Speaking on The Need for a Church

 January 23, 2022: 

I was asked to speak in Sacrament meeting in my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I thought I would also share my talk with here with you.

You have all heard the old proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  I would add to that and say, “It takes a village with a church to raise a Heavenly child.”  When you search the meaning of the old proverb “it takes a village” you will find it to mean that an entire community of people must provide for and interact positively with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment.  A church is a critical part of that community and is essential in raising a Heavenly child.  Since we are all children of our Heavenly Father, this means we all need a church. 

My focus today is on “The Need for a Church” a talk given by President Dallin H Oaks.  He begins by talking about a husband and wife who are good, honest, and upright people, but they don’t go to church, and they feel they can be good enough without it and teach their children honesty and virtue on their own.  He says:

“Today, my message concerns such good and religious-minded people who have stopped attending or participating in their churches.² When I say “churches,” I include synagogues, mosques, or other religious organizations. We are concerned that attendance in all of these is down significantly, nationwide.³ If we cease valuing our churches for any reason, we threaten our personal spiritual life, and significant numbers separating themselves from God reduce His blessings to our nations.

Attendance and activity in a church help us become better people and better influences on the lives of others. In church we are taught how to apply religious principles. We learn from one another. A persuasive example is more powerful than a sermon. We are strengthened by associating with others of like minds. In church attendance and participation, our hearts are, as the Bible says, “knit together in love.”

President Oaks continues with this:

Some say that attending church meetings is not helping them. Some say, “I didn’t learn anything today” or “No one was friendly to me” or “I was offended.” Personal disappointments should never keep us from the doctrine of Christ, who taught us to serve, not to be served.⁷ With this in mind, another member described the focus of his Church attendance:

 

“Years ago, I changed my attitude about going to church. No longer do I go to church for my sake, but to think of others. I make a point of saying hello to people who sit alone, to welcome visitors, … to volunteer for an assignment. …

“In short, I go to church each week with the intent of being active, not passive, and making a positive difference in people’s lives.”

This perspective really stands out to me.  I love the focus on changing our attitude.  President Thomas S Monson said,

“So much in life depends on our attitude.  The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference.”

I work daily on trying to keep a positive attitude and trying to change my focus to see the good.  An every-day example of this: My husband tends to get very irritated any time we are driving and get stuck in traffic.  I like to look over and jokingly remind him, “Think of it this way, now you get to spend more time sitting next to me and isn’t that great!”   We can look for the good in any situation when we approach it with a positive attitude. 

Let’s change our attitude about the following statements, to those who have said, “I didn’t learn anything today” I would ask you to think, “What did you share to help others learn?”

To those that think “No one was friendly to me” I say, “What efforts did you make to befriend someone?”

And to those who say “I was offended” I would say that being offended is a choice and like Thomas S Monson said, “The way we choose to see things makes all the difference.”

Changing our attitude from going to church for our sake to choosing to think of others is such a Christ like attitude.  President Oaks says:

“We all need associations with others, and church associations are some of the best we can experience, for us and our companions and children.”

I really enjoy coming to church.  I gain so much insight and inspiration by coming to church and hearing the experiences and thoughts of those around me.  Every inspired talk or comment shared by those who attend church offers the ability for us to feel of His Spirit and in turn influence our lives for the better as we grow spiritually.  Dieter F Uchtdorf once said:

“Come and add your talents, gifts, and energies to ours. We will all become better as a result…Brothers and sisters, dear friends, we need your unique talents and perspectives… The Church is designed to nourish the imperfect, the struggling, and the exhausted. It is filled with people who desire with all their heart to keep the commandments, even if they haven’t mastered them yet… In spite of our human imperfections, I am confident that you will find among the members of this Church many of the finest souls this world has to offer…If you expect to find perfect people here, you will be disappointed. But if you seek the pure doctrine of Christ, the word of God “which healeth the wounded soul,”⁹ and the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost, then here you will find them.” (Come, Join with Us, October 2013)

I am inspired by the member that not only changed their attitude about going to church, but that they also put that attitude into action, saying: “I go to church each week with the intent of being active and making a positive difference in people’s lives.”  Our church has always been a church of action. 

President Russell M. Nelson taught: “We cannot wish our way into the presence of God. We are to obey the laws upon which [that blessing is] predicated.”¹²

One of those laws is to worship in church each Sabbath day.¹³ Our worship and application of eternal principles draw us closer to God and magnify our capacity to love.”

As Mosiah 2:17-18 says, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.  And if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another.”  We can be active in church by not only showing up on Sunday, but by actively listening, actively participating, and actively serving others by fulfilling our callings.  Surely there is no better way to worship the Lord then by following his example to serve and love one another. 

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, “The Church is the creation of Him in whom our spirituality is centered—Jesus Christ.  It is worth pausing to consider why He chooses to use a church, His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to carry out His and His Father’s work “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

As I pause to consider why He chooses to use a church, I am reminded of the scripture in Doctrine & Covenants 132:8 “Mine house is a house of order, and not a house of confusion.” I really love to organize.  It is so satisfying to see a mess turn to order.  His church was organized by a loving, all-knowing Savior, who understands the beginning from the end and knows exactly the organization that is needed to succor his people.  I have contemplated how different the world would be today if we did not have His organized church.   The beauty of this organization provides so much more than a place we come to worship, to learn and to grow spiritually.  To name just a few: This church provides us with the blessing of the Word of Wisdom, with spiritual prosperity promised by living the law of tithing, the blessing of repentance, priesthood ordinances necessary for eternity, including the sacrament we receive each Sabbath day and the covenant of everlasting marriage, it provides an opportunity to be part of the church’s large-scale humanitarian and charitable efforts worldwide.  We also have the blessing of counsel from inspired leaders. 

President Oaks says: “Individual spirituality can seldom provide the motivation and structure for unselfish service provided by the restored Church. Great examples of this are the young men and women and seniors who put aside their schooling or retirement activities to accept missionary callings. They work as missionaries to strangers in unfamiliar places they have not chosen. The same is true of faithful members who participate in the unselfish service we call “temple work.” None of such service would be possible without the Church that sponsors it, organizes it, and directs it.”

Speaking of missionaries and temple work, I just recently went through the process to have my temple recommend renewed and our son Kaden just completed the process of submitting his mission papers.  We’re so excited and now we wait for his call.  These efforts could not be done by us alone, they require the help of many members being willing to serve, like our Bishop and his counselors and members of the Stake presidency.  The members who designed the missionary recommendation system to organize the process of submitting to serve a mission.  It will require members of the First Presidency to review and counsel with the Lord about where Kaden’s service is best needed.  When we attend the temple, we need the many temple workers who facilitate our ability to take part in saving ordinances for ourselves and our dead.  

Indeed, it is the efforts of many members working together that allows His great work to progress.  I believe it really does take a Christ-centered village with His church to raise a Heavenly Child.  Elder D Todd Christofferson shared this:

“A major reason the Lord has a church is to create a community of Saints that will sustain one another in the ‘strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life’ [2 Nephi 31:18].”²  At church, we can develop caring relationships with others. We can help each other get through tough times as we lead, guide, and walk beside each other (see “I Am a Child of God,” Hymns, no. 301; Ephesians 2:19). Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, “We are all children of God, and we must teach each other; we must help each other ‘find the way.’”³ The Church is the perfect place to do that!”

I pray that each of you may personally recognize the need for His church, the need to be here and be willing to actively accept the opportunities to serve as they are presented to you.  That includes the next time you’re asked to speak in Sacrament.  Although I really don’t like public speaking, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve you today.  I love this church; I love our ward and I am so thankful you are each part of our village.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.