{"id":44499,"date":"2017-10-07T10:46:08","date_gmt":"2017-10-07T16:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=44499"},"modified":"2017-10-07T12:10:41","modified_gmt":"2017-10-07T18:10:41","slug":"elder-hales-love-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/10\/elder-hales-love-hope.html","title":{"rendered":"Elder Hales, love, and hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Provo<\/a>
We had dinner the other evening\u00a0at a favorite place on the Provo River, just below Deer Creek Reservoir. They\u2019re not letting much water out right now, so the river level was very low. \u00a0But it was still quite\u00a0pleasant. \u00a0(Photograph from my wife\u2019s iPhone)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I was able to listen to much of the funeral service yesterday for Elder Robert D. Hales, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. \u00a0One of the moments that impressed me came when President Henry Eyring cited the words of the prophet Mormon, from Moroni 7:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

46\u00a0<\/span>Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

47\u00a0<\/span>But\u00a0charity\u00a0is the pure\u00a0love\u00a0of Christ, and it endureth\u00a0forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.<\/span><\/p>\n

48\u00a0<\/span>Wherefore, my beloved brethren,\u00a0pray\u00a0unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true\u00a0followers\u00a0of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we\u00a0shall\u00a0be\u00a0like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be\u00a0purified\u00a0even as he is pure.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For some reason, this passage really struck me yesterday. \u00a0There are some people \u2014 my wife is one of them \u2014 who are, by nature, caring and loving. \u00a0While I\u2019m very far from the mean-spirited, perpetually angry, and heartless monster that some of my more unhinged critics have carefully sought to depict over the past decade or two, I don\u2019t consider myself among those who are naturally gifted with love. \u00a0It comforts me, though, and it inspires me, to remember that love, or a loving character, is a spiritual gift that can be sought, prayed for, and cultivated.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s scarcely coincidental that Paul\u2019s famous discussion of \u2014 or hymn to \u2014 charity or love in 1 Corinthians 13 occurs squarely in the middle of a longer treatment of spiritual gifts more generally. \u00a0That discussion begins in 1 Corinthians 12 and continues through chapters 13 and 14. \u00a0The chapter divisions come much\u00a0later, and are somewhat artificial.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you too listened, did you catch President Eyring\u2019s brief allusion to what seems to have been a near-death experience on the part of Elder Hales?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cElder Hales\u2019s Incredible Message After a Near-Death Experience + Other Powerful Memories Shared by Church Leaders at His Funeral\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I absolutely love this touching story, told about Elder Hales and a young friend of his by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Twelve, and there\u2019s a good chance that you\u2019ll love it, too::<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Kindness of Elder Robert D. Hales (The Story of Tie Buddies)\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Changing subjects just slightly, here\u2019s the conversion story of the second counselor in the General Young Women\u2019s presidency of the Church:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow One Humbling Question Led Sister Neill Marriott to Join the Church\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why are the Brethren so concerned about the issue of religious liberty? \u00a0Here\u2019s an illustration of one of the reasons, from the site For Religious Freedom<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mormon Temple That Was Never Built: Religious Freedom: What\u2019s All the Fuss About?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, an inconceivably painful and horrifying story about a Latter-day Saint family from the Washington Post<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThree goodbyes in three days: Why these parents watched their children die at home\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I know people who like to talk about the irrelevance of faith, and about how what\u2019s really important is that we live in the Now (as if faithful people can\u2019t or don\u2019t do that). \u00a0But surely, in a story such as this one of the Chappell family, even those who don\u2019t believe should be able to recognize or at least to imagine the hope that faith can give.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Park City, Utah<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 I was able to listen to much of the funeral service yesterday for Elder Robert D. Hales, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. \u00a0One of the moments that impressed me came when President Henry Eyring cited the words of the prophet Mormon, from Moroni 7: \u00a0 46\u00a0Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nElder Hales, love, and hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    I was able to listen to much of the funeral service yesterday for Elder Robert D. 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