There was a rich young man who approached Christ and asked
what he needed to do to have eternal life. Christ answered that he needed to
not commit adultery, not steal, not kill, not bear false witness, not defraud
others, and to honor his father and mother—he needed to keep the commandments.
Encouraged, the young man replies that he has done all of
these things from his youth.
In reply, Christ utters one of the most chilling lines for
me in all of the scriptures—‘One thing thou lackest’.
Christ tells the young man to give all of his money and
possessions to the poor, and to come follow him.
The young man goes away grieved because he had great
possessions.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, there is much expected of us. We are to attend church each week, take
and magnify callings, study scriptures daily, pray always, raise faithful
families, give tithing, follow the word of wisdom, serve others, home teach, donate to the poor,
serve missions, share the gospel, live chastely, not swear, watch only
wholesome media, keep the ten commandments, repent, etc. . . There is so much
for us to do and to become.
What if we do all of those things, and we have our whole
lives? What if the Savior then tells us that there is still ‘one thing thou
lackest’?
Would I be able to sell all of my possessions to follow
Christ? How many of us would right now if asked? Would it be easy, or would it
be like begrudgingly giving a gift? (Which doesn’t benefit us—just ask Cain.)
I’m not sure I could right now. If I did, it would probably be difficult.
Is Christ just trying to keep us humble to let us know we
aren’t there yet? If riches and possessions don’t turn out to be a challenge
for you, is there another critical thing thou lackest? What do you need to work
on right now in order to grow closer to Christ and to eliminate another thing
thou lackest?
The disciples are astonished at Christ’s response. Christ
tries to clarify by saying that those who trust in riches will have a hard time
entering heaving. Despite the clarification, the disciples are astonished
beyond measure and wonder among themselves who can be saved.
I’ve wondered the same thing. Is there any of us who measure
up all the way? All have fallen short of the glory of God, and all of us sin. Are
there any of us who can be saved?
Ultimately, the answer is yes. It is through the atonement
of Christ that our very natures can change. In the exchange, the Savior tells
his disciples that with man this is impossible, but with God, all things are
possible. Looking at the world, and looking at my own life, the process of
change and perfection will take a long while.
The Savior closes this exchange with reassuring and
encouraging words to his disciples. He tells them there is no man that leaves
his house, or family, or possessions that will not receive an hundred fold in
the world to come.
Through the atonement, the gap will be bridged between what
we lack and what we need to be, as long as we endure to the end. With God all
things are possible. Every sacrifice, every effort to keep the commandments,
and every attempt to help others will be worth it in the end. God is eager to
bless us at every opportunity we give him—even if right now there is still ‘one
thing thou lackest.’
(Note: This is the talk I gave at Dad's funeral. He had all six of his kids speak, standing side-by-side at the podium.)
My Father was always a quiet
person, never wanting a lot of attention and never wanting people to know when
he was struggling. As visitors would stop by the last few weeks, he would
always, in his humble way, try to deflect attention from himself by insisting
to his guests that he was not special, and only attracted this attention
because of his disease.
Dad, to the people here, to
your children-- to me, you were special. My father is my hero because his
primary concern was for the welfare of others, never for himself, and he truly
loved his children.
1) Dad’s primary concern was
always for the welfare of others, and never for himself.
When I locked my keys in the
trunk at BYU, he would drop everything and come rescue me. When I crashed into
garage doors, trees, curbs, and even rolled a car, Dad was always the first one
there to rescue me. – More concerned about me than the property damage. (Lucky
for me.)
He was always the first to
volunteer for things in church. My first DI service experiences, cannery
experiences, and church cleaning experiences were all with him.
Dad owned a four-plex in West
Valley for a long time. He would spend hours and hours preparing those
apartments to be rented. Sometimes, to our amazement, people wouldn’t pay rent.
When a pattern emerged, some of us would want justice served, and people
evicted. My dad was the ever merciful one, forgiving debts and giving people
opportunities to make things right. The money was never his primary concern,
but making sure that people were okay was. Sometimes people would take
advantage of him, but that never changed his love for people and the compassion
of his heart.
A few years ago, several of
my friends caught Lance Armstrong fever, and decided to stage their own
tour-de-France event. Their course was from West Valley to my house here in
North Salt Lake, which in theory sounds good. They began their trek early one
morning, and things were going well until they hit the industrial part of North
Salt Lake, with it’s oil refineries. As they huffed and puffed through that
part of town, the smell started to make them a little sick to the stomach and
dizzy. Then they hit the hill. When they finally got to my house, they were all
exhausted and sick. It was my dad, who I’m sure didn’t know most of them, who
fed them, and helped nurse them back to health for their 20 mile trek home.
2) He loved his children, and he was always there
for us.
One of the things that gave
Dad his greatest satisfaction was building our house here at Eaglewood. In preparation
for the move, I switched schools. For me, the adjustment was rough—more than I
thought I could bear. It was especially hard for me at lunch time because I
came from a circle of close friends, but when I switched schools, I felt I was
all by myself. At a time where I was lonelier than I had ever been, he could
have told me to tough it out. He could have told me he was too busy building a
house to worry about this. He could have ignored my problem No. Instead, with
empathy –with love and compassion for me, he would carve time out of his busy
construction schedule to take me to lunch. As the clock approached noon, I
would wait for Dad’s attractive old red truck to pull into the parking lot.
Together, for almost an hour everyday, we would eat our sack lunches packed by
mom and simply talk to each other. I think that will always be my most
cherished memory of my father.
After Dad was diagnosed with
cancer 5 years ago, he would pray that he could be there for some of the big
occasions in our lives. He wanted to be here to see Crystals first child, Bryn
born, then to see Gavin born, then to see Troy and Kajsa have their first son,
Another one of those occasions he hoped and prayed to be there for was to be at
the airport to see me return from my mission. I will forever be grateful to the
Lord for his tender mercy in allowing Dad to be there to see me come home, and
the chance I had to spend some quality time with my Father before his passing.
His last time at church was
several weeks ago. I’m sure he was tired, and in pain, but without complaining
he came to hear me speak and report on my mission. He only had the strength to
stay through my talk, but that gesture meant everything to me.
Dad always told us that if we
remembered one thing about him, it was to know that he loved his children. Dad,
we know you loved us, and we will always love you too.
I’ve always been drawn to complex characters in literature.
I love reading about lives who have met with triumph and tragedy. I enjoy
reading about how people react to both, and how lives are shaped by
experiences. Will the righteous stay righteous? If they fall, will they rise
again? What lessons can I learn from both triumph and tragedy?
One story that has captured my attention again and again is
the story of David from the Old Testament. It is a complex story. Was he the man
who held ultimate respect for the Lord’s anointed, or the man who could not
respect another man’s wife? Was he the King who battled giants and lead Israel
to military victory, or the King whom the sword could never depart from his
house? Was he the beautiful poet, or the tragic lamenter? Was he ultimately a
righteous or a wicked man? All but Christ have fallen short of perfection and commit
sin. How are my successes and failures
like David’s? How are they not? Who was David really, and what lessons can be
drawn from his life?
The Story
David’s story begins with the Prophet Samuel when the Lord
tells Samuel that the current King, Saul, is no longer chosen. The Lord tells
Samuel to take a calf for a sacrifice to where Jesse’s family lives because one
of Jesse’s sons was to be the next anointed
king.
Jesse and his sons come to the sacrifice. Samuel first sees Jesse’s oldest son Eliab.
Eliab must have been the stereotypical oldest son—strong, good looking,
confident, and charming. Samuel was sure that Eliab was mean to be the next
king. However, the Lord told Samuel not to judge based on countenance, or
height of stature. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord judges
based on the heart. Eliab was not meant to be the next king. Seven of Jesse’s
sons pass by Samuel, but none are chosen. Samuel asks Jesse if he has any more
sons, and Jesse confesses that he does. His youngest, David, is home watching
the sheep. Samuel has David brought to him. David is described as ruddy, which
is young looking. The Lord tells Samuel to anoint David as king.
Meanwhile, the spirit has departed from King Saul. Saul’s
advisors tell him he should bring in a musician to play music and soothe his
soul. David is summoned to play the harp, and ever loyal to one of the Lord’s
anointed, David comes to play. As David plays the harp, King Saul is refreshed.
The refreshed Saul heads off with his army to battle the
Philistines. A large, intimidating giant named Goliath challenges Israel and
says that if any in Israel can defeat him, the Philistines will become Israel’s
servants. Meanwhile David had gone home to shepherd. David’s father asked David
to bring supplies to his brothers on the battlefield. When David arrives, he
asks King Saul if he can fight Goliath. With the help of the Lord he had
already killed a lion and a bear. David knew the Lord would also deliver him
from Goliath. King Saul agrees and requests that David take armor into battle.
David declines believing that the Lord alone will be his protection.
When Goliath sees Israel has sent a young boy to fight him,
he is offended. David tells Goliath that the Lord is on his side, and soon all
of the Earth will know of Israel’s God. Goliath charges and David hits him
directly on the forehead with a stone, causing Goliath to fall to the ground.
David then takes Goliath’s sword and cuts Goliath’s head off. The Philistines
flee and Israel rejoices.
The people of Israel now revere and love David. King Saul is
jealous of the boy and tries to kill David with a spear. The attempt fails, but
now the Lord is completely withdrawn from Saul and is with David.
Repeatedly, Saul tries to kill David, but each attempt
fails. Even when David has opportunities to kill Saul, he won’t. David will not
harm or remove the Lord’s anointed, even when that individual has fallen into
sin and error. “Who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and
be guiltless?” David trusts the Lords timing and knows that the Lord will
remove Saul when it is time.
The Philistines go to battle with Israel again, and they
wound King Saul. Rather than fall into their hands, Saul falls on his sword and
dies.
David first gains control of the house of Judah, while
Saul’s son Ish-bosheth rules over the other 11 tribes. Ish-bosheth is killed,
and David is finally anointed king over all of Israel at age 30. He would rein
for the next 40 years. As one of his first acts as King, they battle and
conquer the Philistines and reclaim the Ark of the Covenant.
David moves the ark to the Jerusalem, and establishes that
city as the capitol of Israel for the first time. He laments that the ark has
dwelt in a tent for so long, while he dwells in a palace. However, the Lord
tells him not to build a permanent temple for the ark.
Under David’s leadership, Israel continues to conquer and
expand. While his army is at battle, David decides to stay home. While he is
relaxing and enjoying the cool air on his roof, he sees Bathsheba bathing.
Rather than look away, he lingers and lusts after her beauty. David has his
servants bring Bathsheba to him, knowing full well that she was married to
Uriah. David and Bathsheba lie together.
Bathsheba finds out that she is pregnant, and a panicked
David tries to cover his sin. He has Uriah brought home from battle, and tells
Uriah to go home and be with his wife. Every loyal to his brothers at battle,
Uriah will not go home to his wife while his country is at war. David
understands, and sends Uriah back to battle with a letter for the captain. The
letter informs the captain to send Uriah to the front lines of the most deadly
battle. The captain sends Uriah to fight, and Uriah is killed. David takes
Bathsheba
as his wife, which
greatly angers the Lord.
The prophet Nathan visits David, and shares a parable with
him. In the parable, a man with many possessions and many sheep takes another
man’s only lamb. David is angry at the man in the story with much because of
his selfish action in taking from the man with little. Nathan tells David that
he is the man with much and prophecies that the sword will never leave David’s
house. David’s baby with Bathsheba would also die. Devastated, David rents his
clothes and begins to fast. Despite David’s fasting and pleading with the Lord,
the baby dies. David and Bathsheba conceive again and Solomon is born.
Meanwhile, David’s home life continues to fall apart. His
oldest son Amnon rapes his daughter Tamar. David does nothing, because he would
feel hypocritical due to his own sexual sins. David’s son Absalom kills Amnon
for the action.
Absalom then tries overthrowing his father. David is forced
to flee, and Absalom takes all of
David’s concubines and possessions. The parties loyal to Absalom and those
loyal to David prepare to fight, but Absalom is killed before that happens.
Sheba then tries to overthrow David, but he is unsuccessful as well.
Israel is then cursed with a famine. David numbers his
people, even though the Lord did not want this to happen. David is losing his
ability to hear God’s voice.
As David is about to die, he hears Adonijah is trying to
become the next king. David wants Solomon to be the king, so he brings Solomon
and the prophet Nathan to him, and has Nathan anoint Solomon as the next king.
David gives Solomon the advice to be strong and to always keep the commandments,
and then dies.
15 Lessons
The Lord looks on the
heart- David was small and looked young, while his brother Eliab looked
strong and more like what you would imagine a king looks like. However, David
was chosen as king. The Lord doesn’t judge us on our outward appearance. He
doesn’t care if we are tall or short, attractive or unattractive, eloquent or
not. The Lord looks on our inward characteristics. He cares if our thoughts are
pure, if we keep the commandments, and if we will serve our fellow man. Many of
those outward characteristics are things we can’t control, while the inward
characteristics are things we can work on and develop.
Friends- David’s
best friend Jonathan was one of his strongest allies. Jonathan would warn David
anytime Saul would head out to kill David. In life our friends can be our
strongest defense. They help shape our attitudes, opinions, and behaviors. They
are there to cheer us on when we succeed, and there to help us out when we
struggle.
Music- When King
Saul felt the Lord was distant, he brought David in to play the harp to heal
his troubled soul. When David’s soul was troubled, he wrote music to share his
feelings and to heal. There is power in spiritual music. Music can help us feel
the spirit, can enlighten our minds with new concepts and ideas, and can reenergize
us. The song of the righteous is a prayer unto the Lord.
Trust the Lord-
David trusted the Lord to deliver him from Goliath. He trusted the Lord’s
timing and would not harm the Lord’s anointed king, even when Saul tried to
kill him. He trusted the Lord to lead Israel in battle. We may not always see
the beginning from the end, but the Lord does. If we trust him, and stay
faithful to the commandments, he will help us fight and win our own personal
battles. To paraphrase a scripture—Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Doubt
not. Fear not. He shall direct thy paths.
What we see impacts us-
One of David’s great wishes was to build a temple to house the Ark of the
Covenant. He thought the Lord should have a house as nice as his own palace.
However, he was never permitted to build that house. The Lord said that was
because David had seen too much violence, war, and bloodshed to build a temple.
The Holy Ghost is and still, small voice, and is extremely sensitive. When we
see sin, or commit sins, we diminish our ability to feel the spirit and to act
on behalf of the Lord. This statement
from the Lord should give us pause when we consider the media we watch.
Be where you should
be/ Don’t stay idle- Rather than go to battle with his army, David stayed
home to enjoy a leisurely night relaxing on his roof, which lead to him seeing
Bathsheba bathing, and to adultery. When we are where we should be, the Lord
can bless us. When we have idle time and
aren’t where we should be, we can make mistakes.
Sin is made worse
when we try to hide it- David’s sin of adultery was bad, but it was made
worse when he tried to make Uriah look like the father, and even worse when he
had Uriah killed. To paraphrase another scripture--Behold, this is how you know
if a man repents of his sins; he will confess and forsake them. Hiding sin is the opposite of repentance. Also
by trying to hide the initial sin, one sin snowballed into another until David
had lost control.
Lust blinds- Lust
destroys our ability to reason. It made adultery, lies, and murder seem like
acceptable courses of action. Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.
Anyone can fall if
they give in to their weaknesses – David was anointed by the Lord as a
leader, yet he still fell. Any of us can fall. We have to stay vigilant, and
repent when we make mistakes.
Sin incapacitates-
After David sinned, he felt he could no longer lead on spiritual things. If we
sin, we will likely feel hypocritical when trying to teach and serve others.
Sin also restricts our ability to feel the spirit.
Sin leads to regret-
David spent his who life regretting his sins. They were ever present in his
mind, which you can see from his psalms. In a similar way, our sins hold us
back and weigh us down.
Prayer- When
David finds out that his child with Bathsheba will die, he attempts to fast and
pray to change the will of the Lord.
However, prayer is less about changing God’s mind than it is about
aligning our will with his. Prayer is about understanding.
The character of man–
It is easier to think of people as purely good, or purely evil. However, this
is rarely the case. Every one of us has good and evil within us. If we put our
trust in man, we will always be let down at some point. We must understand that
everyone makes mistakes—friends, family members, Sunday school teachers, other
leaders—everyone. Thankfully the Lord allows us to repent. The only person who
will never let us down is the Lord. Put your ultimate faith and trust in him
and him alone.
Great leaders aren’t
always great role models- David was a great leader. He led Israel to
victory and claimed lands for the first time that had been promised to Abraham
1,000 years earlier. However, he committed adultery, lied, sinned, and had
problems with his family. His life isn’t the best life for us to pattern our
lives after. Similarly, we can think of today’s great business leaders or
entertainers. They may invent great things, be charismatic, have fans, earn
money, and seem to have it all. If they teach principles and fill their lives
with actions that oppose what God wants, then we should not pattern our lives
after them. That being said, there are lessons to be drawn from every life,
just choose your role models carefully.
Enduring to the end
– David did great things in his youth and early years on the throne. However,
his later years were filled with sin, bloodshed, and regret. If we don’t endure
to the end, then it is as if it all was for naught. The Lord will still bless
us for every good thing we’ve done, but he can’t give us the ultimate blessings
the Celestial Kingdom provides if we don’t stay faithful our entire lives.
The last thing that bothered me about David’s story had to
do with the omniscience of God. If God can see the beginning from the end, and
knows our characters so well that he knows the actions we will take, and knows
how each of our stories will play out, why did he anoint David to be king? He
knew David’s story would end with sin and the sword never departing his house.
I’ve thought about this a lot, and I think the answer has to do with what David
was anointed to be. David was not anointed to be the prophet, which would have
required exact obedience to all of Gods commandments at all times. There was a
chosen prophet in David’s time. David was anointed to be the King, and perhaps
the calling of a king required less exact obedience since he wasn’t the
spiritual leader. David turned out to be an extraordinary king. Under David,
all of the 12 tribes of Israel were united. For the first time Jerusalem was
set up as the capital of Israel, which was neutral land between the northern
and southern tribes. Under David’s leadership Israel expanded its territory and
conquered the lands that were promised to Abraham 1,000 years earlier. David
held off and pushed back against Israel’s enemies. David was a great king and a
great leader. It is for this reason that the Messiah would rein on David’s
throne. Had the Philistines not conquered Israel, Jesus’ step-father Joseph
would have been King of Israel, and then Jesus would have been the heir to the
throne. Through David Christ would have been the great secular king, and
through Heavenly Father he would have been the spiritual king.
So was David good, or was he evil? Certainly there are
elements of both in his story. David is complex. Ultimately his life is worth
studying, but he should not be our number one spiritual role model. The Lord
promised David that he would be delivered from the lowest depths of Hell, but
made no promise that he would ascend to the Celestial Kingdom. The good thing
for us is that we can learn from both the positive and negative elements of
David’s character.
Glen Birch Farnsworth was born in Salt Lake City, Utah
on May 17, 1943 to Eldred Birch Farnsworth and Cleone Marsh. He died in North Salt Lake, Utah
on June 10, 2007, five years after being diagnosed with cancer.
Glen was
raised in Magna, Utah,
and graduated from CyprusHigh School in 1961,
where he was active in athletics and student government. He maintained many of
those close friendships throughout his life.
During his young adult years, Glen enjoyed
playing softball, and participated in four all-church softball tournaments.
Glen graduated from the University
of Utah in 1966, and
began a 31+ year career with Utah Social Services.
Glen was married to his high school
sweetheart, Marcella Laurel Johnson, in the SaltLakeTemple on June 25, 1964. Glen and
Marcella had six children, including twin sons that died at birth. Marcella
died on May 28, 1980.
Glen married Mary Alice Baird (his
special angel) on March 6, 1982, in the SaltLakeTemple. Glen and Alice had two children.
Glen’s greatest joy in life was
raising his family, and watching his children succeed with their goals and
interests in academics, athletics, dance, music, and church activities. He was
very proud of their accomplishments and the honorable men and women they have
become.
He was a faithful member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints throughout his life, and served as
the Bishop of the Taylorsville Utah West Stake 4th Ward. Glen found joy in giving to others, and had
an understanding heart.
The family would like to give special
thanks to Dr. Elizabeth Prystas, Kathy, Barbara, Sara, and all of the staff at
Wasatch Oncology Associates for their kind and compassionate care.
Glen is survived by his wife,
Alice, and children, Darin (Janet), Nicolette Johnson (Joe), Troy (Kajsa), Crystal Armstrong (Chris),
Bryan, and Michelle. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and niece, Janet
Stevenson. He is preceded in death by his parents, wife, Marcella, twin sons,
Todd and Tory, and sister, Barbara Snow.
Funeral services will he held Thursday,
June 14, 2007 at 11:00 A.M. at the Eaglewood Ward Chapel (200 S. Eagle Ridge
Drive, North Salt Lake). A viewing will be held at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary (3401 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City) on Wednesday, June 13, 2007
from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M., and also at the Eaglewood Ward Chapel at 10:00 A.M.
prior to the services. The internment will be at ValleyViewMemorial Park.
Some things simply matter more than others. Those words have resonated with me ever since I first heard them uttered in relation to the atonement versus other gospel topics. I understand that life is short, and that I can’t do everything. I must choose who I am going to be, and just as importantly, who I am not going to be. I make that choice through how I spend my time
Let me give some background on how I decided who I wanted to be, and how I wanted to spend my time—the things that matter most to me. From 2005 to 2007, I was a missionary in the Washington Tacoma Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There I had many experiences that I would never trade for anything, and many I would. The first councilor in our mission presidency was President Anderson, and he was big on goal setting and achievement. He used a 9 box method. Each box represented a different category in his life, and for each category he would come up with a few items to be working on. I tried this approach numerous times, but it was hard to figure out nine categories with attached goals, and to remember them so I could work on them. It seemed a little overwhelming.
After a lot of drawing boxes, categorizing those boxes, refining those boxes, throwing the paper with the boxes away, and repeating the process, I decided I needed to simplify it a bit. I narrowed it down five things that I want my life to be defined by. For the alliterate type, I call them Farnsworth’s Five F’s. To me they represent the things that matter most—the things I want to spend my time and my efforts developing and pursuing. They are faith, family, friends, finance, and fitness.
Faith- If I had to boil my list down to the most important thing, this category would be it. My relationship with God is the single most important relationship I have. It is the most destiny-changing one. If I am faithful to God, keep the commandments, repent, and make covenants, I am promised everything God has can be mine.
Family- No success outside of the home can compensate for failure within the home. My family is my legacy. I need to teach them, to nurture them, and to love them so that we can all reach our potential and so that I can look back on my life and feel good about it. This category is forward looking, but also deals with my parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews.
Friends- When I look back on my life, I’m sure that I will define myself by the relationships I’ve had and maintained. My friends help life to be fun. They influence everything about me from how I spend my time, to what entertainment I watch, to what I think and feel and do.
Finance – In this category I lump saving, spending, and career. If you know me, you know this category is fascinating to me. I love to save and to see the power of compound interest working. I love to spend wisely. I spend a lot of my life working at my job, so I want it to be something I enjoy and that I feel is worthwhile.
Fitness- Last but not least is fitness. I believe that the quality of your life is directly impacted by your health. It is important to me to eat healthy foods, see doctors regularly, and to exercise. There is a lot of room for improvement here, but I recognize its importance.
Faith, family, friends, finance, and fitness are all very important to me. If something takes me away from or distracts me from them, then I don’t want to think it, waste time on it, or pursue it. These are the things that will define my life—they truly are the things that matter most...
