Some Thoughts about Butterflies

"I am reminded also of the view of Edward Lorenz, a meteorologist who teaches that it is impossible to make long-range weather predictions because there are so many variables. He contends, for example, that a Brazilian butterfly beating its wings in Brazil has an effect on air movements that, together with other currents, affect the weather in Texas. Accordingly, he asserts that in order to accurately predict long-range Texas weather conditions, one would need to measure, among other things, each flap of a butterfly wing weeks in advance. What is the practical significance of this? Professor Paul Carrington, one of the nation’s leading scholars, suggests as follows:

Lorenz does not of course imply that butterflies or men and women should despair of being useful. His observation should be taken as encouragement to men and women, and to any butterflies that read, to do what they can and not what they cannot.

Now let’s bring that down to us. As participants in God's Kingdom, there are things that you can do. Each of you can make a difference. The flapping of your individual wings makes a difference."

-Rex E. Lee
"Some Thoughts about Butterflies, Replenishment, Environmentalism, and Ownership."
Sep 15, 1992

Commandments for our Welfare and Benefit

My niece Mollie was playing at her grandmother’s house one day when she asked if she could cross the street to visit a favorite aunt. The street was not a busy one, but because Mollie was only four, she was cautioned to look carefully both ways before crossing. Always an inquisitive child, she questioned this procedure, so her grandmother replied, “Such a little girl could easily get hit by a car, and I love you so much that I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Before long Mollie was back: “You lied to me! You said I would get hit by a car if I didn’t look both ways. Well, I closed my eyes and ran over and back lots of times, and a car never hit me, so you didn’t tell me the truth!”

Today I would like to talk about obedience—specifically, obedience to the Lord’s commandments. Just as a loving grandmother cautioned a four-year-old child to look both ways before crossing the street, a loving Father in Heaven has given us detailed instructions to ensure our happiness and safe arrival at our ultimate destination. Yet we often question the consequences or think we can get away with taking chances. We close our eyes to some of God’s commandments and cross the street of life. At such times it appears that we might not get hurt if we obey only some of God’s laws. Our minds don’t comprehend answers to some of the “whys” of the commandments and, like questioning children, we disobey. The Lord has said, “Keep my commandments.” He didn’t say, “Look this list over, pick out what you think pertains to you or try to work on part of these some of the time.” His instructions were simple, yet direct and unqualified: “Keep my commandments.”

If we are willing to put our trust in the Lord and keep his commandments, we have been promised that we will be blessed. The blessing might not come in the form of straight A’s, having a date every Friday night, or inheriting a lot of money. But we will grow in capacity, experiencing joy along the way as we keep more and more of the commandments and eventually become prepared for a celestial existence.

We must understand that “God is not arbitrary. He is not anxious to punish his unruly children or burden them with unnecessary commandments. Rather, he is a loving parent who wants his children to avoid the negative consequences of breaking eternal laws. He wants them to receive the promised blessings of complying with righteous principles”

-Janet G. Lee
"Crossing the Street of Life"
Sep 15, 1992

We Tread a Path Covered with Diamonds

"Considering all of this, how could it ever be possible that we of all people would not be excited about attending our Church worship services? Or get tired of reading the holy scriptures? I suppose this could be possible only if our hearts were past feeling to experience gratitude and awe for the sacred and sublime gifts God has granted us. Life-changing truths are before our eyes and at our fingertips, but sometimes we sleepwalk on the path of discipleship. Too often we let ourselves be distracted by the imperfections of our fellow members instead of following the example of our Master. We tread a path covered with diamonds, but we can scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles."

-Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"O How Great the Plan of Our God!"
OCT 2016