AN: This is literally everything I wrote proceeding my talk. I actually came up with a few different talks, as you can see. My personal stories were originally in the final talk, but were cut for time, as well as the "Newsong" portion of my thoughts. I really wasn't feeling it with the first talk: too many absolutes, too little about inspiration. It was awful. Also, the space made by a couple of enters means that I had an unrelated thought, so I spaced them apart to keep them separate. Obviously. This is why my things get so long... bulky, unrefined thoughts like this. Enjoy. Or don't. Honestly, it's here for posterity, or whatever.
Using Our Language to Inspire Others
My goal in this meeting is to inspire you to inspire
others, by both bringing the Spirit and teaching truth. I’ll let you be the
judge of how successful I am by the time I finish.
To inspire somebody you should first ensure you have the
companionship of the Holy Spirit. If you don’t, then you’re not even living in
a way that would inspire anybody. As they say, you cannot pull somebody up from
lower ground. If we have the Lord’s Spirit with us, then we can know of a
surety that we can do any righteous thing, including inspiring others. Regarding
the Holy Ghost, the language we use is vital. For the Strength of Youth states: “Good language that uplifts,
encourages, and compliments others invites the Spirit to be with you. Our
words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith, hope, and charity.”^1 What
is inspiration, if not faith, hope, and charity?
There is a second component to inspiration. That is
truth. In D&C 96, we learn “truth is a knowledge of things as they were, as
they are, and as they will be.” Truth is eternal. What is so inspiring about
truth, you may ask? You will find that all good things are eternal truths. For
instance, we have the truth about humanity. We are children of a loving God,
gifted with agency, with a potential to become like our Heavenly Father.
Another example would be the truth of the Atonement. It is an infinite
atonement, which will cover any trespass we commit, so long as we but repent. The
concept of repentance itself is another truth! We can always repent, and be
forgiven. These things inspire me to be better. The simplest application
of truth is a reminder of things we already know deep down in our soul. The
Spirit will recognize these eternal truths.
Being inspirational does not mean speaking in a convention,
or writing a best-seller. It means speaking in a kind tone, expressing friendly
truth. The clearest examples of inspirational speaking come from the Savior.
Christ spoke with profound simplicity, doling out truth to the masses that
needed hope. His is a style we ought to emulate. While we won’t express deep
gospel truths every time we open our mouths, we should make them a part
of our vernacular. Even if we aren’t always as in tune with the will of The
Lord as the Savior was, we can bring ourselves more in line with His general
vision by eliminating vulgarities, put downs, and negativity from our speech.
These things have no place in Zion. I can promise you that you’ll never hear
the Savior respond “your mom” or, “I can’t believe Susan wore THAT top!”
I pray I’ve adequately expressed that more than being
kind, we need to not be mean, and more than not being cruel, we need to be
good. There is no neutral ground. It doesn’t exist now, nor for the Israelites,
and certainly not during the pre-mortal existence. There will always be a
choice for us to make. L. Tom Perry stated “Our speech reveals who we are.”^2
We’ve all taken a covenant that decides who we are: witnesses of Christ,
burden-bearers, fellow-mourners, commandment-keepers… and most importantly,
people who take upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ.^3
Robert S. Wood of the Seventy has said that “Every day
each of us is implicated in obscuring the light or in chasing away the
darkness. We have been called to invite the light and to be a light, to
sanctify ourselves and edify others.”^4 For those who attended seminary last
year, certain verses in Mathew should spring to mind. “Ye are the light and the life of the world.
A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and
put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that
are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works and glorify your God which is in heaven.”^5
We have a choice to make. We’re making it every moment
with our thoughts and words and deeds. Am I going to obscure the light, or
chase away the darkness? Make no mistake; there is darkness in this world. Many
people live a life of complete darkness, unaware that there is light out there
for them to grab hold of. If people weren’t metaphorically in their way,
obscuring the light, they could see it. If more people decided to chase away
the darkness, to throw open the curtains and let the sunshine pour in, we’d
live in a much happier world.
Light… light is a powerful thing. Light comes from God.
It is in the light that things grow, that we can read and strengthen our minds.
In the light we can appreciate the beauty of the earth. It is in the light that
we are baptized, married. And I know that we will be in the light when we are
resurrected. After all, it is the morning of the first resurrection - a Morning
with unfiltered, untainted light shining down upon a world that nearly
succumbed to the dark. So ask yourselves right now: are you going to flail
against the unavoidable morning and deny the inevitable sunrise, or are you
going to prepare the world for the Savior’s coming and shine bright?
Never doubt the power inspiration instills in a person
and in a people. It has enabled humankind to win revolutions, walk on the moon,
tame nuclear forces, depose tyrants, and spread freedom. Most importantly, it
enabled a young fourteen-year old boy to journey down a path that has touched
all of our lives. I testify…
“You are a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father.” “I am a
son of God who has given me every opportunity in life.” “No matter what wrong
you commit, Christ will forgive.” “God made you special, just the way you are.”
^I’m not sure about this; it seems corny and doesn’t
progress the overall theme very much.
Never doubt the power inspiration instills in a person and in
a people. It has enabled humankind to win revolutions, walk on the moon, tame
nuclear forces, depose tyrants, and spread freedom. Most importantly, it
enabled a young fourteen-year old boy to journey down a path that has touched
all of our lives. I testify…
The companionship of the Holy Ghost is one of God’s greatest
gifts, so anything that invites it to be with us is a holy and worthwhile
endeavor.
^This may be meandering, with the Spirit/God wants us
to/inspire part.
I believe there are two components to inspiration: the
presence of the Holy Ghost and knowledge of one’s potential, if you will. The
first enables feelings of comfort and testifies of the truthfulness of the
second; while the second builds hope and reinforces the first. Comfort is what
allows us to weather the storms in life, and it is hope that allows us to sail
to better waters.
^I don’t really like how this paragraph turned out. I was
trying too hard to tie things together and give various attributes diverse
things to do.
As members of this church, we are responsible for carrying
out four agendas:
1.
Perfecting the saints.
2.
Redeeming the dead.
3.
Proclaiming the gospel.
4.
Caring for the poor and needy.
The subject I’ve decided to speak about compliments the
first and last two goals well. (As for the dead, well… what can you do?)
Brothers and sisters, how we can use our language to inspire others, and how we
can draw inspiration from all kinds of places?
^that thesis is too broad. Also, there’s no good reason to
include the mission of the Church, unless I structured the talk around
discussing how it works towards each of the three points I mentioned.
They say that we ought to liken the scriptures. Take “I,
Nephi” or “My servant, Oliver Cowdry,” and turn them into “I, Russell” and “My
servant, Ryan Call.” I’d like to take that a step further and claim that we
should liken all good things unto ourselves.
“Ask not what the church can do for you, but what you can do
for the church.”
“I regret that I have but one life to live to preach this
gospel.”
^That’s more of a “finding inspiration from all sorts of
places” shtick. It’s a good thought, but is more for finding inspiration than
inspiring others.
Brigham Young taught that anything that is true is a part of
our gospel. In D&C 96:24, we have a definition of truth: “Truth is
knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.”
^That’s good and all, but where would I go from there? What
does that set the foundation for?
Finding inspiration in the gospel?
Inspiring others?
Using our speech to inspire others?
L. Tom Perry once said “Our speech reveals who we are.”
From “For the Strength of Youth”: “Clean and intelligent
language is evidence of a bright and wholesome mind. Good language that
uplifts, encourages, and compliments others invites the Spirit to be with you.
Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith, hope, and charity.”
^The quote from L. Tom Perry is a good thought, but
shouldn’t be the centerpiece. If the point is how we use our speech to
encourage others, than there should be a brief “this is who we are supposed to
be, our speech reveals who we really are.” The FTSOY extract is useful. It
could transition a thought about the spirit and a thought about inspiring with
our language.
What would be the purpose of talking about the Spirit? What
would focusing on it bring to the table?
-
The Spirit will help us find the words we need
-
We feel our best when we have the companionship
of the Spirit
-
If we don’t have the Spirit, we’re not living in
a way where we could offer inspiration to others (You have to be on higher
ground to pull somebody up).
How about I transition from FTSOY to a brief mention of the
Spirit, and how you have to be living in a certain way in order to be inspiring
to others?
Robert S. Wood of the Seventy has said that “Every day each
of us is implicated in obscuring the light or in chasing away the darkness. We
have been called to invite the light and to be a light, to sanctify ourselves
and edify others.”
For those who attended seminary last year, certain verses in
Mathew should spring to mind. “Ye are
the light and the life of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be
hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a
candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your God
which is in heaven.”
We have a choice to make. We’re making it every moment with
our thoughts and words and deeds. Am I going to obscure the light, or chase
away the darkness? Make no mistake; there is darkness in this world. Many
people live a life of complete darkness, unaware that there is light out there
for them to grab hold of. If people weren’t metaphorically in their way, obscuring
the light, they could see it. If more people decided to chase away the
darkness, to throw open the curtains and let the sunshine pour in, we’d live in
a much happier world.
Light… that’s a powerful word. Light comes from God. It is
in the light that things grow. It is in the light that we can read and
strengthen our minds. It is in the light that we can appreciate the beauty of
the earth. It is in the light that we are baptized. It is in the light that we
are married. And I know that we will be in the light when we are resurrected.
After all, it is called the morning of the first resurrection. It will
be the Morning, a Morning with unfiltered, untainted light shining down upon a
world that nearly succumbed to the dark. So ask yourselves right now: are you
going to prepare the world for the Savior’s coming, or are you going to flail
against the unavoidable morning while we weather these last hours of darkness?
^This may be too wordy, too thick for the ideas it
expressed. Is it pretentious? Grandiose? Is there a purpose in talking about
all of this for so long?
The spirit is the greatest motivator of men. Deception,
greed, and anger will always be there to motivate, but not to good. A wicked
tree beareth wicked fruit. So while masses may be opiated on these perversions
of truth, that which comes from God will be stronger, will overcome, and will
inspire.
The reason my heart soars when I hear the echoing of “I have
a dream…” is a quiet testimony of the Spirit. The tingling on my skin when I
hear
I have two brief experiences I’d like to share, both of
which tremendously impacted me and had me questioning my way of thinking. At
the time, they were oddities. Now, they are my inspirations.
The first takes place after a busy school day. Most of you
know what it looks like outside – people pouring out, traffic everywhere. This
specific event happened after the rush had died down, and there were only
trickles of people leaving. I was on the sidewalk walking away, when I turned
behind me and saw a young woman, whose hair was green and blonde, with several
piercings in her face, dark makeup, and a wardrobe that screamed “I am a
rebel!” Well, I saw this young woman backtrack up the cement steps, and pull
open the door. Out hobbled a teacher, an old woman, with boxes in her hands.
I’ll briefly relate the second story, and then tie all of
this together.
This story also takes place after school, but rather than in
the midst of spring near the end of the school year, this one takes place
during the winter time, with well over 6 inches of snow on the ground. I was
waiting for a friend, when a fellow classmate walked past me. I didn’t know him
terribly well, only that he played the bass, and he liked to make crude jokes
with his friends. We only ever interacted in orchestra class, and even then we
were in different sections. He had the build of a football player. Suffice it
to say, we were not close. Neither of us knew the other’s name. He said,
“What’re you doing?”
“Waiting for a friend,” I simply responded.
He looked at my feet. “Are you walking home?” he asked.
“Yes,” I responded. “It’s a mile or two away, but I don’t
mind.”
He took a look at my feet again, and then started through
the snow, dragging his feet purposefully. I looked at him in question for a moment,
before he turned around.
“What’re you doing?” I asked him.
“Making a path for you,” he simply responded.
His response floored me. I was shocked that he would show
such kindness to me. I mumbled “thank you,” but I don’t think I could have
managed to convey my sincerity in that response. It is one of the kindest
things anybody has ever done for me. I had unconsciously judged this boy to be
a ‘regular’ teenage boy, with all those negative connotations, and here he
showed me that altruism exists in each of us.
Introduce self…
This talk is focused on the things that inspire me, and
why I think they inspire me.
Number one is, of course, the scriptures. I’m not sure
I’ve ever read a verse that has inspired me so much as D&C 18:10:
“For behold, the worth of souls is great in
the sight of God.”
This verse simply and profoundly states the feelings of God for us. God,
an omnipotent, omniscient being with infinite power, who’s created galaxies and
billions of souls, thinks we are worth a great deal. Not just the souls who
change the course of history. Not even just the good souls, but every soul,
regardless of its condition. If that doesn’t make you think a bit better of
yourself, you may need to look up a few verses on humility.
Another scripture that I look to for inspiration are the verses in Mathew
16 (a scripture mastery, for those of you in seminary last year):
“For behold, ye are the light and life of
the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a
candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they
me see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
This verse leans more on the “how we inspire others” side of affairs. If
we do our best and “let our light shine” we’ll inspire others. It’s not a new
development that our actions can speak louder than our words. An interesting
point is that we glorify God when we act like this.
There are also stories in the scriptures that have inspired me. A few
common ones like the story of Nephi, particularly in 1 Nephi 3, and a few more
esoteric picks like the story of Deborah, the prophetess.
I think Nephi himself is a very inspirational figure, because he’s an
everyman. He could be any one of us, if we would just yield to the enticing’s
of the Spirit. He displays a reluctance to kill even his most reviled enemies,
constantly forgives those who do him wrong, and displays a consistent trust in
the Lord, and in his father. Maybe I can be a little more like Nephi, and
simply respond “I will go and do,” the next time a favor is asked of me.
The second thing that inspires me would be music, and in
particular, lyrics. One of my all-time favorite songs is titled “Newsong” by a
group called Tacica. The chorus for the final verse never ceases to stir up my
heart. It goes:
“Who is the person I want to see the most?
The number of people in my heart just keeps
on growing.
Can I remain true to myself?
We haven’t read enough of our story to call
it quits yet.
We should all just be ourselves.
That’s another way we grow stronger.
We
just want to be stronger.”
In this song, the other way you grow
stronger is by keeping more people “in your heart.” I love how they portray two
complimentary paths to strength. If you choose to be yourself, you’ll grow
stronger. If you care for others, you’ll grow stronger. The song even gently
reminds, “your story’s not over yet, let’s keep going.” However trite it is,
being you is something that will inspire others. As children of God, who we are
inside is surely something beautiful.
Another song I’m in love with is “Midnight Orchestra” by Aqua Timez.
While it’s a bit cheesy, it has profound meaning to me. A common pre-chorus
line in the song is about spoons:
“A small spoon is all you need to scoop out
happiness.
There’s just the question of if anybody
will want to share some of yours.”
So yes, the idea of scooping out happiness like ice-cream is a bit silly.
But what isn’t silly is the thought that there are people who aren’t sure if
they want a piece of that happiness-cream action. We need to be willing to
share our happiness-ice cream, small spoon and all. We don’t all need our own
vast Costco-size tub of happiness. Sometimes, we don’t even need our own store
of it, though that’d be the best. Sometimes we all just need to be willing to
share with each other.
The hymns I Stand All Amazed and
Because I Have been Given Much often
bring up feelings of optimism and determination, which form inspiration when
properly brewed together. They have complimentary lines of thought: Jesus, the
Lord of Heaven and Earth, gave His life for me. Me, a sinner! He bled and was
crucified. He atoned for me. And
because of this, because I have this amazing gift, I need to give to others.
Because I’ve been given so much by the Lord, I need to share with others. God
has given me a bucket of happiness ice-cream, and I need to get my spoon out
and share that stuff with everybody!
The third thing that inspires me is a good speech. I’m
very fond of the dialogue found in Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator speech. In particular, there is a part where he
claims that:
“We all want to help one another. Human
beings are like that. We want to live by
each other’s happiness – not by each other’s misery.”
This passage reaffirmed my faith in the human condition, and the innate
goodness within us all. I like many other speeches as well. Some of them are
famous, like Martin Luther King’s I Have
a Dream and President Reagan’s Tear
Down This Wall. Others are the kind you can’t really tell people about, or
they’ll laugh at you, like the president’s speech in the movie “Independence
Day.” Yes, the movie with aliens. Proof that you can find inspiration in
unlikely places.
The final thing I want to talk about in terms of what
inspires me is the exploits of others. I’ve already mentioned Nephi, so I think
I’ll shy away from the heroes of the scriptures, who are all undoubtedly
inspirational. We can find inspirational people in our recent world history,
which I take as proof that God always has, and always will, care for His
children. I am amazed how the actions of
one man, who refused to act in violence, freed his entire country. I am stunned
that a small group of patriots managed to topple the greatest worldy power of
their era. I am humbled that a young boy with a question restored the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
These are all special events, without a doubt. But there are quitter
struggles going on that inspire me in more personal ways. I am inspired by the youth
who leaves behind an old life and joins a church that requires them to change their
way of life, which willingly becomes different from their family. I am inspired
by the teenager who says “Let’s not say that about them. That’s not nice. I
like them.” I am even inspired by the
young man who treats his mother with proper respect and gratitude!
So I’ve given you my “Best of.” My highlight reels. What’s
the point? Here’s the point. Looking over this list, there are several traits I
see. One is finding goodness in everybody.
The Great Dictator verbalized
this in a way that appeals to me on an emotional and mental level. Music says
things in a fresh way that makes you think of things in a different way.
D&C is a powerful testament that God personally cares for each one of us,
as is I Stand All Amazed. Scripture
stories and people’s lives showed me that we can achieve greater things than we
think possible. Truly, all things are possible with God. I am inspired by so
many different things because there are so many incredible things in this world
to be inspired by. Speeches, songs, scriptures, and life stories all show
similar things, from different perspectives. The things that inspire me teach
me to believe in myself, in others, and in my God. The things that inspire me
show me that I can become more than I am, that I can make a difference, and
that you can too. The things that inspire me show me the best of human nature,
while assuring me that we can conquer the worst. The thing that inspires me the
most is a testimony. A testimony that…
