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Tuesday, at the BYU Weekly Devotional, President Dallin H. Oaks emphasized the warning given by his predecessor, the late president, Russell M. Nelson back in April 2018, General Conference when President Nelson said, as most of us well remember:
“It will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost”.
To which President Oaks added,
“One of the many reasons you will need the constant influence of the Holy Ghost is that you live in a season where the adversary has become so effective at disguising truth that if you do not have the Holy Ghost, you will be deceived. Many obstacles lie ahead.”
His desire, said President Oaks, is to help all Latter-day Saints overcome present or future doubts. He then shared four impressions he said he has had of ways to draw closer to the Savior.
First, strengthen faith in Him.
Second, increase humility.
Third, seek help from others.
Fourth, be patient. Keep that in mind. Be pati
I retired nearly 18 years ago in 2008, after serving for 34 years on the Los Angeles Police Department.
For about the first half of my 34 years on LAPD, I was in one traffic-related assignment or another including 13 years as a motorcycle officer… An assignment I truly enjoyed. In all, I estimate that I participated in the investigation of at least 10,000 traffic accidents… Most of them relatively minor… And I got a pretty good grasp of what causes traffic accidents. The causes were known as “Primary Collision Factors”. The three most frequent primary collision factors were:
Unsafe speed,
Following too closely and
unsafe lane changes.
But the thing that basically made them all unsafe was:
- Not being patient!
Patience is a very valuable and hard to maintain attribute.
The day after I retired we left California and moved to Kentucky because we wanted to be able to explore the eastern and southern states and we had very good friends in the Louisville area.
But, after 12 great years in Kentucky, we decided we needed to be closer to family so we moved here to Utah County where one of our sons lives with his wife and four kids and my sister and many of her children and grandchildren also live here.
We arrived here in September, 2020, and after searching for a suitable home we closed a deal here in Lindon after only seeing a floor plan and a vacant lot.
On February 19th of 2021, we started moving in.
Back in 1974, I was a young single guy trying to find a way to make a living. I had returned from my mission, I had no idea where I was going or what I wanted to do. I definitely had never been a good student in HS or college.
Somehow I determined that the Los Angeles Police Department might be a good fit for me.
- I was, as I mentioned, single at the time
- I liked the idea of being a cop in L.A.
- The weather was good
- The beaches were close
- LAPD had good pay and benefits and seemed exciting.
- AND they had a great retirement program
So off I went. After completing the Police Academy I was assigned to what is known as 77th Street Division in South-Central Los Angeles. One of my first partners was a fellow named Jack Reidy who was not a member of the church but could have been. He was a good guy.
While I never wavered in my testimony, I have to say I was not very active in the church back in those days. I used “working on Sunday” or “working Morning Watch” (overnight) as a frequent excuse for not going to church. I also lived in Seal Beach with another cop, who was not LDS, and that didn’t help either.
But, Alas, I eventually felt the need to try to be more involved with the church and decided to move inland to Temple City where a friend of mine who was also a policeman and WAS active in the church was living with his wife and kids. (Good example)
At about this time, March of 1977, my old partner, Jack Reidy and his wife, had a friend they wanted to fix me up with. So we all went out to dinner together.
This woman, my “Blind Date” turned out to be in my opinion, beautiful and charming and most of all, she seemed to like me too. In fact, she is now the still beautiful and charming Sister Cathleen Partridge.
She was not a member of the church at that time but had been trying to find a church that she could be content with.
We went to church together on Mothers’ Day and a member of the Stake Presidency there gave a wonderful talk about the importance and value of women. Cathy enjoyed the meeting and because of that and other important reasons she soon joined the church. We got married in September 1977, and were sealed in the LA Temple a few months later.
A few years later, we established our home in Long Beach.
I still was telling myself that I would be more active in the church if I didn’t have a job that sometimes required me to “Work on Sundays” or “overnight”... I was, after all, a policeman and I tried to convey these thoughts to any ward or stake leaders whenever the occasion arose, BUT...
One day I got the call from the stake executive secretary… Could I meet with President Ward?
President John Ward, our Stake President, wanted to know if I could arrange my work schedule so that I could be more available on Sundays? Could I handle a calling that would require me to be mostly free on Sundays?
I believe the Spirit was working with him and, once again, with me and I was impressed that I could and should respond positively. So the interview continued and I was called to serve on the Stake High Council of Long Beach East Stake.
I soon learned among many other things that while attending High Council meetings, we were regularly asked to share any spiritual experiences we had recently had. For a while, I sat there week after week thinking that I don’t have spiritual experiences. I’m a cop and I generally don’t have the same opportunities for “spiritual” experiences as my fellow high councilors.
But then one day, while praying about this very issue, I had a very clear impression that I was in fact having spiritual experiences… but sort of in reverse. When my activities as a policeman brought me into contact with a serious crime or other disturbance, or when booking a suspect into jail, I was able to see first hand that one or more of our Heavenly Father's commandments had also been disobeyed.
God's commandments and our laws have much in common.
Without getting into details here I’m certain that you are aware that many situations involving serious criminal behavior often produce tragic results.
In almost every case, I could see that had my suspect not broken the law and simultaneously also usually disobeyed one of God’s commandments, that particular tragedy would have been avoided.
My testimony of the importance of keeping the Savior’s commandments and more specifically, the price one pays when one doesn’t obey those commandments, was greatly strengthened.
And I finally had the opportunity to report spiritual experiences while at High Council meetings.
Of course I’m not saying that breaking commandments always results in a police response. But a lot… in fact most of the heartache I witnessed as a cop was caused by someone not obeying God’s commandments.
Why are God’s commandments so frequently disobeyed?
Like the traffic violations about which I spoke earlier, Obviously some people just don’t know of God’s commandments or have forgotten them. Or they have just gotten used to disobedience.
Being patient would have helped.
In explaining the Telestial Kingdom, Section 76 of the D&C reads:
These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie.
These are they who suffer the wrath of God on earth.
These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire.”
In other words they aren't obeying Heavenly Fathers commandments and are paying the price.
Disobeying commandments doesn't always or immediately result in heartache or tragedy. But the heartaches and tragedies I witnessed as a policeman usually were caused by someone who:
Began by telling “little white lies” or otherwise cheating or stealing.
Looking at pornography, and, or
Abusing alcohol and/or drugs
Behavior that can only go downhill.
Behavior that is breaking Gods commandments.
And can actually at a very basic level be attributed to: Not Being Patient.
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We only renew our temple recommends every two years. But President Nelson in his closing remarks in October 2019 General Conference, emphasized that we can and should review the temple recommend questions as often as possible.
In Mosiah 2, 22, King Benjamin tells Us:
“And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.”
Brothers and sisters: be patient! Think about it:
Be patient.
Hymn 303, Keep the commandments In this there is safety and peace.
