jeffrey r. holland

Orson Scott Card’s Short Story on the Law of Consecration

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Orson Scott Card, 16 February 2008. Photo from Nihonjoe.

Orson Scott Card, 16 February 2008. Photo from Nihonjoe.

I don’t know how I missed this until now. Orson Scott Card published a fantastic short story/essay on the law of consecration back in 1993 entitled “Consecration: A Law We Can Live With.” In it he eloquently writes a parable of a man who envisions some scriptures as a Book of Mormon figure might have written them if they had lived in our day, together with the man’s own life experiences in consecrating. It is a well written, unique and profound piece, one that gets to the heart of what consecration should mean to us today.

Too often I perceive we think that once our 10% of tithing is paid, and perhaps some token offerings, the rest is ours to keep. We’ve done our duty. Indeed, we can personally take in our millions, as long as 10% is skimmed off the top like cream off milk. What’s left, however, is a fat-free diet of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which doesn’t nourish the soul, nor feed the spirit. Ten percent is a far cry from consecration, of any amount. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught:

God seeks to have us become more consecrated by giving everything. Then, when we come home to Him, He will generously give us ‘all that [He] hath’ (D&C 84:38). (“Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father,” emphasis added.)

Of course we can, and should, consecrate much more than our monetary means. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland echoed Elder Maxwell’s thoughts:

We must be willing to place all that we have—not just our possessions (they may be the easiest things of all to give up), but also our ambition and pride and stubbornness and vanity—we must place it all on the altar of God, kneel there in silent submission, and willingly walk away. (“The Will of the Father in All Things,” emphasis added.)

And Hugh Nibley was never at a loss of words on this topic:

There is quite a difference between consecrating 10 percent of your net gain to the building up of the kingdom and consecrating your time, talents, and everything you have been blessed with up to this time to the building up of the kingdom of God. (“Law of Consecration,” emphasis added.)

Elder Holland Testifies Boldly of the Truth of The Book of Mormon!

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I loved General Conference.  My absolute favorite talk was by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  He bore testimony of The Book of Mormon like I have never heard before.  Who can doubt, after hearing his address of that book of scripture, that he knows with absolute certainty that it is true, and that it is another testament of the Savior Jesus Christ?  Elder Holland bore solemn and soul-stirring witness of The Book of Mormon that was tangibly powerful in the declaration of its veracity.  His words will reverberate through eternity!

You can watch Elder Holland’s talk in the video embedded below.

Only a Stonecutter

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DVD cover

DVD cover

A new short film by Excel Entertainment and T.C. Christensen has been released entitled “Only a Stonecutter: One Man’s Sacrifice to Build the House of the Lord.”  The film tells the story about John Rowe Moyle and how for 20 years he walked 22 miles from Alpine to Salt Lake to work as a stone mason on the Salt Lake Temple.  He endured this rigorous routine even after losing his leg in an accident.

Several general authorities have told this story, including President Uchtdorf in the Priesthood Session of the most recent General Conference (October 2008).  We have also recounted this story previously as told by Elder Holland in the April 2000 Conference.  As a capstone to Br. Moyle’s work on the temple, he is the one who chiseled “Holiness to the Lord” on the eastern façade.

The film is 14 minutes long and available at Deseret Book and likely wherever LDS items are sold.  A short preview video clip is below.

Holiness to the Lord

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Plaque on Salt Lake TempleA member of my ward emailed me this quote from Elder Holland’s April 2000 Conference address.  I thought it was a very good story of dedication, hard work, and faith:

One other account from those early, faithful builders of modern Zion. John R. Moyle lived in Alpine, Utah, about 22 miles as the crow flies to the Salt Lake Temple, where he was the chief superintendent of masonry during its construction. To make certain he was always at work by 8 o’clock, Brother Moyle would start walking about 2 a.m. on Monday mornings. He would finish his work week at 5 p.m. on Friday and then start the walk home, arriving there shortly before midnight. Each week he would repeat that schedule for the entire time he served on the construction of the temple.

Once when he was home on the weekend, one of his cows bolted during milking and kicked Brother Moyle in the leg, shattering the bone just below the knee. With no better medical help than they had in such rural circumstances, his family and friends took a door off the hinges and strapped him onto that makeshift operating table. They then took the bucksaw they had been using to cut branches from a nearby tree and amputated his leg just a few inches below the knee. When against all medical likelihood the leg finally started to heal, Brother Moyle took a piece of wood and carved an artificial leg. First he walked in the house. Then he walked around the yard. Finally he ventured out about his property. When he felt he could stand the pain, he strapped on his leg, walked the 22 miles to the Salt Lake Temple, climbed the scaffolding, and with a chisel in his hand hammered out the declaration “Holiness to the Lord.” ((Jeffrey R. Holland, “As Doves to Our Windows,” Ensign, May 2000, 75))