POINTING FINGERS AND WAGGING TONGUES

Even if I had double the digits on my extremities, I would still fall way short of having sufficient fingers and toes to count the number of times I have heard very valiant saints express their remorse over falling short of their self-expectations.

In the early days of my mission when much of what I heard and less of what left my mouth could be considered understandable Spanish, I remember watching Josefa Martinez sitting with my trainer Elder Davis in the small home which served both as our apartment and the meeting house for the small branch in Ciudad Valles, Mexico. Since there were more tears than words coming from sister Martinez as she spoke, I anxiously sought an explanation from Elder Davis once we were alone after our Sunday Meetings.

This wonderful young single sister almost single handedly kept the branch afloat with her time, talents and offerings, truly consecrating herself totally to the building of the kingdom in that fresh field which has since yielded a bounteous harvest. Yet, her tears and words were sorrowfully given, because she felt like she wasn't doing enough.

My father who served as a bishop in the church in two different wards along with a lifetime of other callings, shed tears of sorrow when he had to explain to his Stake President that it would probably be better if he were released since he could no longer hear what was being said in church meetings and in interviews. Years later when he was going to the Temple four or five days a week to ‘do what he could do’, which was a bit of a miracle since he once told me he could hear perfectly during the Endowment Sessions in the Temple, also expressed after his life time of service in the kingdom of the Lord his sorrow about how little he was able to do as his body began to wane.

I was giving a leadership presentation in a small ward in north western California and noticed a sister who happened to be the ward Relief Society president shedding an abundance of tears. I knew I hadn't included in my presentation any of those stories guaranteed to cause this to happen, so after the presentation I approached her and asked her what I had said which could have caused her to have such a reaction.

She told me that besides spending the numerous hours in her church calling, her brother and his family which included his wife and 8 children and who had fallen on hard times, were now living in her home. She was carrying the burden of all of this, besides being a wife and mother of 6 children. Since the presentation had included an admonition for leaders to be more dedicated in their callings, this had caused the tears to begin to flow as she felt helpless to give even another ounce of effort,

My dear wonderful Kathleen, who has spent her life dedicated to making sure the rest of her family were taken care of and where possible fulfilling their wants, while many times denying herself of basic needs, has often expressed her desire to have been able to have done more. I find it interesting as we spend our waning days together, seldom a week passes where she doesn't express in one way or another a wish that she might be able to do more. These wishes come as she fills her day searching the scriptures, joining her ancestors and caring for her husband.

As I said in the opening paragraph of this Thought, the examples of those who are most faithful, but yet find they are falling short has been a frequent theme where I have witnessed marvelous dedicated people I have been privileged to know during my life. The really sad thing about almost all of these cases is that if any of them even falters for a brief moment or shows any degree of weakness the fingers begin to point and the tongues begin to wag, questioning their faithfulness.

In the first three versus of the fifth chapter of 1st Nephi, he records the following about his mother Sariah: And it came to pass that after we had come down into the wilderness unto our father, behold, he was filled with joy, and also my mother, Sariah, was exceedingly glad, for she truly had mourned because of us. For she had supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and she also had complained against my father, telling him that he was a visionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness. And after this manner of language had my mother complained against my father.

Fingers are once again pointed and tongues wag when she sees her children and grandchildren at the point of starvation and we conveniently put aside a remembrance that this was the woman who left all that she possessed and went into the wilderness and dwelt in a tent and this seemingly without having received a sure knowledge as we learn from her words in the 8th verse of the same chapter: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them.

I suspect all those valiant souls who give so much but yet feel themselves lacking will be just fine when they stand before the judgement bar, but for those of us who have pointing fingers and wagging tongues it may not go all that well.

The scriptural counsels about we, who might be tempted to be finger pointers and tongue waggers include:

Do no unrighteousness in judgements

Evil men understand not judgements

Judge according to my judgements

Execute true judgements and show mercy

Execute judgements of truth and peace

With what judgement ye judge ye shall be judged

Judge righteous judgements

This is but a small sample of verses referred to about judgement in the Topical Guide of the scriptures, but should be sufficient to give us an understanding that we should be very cautious about seeking to find fault at any time, but especially with those who are doing the best they can to consecrate their lives with their current capabilities and capacities.

Although I am grateful for the honesty of the writers of scripture, I have to confess I have also wondered why they were so honest and included the failings of those faithful people they were writing about.

I am sure of two things; they did not include these accounts to provide us with an excuse when we fall short of our capabilities and capacities nor did they include these accounts to give us license to point fingers and wag tongues when we see the faithful of our day stumble slightly.


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY