"Put the Lord First​", "The Blessings of Personal Revelation​​"

[Music] president sister cwe members of the bamang University Hawaii faculty and students friends and neighbors Aloha aloh Al and ha today is a full circle moment for me many years ago I sat in your seats listening to the campus devotional speakers hoping that they would have something to say that would be of benefit for me during those important days in my young adult life today I feel that responsibility towards you I pray that my message may be spoken and received through the Holy Ghost recently we were visiting in award in the Los Gatos California area as we've been recently looking to buy a home in San Jose I was deeply moved by a talk given by one of the state presidency members and with his permission I share part of that talk he took some of his information from the San Jose Mercury News article titled why Japan 7.6 Quake wasn't turkey's tragedy all over again in February 2023 a large 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck turkey nearly 60,000 people were killed many of the apartment buildings collapsed trapping the residents and requiring many emergency workers to dig out those buried under the rebel you will probably remember seeing the media reports on this devastating event over several weeks in contrast almost a year later on January 1st 2024 a 7.6 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan their total fatalities were about 200 that is only onethird of a percent of turkey's fatalities how were the numbers of losses so different between the two countries in their earthquakes obviously differences in geography economics population culture and politics contributed to the different outcomes and it is hard to make a perfect contrast with that said the mathematical difference is still staggering the main contributing factor to the reduced destruction of the earthquake in Japan comes down to preparedness Japan has had a long history of earthquakes in 1923 Tokyo was destroyed by a 7.9 Quake that resulted in 100,000 fatalities within one year the Japanese government started creating its first building code for earthquake resistant construction they continued over many many years to upgrade and improve these standards as technology progressed Japan made seismic safety a priority that is considered the most stringent in the world today on the other hand many of turkey's casualties occurred in buildings that were built with substandard materials the Turkish government had failed to enforce earthquake resistant building codes and had also provided construction exemptions for a fee this allowed structures to be built without required safety standards and certificates one cultural difference noticed in the article is quote in Japan there's a sense that Community matters more than the individual even if it costs more money end of quote these country's two different approaches for a long-term goal is a great lesson for us in our lives in the October 2023 General Conference president Russell M Nelson said quote in my first message as president of the church I encouraged you to begin with the end in mind end of quote Japan did this when they decided to make seismic safety a priority they did not want to end up with mass casualties due to a lack of preparedness they cared about their whole Community versus the gain of only one I am sure this was a more expensive route as they put their fiscal resources towards better technology materials standards and enforcement for their buildings they persisted year after year and maintained their standards even though it was financially more costly unfortunately turkey did not maintain their seismic building standards as they allowed exemptions to those standards through payments or fees to select individuals this lack of seeing the end result became a very costly reality for the many while a few benefited in the short term president Nelson continues quote begin with the end in mind this means making the Celestial Kingdom your Eternal goal and then carefully considering where each of your decisions while here on Earth will place you in the next world end of quote the decisions he refers to are about the choices you are making every day some are bigger than others or have a greater impact on your goal so we also need to be choosing with the end in mind president Nelson States quote when you make choices I invite you to take the Long View an eternal view put Jesus Christ first because your eternal life is dependent upon your faith in him and in his atonement it is also dependent upon your obedience to his laws obedience paves the way for a joyful life for you today and a grand Eternal reward tomorrow end of quote when we choose the right we are being obedient for many years I have had this quote by President Ezra TAF Benson on my refrigerator door where I knew everyone could see it the greatest test of life is obedience to God president Nelson warns that quote as you focus on thinking Celestial expect to encounter opposition end of quote it can be very challenging to stick to the plan it is possible to become distracted and slowly stray but if we measure every choice with the end goal in mind it becomes easier to control where we are in our journey on the path as we make good choices we gain even greater control over the opposition we will face no matter how strong it might be like the seismic standards of Japan's buildings we will not fall although the quaking may be very strong we will be able to endure and even endure well in 1995 with our two very small children one of which is with us today my daughter Alexia and her two little girls that are our two grandchildren here in Hawaii Rosie momy and Barbara Leia we set on on a great adventure when my husband accepted a position at the prestigious United States Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland little did we know at that time that our lives would be significantly shaped molded and impacted by this choice and that we would serve and work there for 25 years that choice to move came after the extension of a job opportunity through the Lord and the reassuring feelings from the holy ghost that we were supposed to accept that opportunity as a young patriarch my husband had adopted a scripture which became our family motto in 3D Nephi 13:33 but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you for over 30 years we have tried to live by that promise our children can often be heard saying put the Lord first and everything else will fall into place which is our family's interpretation of third Nephi 13:33 as a result of following that motto we have had wonderful opportunities to grow and serve my husband has received many awards and accolades for his professional success as you've heard from president cway but his most cherished titles and responsibilities are that of being a disciple of Jesus Christ a husband a father a son and a brother who puts the Lord first Kenna served in many callings in the church with his last one being the Annapolis Maryland State president it was an amazing Miracle to watch him go from performing the duties of head coach of the Navy football team to presiding as our state president when you put the Lord first everything else falls into place when you begin with the end in mind your choices become the right ones when you think Celestial you stick to your standards decision after decision year after year and increase your spiritual safety so you can reach your goal this is who my husband and eternal partner is he lives the life of a true disciple of Jesus Christ he puts the Lord first in all that he does and I pray that today you will fill the stirrings of the Holy Ghost to prompt you to make that same commitment in your life I promise that you will be forever grateful that you did and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen amen I brought my own Kleenex but my dear brothers and sisters Aloha Al I want to thank president k for this great blessing to to be here today to come to my hometown it's a great blessing I'm grateful for all of his staff uh they've been amazing grateful for our beautiful prayer by Kayla and our our music thank you so much I'm grateful to my eternal companion um she's a beautiful mother a grand mother um it's not hard to be a college head football coach it's hard to be a college head football coach's wife uh it's a very demanding a very grueling job and my wife was amazing uh she basically raised my three kids by herself uh she has transferred that love um onto our five granddaughters and I'm so grateful for her I just want to also send um my love out to kasana mapu at this time just um with the passing yesterday of her Eternal companion and my first cousin Jackson mapu Jackson had a long history here at BYU Hawaii he was a softball coach um he worked in the maintenance department I don't know how I don't know how much work they did you would see them riding around in their maintenance trucks or carts and it seemed like all they did was you know make jokes and tease people and right around campus and anybody who's ever known Jackson been here would know of his laugh his unique laugh and um Jackson I love president Russell M Nelson he is a wise and humble servant of the Lord I know and testify that he's the Lord's mouthpiece on Earth today he's given many memorable talks in his time as an apostle now as Prophet my remarks today have been inspired by his first talk as president of the church in April of 2018 his Landmark talk on Revelation let me start by sharing a few quotes from his talk quote in coming days it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding directing comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost my beloved brothers and sisters I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive Revelation close quote what a powerful prophecy by a prophet here's another quote from his talk on Revelation quote one of the things the spirit has Impe repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as president of the church is how willing the Lord is to reveal his will his mind and will the privilege of receiving Revelation is one of the greatest gifts of God to his children through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost the Lord will assist us in all of our righteous Pursuits close quote president Nelson also shared an experience when he was a physician that the Lord revealed to him through the Holy Ghost how to perform an unprecedented operation and how the Holy Ghost diagrammed the technique in his mind he then shared other pivotal moments in his life or personal revelation from the Lord through the Holy Ghost bless him and his family I love the examples of personal revelations in the scriptures especially personal revelation of Nephi in the Book of Mormon Nephi obtaining the plates of brass after two failed attempts to get the bra brass plates Nephi went back to Jerusalem in his words I was led by the spirit not knowing beforehand the things which I should do nevertheless I went forth as president Henry B iring taught Nephi was Guided by the spirit minute by minute through the night on the Lord's Aon Nephi building a ship first Nephi the voice of the Lord came unto me saying arise and get thee into the mountain and it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me saying Thou shalt construct a ship after the manner which I shall show thee that I may carry thy people across the water and the Lord did show me from time to time what Manner I should work the Timbers of the ship now I Nephi did not work the Timbers after the manner which is learned by men neither did I build the ship after the manner of men but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me wherefore is not after the manner of men and I Nei did go into the mount off and I did pray off unto the Lord wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things each of us can receive personal revelation specifically for our lives the Lord will Reveals His will to us to guide us to bless us because he loves us brothers and sisters I would like to share some experiences from my life where the Lord revealed his will to me through the Holy Ghost I share these experiences with reverence and the most tender of feelings because of the Sacred nature of these Revelations these experiences bless me and my family my prayer is that by sharing these experiences it will encourage you to seek for the blessings of personal revelation in your life and to truly understand that our heavenly father loves you he loves you so perfectly he sent his only begotten son he sends his son and his son sends the Holy Ghost to guide us to reveal his will for us to help us with school with finding an eternal companion with finding a career with our current job with our families with our church callings with trials with hard times we can know the will of the father and the son in all things through the revelations of the Holy Ghost second Nephi 32 for behold again I say unto you that if you will enter in by the way and receive the Holy Ghost it will show you all things what you should do life experience number one in 2007 I was an assistant football coach at the Naval Academy one day there was a summit for world leaders at the Academy as I looked out the window of my office I saw several helicopters that were preparing to leave the academy as the summit had concluded the thought came to me how unique the Naval Academy was and how our students would go out and serve the country throughout the world and I had this clear and peaceful impression I would become the head football coach at the Naval Academy and it wouldn't be because of football but the Lord would use me as an instrument to help build his kingdom up until that point I had no aspirations to be the head coach life for our family could not be going any better but because of that personal revelation I started to prepare to be the head coach at the Naval Academy so during my own free time I prepared offensive defensive special team schemes plans for recruiting inseason practices training sessions philosophy on player discipline academics off offseason schedules calendars personnel and staff proposals I left no stone unturned well later that year in December m i was recruiting in Seattle Washington when I received a call from our athletic director he told me to get on the next plane back to Annapolis informing me that our then head coach had just taken another job at another school and that he would like to interview me as a possible candidate for the head coach position at the Naval Academy I arrived in Annapolis later that evening the interview lasted several hours I answered every question that he had in great detail because of the personal revelation that I had received months earlier from the Holy Ghost I was completely prepared for the interview I was hired that night the Holy Ghost guided me experience number two in 2019 after 11 Seasons as a head coach I was called as the State president of the Annapolis Maryland state at first I wondered if the general authorities were sure as me maybe they didn't know my schedule maybe they didn't know how busy I was but both general authorities bore their testimony to my wife and I that the Lord had clearly revealed to them individually and collectively that it was me after that I was at peace because I knew that they were called of God and the Lord revealed to me that it was his will on our short ride home after that interview I was still kind of in shock the thought came to my mind Lord H how can I do this how can I be a state president and a division one head football coach at the same time then the Lord clearly showed me in a vision I saw my house I saw the Naval Academy and I saw the Stak Center my house the Naval Academy and the Stak Center were all less than 5 minutes apart from each other I saw a vision of me leaving our football field getting changed and rushing off to the Stak Center for a state meeting brothers and sisters that exact Vision actually happened many times as I served as State president 2019 my first season as State president was the best season of my career we finished 11-2 ranked in the top 25 I thought wow this is pretty sweet just Faithfully serve the Lord honor your covenants and everything will be smooth sailing well the next couple Seasons weren't so smooth we had long seasons caused me to be on my knees more in prayer it caused me to study the scriptures harder it caused me to plead more with the Lord for help the trials of these three seasons caused me to be close to the Lord and it allowed me to hear his voice I believe it helped me receive clear guidance from the Lord on how to lead our stake during the turbulent times of the pandemic I also believe the great success of the 2019 season showed me that I could do both be the head coach and State president and be successful if that was the Lord's will the Lord was clearly guiding me experience number three in 2022 we were getting ready to play Air Force it was a crit critical game in our season I I fasted and earnestly prayed for Heavenly help and guidance but I didn't receive many Revelations about the football game like I had received in so many other games over my career but before the game at the hotel I did receive clear Revelations as it pertained to our stake on certain matters that had not been clear before these were matters that our stake presidency has spent years contemplating pondering and petitioning the Lord for his will the Holy Ghost directed me on this matter stake matter on the bus right to the game I fervently prayed for the Lord's help I received a powerful but quiet Revelation from the Lord telling me I am here that gave me great peace thinking that Revelation meant we were going to win during the game in the midst of 50,000 screaming fans and US losing I asked the Lord if he was still there there and again I heard his little small voice I am here that gave me courage to think that we were going to make a comeback and still win well at the end of the game when it was obvious that we would not win I asked again Lord are you still there and again I heard yes I am still here even though we lost this critical game I received guidance on how we were to proceed in matters as it pertained to our stake and his kingdom after this devastating loss in a critical game of my career the Holy Ghost in his role as comforter provided me with the comfort that I so desperately needed experience number four later in 2022 in our game versus army as always I humbly but earnestly petition the Lord for help this was another critical game people might think it is strange are inappropriate to ask the Lord for help for a football game but for me this was more than a football game this was my life this is what I did for a living this is how I supported my family these were more than football games for me and my family I was pleading with the Lord for help for my job I was seeking his guidance the livelihood of my family and many other families were at stake one night during the week of the game I was awakened by a dream for me it was a nightmare in a dream I had a vision and in this Vision I saw the Army Sidelines storm the field in celebration I woke up and pleaded with the Lord please no I've given 25 years of my life to build this program I'm doing everything you ask of me I'm H all of my covenants I'm Faithfully serving as your State president Lord please no then the impression came to my mind lovest thou this more than me in my mind I responded Lord thou knows I love thee more than this but please no the game was close as army games normally are early in the game I received a clear inspiration to call it play that we never even practice that entire week I was inspired to put in a player who wasn't playing at the time these clear distinct Impressions have happened several times during my career and they were always right and always had positive results well the the play worked perfectly the player we put in for the game ran untouched 75 yards for a touchdown as I round down the sidelines and said to myself thank you Lord thank you Lord and then I Heard a Voice telling me I am here again thinking that meant we were going to win things looked promising we were going in for the goads touchdown in double overtime but we fumbled the ball inches before the goal line Army then kicked the winning game the winning field goal and then their entire Sidelines stormed a fill in celebration it was the exact same scene that I saw in my dream as devastating as the loss was I was comforted again because the Lord had already shown me earlier that week that we wouldn't win I was also comforted by the perfect play call knowing the Lord hadn't totally abandoned me he was still with me I was fired immediately after the game in the locker room my wife and I decided that it was best for us uh that we left Annapolis and move closer to family thus I would have to be released as State president as I met with the new State president a wonderful man he told me that as he was watching the Army Navy game on TV that as soon as we fumbled the ball at the end of the game he received personal revelation that he was going to be called as the next State president it was a tender Mercy from the Lord for both of us to help us both recognize and prepare ourselves for the will of the Lord so how do we receive the constant influence of the Holy Ghost each week as we partake of the sacrament and renew our covenants with the Lord we learn and are reminded through the sacrament prayers exactly what we need to do to always have his Spirit to be with us oh God the Eternal Father we ask thee in the name of thy son Jesus Christ to bless and sanctify this bread to The Souls of all those who partake of it that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy son and witness unto thee oh God the Eternal Father that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy son and always remember him and keep his Commandments which he has given them that they may always have his Spirit to be with them so one we eat the bread in remembrance of the body of the son we drink the water in remembrance of the blood of the son which was shed for us so first we remember the atonement of Jesus Christ two we witness to our Heavenly Father that we will take upon us the name of his son Jesus Christ three we witness to our Heavenly Father that we will always remember him Jesus Christ for we witness to our Heavenly Father that we will keep his Commandments which he Jesus Christ has given us and then our heavenly father covenants that we may always have his Spirit to be with us do you see a common theme the common theme is clearly Jesus Christ everything points to the Savior the way to have the guiding directing comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost is the Savior Jesus Christ second Nephi 32 Angels speak by the power the Holy Ghost wherefore they speak the words of Christ in the New Testament we read Jesus saith unto him I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the father but by me in the Book of Mormon we read yay come unto Christ and be perfected in him and deny yourself of all ungodliness and if he shall deny yourself of all ungodliness and the love of God with all your might mind and strength then is his grace sufficient for you that by his grace you may be perfect in Christ and by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ you can in no wise deny the power of God and again if by the grace of God you are perfect in Christ and deny not his power then you are Sanctified by in Christ by the grace of God through the shedding of the blood of Christ which is the Covenant of the father unto the remission of your sins sins that you become holy without spot second Nephi 25 we talk of Christ we Rejoice of Christ in Christ we preach of Christ and we prophesy of Christ Jesus is the way come to Christ and be perfected in him when we come unto his son then the father sends us the Holy Ghost simply stated the more we come unto Christ the more we have the companionship of the Holy Ghost once we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands after we are baptized we then can have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost through the constant companionship of Jesus Christ the main role of the Holy Ghost is to testify of the Savior that he is the only begotten Son of God as we remember Jesus's Aton sacrifice remember to take upon us his name always remember him and keep his Commandments we will always have his Spirit the Holy Ghost to be with us in closing I'd like to share an experience of a dear friend who served as a state president of a neighboring state one year we had a Regional training for State presidents with ELD the Quintel cook me and my dear friend both arrived early for the meeting we were very excited about this training with elder cook as we waited for our meeting to start somehow we got into the discussion how we were called as state presidents he told me that the Lord revealed to him that he was going to be State president while he was still serving as a bishop he told his family about these promptings well eventually there was a reorganization of the stake presidency but he wasn't called he was a bit perplexed and wondered why he had received those promptings later on as he was serving as the ward young men's president there was another change in the state presidency and again he had those same promptings that he was going to be the State president but this time he reluctantly told his wife about the promptings and she was the only person he told a ward young men's president normally does not get an interview with the general Authority assigned to seek the Lord's will on who will be the next State president but there was a mixup in the paperwork and they accidentally scheduled an interview for my friend The General auth Authority told the then State president that it was okay and that they would still give my friend an interview well this time he was called as State president he told me that it was a tender Mercy from the Lord because the Lord knew him the Lord knew that he needed time he needed time to digest things the Lord was mindful of him personally as the Lord prepared this great brother to serve as State president the Lord's promise thingss and Revelations may not always come in the time or in the way that we expect but if we are worthy they always come in the best time and in the best way for us because our heavenly father is all knowing and all powerful but most importantly his Divine love is perfect and pure brothers and sisters I add my witness that our spiritual survival requires the guiding directing comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost and through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost the Lord will assist us in all of our righteous Pursuits I testify that the Holy Ghost comes to us through and because of Jesus Christ I know that he is the only begotten Son of God I know that he is the savior and Redeemer of the world I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is his church I know that BYU Hawaii is one of his schools and I know that he loves you and because of that love he has gathered you from around the world to this chosen land of laer to learn of him to receive personal revelation from him and to build his kingdom in his name even Jesus Christ amen amen