Here I Raise My Ebenezer

As Professor Dumbledore, would say “another year gone”. Often in January we look forward to a new year by making new year’s resolutions. I am not one to do new year’s resolutions because normally by today (January 1^st) they would already be broken. Today I want to stop and look back on the year that has just finished. Are you satisfied with your year? How many of your resolutions made it past January? I believe that before we make new resolutions for this coming year, we need to take an accounting of what we did the past year and then we can build on those accomplishments or repent and do better this year. Remembering the past is an important principle as we look to the future.

One of my favorite Christian hymns is “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” written by the 18^th century pastor Robert Robinson. Over the years there have been several versions since his original one but my favorite is the arrangement that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings:

1. Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

2. Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it;
Seal it for Thy courts above.

I had often wondered what the first line in the second verse meant – “Here I raise my Ebenezer”. What is an Ebenezer? The answer is found in the Old Testament 1 Samuel chapter 7. The Israelites are being attacked by the Philistines and they fear that they will be defeated. They pray to God for help and in response the Lord smites the Philistines. To help the Israelites remember the Lord’s help Samuel takes a stone and sets it up as a memorial, he calls it “Eben-ezer, saying Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. (1 Samuel 7:12).

Curt Holman speaking at a BYU devotional explained what Eben-ezer means and how we can apply the principle in our lives today:

In Hebrew the word ebenezer means “stone of help.” This raised stone was a reminder to the Israelites of what the Lord had done for them. This Eben-ezer quite literally was a monument set to remember the great help that God granted the one raising the stone. The Old Testament is replete with examples of the children of Israel forgetting the many miracles and spiritual experiences given to them by the Lord.

In an address given to religious educators, President Spencer W. Kimball said that remember could be the most important word in the dictionary (see “Circles of Exaltation,” BYU summer school devotional address, 28 June 1968, 8). This is a strong statement that gives us pause to reflect on why a modern-day prophet would make such a deliberate and specific reference to the importance of one word. Today my comments will be centered on this very principle—more specifically, on the importance and value of remembering our own spiritual experiences and recognizing that these experiences, given to us by the Lord, have brought us to where each of us is today. In other words, by remembering we are raising our own Ebenezer.

It seems the Lord recognized the tendency of the natural man to quickly forget his God. Perhaps this monument would help the Israelites remember the Lord and turn their hearts to Him. I also find it particularly significant that this scripture references that this monument, built by the Israelites, would also stand as a witness to their children, who might ask of its meaning.

This story has great application for us even today. Each experience that we have with the Spirit can be like placing a stone on our own personal monument, reminding us of God’s hand in our lives. These monuments can also serve to strengthen others as we share our experiences.

Some of us may have large, stable monuments that are continually built and fortified with great personal spiritual experiences that acknowledge God. Others may believe that their monuments are small or insignificant—maybe even eroding. If you have these feelings, I invite you to do two things.

First, look to your past and reflect upon your life. You will see the divine guidance of our Heavenly Father and how He has brought you to where you are today.

Second, earnestly seek opportunities and environments in which the Spirit can touch your heart. (“Raising Your Ebenezer: A Monument to Remember”)

An important principle that we learn from the Israelites is that they were easy to forget the hand of the Lord in their lives; thus, they had to have the monuments or Ebenezer’s to help them remember. The last part of the second verse of the song “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” goes:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it;
Seal it for Thy courts above.

We are the same, if we are not careful to write down our spiritual experiences we can be “prone to wander” when our testimonies are tested, it will be easy to forget how the Lord has blessed us. Even the smallest and simple things need to be written down, those experiences that individuals that are not in tune with the spirit would say was luck or a coincidence.

I had one of these ‘tender mercy” moments this year with one of the members of my student ward. I often ride my bike to work at USU and then shower before going to work. One Monday after going for a ride, I went into the locker room to shower and could not remember the combination to my locker. I was frustrated because I have never had a problem remembering it before. I had to go out to the service desk and ask them for my combination. When I went out to the front, one of the members of our ward was there. Over the weekend we had a ward activity and had borrowed some lawn games from the university. Some of the equipment was broken while they were playing the games and the young man from our ward was there returning the equipment. He was the one that check out the equipment and was responsible for it and he was trying to explain what had happened. I could tell he was frustrated and so I stepped in and told him I would take care of it, which I did.

After I had arranged to pay for the damage I headed back to the locker room to get dressed for work. The thought came to me: “The reason you forgot your locker combination was because you were needed out there to help that young man. I was there when a member of my ward needed me. Was that luck or a coincidence? I think not. The Lord knows our needs and he will often will prompt others to help us when needed.

We need to write down these experiences so that we can go back to them and help us remember when we are experiencing dark or difficult days. Remembering will keep us from wandering away from the God we love. My challenge to us is to look back and build our own ebenezer’s to help us remember what the Lord has done for us. Then we can look ahead and plan for the new year.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Anniversaries

Last week I talked about our 39^th wedding anniversary; today I would like to talk about a few other anniversaries. For starters it has now been one year that I have been doing this blog (started it on June 28^th, 2013) and I have loved doing it. I hope that what I have posted has been of value to those that have read the posts. The topics have covered subjects like “The Tender Mercies of the Lord”,  “The Faith of a Child”, “Achieving Happiness in Our Marriages”, Faith, Prayer, Revelation, Latter-day Prophets, Christmas, Eternal Families, Priesthood Keys, “Called to Serve”, Motherhood, Fatherhood, Agency, and many more. You can read past blogs by clicking on the Archive menu to the right.

Another anniversary that our family celebrated not long ago was the first birthday of our grandson Mason (April 28^th). His due date was supposed to be on July 3^rd, but do to some complications he was born at 29 weeks and weighed in at 2 lbs. 11 oz. He was in the NI-CU for almost two months before coming home. Today he is healthy and learning to crawl and loves playing with his big brother. What a miracle he is and a testimony to the blessings of great doctors and nurses at the NI-CU where he spent his first couple of months struggling to survive.

Mason in NI-CU

It is also a testimony of the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives (read the post on this topic that was posted on July 7, 2013). One of the nurses told us that because his mother was having complications due to the condition called “HELP” (high ensigns, low platelets) it caused Mason to develop faster. When our daughter, Michelle, was first admitted to the hospital they put her on medication to help her condition and also help Mason prepare for birth. With the advances in medicine the doctors were able to tell how Mason was developing and when it was safe for him to be born. 48 hours after she was admitted they induced her and Mason was born shortly after. Although he is still behind in his development, he is healthy and full of life. I know that he has been blessed by the Lord and is a blessing to us as well.

           

The last anniversary that I want to mention is one that has changed my life. Ten years ago this month I was

Nathan and Mason at 1 Month

struck with pancreatitis and for a while the doctor did not know if I would live or not. I spent 21 days in the hospital – 11 days in intensive care. The doctor told my wife to call our children and let them know that it was a possibility that I would not recover.

My bishop gave me a blessing and in that blessing he said that it was not my time to go and the Lord had other things for me to do.  After three surgeries and six months of being in and out of the hospital I finally recovered and have not had any problems since. The blessing from the Lord has been a great comfort to my family and me.

Since that blessing I have often wondered what the bishop meant when he said that the Lord had other things for me to do. There have been many things that could be a fulfillment of that prophecy, but I do know that one of them is my calling as a bishop over an LDS married student ward here in Logan.  The stake president that called me to serve as the bishop over that ward was the same person who was my bishop that gave me the blessing. I asked him when he set me apart as the bishop if he knew then what the Lord had in mind for me when he gave me that blessing. He said: “not

Nathan and Mason July 2014

only did I not know, but I did not know that I would be the one calling you to be a bishop”.  Looking back over the past ten years I can see that the Lord did have many things for me to do. Four months after I first got pancreatitis, my daughter had her first son and I have been able to be a part of helping him grow and develop a testimony that his Heavenly Father loves him and now he has a little brother that has had a hard start to his life, but he loves his little brother and is always there to help him.  I have had the blessing of participating in the ordination of another grandson to be a Deacon and a granddaughter graduate from primary and enter the young women’s program of our church. Ten years ago we had two grandchildren and now we have nine. I have had the privilege of standing in the circle as they were given a name and blessing in church.

I am grateful that the Lord saw fit that I was not ready to go then and I am certain that there is much more for me to do both in serving in the church and with my family. I am grateful for his tender mercies in my life.

Your comments are always welcome.

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

Do you wonder if the Lord is aware of you? How could he really be concerned about my insignificant problems and me personally? These examples show that the Lord is aware of all his children and his tender mercies are there for us when we need it the most.

In 1 Nephi 1:20 Nephi says:

“But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.”

Elder David A. Bednar, of the Council of 12 Apostles, in a 2005 General Conference address said:

“I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them. (

…as you and I face challenges and tests in our lives, the gift off faith and an appropriate sense of personal confidence that reaches beyond our own capacity are two examples of the tender mercies of the Lord. Repentance and forgiveness of sins and peace of conscience are examples of the tender mercies of the Lord. And the persistence and the fortitude that enable us to press forward with cheerfulness through physical limitations and spiritual difficulties are examples of the tender mercies of the Lord. “

In that talk Elder Bednar tells of a stake leader that took the time to memorize the names of all the youth in his stake. One night he had a dream about one of the young men. In the dream the young man was a missionary and with his companion was teaching a family about the Book of Mormon. He was holding the Book of Mormon in his hand and was testifying of the truthfulness of it. Later he saw the young man in a stake priesthood meeting and asked if he could talk with him. He told him of the dream and then asked what he thought it meant. The young man said: “It means God knows who I am.”  Elder Bednar then says:

“That young man received the Lord’s tender mercies through an inspired priesthood leader. I repeat again, the Lord’s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lord’s timing helps us to recognize them.”  (The Tender Mercies of the Lord, Elder David A. Bednar, General Conference, April 2005)

President Reutzel, President of the Logan Utah Married 1^st Stake, in a Stake Council meeting was teaching this principle and he read the scripture in Moses 7:28-30

 "28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

 29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

 30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;"

President Reutzel then said:

“How is it that the God of Heaven who is without sin has set his heart on something as menial as us. He has graven our image on the palm of his hand and weeps for us. What does that tell us of our God? Does he live in a realm that is untouched and unblemished to our suffering and pain? Is his willingness to weep for us evidence of his love and the nature of being a God?

He is involved in the intimate details of our lives and he makes himself vulnerable to those things that hurt us and make themselves vulnerable to pain because they love us.” (President D. Ray Reutzel to Logan Utah Married 1^st Stake Council, November 28, 2012)

I would like to share an experience that I had the shows that the Lord is in the details of our lives and we can experience his tender mercies when we need it the most. I have always been active in sports both as an athlete in high school and college and for the past 30 years I have continued to be active in sports as a referee. I have also participated in 12 marathons and several triathlons including an iron man triathlon. I am seldom sick and had never spent a day in the hospital until 2004.

On July 31, 2004 I felt sick and ended up going to the emergency room and finally had a few tests taken and they determined that I was suffering from pancreatitis. I had no idea what a pancreas was let alone how serious it was. I found out that many people die from it. I spent the next 21 days in the hospital, 11 days of it in intensive care. The doctor told my wife that he did not know if I would survive or not and that it would be best to call in our children. For four days, they did not know if I would die or not. My Bishop at that time was Boyd Rowley, who is now the Bishop of the 2^nd Ward here in the 1^st Stake. He came and gave me a blessing. In that blessing he told me that it was not my time to go and that the Lord had more work for me to do. He also said that there would be angels watching over me and that those who cared for me would know what they needed to do.

At the same time I was going through this, my wife who has multiple sclerosis was going through a difficult time with that disease. She had a hard time walking and was in constant pain. Now her husband was in the hospital and she did not know if I would live or not. Two days after I started my problems our oldest son called and said the our youngest son was hit while running across I-15 and was flown by life flight to the University Hospital in Salt Lake and he was not expected to live.

My wife did not know what to do. Should she stay here with me or go to the hospital in Salt Lake and be with her son. She was given a blessing and was told to stay with me. My oldest son went to be with our youngest and helped him as best as he could. He survived, but I have no idea how. He was hit by one car and thrown under another car that ran over him. Both his legs were broken and he had other life threatening injuries.

We were able to get through this time because of the tender mercies of the Lord rested upon us and we felt his peace comforting us. These experiences have strengthened our relationship and brought us closer as husband and wife. There are other very sacred experiences we had during this time that helped us know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and will help us in our time of need.

It is my testimony that our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ can be in the details of our lives if we allow them. They want to bless us and will be there to comfort us in our hour of need if we live worthily and invite them in. It is because of God, our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ that we are here in mortality and through the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, can live with them again as eternal families. I am truly grateful to know they love us enough to be in the details of our lives.

Your comments and questions are welcome.