Review
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Title: It Is Better To Look Up: Life Experiences Shared From the Pulpit
Author: Compilation
Publisher: Deseret Book
Genre: Anecdotes and Stories by the General Authorities
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 181
Binding: Hardback
ISBN 10: N/A
ISBN 13: 9781609079475
Price: $22.99
Reviewed by Trudy Thompson for the Association For Mormon Letters
In all of our lives, we have had the experience of hearing many talks, speeches, sermons, and so forth. Some of them have left an indelible impression on us, while others have moved us to boredom, restlessness, or even sleep. ( Now admit it- we have all done that!) There is a common thread that runs throughout the memorable lessons we have learned from others-that of a good story. “It Is Better To Look Up” is a superbly illustrated compilation of excerpts from General Conference talks from every member of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, plus many other church leaders, past and present.
There are more than 50 personal experiences shared, and the photography accompanying each one adds to the teachings beautifully. Each short piece starts with a scripture to complement the gospel message given. I loved the fact that there are photo credits in the back of the book, and more importantly, the presence of a well written index, organized not only by speaker, but by topic and subject. This is a very helpful tool that will enable readers to quickly find the message they would like to share in their own talks, lessons, or home evenings. The one thing missing from this book is a reference of the original date of the conference message, so readers could easily locate the whole talk, if desired.
While there are many well known talks that are drawn from, some of my favorites were ones that I simply do not remember, probably because I have missed many past conferences for one reason or another. It is hard to narrow it down to just a few, but the ones that made the deepest impression upon me include the following:
Elder Quinton R. Cook relates the story of Ellen Yates, who after kissing her husband goodbye one October morning, could have never imagined what would happen next. When she suddenly finds herself face to face with two highway patrol officers on her doorstep, who tell her that a 20 year old man, who was late for his first job, had hit her husband’s vehicle head on, and that they both had been killed instantly, she was suddenly plunged into total shock and grief. As she struggled through her emotions and despair, she learned that her husband’s best friend was the bishop of the young man’s ward. The bishop called Sister Yates and told her that the young man’s mother wanted to talk with her.
Sister Yates was shocked as she was so centered on her own grief that she had not thought about what the other family was going through also. She realized that there was a mother who was in as much pain or more than she was, so she gave her permission …for a visit. Upon visiting Sister Yates, the mother and father of this young man expressed their deep sorrow that their son had caused her husband’s death, and presented her with a picture of the Savior holding a little girl in his arms. From that time forward, when life became too hard to bear, Sister Yates would look at that picture and be reminded of the Savior’s knowledge or her loneliness and trials, and that He knew her personally. But, the story goes on to tell us that both sisters go to the temple together every October and reflect on the Atonement of Christ, the plan of salvation and eternal families. Their example of love and forgiveness is an enduring lesson for us all.
The topic of obedience is aptly addressed by President Ezra Taft Benson, who tells of a personal experience during his mission in Great Britain. At the time, there was great opposition to the church there and it quickly spread from ministers of other faiths, to the press, and into the movie theaters and stage plays. When Elder Benson and his companion received a letter from the mission president instructing them to discontinue all street meetings immediately, they reasoned they should go ahead and hold one that was scheduled for the following Sunday night, and then discontinue them thereafter.
As they began their meeting, they found themselves standing back to back with each other in order to address the unruly crowd. As the saloons closed, the crowd grew and became more vocal and violent. When the crowd discovered they were Mormon missionaries, someone yelled to “get them and throw them in the river.” As the growing crowd encircled the elders, they became separated from each other. Just as things began to look very bleak, a British policeman appeared, and took Elder Benson by the arm and led him several blocks away, and then sternly told him that he was lucky to be alive, and ordered him to get to his lodge and to not come out anymore that night.
When he found that his companion was not back yet, he became very concerned, and decided to disguise his appearance and go out looking for him. A man recognized him and asked him if he knew where his companion was. When he said no, the man told him that he was on the other side of the railway station and that one side of his head was “mashed in.” Elder Benson sprinted off to the site, only to be met by the same policeman who had escorted him home. The police officer informs him that he found the companion, that he was injured, and that he had escorted him back to the lodge also. Once again, the officer ordered him to get back to his lodge and to not come out again. Upon returning to the lodge, Elder Benson found his companion disguising himself in order to go out looking for him. From that experience, President Benson learned the tough lesson of always following counsel, and lovingly taught others that message.
“I am the good shepherd, and know of my sheep, and am known of mine.” (John 10:14) This scripture is given full meaning by the personal experience of Elder John R. Lasater who shares the story of his travels to the country of Morocco as part of an official United States government delegation. During that visit, they were were invited to travel some distance into the desert to visit some ruins. Five limousines traveled at high speed to reach their destination, only to be stopped by an accident involving the limousine ahead of Elder Lasater’s.
As they came upon this scene, Elder Lasater noticed that an old shepherd, dressed in long flowing robes of the Savior’s day, was standing next to the limousine talking to the driver. The king’s vehicle had struck and injured one of the sheep belonging to the shepherd. Elder Lasater’s interpreter explained that the laws dictated that the shepherd was entitled to 100 times the value of the injured sheep, but first the sheep must be slain and the meat divided among the people. Then he added that the shepherd will not accept the money, that they never do. When Elder Lasater asked why no one ever accepted the money, he was told that it was because of the love the shepherd had for each of his sheep . Then they noticed the elderly shepherd reached down and lifted the injured sheep and place it in a large pouch on the front of his robe.
The shepherd kept stroking the head of the sheep and repeating the same word over and over again, which was the name of the sheep. The interpreter went on to explain, “all of his sheep have a name, for he is their shepherd, and the good shepherds know each of their sheep by name.” As their journey to the ruins proceeded, the interpreter continued to instruct the guests on more of the traditions and practices of the shepherds of that land. Each evening at sundown, all of the shepherds bring their small flocks to a common enclosure where they are protected from roaming wolves. A single shepherd is left to guard the sheep through the night and in the morning, the shepherds enter the enclosure one by one and call forth their sheep- by name. The sheep will not hearken unto the voice of a stranger, but will leave the enclosure in the care of their true shepherd, because the shepherd knows their names and they know his voice.
Two terrifying stories are narrated by members of the Twelve: The first, by Elder Russell M. Nelson, tells of how he nearly lost his life while river rafting with his family down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. As they approached a certain rapid in the river, Elder Nelson was terrified to see a huge drop ahead and quickly realized the whole family was about to plunge over a waterfall! Instinctively, he threw one arm around his wife and the other around their youngest daughter, and tried to hold them close to him. However, as they reached the precipice, the bent raft became a giant sling and shot him into the air, landing him into the roiling rapids of the river. He struggled to come up and each time he tried to find air he hit the underside of the raft. His family could not see him, but he could hear the screams of his children, “Daddy!, where’s Daddy?” When he finally found the side of the raft, his family thankfully pulled his nearly drowned body out of the water. On the last day of their journey he instructed the family that in order to survive the most dangerous spot, they would have to cling with all their might to the ropes secured to the raft, except to his youngest daughter- he tutored her to hold tightly onto him as he holds onto the ropes. He teaches the audience that as we go through life, it is our duty to cling to the Savior to protect us through the rough waters we encounter.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks gives us a persuasive illustration on the subject of being guided, protected, and warned by guardian angels unseen, but present, throughout our lives. One night, while living in Chicago, Elder Nelson picked up his wife, June, from a ward meeting. She was accompanied by another sister who needed a ride home to an area known for its gang activity. Elder Nelson parked the car outside this sister’s apartment building and accompanied her inside and up the stairs to her door, while his wife remained in the locked car with the keys in the ignition, in case she needed to drive away.
Before stepping outside the building, Elder Oaks looked in both directions and waited until three young men had passed by and then walked quickly to the car. Just as he reached the driver’s side of the car, he saw a young man running towards him with something in his hand. As his wife leaned to unlock the car door, she looked through the back window and saw the man was carrying a gun and did not unlock the door. The man approached Elder Oaks, shoved the gun into his stomach and demanded money. Elder Oaks took out his wallet and showed him it was empty. He wasn’t even wearing a watch to offer him because earlier that day the watchband had broken. He offered him the few coins he had in his pocket, but the thief only became angrier. June watched in horror as the exchange continued: “Give me your money.” ” I don’t have any.” “Give me your car keys.” “They’re in the car.” ” Tell her to open the door.” “I won’t do it.” “I’ll kill you if you don’t.” ” I won’t do it.”
June agonized over what she should do, but everything she considered seemed to have the possibility of making matters worse, so she waited and prayed. About that time, Elder Oaks saw a city bus approaching and stop about 20 feet away. Even though the driver looked right at him, he could tell that no assistance would be offered. When the robber became nervous and distracted, Elder Oaks devised a plan to seize the gun away from the young man and wrestle with him, confident that he could prevail. However, just at that moment, suddenly and without explanation, and without seeing or hearing anything, Elder Oaks knew that if he grabbed the gun, they would struggle and the gun would be turned into the young man’s chest and it would fire and he would die. He also knew that he must not have the blood of of that young man on his conscience for the rest of his life.
As the bus pulled away, he followed an impulse to put his hand on the young man’s shoulder and give him a lecture. The young man went through his demands again and threatened to kill him- but when he was refused again, he put the gun back in his pocket and ran away. Less than one year after this incident, Elder Oaks was chosen to be the president of BYU, and 14 years later he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Elder W. Craig Zwick states, in the final story of the book, titled “We Don’t Have To Run Alone,” that ” we can never complete the race before us, without placing our hand in the Lord’s.” He tells the story of his only daughter competing in a marathon for the first time. She had trained and worked hard, but the race was challenging, and as she approached the middle part of the course, she heard a voice behind her shout, “blind man on your left.” She turned her head to see a blind man overtake her, holding the hand of another man. They were both running the race, and as they passed she could see how tightly he held the hand of his friend. Overcome with her own physical pain, she was encouraged to continue on, as she realized that he who could see was motivated by his blind friend, who was in turn depending upon the connection he had to his friend’s hand. Elder Zwick ends his story by stating: “In like manner, the Savior stretched forth His hand to each of us so that we don’t have to run alone.” “As we advance toward the finish line, he will be there to save us; and for all this, He gave His life.”
Isn’t that what life is all about? Reaching out to help one another and to hold their hand in times of need?
This would be an excellent gift book to consider for the upcoming holiday season. Even those who are not avid readers would enjoy these short vignettes. The life lessons taught and learned in this book would benefit us all. Wouldn’t society be a better place if we could all put these truths into practice?