Devo with Elder Russell M. Nelson

I wrote in the last post that Elder Nelson was coming to speak to us at devotional, so I thought I would post a little bit about that experience.  I really love hearing Elder Nelson speak because he always uses references to health and the body...he being an internationally renown surgeon and all. Tyrel had to work during devotional time so I had to go by myself and sit in the bleachers...it was not the most comfortable experience for a pregnant woman, but it was certainly and uplifting one.

The brunt of his message was focused on the importance of gaining knowledge and wisdom in this life.  "Gaining and continuing your education is a religious responsibility," he said. I'd never really thought of it that way, but it is true.  The learning we gain here on earth is not only one of the few things we take with us from this life, but it is also the very thing that will enable us to be better servants during our time here. His next point focused on the importance of gaining knowledge AND WISDOM.  Wisdom is different than knowledge.  He explained that wisdom is pure intelligence found in the light of the Gospel. Apparently there has been a decline in the world's learning of doctrine and scripture.  To illustrate this point he shared a historical example from the medical world in the early 1900's.  Back then, professionals had an interesting perspective of infectious disease.  They believed that it was passed due to bad air and pollution.  So many people were dying in hospitals and they figured this was the reason.  One guy, I don't remember who, suggested they rebuild hospitals every three years to avoid this problem....sounds crazy, but a lot of professionals supported it, and in the mean time people were still dying. Well, later on, people like Louis Pasteur discovered that infectious diseases were transported by bacteria.  Which means it wasn't the bad air in hospitals, but the lack of hand washing that caused so many to die. This all happened within the last few hundred years, but there is a story written thousands of years ago in Leviticus 15 that illustrates the importance of proper hygiene when dealing with infectious diseases. It talks about a man who had a "running issue out of his flesh". Elder Nelson summed that up to mean pus. It then goes on to talk about the importance of cleaning and washing anything or anyone the infected person has touched (Lev. 15:1-13).  An understanding of this story and the doctrine behind it shows the importance of proper cleaning and washing when dealing with sick people.

It is so important that we search the scriptures and study them to gain wisdom and understanding of doctrine.  The world today is telling us that many of our problems are due to over population.  We read in the scriptures that we are commanded to "multiply and replenish the earth." Elder Nelson shared this statistic to clarify this point...There are 6 billion people in the world and if every one of those people were allotted 1/4 acre of land, we would all fit in Brazil with 20% of the country still open.  Over populated?  It doesn't really seem like that is the problem.  Learn the doctrine, trust what is in the scriptures, and live the way the Lord would have you live.

It was an awesome talk.  I loved it and it has motivated me to study a little harder.  I love the new Gospel Principles manual they are using in Relief Society and Priesthood.  The basic principles are so important for us to know.

Well, that's that experience.  I wanted to share it with you because to me it really opened up a new perspective. If any of you are interested in reading this talk, it should be up on BYU-Idaho's website within the next week. http://web.byui.edu/devotionalsandspeeches/