The Grand Experience of Mortality

I heard a General authority in the Church (I don’t remember which one) refer to this life on earth as “the grand experience of mortality.” The phrase stuck in my mind for days. I couldn’t get rid of it, especially after what I wrote in July about “Unhistoric Acts.” (see my blog – July 2012)

Life is hard. It’s harder for some than for others. There are those who starve, who die prematurely, are killed in wars, who died or froze along the pioneer trail west, who suffer greatly at the hands of others, who live lives of quiet obscurity. There are those who are innocent victims, those who are plagued by debilitating diseases. There are those whose loved ones depart this earth prematurely. The world seems full of suffering and pain, at least as reported by the news media.

Brother Lucius Scovill is a perfect example. He was a very active member of the Church, but lost his wife on the 27^th of January 1846 in Nauvoo, leaving him with four young children. The prophet had just been martyred, and mobs were rampant, but he could not leave Nauvoo because of the need to take care of his children. He married again and was able to leave Nauvoo. On May 6^th. With his family in the “Western Camp of Israel” he received a mission call to England. His family was near destitute, and he struggled mightily with leaving them. A quote from his personal history reads as follows:

May 20th saw the party [Scovill family] again on their way and three days later they arrived at the Des Moines River, following it to the town of Bonaparte where the ferry crossing was located. But at this point, lack of food for the cattle, and the bad rainy weather forced them back on the prairie where they planned to camp for the night and return next day to cross the river. The next morning a wagon which was going to Nauvoo stopped at the camp. After talking the matter over with his family he decided to accompany the wagon back to Nauvoo, and from there to continue his way East and on to England where he was to labor in the mission fields.

Making arrangements for the care of his family, and after writing to Brigham Young asking him to watch for them, or to appoint someone to do so, he left.

He left! He left! I would speculate that as he departed, he was not thinking of his and his family’s hardships as a “grand experience.” But he heeded the call, left his family and his new wife on the plains in the rain and went east to England.

So how would anyone dare call life on earth “the grand experience of mortality?”

“Grand” is an adjective we use to denote something unusual and impressive. The Grand Canyon. The Grand Tetons. grandparents, Even more impressive: great grandparents.

Life is unusual. Life is precious. Few people give up their lives voluntarily without some kind of very unusual motivation. Some are willing to sacrifice their lives for family, freedom, religion, or principle. Even then, they do not do so lightly, but with solemnity and conviction.

So the “grand experience of mortality” is far more than comfort and ease, and often does not include either. It seems to me that mortality is a grand test – a test that determines much about our future life both here and in eternity. How we perform here, facing adversity and overcoming the pain and trial of mortality determines how we live here and what we might experience in eternity. Brother Scovill passed the test.

In April 2009 General Conference in his talk, titled, Be of Good Cheer, President Thomas S. Monson said:

I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.

No doubt, Brother Scovill was sustained through his and his family’s hardships by his knowledge of the gospel, his love of Heavenly Father, and was comforted by the Holy Spirit because he heeded the call and kept the commandments.

On the other hand, Matthew Cowley said of his mission to the Maori people:

You can't imagine what a grand experience it is to go into the "Vineyard" and put your whole heart and soul to your work and receive inspiration from the "Greatest Mind" in existence. You cannot compare it with any other work; it is so far above them all that it would be foolish to try to find a work that would be as beneficial to the human race.

Perhaps brother Scovill did regard his mission as a grand experience, despite the hardships. Perhaps we should so regard our lives with its trials, problems, heartbreaks, joys, loves, and peace as a grand experience.

I had such a grand experience this Sunday. My wife and I, as grandparents, were happy to attend another ward’s Sacrament Meeting program presented by the Primary because our grandchildren were in it. This is a very young ward, with more than 200 children in the Primary. (For those of you who do not know, the Primary organization includes children ages 3 to 11.) They sang beautiful songs and each child presented a brief thought on the theme “I can choose the right.” They were wonderful, innocent, and free from the temptations and sins of the world. I told my wife that I could easily imagine the scene in the Book of Mormon when the Savior visited the Americas as recounted in 3 Nephi 17:24:

And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

It was a grand and joyous occasion for me. When we sang “I am a Child of God” as the closing hymn. I was overcome. I could not sing.

Virginia Satir, American psychologist and educator, (1916-1988)

Life is not the way it's supposed to be, it's the way it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.

Most of us, sometime in our lives, have the need to cope with our circumstances, whatever they are. But we also realize that the simple beauties and joys of life are necessary. We can choose to let the difficulties of our lives dominate, or we can find joy and happiness whatever our circumstances. An old Chinese proverb says:

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.

Bread is necessary, but the beauties of the earth and the beauties of the spirit are just as necessary for our progression. We must learn to “enjoy to the end” as my home teacher of years ago was fond of saying.