I Spoke in Church Today...

Two weeks ago, as we sat on our usual bench during sacrament meeting, the speakers were announced and Josh leaned over and gave me a high five, whispering “we made it through this ward without having to speak.” I responded with a thumbs up and a wink. I guess we celebrated a little too soon, however. Actually, we are very grateful for the opportunity to speak today and pray that the Spirit will be here that we may all learn together and rejoice in this glorious gospel.

Before I get into the real topic of my talk today, I just want to thank all of you, but particularly the permanent or at least semi-permanent members of this ward. I don’t know exactly how you feel about the Wharton crowd. You get a new batch of us each year and just as you are learning our names or coming to recognize our faces we disappear for the summer. We come back after a few months and start getting settled in, maybe even squeeze in a visiting teaching or home teaching visit or two. Then we start packing up our things and disappear. I have been on the other side of that equation, where I was the semi-permanent resident watching families come and go. As much as you try to convince yourself that its a great opportunity to meet people, it’s still difficult, especially when you are trying to strengthen a ward, or a quorum, or a class. But on behalf of all of us, fickle Wharton families, I want to sincerely thank you for opening your hearts to us, taking us as we are, and reminding us of the power of the gospel in pure & simple form. Next Fall you’ll get a new batch of Wharton students and you probably won’t think of the Woodfords very often. But we will think of you. You have taught us and had a lasting influence on our lives. So thank you, Brothers and Sisters of the Independence Ward, for blessing our lives.

Brother Rennie asked us to speak on something we have learned during our time here in Philadelphia. I have learned to love rivers and watching crew teams as I run along the Schuylkill River Trail. I learned a lot about Benjamin Franklin and the Revolutionary War Era. I learned to care about Baseball. I’ve learned to love steaks wiz wit. I learned to love four beautiful young women. And, I have learned the importance of living the basics of the gospel.

In my family growing up we had an inside joke that if you were ever asked a question in church or seminary or FHE that you didn’t know the answer to, you should just answer with “Jesus and go to church” and 9 out of 10 times you would be right. There are certain principles of the gospel that we call the Sunday School Answers, the very basics that we hear about over and over and over again: pray, read your scriptures, serve others, keep the commandments. Well, there is a reason those are the Sunday School Answers...they are the truth. They are the basic building blocks of a happy, productive life and “though simple enough for a child to understand, provide the answers to the most complex questions of life.” (Elder Uchdorf, Of Things That Matter Most)

We like to complicate things in our society. Look at our government, our legal system, our relationships. The Lord on the other hand keeps things simple. Over and over again we are asked to pray, read your scriptures, serve others, keep the commandments.

We also like to speed things up in our society. Look at how many activities we try to cram into each day. Look at the length of our “to do lists” and the way we rush from place to place and get frustrated with anyone in our way. The Lord has asked us to slow down, to make time to notice the needs of others and to draw closer to him, to turn in our “To Do List” for a “To Be List” (Lynn Robbins, What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be). “Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy.” (Elder Uchdorf, Of Things That Matter Most) You can be selfish and focus solely on what you need to get done. If we slow down we may notice that someone around us needs our help, or that we need to change something in our lives. Returning to the basics takes faith, patiences, forgiveness, and the guidance of the Spirit but it also builds faith, patience, our ability to forgive, and strengthens the influence of the Spirit in our lives.

I am a cyclist, one of those crazy people you see around in bright colored jerseys and tight padded shorts. I have found a parable for life in one of the basic lessons of cycling. Road bikes have very skinny wheels. That is great for riding fast but not so great when you come across an obstacle in the road. One of a cyclists’ worst enemies is gravel. Gravel used to freak me out. I knew in an instant I could loose control of my bike and gravely road burn doesn’t sound fun. Now I know how to get through gravel. You can slow your speed a bit, but then you just stick to the basics of riding a bike: hold on, keep your wheel straight, keep peddling. You may not be able to see clearly for a few seconds as you bounce up and down, but you will come through it just fine. We come across gravel patches in our life as well, but if we slow down a bit and return to the basics, the Sunday School Answers, we will come through it just fine.

I have loved my time here in Philadelphia, but it has also been one of the most difficult periods of my life, not merely because of the strenuous graduate program, but certainly exacerbated by it. I found myself wavering, much more than I ever expected I, Allison Woodford, would waver. Fortunately, and probably through the Spirit, I recognized the fact that I was wavering and did all I could to stick to the basics. Although I didn’t feel like I was progressing spiritually, I clung to the basic principles of the gospel, the Sunday School answers, and kept moving forward. I held tightly to the rod and keep moving my feet until the mists of darkness began to clear. I had scriptures study with my girls, prayed, did FHE, tried my best to fill my calling. I wasn’t growing spiritually, but I was hanging on. The habits I had worked my whole life to establish of reading my scriptures, saying my prayers, serving others, and keeping the commandments brought me through the trouble to solid ground.

President Uchtdorf said, “When our stress levels rise, when distress appears, when tragedy strikes, too often we attempt to keep up the same frantic pace or even accelerate, thinking somehow that the more rushed our pace, the better off we will be...

Strength comes not from frantic activity but from being settled on a firm foundation of truth and light.” (Elder Uchdorf, Of Things That Matter Most)

The basics of the gospel, the Sunday School Answers, are powerful. “Though simple enough for a child to understand, [they] provide the answers to the most complex questions of life.” (Elder Uchdorf, Of Things That Matter Most)

I served a mission in Japan. When I had been in the country for about four months I hit some gravel. My mother, whom I am very close to, became seriously ill back home and I felt the separation keenly. On top of that my companion decided she didn’t like me because (1) I was American, which I couldn’t change, and (2) I was happy, which I wouldn’t change. About this time it was stake conference. We had to travel a couple of hours to get to the meeting and had picked up a member on our way. We arrived late and slipped into some seats in the back, just as I heard my name announced as the next speaker. I don’t do that well with speaking on spot and when you add to that the fact that my Japanese at this point was mediocre at best I really didn’t have a great chance of success. I went up to the pulpit and my heart was full. I wanted to talk about how I had felt the power of the Atonement lifting me in the last little while, but the more I tried to say the worse my Japanese got, until I realized that I was getting nowhere. I paused for a moment and then went back to the most fundamental elements of my testimony. “I know God lives. I know Jesus is the Christ. I know they love each one of us individually. I know they have a plan for us.” After I finished I returned to my seat and wept, because I felt like I had been given an opportunity to testify and I had completely blown it. Then one of my missionary friends passed me a note that said, “That was one of the most powerful testimonies I have ever heard.”

The basics of the gospel are profound. The Sunday school answers give us the key to most complex questions of life. When we hit turbulent times the Lord wants us to slow down, to simplify, to return to the basics.