The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain."

My thought on President Hinckley's talk "The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain"

As I read this talk in sacrament meeting I had to put it down as the tears were flowing. I never met the man, saw him in person only from the back of the Tabernacle almost 20 years ago (spring of 1989), but I feel like I lost a great friend, mentor and leader as I was reading this talk. I know this April’s conference will be hard—hard because we won’t be able to hear this Prophet’s voice. Luckily we have heard it for many years and we have a lot of his words (probably all) written down somewhere so that we can reread his words, even when he re-says his words.

As I remember listening to his opening paragraph, my heart ached because I knew one of the reasons he recycled a talk; he was old and it was time for him to slow down and die. I shook that off and said, “Adam lived into his 900’s, maybe a miracle can happen again.” But of course my heart just speaks words it wants to hear, not reality. I truly miss him and will miss seeing him in April. BUT I get to read this words and feel of his love for me.

How many times have we heard “The stone cut out of the mountain” and how it will roll until it has filled the earth? If you are a figures persons, you can see that happening. You can see the stone filling the earth. We are #4 in the USA. I wonder how many of the other churches consistently pull the numbers in every Sunday. I know a lot of people will confess a religion, but do they go to church every Sunday or just when it is convenient or when it is Easter and/or Christmas. I would love to see those figures. This is a miracle—170 plus years ago we were only 6 members strong! WOW!

My two young sons gave a FHE lesson on Joseph Smith’s first vision just this past week. I’m not sure when the last time our family went over that, but it was great fun reviewing the topic. As I sat and watched my family discuss this it was interesting to me to sit there and think that Joseph was just 14 and I have a 14 year old. I was taken back for a moment. I know my son isn’t a “unlearned farm boy” and we aren’t “poor”, but we are struggling workers, have a strong since of family, and we too have questions. I’m not 14 anymore and I still have questions. But I, like Joseph know how to get the answers and so does my son. That too is a miracle.

You know I was thinking about how many times we have it written that the FATHER spoke. Just a few, and the ONLY time the Father APPEARS is to a farm boy of just 14! That is AMAZING. I never really thought about it like that. I think the Father wanted to make sure that the last dispensation was properly brought in. Not that Jesus wouldn’t do it wrong or anything, but there is a certainty with the Father appearing. There is NO DOUBT! I also love that Joseph NEVER EVER said it didn’t happen. What a testimony.

Next came the miracle of the Book of Mormon. Just this morning we were reading in Helaman 7 where Nephi calls the people back to repentance. We have had a HORRIBLE morning. Name calling, back biting, chips on shoulder, tempers, anger, etc. I had to stop the scripture time this morning and review what we had just read in the last four or five chapter and show my family (me included) how we were just as bad as those who choose wickedness. Of course we aren’t out committing murders and all that other bad stuff the Gadianton Robbers were doing, but we were putting our feet firmly on that path with our behavior and attitudes of today. I then read the “remember, remember my son” verse and the verse 35&36 of Helaman 6 where it tells point blank why the people were wicked. “And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from the Nephites, because of the wickedness and the hardness of their hearts.” Then this: “And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words.”

This is so simple and yet we find it so hard. The natural man is truly and enemy to God and we need to learn how to “put it off.” We learn this by reading and studying the words of modern and ancient prophets.