yummy things but the thing I loved most was the gathering of aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins.  While the turkey cooked, we played two touch football, the kids against the dads.  One year, to add a little spice, the dads bought matching uniforms and a trophy with their names already inscribed as the winners. We were serious about our games.  We played, we ate and we shared the gratitude we felt for the blessings of the  year.  Over time, it has remained my favorite holiday.

 Then came Thanksgiving 2020 and Covid.  It was a year unlike any we had ever known, everything turned upside down.  Though we didn’t really know how to cook all our favorite traditional staples for just the five of us living at home, we all spent time cooking and preparing a lovely meal.  We went outside and played two touch football that only lasted about fifteen minutes.  It wasn’t quite the same.  In the afternoon we gathered with extended family on Zoom for a Kahoots Thanksgiving trivia game, talked to our missionary who was serving in Minnesota and shared our gratitude for the blessings of the year.  It was different in so many ways, still our blessings were many.    

Whether this Thanksgiving is full of joy and all our favorite things or we find ourselves missing those that we love, trying to hope for a result we desire, or struggling with burdens that seem heavy, we can trust in the promise of the Lord,  “…Ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you….be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.  The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours…and he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious.” (D&C 78:18-20)
 
Even as we wait for all the promises of God to be fulfilled, there is so much to be thankful for!
 

Strength of Unity

In fulfillment of prophecy, on April 25, 1839, after dark had fallen, members of the twelve apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints converged at the Far West, Missouri home of my fifth great grandfather, Timothy Baldwin Clark. Often referred to as “Father Clark”, Timothy had two months earlier buried his wife of 37 years, was a grandfather many times over from his six married children and had four sons and a daughter still at home along with a daughter and her three children whose husband was incarcerated with Parley P. Pratt in Columbia, Missouri.

The twelve gathered In the early morning hours of the next day, at the temple lot where  Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith were ordained apostles and the twelve began preparations for their mission to England.  As the apostles left Missouri, the Clark family followed, settling in Montrose, Iowa across the river from what would become the city of Nauvoo.  

In tenuous circumstances, Wilford Woodruff bade farewell to his wife, Phebe, who was expecting their second child, and their young daughter.   At what point “Father Clark” noticed Phebe’s need we do not know but by December of 1839, Phebe had moved into a small house on the Clark property. Phebe wrote to Wilford, “I am now at Father Clark’s…he has made me welcome to stay here until you return; would it not be for the best think you?  They are a very kind family…He says to tell Br. Woodruff that he will take as good care of me as he can and he wants you to get as many souls as [you] can…” (Letters of Phoebe Woodruff July 2, 1840, September 8, 1840)   As Wilford served as an apostle and missionary, the Clark family sustained him by caring for his family.  

On Sunday, two bishoprics sat on the stand in our sacrament meeting, one had just been released and one had just been sustained and I felt great gratitude for the gift of being surrounded by the strength of my ward family.  We each have different roles and different circumstances but we are all the same in our desire to serve God.  As we do so, He will bless us to learn to love each other “having [our] hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.” (Mosiah 18:21)