"Courage means Heart"
Introduction:
Various internet sources estimate that an adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day (in contrast a child makes about 3,000). This number may sound absurd, but in fact, we make 226.7 decisions each day on just food alone according to researchers at Cornell University (Wansink and Sobal, 2007). If we narrow down the data if how many of those 35,000.
Decisions
- We make daily decisions in life. Decisions that are both trivial, temporary or eternal in effect. Most of the times, young people are caught up in the situation wherein quick decisions and judgments should be made. Like when a friend give you an alcoholic drink, invited you into a late night party, a man simply asking for a date or when you receive your payslips and thinking if you’ll pay an honest full tithe. Some say I would never know how to react unless I am at the situation, but I learned a new principle as I read Sister Elaine Dalton’s message given 5 years ago, she said “I learned that some decisions need to be made only once. I wrote my list of things I would always do and things I would never do in a small tablet. It included things like obeying the Word of Wisdom, praying daily, paying my tithing, and committing to never miss church. I made those decisions once, and then in the moment of decision, I knew exactly what to do because I had decided beforehand. When my high school friends said, “Just one drink won’t hurt,” I laughed and said, “I decided when I was 12 not to do that.” Making decisions in advance will help you be guardians of virtue. I hope each of you will write a list of things you will always do and things you will never do. Then live your list.”
That’s the key word; I made those decisions once, and then in the moment of decision, I knew exactly what to do because I had decided beforehand. Let’s ponder and think about what decision that we can now choose to make and when that moment to decide comes we will be “courageous and stand firm on what we’ve decided beforehand”? I’m sure many of us have done the same thing. We need to be consistent, and if we fail, we need not to worry. Repentance is available.
B. Courage is Needed.
- I have learned that in each important decision we will make, a certain ingredient is vital. It is called COURAGE. The root/heart word of the word courage is cor—the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition than it does today. Courage originally meant “To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart.” “Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart.
- Courage to Believe and to Have Faith-
> In this world and time of disbelief and confusion it is easy for men to forget. Satan and his minions are tirelessly luring God’s children to abandon their “first love” (Rev2:4), as the scriptures describes the Gospel. We who have committed ourselves and made sacred covenants with God needed to be firm, and if the way “be full of trial, weary not” as the hymn says. We don’t need to “move mountains, or walk the Sea” but we just need to walk, one step at a time, “our speed does not matter, what matters most is our direction”. Like Alma said, our faith is like a seed, we need it to be planted in good ground, which means in our “cor” - in other words in our hearts. Good ground, is a heart that is both humble to accept God’s counsels and corrections then a courage to change for the better.
- Courage to Obey -
> As we go about living from day to day, it is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? As holders of the priesthood of God and members of his Church, it is essential that we are able to face—with courage—whatever challenges come our way. Remember the words of Tennyson: “My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.”2
> “Is it any wonder,” said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “that Christ chooses first and foremost to define himself in relation to his father—that he loved him and obeyed him and submitted to him like the loyal son he was? … Obedience is the first law of heaven.”1
The scriptures teach “when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:21). Our spiritual growth takes place as we draw close to God through obedience and invite the power of the Savior’s Atonement into our lives.
We have to have the courage to obey, no matter the consequence, we may become unpopular, we may lose friends, we may lose the whole world but we gain a Friend, a true friend, which is Jesus Christ! Matt. 16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
Choose now to be courageous when the situation needs, we are prepared and ready.
> There will be times that our courage to defy the consensus is needed and we will prevail in the end if we have chosen the right thing.
- Courage to Love:
> The example I offer in this 3rd element is personal to me. When I was young, and I’m still young, hahaha. My grandfather used to tell me how he fought for the love he has for my grandma. My grandma doesn’t like him very much, but it is a custom in the Philippines then, that if the parents of the woman like the lad or the man, their daughter does not have the choice but to accept the offer of marriage. My grandfather really impressed my grandma’s parents in his first visit at their house, that’s why, that afternoon, a marriage arrangement was made and a schedule of the wedding was set in the coming week. My grandma retaliated at first, but my grandpa prevailed, he told her how he loved her so very much since they first met in the marketplace and tried to somehow “stalk” her and know where their house is to court her parents. I’m thankful for my grandpa's courage and my grandma’s eventual love for him. The fruit of their love are 9 beautiful children and one of whom is my mother. If not for that determination of my grandpa, i would not be here in front of you, hahaha. Lesson: If you love the person, fight for him/her. But not stalk her/him. Have the courage to say a woman is beautiful and have the courage to spread love.
> Second, is it hard to love an enemy?. Jesus said this very wonderful principle, “ 43 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Notice this, Jesus integrated the lesson of loving our enemies in being perfect, that’s wonderful.
> Who is our best example of loving his enemies?. It’s Jesus and our Father in Heaven, in the Book of Mormon, we become and enemy to God when we sin, In new testament Rom. 5:10 we read “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” He loved us even we had rebelled against him. He later said “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” Let us be His friend as we obey.has
- Courage to Repent and Change:
> Our mortal journey is not thrilling as it is without the challenges and trials. This trials refine and purify us. There will be times that we will stumble, we will commit mistakes and sin against God. But is it the end, Pres. Monson has said, “One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final”. This week while having this kind of weird haircut, I wondered, I hope change is as easy as getting a haircut. And yeah I was partly correct, but real change, Christlike Change needs time and it depends on my “will, determination and courage to change”. Is there something in our attitude now, or habit or any behavior that’s bothering us, and makes us guilty or having lack of confidence “in approaching the throne of God”, if it happens now?, May I offer a suggestion, it is found in D&C121: 45 “Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.” The Holy Ghost’s role is to refine us, change us, and help us gain courage to approach the throne of God.
- Courage to Sacrifice and Serve:
courtesy from BYUH Magazine
> a beloved leader in the Philippines Miriam Santiago, who is known for being so courageous and being described as “eating death threats for breakfast because of her strong stance against evils in the politics. Once said, “For evil to triumph it is sufficient that good men do nothing!”. We, as students of this great school, we need to become what Pres. David O. McKay
prophesied “One man said the world needs men who cannot be bought or sold, men who will scorn to violate truth, genuine gold,”“That is what this school is going to produce. More than that, they’ll be leaders. Leaders! Not only in this island, but everywhere. All the world is hungering for them.” We need to serve and sacrifice, we need to go forth and be courageous in our chosen fields and we need to do our work with a heart!
Courage to Finish Strong:
> Often we are being taught to endure, yes that’s true, but ahve you ehard being told to “finish strong”, what do you mean by that?. I will read Pres. Uchtdorf’s message last Oct. 2015, In ancient Greece, runners competed in a relay race called a lampadedromia.1 In the race, runners held a torch in their hand and passed it on to the next runner until the final member of the team crossed the finish line. The prize wasn’t awarded to the team that ran fastest—it was awarded to the first team to reach the finish line with its torch still lit. There is a profound lesson here, one taught by prophets ancient and modern: while it is important to start the race, it is even more important that we finish with our torch still lit.
The great King Solomon is an example of someone who started strong. When he was young, he “loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father” (1 Kings 3:3). God was pleased with him and said, “Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5).
Though Solomon was indeed very wise and did many great things, he did not finish strong. Sadly, later in his life, “Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord” (1 Kings 11:6).
Finishing Our Own Race
How many times have we started something and not finished? Diets? Exercise programs? Commitments to read the scriptures daily? Decisions to be better disciples of Jesus Christ?
How often do we make resolutions in January and pursue them with red-hot determination for a few days, a few weeks, or even a few months only to find that by October, the flame of our commitment is little more than cold ash?
“Shall I falter or shall I finish" Pres. Monson said, from the poem by William Henley, Invictus we read:
“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
Conclusion:
> Today, this very day, I commemorate my 11 years since I was baptized into the Church, I honor my ever courageous grandpa who defied the consensus, he was the first convert in a family of a well-known protestant family in our community. He was alone then, but I joined him when I was 11 yrs old. A year after my baptism, he died. I was alone for almost 6 years, till my grandma followed and many more followed in the legacy of my grandpa. We need men who are brave, men who love God and who loves the truth. Men and women who were changed by the atoning blood of Christ.
>Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. (Thomas S. Monson) 2004.
>One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.
The animal cried for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over & help him. They all grabbed a dirt & began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey didn’t realized what was happening & cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shook it off & take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors
continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off & take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well & happily trotted off..!!!
Always Remember in Life that:
Life is going to throw dirt on you.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off & take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up..But by taking a step up.
In this world people will always throw stones in the path of your success, It depends on you..what You make from them A wall or A bridge…!!!
Isn't’ that amazing story? So whatever happens, be faithful and have hope. Love God and serve Him. He will lift us up!
Today marks the 11th year since I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am grateful for my decision and specially to my grandpa, because of his courage he was the first LDS in our family, then he introduced me the gospel and now continuing his legacy. I know this Church is true. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(Sacrament Concluding Talk, Oct. 16, 2016, 9:25am) Laie 9th Ward, Honolulu, HI
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