In verse 12 we learn that "all things which are good cometh of God". I love this statement, because of its simplicity. ALL things good=from God. ALL THINGS. On this statement Moroni expounds his thoughts when he says in verse 13, "that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."
I also like that in verse 16 it explains that "the Spirit of Christ" is given to every man, that he may know good from evil. In this life, we will need that spirit to be with us. There are many things inviting us to "do" to "come"--things that need to be discerned through the Spirit of Christ. I have watched with sadness as people--I love--have fallen away from the church. I believe it is because they focused on things that were not important. Much like the Jews in Jerusalem, they have focused beyond the mark of the Savior. Jacob, in The Book of Mormon, explains this when he says, "the Jews...despised the words of plainness,...and sought the things they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken sway his plainness from them..." (Jacob 4: 14). Neal A Maxwell explains, "The gospel is plain and simple. The Jews rejected the simple gospel and God's plan by "'looking beyond the mark' (Jacob 4:14)--the mark of Christ who is the center of it all" (Neal A. Maxwell, "Not My Will, But Thine," 7).
We continue to learn that "it is by faith that miracles are wrought " (vs. 37), "no man can be saved...save they shall have faith" (vs. 38), "he (the man) cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart" (vs. 43), and "if a man be meek and lowly of heart...he must needs have charity for if not charity he is nothing" (vs. 44).
We also learn what it means to have charity in verse 45 when it says, "charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things endureth all things. I love this description or this checklist--so to speak--of charity. My mind works in formulas and checklists. As I read through this checklist, I notice similarities to the 13 article of faith. I also notice the importance to seek the good and positive in life. Just recently I have learned a lesson on charity that I hope to never forget:
I haven't been here for a while. It's not that I don't have more to say, but perhaps I've needed time...
Today I am writing about Brandon again. I was recently informed of someone speaking in a sacrament meeting about service. In his talk, he spoke of my little brother, and the example Brandon had been to him. I just received the talk, and it has caused me to reflect on life.
I always knew the things that this person shared of Brandon, but I was too busy to really "see". As I have contemplated his divine nature, I have wondered if I am neglecting an important portion of loving the people around me--if I am not taking the time to bask in their light. I think--as a mom, it is easy to always correct my children with behaviors that need correcting, and easy to neglect to praise the good. I think I am missing the process of truly seeing others as God sees them. I think I have been defining others by their trials rather than their strengths, and I need to start defining others by their strengths and not by their trials--my children included.
I remember on Brandon's frequent visits to my home, him taking a multitude of pills. I remember watching him as he counted out the various pills that he needed to sustain his life. I remember asking him about his medical condition, about his well-being (which quite often focused on his medical condition), and about his life in general. I remember anxiously asking him of his work--always afraid that another company would view his "medical" history to be too difficult to continue employing him. I remember watching him struggle as he talked. I remember hating that his vocal chords were ruined. It was difficult for Brandon to push enough air through his throat to speak. I often worried about other people judging Brandon's difficulties, and I desired to protect him from their scrutiny.Whenever Brandon came to visit, I thought often of his medical trials, but I forgot to enjoy the person Brandon truly was... In retrospect, in my effort of protecting Brandon, I became the problem I desired to protect him against. Perhaps this is a story about loving a person entirely--the good and the bad. In my limited understanding previous to Brandon's passing, I was loving Brandon entirely; however, now--as I reflect on his life, I wonder if there could have been more charity, more love, and more joy if I had only taken the time to bask a bit in his great strengths? I wonder how I could have grown as a sister, and as a mother--if I had only allowed myself the opportunity of being the student rather than being the teacher all of the time?
Seeing people for their good qualities is a gift. This gift in which I speak is the gift of charity. Seeing others as they truly are is a lesson that will not be lost on me.
The TALK (or a portion of it) by Greg Slevin about Brandon Elkington:
(Greg worked as a pharmacist at a Camp where Brandon was a counselor.):
Brandon was another person I met at Camp. He was also a counselor, who had type 1 diabetes. He was about 20 something. Unlike Zach--Brandon also had another condition. One of the things that the pharmacy students and I do on the Saturday that we get to camp is to set up the infirmary and package all of the staff medications in bubble packs. The first time I met Brandon was when I was helping a student package his medications. Not only was Brandon cursed with Type 1 diabetes--he also had another auto-immune condition that affected his other organs. His own body would attack his other organs. He was on some very powerful medications to prevent this from happening. When you take powerful medications there are always side effects, sometimes powerful side effects. He had multiple things going on that he dealt with every single day. I can tell you that I have never seen Brandon with anything on his face other than a smile. He was always positive. You would never have known that he was battling multiple diseases. He would often be giggling with a friend on the other side of the room and you would just wonder what they were talking about. He had a gift. Like Zach, he would do anything to help you out. He wouldn’t even hesitate. Didn’t care what it was. If you asked for help he would just jump up out of his seat and say let’s go. When I was helping to prepare for camp, I was surprised to not see his name on the roster this year. We had talked the previous year and he thought for sure that he would be coming to camp this year. I just assumed something came up. It was certainly not uncommon for people to miss a year. Sometimes if someone can’t come for the entire week they get permission to come for part of a week. Their name may not always be on the roster. It could have been that he was in the "maybe column"--that he hadn’t committed yet. The roster always changes right up until camp. Sometimes even during camp people have to go home for an unexpected reason. At teen camp Saturday evening, we had just finished getting the medical stuff set up, and all of us headed to the lodge for staff meeting and training. One of the first things that Alan, our camp director, said was that he had to make an announcement. He wanted to let us know that Brandon had died. He ended up getting a respiratory infection… I think it was the flu. Because Brandon had to take medications to prevent his body from attacking his other organs, he could not fight infection very well. I really don’t know a lot of the details. I didn’t know that it had happened. Many of the others there had known. I was in shock. Brandon was such a nice guy. Brandon lived in eastern Idaho, so I didn’t really know him that well. I just knew him one week out of the year, and can tell you he has had a tremendous effect on my life. It is people like him and Zach that make it easy for me to be positive when I am performing service. My words don’t even come close to describing him. When I got back from camp, I tried to learn more about what had happened to him. When I went to his Facebook page there were hundreds of people that had commented about him. This is what they had to say: 1) He was truly a gift of God. 2) He is an example of the sort of positive influence that I hope to be. 3) Brandon was a great guy and a true friend to everyone he came across. 4) He was such a fun loving guy. 5) I had only a few brief interactions with Brandon. I remember being impressed with his unrelenting optimism in the face of great difficulty. 6) With the many struggles that had come your way you fought threw it, always smiling anytime I saw you. 7) You were a man people could count on, always willing to help others before yourself. 8) What an amazing guy you were! So full of life and fun! 9) He has always been so strong and a friend to everyone. 10) His kind, sunny personality will be greatly missed. The messages went on and on. There were Hundreds of messages. I do believe that Brandon stands blameless before God.
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