Perspective

My talk I gave at Church, August 2017 

-dictionary quotes in blue

-all other quotes in yellow

(and I don't know where the white highlights are coming from)

Hello Ward Family

I am very happy and excited that I was asked to speak on the topic of Perspective!

I love words like this, a word that can mean so many different things, it is an individual type of word. An idea that is used every minute of the day and everyone here in this room in unique in their perspective in one way or another.

I want you to think about walking, when you get to a flight of stairs or a log on a trail your brain automatically adjusts your steps to fit so you can make a nice even step over the obstacle or up the stairs, easy, we do it every day, all the time.

Now imagine you are riding a 1300 pound animal, a horse, galloping on a 10-12 foot stride and heading to a jump maybe 3 feet maybe 4 feet high maybe also just as wide. Now usually you can see what is called a distance, which is exactly like when you see how many steps you need to take before you go up the stairs but your riding something much bigger and faster and with a huge stride and a little or a lot of panic happens when you come out of a corner and … you don’t see a distance, nothing! or you see a very tight (uncomfortable) distance or a very long (dangerous) distance. The automatic response is to DO SOMETHING! And usually it’s the wrong thing like slow down or speed up or run away. What coaches teach is to “continue and pray” and this means don’t change anything and blink. That’s it just blink! You rarely see the same distance twice. All of a sudden you see something different, something better, a small adjustment or none at all and its smooth and flawless. So simple and kind of hard to do.

 I love the perspective this gives my life. When its rushing along and its great and its fun and all of a sudden I don’t know what to do? Do we all have times like this? Some bigger and scarier than others, but I can take this same advice- Don’t change anything. Blink = Pray and then you will have a much clearer perspective on what truly needs to change. It’s so great I love it! So simple and yet sometimes so hard.

I am going to talk about Perspective and its definitions- a lot.

The first is Perspective as used in art.

When something is far away it is smaller than something up close.

To the modern mind, it's hard to believe that perspective had to be "discovered", but before the 1400s paintings simply lacked accurate perspective. Instead, important people and objects were simply shown larger than less important ones; and although distant objects were sometimes shown smaller than near ones, this wasn't done in a regular and accurate way. Just as odd, many paintings didn't represent the other meaning of perspective either—that is, a scene might not be shown as if it were being seen from one single place.

-Merriam Webster Dictionary

*Apply to The First Vision (year 1820)

before the first vision religion did not have an accurate perspective.

-Joseph Smith was confused about all the religious competition and confusion

-After reading in the bible he gained a new perspective on Gods relationship with man

-Joseph decided to pray and ask God which church to join

-Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith telling him not to join any of the religions.

Joseph was to help restore the True church to the earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Those without an eternal perspective, or those who lose sight of it, make their own standards to benefit themselves and their own selfish interests. Their mortal perspective becomes their standard and for some their god.

-Jay E Jensen, First quorum of the seventy

We are blessed to have the fullness of the gospel in these latter days.

My message today focuses on the importance of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Our Father in Heaven knew that in mortality we would face challenges, tribulation, and turmoil; He knew we would wrestle with questions, disappointments, temptations, and weaknesses. To give us mortal strength and divine guidance, He provided the Holy Spirit, another name for the Holy Ghost.  - Elder Ronald A. Rasband

When our problems, challenges or trials take up the whole picture, right up close in our face screaming at us; it is so important yet can be so hard to hear the Holy Ghost. We need his inspiration at that moment more than anything but the Holy Ghost is a still small voice, and when all you can see is your own perspective of your trials and how looming they are it can feel like God is not listening, not there and not caring because… The Holy Ghost will never yell as loud as mortality!

 In the Old Testament, Elijah contended with the priests of Baal. The priests expected the “voice” of Baal to come down as thunder and light their sacrifice with fire. But there was no voice, and there was no fire.¹¹

On a later occasion, Elijah prayed. “And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

“And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”¹²

Do you know that voice?

“The voice of the Holy Spirit is still and small.”   -Elder Rafael E Pino

I testify that when all you can see is your trials up close and looming and if it feels like God does not listen or care I promise with all my heart that he does. It is mortality, it is earth life, it is the world we live in that makes it so so hard to hear the soft, gentle kind, always kind voice of the spirit. There are moments, prayers, even seasons where we wait in patience to feel the Holy Ghost, clear and sure. 

Trials can bless us with perspective, it is so hard but oh, such lessons. Lessons that cannot be learned any other way. We are often taught by the spirit after the trial of our faith. It is with a resounding YES that it is worth it, in hindsight oh in hindsight!

My perspective on Faith changed in WA DC

-the Stake president of the Capital Hill DC ward spoke on Faith

-He talked about how our faith is not something we keep for ourselves or in ourselves. Our faith is all placed in God. We hear place your faith in God often in the church but it wasn’t until this talk on this day that my perspective changed. I cannot hold onto and horde faith to make it grow stronger or to have more of it. The more Faith I have the more faith I place in God. It took such a burden off me, to realize that I have lots of faith if I view it from that perspective.

Perspective is the way we see things when we look at them from a certain distance, (place) and it allows us to appreciate their true value.

Elder Rafael E Pino of the seventy

Today, perspective is used much like standpoint. Just as standpoint once used to mean simply the physical place where you stand but today also means the way you "see" things as a result of who you are and what you do, the same could be said about perspective.       -Merriam Webster Dictionary

What a blessing it is to have the perspective gained from knowing about;

*The plan of salvation

-to know about the pre-existence, that we must be born, be tested in this earthly life, die, and that that is not the end, we continue to learn and grow and become.

*Patriarchal blessings

-patriarchal perspective

-think of the perspective you have gained by reading your own patriarchal blessing

-a paper of possibilities, blessings, and love

-a gift from God

Think of where your stand and what your eternal perspective is as I read this scripture from;

2^nd Nephi 9:41

41 O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

If you ask;

How do I keep myself on the path and continue to have an eternal perspective?   

Or if you ask, How do I get back to the path?   

Or if you ask,   How do I find the path in the first place?    

The answer is;

We choose where we stand!

And these choices keep us very much on the path.

Temple

Church

Prayer

Scriptures

Sacrament

Service

Kindness

Obeying Gods Laws

Etc.

These things make me a better person. Is it enough to do something simply because it makes me a better person?

What makes you a better person? Sometimes we do things simply because it makes us better.

But that is not a simply thing. If something makes us better than it is the best thing we can do.

We can see that our perspective is affected by where we stand.

Not having an eternal perspective, or losing it, can lead us to have an earthly perspective as our personal standard and to make decisions that are not in harmony with the will of God. It is extremely important that we do not make decisions of eternal value from the perspective of mortality. For decisions that affect eternity, having a gospel perspective is essential.

-Elder Rafael E Pino of the seventy

Another definition of perspective is;

2.a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view.

Our opinion will be guided by our perspective.

That is logical and a little bit scary, where we stand is more important than meets the eye, it trickles over our lives from perspective to opinion, to which we know quickly turn to words and actions affecting all those around us.

 Becky

-Murray ward encompassed a condo neighborhood called Three Fountains and it was chalk full of seniors who worked in the temple

-they had the perspective of raising a family

-they carried with them the perspective gained from Temple service

-I loved them so much and they were kind and genuine

-Becky was paralyzed 55 years ago while serving a mission in California,

-has limited use of her hands giving her the ability to use an electric wheel chair and type on a special computer

-I served in the primary presidency with her

-she loved those children, she loved their parents, she was so positive and magnified her calling,

-visiting nursery to give rides

-talking to the children eye to eye

-humble

-serving with all of her capacity and beyond, when it was tiring and uncomfortable and her chair would get stuck in the room of little primary chairs

She has a great sense of humor, “ask forgiveness not permission” and her wish to marry Nephi.

-she changed my perspective on serving in the church, Becky found true joy in her service and even though she was not perfect she tried and tried and tried.

I think of her often, she is a very influential person in my life,

-I go visit her when I’m in Utah and feel so blessed to be able to sit on the foot of her bed and talk with her.

-I am so blessed to call her my friend

The Holy Ghost binds us to the Lord. By divine assignment, He inspires, testifies, teaches, and prompts us to walk in the light of the Lord. We have the sacred responsibility to learn to recognize His influence in our lives and respond.

Remember the Lord’s promise: “I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.”⁴ I love that assurance. Joy that fills our souls brings with it an eternal perspective in contrast to day-to-day living. That joy comes as peace amidst hardship or heartache. It provides comfort and courage, unfolds the truths of the gospel, and expands our love for the Lord and all God’s children. Although the need for such blessings is so great, in many ways the world has forgotten and forsaken them.

Let the Holy Spirit Guide -Elder Ronald A Rasband

Testimony-

What is Gods Perspective?

Temple

Holy Ghost

Close.