Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening,
this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.
This post focuses on a BYU Devotional in February 1986, and it is called "The Nature of Needs" by Elder Derek A. Cuthbert. This post is part two. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the Devotional and I hope that you would be able to learn something new.
Elder Cuthbert has mentioned the following; "A Need for Others
Some of the other needs we may have are the need for friends and family, the need to love and be loved, the need for peace of mind and happiness and purpose in life. Then there is the need for good health, and the need to have spiritual guidance to help us make decisions. The secret of fulfilling almost all of these needs is the realization that we all need each other, and we all need God.
... Everyone of us has heard the adage “The only way to have a friend is to be a friend” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays: First Series. Friendship), but sometimes we feel deprived of friendship, not realizing the solution lies in our own hands. We need to reach out and indeed be outgoing, rather than inward looking, bound up in our own little world. ... We make instant friends through the common bond of the gospel, but that does not mean all of our friends must be Latter-day Saints.
... Over the years, however, when we had just moved into a new town or a new country, we saw how difficult it was until friendships were established. What a great opportunity you have in this great institution of learning to make friendships that will not only span the years ahead, but will span the oceans and continents. How great is the need to make the most of ourselves, go to places, meet people, socialize, and make friends. How important it is to develop the qualities we desire in others.
A Paramount Need
The need for peace of mind is a universal need, for without it there can be no lasting happiness. The gospel of Jesus Christ brings peace and harmony when fully absorbed into our lives. ... What a great thing it is to be a peacemaker; what a terrible thing to be a troublemaker. Peace of mind is a great blessing to which we are all entitled. ... When we rely on the Lord, we can have fulfillment of his promise, “Peace I leave with you, my peace
I give unto you: . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). He is “The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
The need for happiness is a paramount need lasting happiness, not fleeting happiness. True happiness comes from knowing one’s purpose in life and in fulfilling it. Without purpose there is no direction; there is, instead, doubt and darkness, wandering and wavering. ... Without purpose, one goes in circles, instead of making progress, day by day, year by year, toward that goal established by the Almighty God for us, his children: “immortality and eternal life” (Moses 1:39). ...
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| "God will meet ALL your needs." - Philippians 4:9. |
This Blessing of Guidance
Finally, on this second kind of need, I would mention the need to have spiritual guidance to help us make decisions. Is there anyone in this whole wide world who has no decisions or choices to make? No, not one. It is a major part of life to use that special gift of God free agency. Personally, I have decisions and choices to make every day. Some are easy to make; others take time. ... He knows what is right and good for me, and through the Holy Ghost tells me whether I have made a wise choice.
Behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong. [D&C 9:8–9] What a need we all have for the blessing of such spiritual guidance.
“Open Thy Hand Wide”
This leads us then to the third category of need, the kind of need which causes us to look outward and prompts Christ-like feelings of compassion and the desire to help others. I speak of the need that is often qualified by the adjective “dire” or “urgent.” It is a condition requiring relief and, in many cases, constitutes a lack of the very means of subsistence. ... The scriptures are replete with references to this great need and how it should be
fulfilled. “Open thine hand wide . . . to thy needy,” the Lord proclaimed through Moses (Deuteronomy 15:11). ...
I have at home a tape-recorded message from the Saints in Ghana, West Africa, that is very special to me. Branch President Ato Dodson says, “The Mormon Church is one big family and came to our aid in these critical times. When my members came around for me to distribute the goods, a lot of them shed tears. They couldn’t believe it. Neither could I myself. I discovered that, in the Lord’s true Church, all things are possible. The words of Malachi came true that if we are faithful to the Lord, paying our tithes, blessings would be showered upon us.
We are very, very grateful and don’t have enough words to express our gratitude. We shall never forget such a gesture by our brothers and sisters in the United States. One day we will be self-sufficient through the programs you have given us.” ... You, the rising generation, have the great responsibility upon your shoulders to reach out to those in need as never before. ... The excellent education you are receiving in these critical years of your life is to help you to determine and discern and discover needs, your own needs and those of others.
You are also learning how to fulfill those needs, whether they be physical, spiritual, mental, or social needs. Learn well, and live accordingly, and you will enjoy a fullness of life and fulfill the measure of your creation. Above all, have a grateful heart, which will always prompt and motivate you to reach out to others, for “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,” Jesus said, “ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). ... "
If you would like to read this whole talk now or in your own time, here's the link below.
Stay Tuned until next time.
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