What follows is a Sacrament Meeting talk given 9 February 2025, by long-time Keepa’ninny Kevin Folkman. Certainly few topics could be more timely.

In May of 1844 Joseph Smith gave a funeral sermon for King Follett, a man who was working on the construction of the Nauvoo temple. While the actual transcripts of his sermon vary in some details, several very important truths were recorded by separate scribes. One of the most important statements he made was that the world we now live in was not created from nothing but was organized from existing materials by our Father in Heaven and Christ. Further, he also indicated that all of us, God’s children here in mortality, were organized from pre-existent and eternal intelligences into spirit bodies to populate and progress through this mortal existence and become exalted beings.

With his death only weeks later, Joseph Smith was unable to further elaborate on these statements. We do, however, find them established in church doctrine about the preexistence and our eternal nature, and also embedded in our temple liturgy. These are doctrines of immense importance regarding our understanding of many things, including the experiences we have in mortality and dealing with the challenges and adversity that entails. None of us were born bad, nor did God create evil.

In the Book of Genesis, we find that God pronounces the stages of creation or organization as “Good,” “Good,” but not perfect. Good, in the sense that our mortal life can provide us a chance to grow, learn, and experience joy as we navigate the complexities of our existence. Not perfect, when we consider that life also exposes to an array of challenges, including disease, accidents, and the actions of others who may cause us pain, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. All of us have experienced times when we have felt life was unfair to us and those we love. Not only do we suffer illness, injury, and pain, we sometimes find that those we love and are closest to us are also good, but not perfect, and are the causes of that pain. It may even occur to each of us that maybe we aren’t perfect, and have caused suffering and pain in those around us.

How many times have we wondered why bad things happen to good people? To us, and our family and friends. Even as we try to do our best, we can find that following the covenant path isn’t always a guarantee that we will be free of suffering. As I have often stated, the straight and narrow path is indeed straight, narrow, and often very steep, encumbered with fallen trees, rocks, and debris, and lined with many well lit and gently sloping offramps.

Trying to live the gospel as restored in this dispensation is no guarantee that life will be easy, that all of our children will choose to follow the Savior, and that we will be deliriously happy throughout our mortal life. Doctrine and Covenants Section 121, a revelation received by Joseph Smith after months of imprisonment in Missouri, follows on questions by our founding prophet about the persecutions and sufferings of the early members of the church who were doing their best to follow the Lord’s path. In return, the Lord told Joseph…

My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

I think it is fair to state the obvious that life here on this earth can be both joyous and difficult at the same time. There are many references in scripture as to why life is often hard, such as the admonition of Lehi to his sons that “…there must needs be opposition in all things,” While we can spend a lot of time on the causes and uses of adversity in our lives, I am much more interested today in how we respond to those challenges. And our current times are certainly among the most challenging I can remember facing in my 73 years here on earth.

Many among us have still not fully recovered from the Covid pandemic. Financial pressures are very real for some, despite the great abundance that many of us enjoy. Political turmoil is at a particularly high point. Wars, famine, and disease seem to be lapping at our shores. Fear and uncertainty abound, and many of us feel that for the first time in generations, we are not leaving a better world for our children and grandchildren.

What, then, is the response to adversity and challenges in these days? Elder Quentin L. Cook offered this advice from our October 2023 general conference:

My dear friends, I can assure you that the light of a new day shines brighter in our lives when we see and treat our fellow beings with respect and dignity and as true brothers and sisters in Christ.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus so perfectly exemplified this principle as He “went about doing good” unto all people, inviting them to come unto Him and partake of His goodness regardless of their origin, social class, or cultural characteristics. He ministered, healed, and was always attentive to everyone’s needs, especially those who at the time were considered different, belittled, or excluded. He denied none but treated them with equity and love, for He saw them as His brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same Father.”

I have deep compassion, [Elder Cook continued,] for those who have been mistreated, belittled, or persecuted by unfeeling and thoughtless people…I have seen firsthand the pain good people suffer from being judged or dismissed because they happened to speak, look, or live differently. I also feel genuine sorrow in my heart for those whose minds remain darkened, whose vision is limited, and whose hearts remain hardened by the belief in the inferiority of those who are different from them. Their limited view of others actually obstructs their ability to see who they are as children of God.

Let me share a short parable, with apologies to the original, that adds to Elder Cook’s counsel. Charles Inouye is an LDS scholar of Japanese Language and Culture at Tufts University in Massachusetts. He grew up in central Utah when his parents relocated there after being held in the Japanese detention camps during World War II. With no Buddhist temple nearby, his parents dropped Charles and his siblings off at the local LDS chapel on Sunday mornings to get spiritual instruction. Inouye and his family thus grew up in the church, served missions, and are active in the faith He has written about the intersections between the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the Buddhist teachings of his childhood. I often find that they are helpful to me. And so, the Parable of The Burning House.

We awake one morning to discover that our house is on fire. We quickly evacuate and are angered by the fire. “Who has done this to me?” we ask, and we set out on a journey to find someone to blame. We want to seek justice for the harm that we have suffered, to bring punishment to those we feel are responsible. With anger in our hearts, we look everywhere, hoping to find justice for ourselves. But everywhere we travel, we see that others are suffering as well. Other’s houses have burned and many are suffering from disease and poverty.

So we continue searching for justice, targeting others unjustly, and finding no satisfaction in the effort. Finally, we arrive at a high mountain and realize that our search for justice and vengeance has left us bitter and frustrated. Everywhere we look, instead of justice, we find a need for mercy, for someone to alleviate the suffering of so many. As this enlightenment dawns upon us, we find that we ourselves are in need of that mercy more than anything else. And then we remember, as Charles Inouye puts it, our Uncle Bob is still at home in our burning house, watching TV. We return home to save Uncle Bob, and begin to extend mercy to all those suffering people we met along the way.

One of my favorite hymns is “Lord, I Would Follow Thee.” I am always moved while singing it, although my singing voice is much diminished these days. Let me read the lyrics to you.

Savior, may I learn to love thee,
Walk the path that thou hast shown,
Pause to help and lift another,
Finding strength beyond my own.
Savior, may I learn to love thee—
Lord, I would follow thee.

Who am I to judge another
When I walk imperfectly?
In the quiet heart is hidden
Sorrow that the eye can’t see.
Who am I to judge another?
Lord, I would follow thee.

I would be my brother’s keeper;
I would learn the healer’s art.
To the wounded and the weary
I would show a gentle heart.
I would be my brother’s keeper—
Lord, I would follow thee.

Savior, may I love my brother
As I know thou lovest me,
Find in thee my strength, my beacon,
For thy servant I would be.
Savior, may I love my brother—
Lord, I would follow thee.

I love that second verse. It’s pretty easy to see some of our neighbors and fellow saints, and assume that they are leading a charmed life, with a large and happy family, material abundance, and smiling faces. All of us, though, try to put on the best face for our friends, neighbors, and even our own families. How many among us have children who have left activity in the church, lost a loved one through illness, or have struggled with addiction in ourselves or family members? How many of us live in burning houses and do our best to hide our broken hearts and keep the smoke hidden from our neighbors?

And here is the hard part. No matter how hard we try, anyone of us alone can’t solve all the problems that we see, or that our society faces. Let’s be honest, we have a difficult enough time fixing ourselves to take on the problems of fixing our communities, nations, or the world. So what do we do?

There is this advice from Doctrine & Covenants Section 81:

Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees. And in doing these things thou wilt do the greatest good unto thy fellow beings, and wilt promote the glory of him who is your Lord.

“Stand in the office which I have appointed you.” That means to do what we can, where we currently are, to do things that are within our grasp. Some of us may have a greater reach than others. President Jared Spataro of the Bellevue Stake, in his role as a senior executive at Microsoft, certainly has a greater reach than many of us. And I personally know that he consistently tries to follow the admonition of the Savior to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

But each and every one of us has good that we can do within our own grasp. Think of your friends and neighbors sitting here in the pews around you today. Who is there here that needs a kind word, or a visit, or just a smile in the hall? Or who is there in our ward who is not here today? How about the non-members who live on your street?

Katie and I recently had the opportunity to help, along with other volunteers and local missionaries with distributing 40,000 pounds of food from the Bishop’s Storehouse in Salt Lake City to 20 local food banks. This service, now in its third year came about because of a devout sister in the Bellevue Stake who saw a need and found a way to fill it. She volunteers as a board member of one of the local food banks, and saw firsthand how the need for food security has more than doubled over the last couple of years.

Katie and I have also been involved with a local Interfaith group through our calling as the stake communication directors. That has brought us into contact with some of the most kind, giving, and loving people we have ever met and more opportunities to serve. Through that association, our reach as individuals to help others has increased many times over. We have learned to be better disciples of Christ, and we are less consumed by the adversity and challenges in our own lives.

In 1966, at the height of apartheid in South Africa, Bobby Kennedy Senior, brother to President John F. Kennedy, went to Capetown and gave a speech condemning the racial prejudice that so divided that nation. His reach allowed him to speak honestly about those problems, but he also had advice for all the rest of us. He said:

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Each of us can be one of those small centers of energy by learning better how to love our neighbors as the Savior taught, and by joining with our neighbors in expanding that love to encompass more than we can reach alone. Start small, but look to expand your circle of influence of love and service, Invite others to join you. And in doing so it is my prayer that you will also find greater mercy for yourselves, greater joy in the work, and greater peace amidst your own struggles. As I prepared this talk, I discovered that not only did President Nelson encourage us to commemorate his 100th birthday by reaching out to someone in need, but that President Thomas S. Monson on the occasion of his 81st birthday in 2008 asked us to “Find someone who is having a hard time…and do something for them.”