A More Excellent Way

1. A More Excellent Way www.kevinhinckley.com

2. Super Bowl Trivia Quarterback Sneak Church members quietly leaving during meeting. Draw Play What the kids do with the bulletin during the meeting. Sacked Being asked to speak in Sacrament meeting before you can perform the quarterback sneak... Backfield-in-Motion People in the back of the Chapel going to the restroom or water fountain during the meeting. Staying in the Pocket What happens to the tithing that should have been paid three weeks ago. Two-minute Warning The point at which the concluding speaker says, "In conclusion, I would like bear my testimony" and you start to gather up your children and belongings. Instant Replay The High Counselor accidentally shuffles his notes and ends up repeating what he just said. Sudden Death Your attention span when Sacrament meeting goes into "overtime". End Run Using the side doors to get out of the building on fast Sundays to avoid getting caught in long conversations Halfback Option, also know as the High Priest lateral When given an assignment, they respond- “I just don’t know, you’ll have to ask my wife”

3. Matthew 4,5 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria… And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

4. Joseph F. Smith “Read the Sermon on the Mount, and then ask yourselves whether it is beyond and above everything ever taught by man. It confirms me in the belief that Jesus was not merely a man, but that He was God manifest in the flesh. It is the doctrine of eternal life, by which if a man shall live he shall never die; by which if he shall walk he shall walk in pleasant paths; and by which if he shall abide, he shall know the truth, and the truth will make him free.” (Collected Discourses 1886-1898, ed. by Brian Stuy, vol. 5, Joseph F. Smith, Oct. 18, 1896

5. Beatitudes…Latin (to be happy) Blessed are: The poor in spirit… They that mourn… The meek… They which hunger and thirst after righteousness… The merciful… The pure in heart… The peacemakers… They which are persecuted… Question: Is the gospel only for the needy? Savior Explained: …They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

6. Elder Boyd K. Packer Perhaps the greatest discovery of my life, without question the greatest commitment, came when finally I had the confidence in God that I would loan or yield my agency to him— without compulsion or pressure, without duress, as a single individual alone, by myself, no counterfeiting, nothing expected other than the privilege. In a sense, speaking figuratively, to take one’s agency, that precious gift which the scriptures make plain is essential to life itself, and say, “I will do as you direct,” is afterward to learn that in so doing you possess it all the more.” (BYU Devotional Speech, Dec. 7, 1971)

7. President McKay Each Beatitude names a virtue and contributes to the perfect state of peace for the individual. The opposite attitude or condition of mind shows the source of confusion and strife. The poor in spirit are they who are conscious of their destitution-not of worldly possessions but of heavenly riches. Those who experience this condition run counter to them who arrogantly manifest pride in personal accomplishments or acquired possessions. Those who mourn are they who weep not because of loss of wealth or of earthly emoluments but who sense their own deficiencies in spiritual possessions. That feeling runs counter to the calloused, the indifferent, and the self-satisfied. (David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals: Selections from the Discourses of David O. McKay, p.40-)

8. Matthew 5: 15 Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Question: How does salt lose its savour? 1) By being left in the sun and not used 2) By being diluted by other things

9. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. And I … beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth. And it was filled with people… and they were in the attitude of mocking … those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit. Matt 5:14-16

10. President Hinckley I wish to say that none of us ever need hesitate to speak up for this Church, for its doctrine, for its people, for its divine organization and divinely given responsibility. It is true. It is the work of God. The only things that can ever embarrass this work are acts of disobedience to its doctrine and standards by those of its membership. That places upon each of us a tremendous responsibility. This work will be judged by what the world sees of our behavior. God give us the will to walk with faith, the discipline to do what is right at all times and in all circumstances, the resolution to make of our lives a declaration of this cause before all who see us. (Ensign, November 1996, p. 51) 

11. Brother Richard Cracroft The office staff of the Switzerland Zürich Mission had taken the evening off to enjoy a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto. We were the guests of LDS baritone Brian Montgomery, who would be singing the role of Rigoletto. Following the first act, the manager of the theater made his way to our little group…Looking at my name tag, he asked if I were the “Herr Präsident of the Mormon Church.” He explained that Herr Montgomery had requested our services and then asked with some urgency that I accompany him, which I did, taking my assistants, …with me. …he explained that Miss Marina Jajic, the soprano playing the role of Gilda, had become seriously ill and would be unable to continue her performance. He had been about to call the house physician but was prevented by “Herr Montgomery, of your faith,” he explained, “who insists that the Präsident of the Mormon Church say a prayer over Miss Jajic and make her well--so, if you would be so kind . . .” Suddenly apprehensive, we followed him into a corner of the dressing room where Miss Jajic--an attractive, heavily made-up, and deathly pale young woman--sat slumped in a corner chair … I introduced ourselves to her and … that she was from Yugoslavia, spoke little German but more English, believed in Jesus Christ, and, yes, she knew he could heal her… … As I began the sealing portion of the ordinance… I felt the old, familiar … the thrill up the spine, the electric flash across the forehead, the chill across my shoulder blades--signs I had known well and often. I knew my role; I stepped back and let the Spirit take command. From some recess in my soul the words welled up to give utterance and translation into English of those clear but ineffable impressions affirmed by the Holy Ghost in behalf of this lovely, talented, and deathly ill woman… Then I heard myself say, “It is the will of God, Marina, that you be healed, at once! Be healed!” And then: “You will begin to regain strength immediately; you will experience an amazing recovery; and you will not only continue your performance this evening, but you will sing and act magnificently.” …

12. Continued… I concluded the administration… Marina did not take up her bed and walk. Instead, she mumbled her thanks, her eyes still partially closed, her face pallid. As we turned away, the hand-wringing manager asked if I would be offended if he allowed the house doctor to treat her. “No, of course not,” I replied, but to myself I thought, still in tune with the Spirit and confident in the well-tried pattern, “She won’t need him; she’s going to recover--now.” Then, like Peter, my stroll across the water was threatened by the storms of reality, and … I nearly staggered with the realization of what I--or somebody--had just promised. And the raised eyebrows of my two assistants said, “President, you just promised this woman that she will sing act 2. What have you done?” As we left the dressing room, I said to them, “Elders, I said only what the Lord told me to say; let’s pray he’ll make it happen.” After an interminable five-minute wait, the manager reappeared. “I am pleased to announce,” he beamed, “that Miss Jajic has recovered and will be able to continue in her role as Gilda.” The curtain went up, and Marina swirled onto the stage as the vivacious Gilda and sang her way into our hearts. I sat all amazed and thanked the Lord for his gracious intervention… We learned later that she went home to bed and collapsed for several days. … Marina, soon recovered and very much aware of the miracle that had occurred, began to ask Brother Montgomery during rehearsals exactly what had happened that Monday evening… the next week Brian and Jenny invited Marina to dinner, … That Friday at dinnertime, two sister missionaries “just happened by” and were persuaded to stay for dinner and teach Marina the gospel. In June 1988, two months after that very special night at the opera, Marina Jajic awoke and arose to membership in the Church of Jesus Christ. (BYU Devotional, Dec. 1996)