Fireside, 9 Feb 2003: Dr. Bernell Christensen

Held at 7:00 PM the Salt Lake Stake Center, 142 West 200 North in Salt Lake. 

On February 9, 2003, Dr. Bernell L. Christensen was the featured speaker at our annual Evergreen winter fireside. He began with the statement given by Winston Churchill during the second World War - NEVER GIVE UP! He then gave us a message and a challenge.

When we are discouraged, it often times seems that even God is too busy for us. There may be some simple things that are absolutely powerful if we do them. Like learning to play tennis, it takes practice, and patience, and work, but it is very achievable. How long do we have? As long as it takes! We can practice until we get it right, or until we no longer get it wrong.

Part of the message is that God is there and will speak peace to us. Yet sometimes we doubt, and ask: “How do I know that He is there?” Alma 7:11 answers us. The Savior did not just suffer pain, or just any temptation - He suffered My pain, My temptations. He overcame My trials, so I know that it is possible to overcome them.

Dr. Christensen related a parable of a man who had died and was given a tour of heaven. In one of the buildings there were all sorts of boxes with ribbons tied around each on. The guide was asked if they each had a box, and if they could open them. The angel giving the tour said that they could, but he did not recommend it. The man said that, if he had a gift, he wanted to open it, and off he went. The angel lamented, "Oh no, not another one." When the angel caught up with the man, he was sitting with his box opened and was in tears. For there, in the box, were all the blessings that were meant for him, and that he could have had, if he had only asked for them.

Sometimes in our limited view of ourselves, we fail to ask for the blessings that are rightly ours and that our Father in heaven is just waiting to give to us. Do we have the faith to ask?

Adam and Eve were still tutored after they partook of the fruit before they left the Garden. They were given garments of light, and were given power over the adversary. God prepared them with the power they needed to tackle their next trial before they got to it. He does the same for us.

The message is:

Never give up!
He is, and always will, be there!
The Formula is:

We SEE OR HEAR something.
This leads to the STORY that we tell ourselves.
We then create an EMOTION.
Which leads to an ACTION.
(e.g., someone cuts you off on the freeway - He is a jerk - You feel angry – Leads to an arm gesture or vocal response.)

The place for each of us to focus on is the second part of the formula: the part where we tell ourselves a STORY. We usually tell ourselves the worst case scenario. “I'm a victim. They are the villains, and there is nothing that I can do about it.” The truth is that we create our own emotion and we choose how we will act.

So what STORY re you telling yourself? Is it the story that: “The Savior is there for everyone else, but he is not there for me?” (The lie). Or is it the true story, that He is already there with His hand outstretched to me? Just as Peter on the Sea of Galilee, when he walked on the water and began to doubt - before he could even cry out as he was sinking - the Savior was there with his arm reaching out to save his friend.

When we are learning to ride a bicycle, our parent runs behind holding the seat to balance us. Then they let go so we can learn to balance on our own. And what happens after a few feet or yards? – We fall off the bike! Does our parent come and scold us for failing at something we have never done before? No!

Like the parent, Christ is there. He asks us what happened, and what we want to do about it. We say that we want to get back on the bike, so He says, "Then let's go! I already paid the price for your fall. " And we get back up on the bike again - AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES UNTIL WE GET IT RIGHT, OR UNTIL WE DO NOT GET IT WRONG.

Ephesians 3:16 tells us that God strengthens the inner self. Dr. Christensen referred to President James E. Foust's First Presidency Message Address in the February 2003 Ensign on this subject. There is a place inside of us known, and available, only to God and us. It is our CORE, which is strengthened by spiritual life, and which our own sin can destroy. “To be spiritually minded is life eternal.” But Spiritual Sunlight does not shine without effort on our part.

So, what is a GOOD STORY to tell ourselves every morning? “There is a God! He is my Father in heaven and has a purpose for me. He has prepared a ‘Plan of Salvation’ for me.”

What is the difference between a sin and a sinner? A sin is when we fall off the bike and want to get back on and keep going. A sinner is one who falls and does not want to get back on, but gets upset, frustrated, gives up and walks away. God will always be there waiting for us to come back and learn how to ride.

“Jesus is the Christ! He is my Redeemer and I know that my Redeemer lives.”

We each must ask ourselves “Am I one who tells myself the victim’s story, or the true story, about my accountability?”

In Matthew 13 we read the parable of “the Pearl of Great Price”. As with all of Jesus’ parables, this story contains many layers or depths of truth. One way to interpret it is as follows.

The merchant man is Christ. The pearl is you. Christ sold (gave) all that he had for you! You are His purpose. He created infinite worlds, and you are known to Him.

Another interpretation is that you are the merchant man. The pearl is Christ. How well do you know your product? Are you willing to sell all that you have to buy Him?

At all times the STORY we should be telling ourselves is “ I am a child of God. I am of the race of God. I will remember who I am.” And when you look at another person, look at who they really are, not at who they are not. Look until you see the child of God inside. Find that eternal side of them. That is who they really are!

We need to continually tell ourselves the truth that: “God knows I am not perfect. He will comfort me and strengthen me.” The Lord takes care of His children. “ A coincidence' is God's way of remaining anonymous."

Learning the truth about me is the issue! I must be honest with myself. When I learn truth about me, then I can learn how I can change. If I never learned that truth, then I could never have changed it.

Next we need to decide that we will have the Spirit as our guide.

(D&C 45:56) - Those that are wise have received truth and are doing something with it. They have taken the Spirit as their guide. Satan will try to deceive us. The only way we will NOT be deceived is by having the Holy Spirit as our guide.

Write these statements down, and put them where you can read them! Tell yourself the TRUE story every morning.

(1 Chron. 4:9-10) - Jabez was more honorable because he called on God. When we pray, do we give mandates, or declarations to Him? Or do we call on Him with the energies of our soul? If we ask, He will increase our "coast" or "assigned territory".

My abilities + my training + my past + my experiences = my assigned territory
My willingness + my weakness + His will = expanded territory

In this expanded territory, we will want Him with us because we will be going somewhere we have never been before, and He is constant - something we can hold onto when we step into the unknown.

Repeat message:

Never give up!
He is, and always will, be there!
My life has a purpose and I have a plan.
Our challenge in this expanded territory is to work with others so that, just as I will never give up, they will never give up. We will overcome and we will be cleansed. As we assist others in overcoming their weaknesses, we will be given the strength to overcome our own. Our goal is to have God say of us "He/she has become love by serving others." As we are serving others, we are loving our Lord and Savior.

Dr. Christensen went on to remark that the people at this fireside are a very special group of people. He said that the weakness that we have here in mortality are the areas where we were strong in the pre-earth life. Why? Because our Father gave us weaknesses, on this earth, in the areas where we were the strongest before this life, so that we would have the INNER CORE of strength already within us to pull us through.

Dr. Christensen is a gifted teacher and speaker. He has a doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy from Brigham Young University, and enjoyed a successful family practice for more than twenty-five years. In addition, he has many years of experience working with the Church Educational System as a seminary coordinator, and an institute instructor at the University of Utah. Dr. Christensen has published several tapes and often speaks at BYU Education Week and Know Your Religion programs.

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