Respect

A talk given to a stake priesthood meeting in Bothell, WA.

Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.       —Matthew 25:40

One of the most popular types of characters in the movies or on TV is the irreverent, cynical, wise cracking renegade who doesn’t take anything seriously and treats nothing and no one with respect.  Images like this have led people to think it popular to be disrespectful and participate in ridiculous rights of manhood such as telling off those in authority, putting down girls, or debauching themselves with immorality or substance abuse.  They have led young people to feel that it is cool to wear descriptive T-shirts that say “Bad to the Bone” or “Born to be Wild”.   Participating in immorality as entertainment has been sold over the media for years until the media image has become society’s reality. Furthermore, in recent years, behavior such as this has become increasingly accepted and even aspired to as part of the worldly ritual of declaring personal independence.

We who hold the priesthood have a different understanding.  We know the Lord’s purpose for us and it is essential that we not be dragged into believing what we are told by those of the world.  In the 76^th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord describes those who are to inherit eternal life.  One of the things He says about those individuals who have earned the great reward is, “They are they who have overcome the world.”  Part of the reason for which we come into the world is to prove that we can be trusted with sacred things in spite of the forces in the world that would have us treat those things with disdain.  We do so by showing respect for those things with which we are entrusted.

Respect is something that is not discussed very much, but it is essential not only for our eventual exaltation but also for our happiness day to day.  There is no shame in being respectful.  Quite the contrary, it is a sign of self-esteem and security.   I would like to suggest a few things that we as priesthood holders should honor and respect in a particular way.

1. Respect Those in Authority. Elder Boyd K. Packer taught us this lesson in a leadership meeting when I lived in London.  He said that you would never catch him going through a door before Mark Peterson, because Elder Peterson was senior to Elder Packer.  The implication is that we show special respect to those who preside over us.   We are sometimes very casual about the way we treat those entrusted to guide or supervise us.  We may foolishly argue with a referee’s call or insult him for the call.  As much as I love sports, I know from personal experience that not getting a call or even losing a game is nothing compared to how awful it is to be the type of person to get worked up over it.  We may show up late or sit in the foyer instead of getting into seminary on time. We may speak poorly to our parents or disregard their instructions.  It is as though we want to make sure that those in authority know that we are in charge of our own lives.  However, if we could really understand how much effort is put forth by those who serve, preside or teach, we would seek every opportunity to show them respect, even when they don’t require it.  The Prophet Joseph was a reasonably casual man but when he would enter his own living room in the Nauvoo House, one brother that lived there, John Burnhiesel, would stand up every time.  Joseph would say, “Don’t do that.  Why do you do that?”  Brother Burnhiesel said, “Because I love to honor the man who God honors.” 
   From time to time in my teaching, I have asked what the students would do if the Savior taught the class.  The answer was predictable.  They would be on time, they would listen reverently, sit up straight, stand when He entered or left.  And obey?—in a heartbeat!  Why?  Because of the level of respect that we have for Him.  Why should it be any different with those who teach and preside over us today?  The Lord has said, “Whether it be by mine own voice or the voice of my servants it is the same.”  Brigham Young once said to a woman who was criticizing her husband, “If you could see him as he really is, your first inclination would be to fall on your knees and worship him.”  Show respect for your parents, your teachers, and your leaders in your words, actions and attitude.  There are ways to do it: saying please and thank you and other forms of common courtesy, kindness, following instructions and being obedient.  Let us all show greater respect to those who supervise us or who are in positions of authority.
   
   
2. Respect Womanhood.  When I first returned from my mission, women’s liberation was in full swing, fighting for women’s equality.  Though there have been some good things that have come from the women’s movement, there have also been some perversions of the way things are supposed to be.  While the people who have espoused women’s liberation have fought so hard to gain respect for women, one of the casualties of the movement has been chivalry in men.  Equality is often confused with sameness.  By succeeding in achieving sameness for women, feminists have actually degraded the God-appointed standing of women in this earthly existence.  However, regardless of what happens around us in the world, our job as men of God is to defend the honor of women.   President Ezra Taft Benson said, “Young men, especially you who bear the priesthood of God, should be the protectors of women and not feel that you can take liberties, that you can rob them of that which is more priceless than life itself. You should treat that young girl whom you take out on a date, as you would expect another young man to treat your sister. This is the way to live. This is God’s way. This is the standard which He has provided in His Church.”  Your responsibility to respect womanhood goes beyond being morally clean, a standard to which I am sure you are all committed.  It also implies protecting the young women from being treated or teased rudely by others, or from hearing coarse talk.  It also implies showing them a higher level of courtesy, holding the door for them, speaking kindly, and being a gentleman in every way.  When we honor womanhood, we treat women as though they are something truly special and sacred.  When we understand how our Heavenly Father feels about them, we realize that they are something truly special and sacred.
   
3. Respect your Priesthood.  Whenever I would go to a party or some other function, my father would always say, “Remember who you are.”  I never really believed that I was as good as my father believed I was.  But now, as a father myself, I understand exactly what he meant.  He wanted me to behave in a way consistent with how I had been blessed.  He wanted me to be clean in my actions, words and thoughts.  He had a better perspective and high hopes for the kind of man that I might one day become. He had a greater understanding of my responsibility as a representative and servant of Jesus Christ than I did.  If my dad or your dads have that kind of perspective, imagine our Heavenly Father Himself as He sent us off to our earthly experience saying, “Remember who you are.”  We are His sons.  He has high hopes for us and His hopes go far beyond what we earthly fathers thoroughly comprehend.  Listen to what Lorenzo Snow says about the Lord’s perspective of our potential:

There is just one thing that a Latter-day Saint, an Elder in Israel should never forget: It should be a bright illuminating star before him all the time–in his heart, in his soul, and all through him–that is, he need not worry in the least whether he should be a deacon or President of the church.  It is sufficient for him to know that his destiny is to be like his Father, a God in eternity.  He will not only be President but he may find himself president of a Kingdom, President of worlds with never-ending opportunities to enlarge his sphere of dominion. 

Now, how do we honor our priesthood?  Joseph Smith gave us a powerful example of how to honor your priesthood.  He knew, through revelation, who he was, and he behaved accordingly.  So when his father, whose name was also Joseph, laid his hands upon his head and gave him a patriarchal blessing, what he heard was not a surprise.   Part of the blessing said:

I bless thee with the blessings of thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and even with the blessings of thy father Joseph, son of Jacob.  For he looked after his posterity in the last days when they should be driven and scattered by the Gentiles, and he wept before the Lord; and he sought diligently that he might know from whence the son would come that would bring them the word of God and bring them back to the true fold.  And his eyes beheld thee, my son.  And his heart rejoiced and his soul was satisfied.

You will know you show respect for your priesthood when a priesthood leader gives you an assignment and his heart will rejoice and his soul will be satisfied because of your faithful magnification of that responsibility.  When a father or mother sends a precious daughter out with you, they should be completely at ease because of the type of person you are.  When you are with a group of your peers, they should be able to see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven. 

I challenge you to make a decision today to do one thing regularly to better show respect for each of these three things: respect for those in authority, respect for womanhood, and respect for your priesthood. It might be that you will show up for seminary on time, and hold the door for your female peers, and you will speak of your gratitude for what the Lord has done for you with one of your friends away from a church setting.  Or it may be other things.  But make a decision to show greater respect, today. Write it in your journal, or share it with your fathers, but have some way to remember and follow up on your commitment to yourself.

Remember who you are.  I pray that your image of yourselves will not be that of someone “Bad to the Bone” or “Born to be Wild”, but of the virtuous Knight or stripling warrior who honored those in authority, defended the honor of women and girls, understood the magnitude of his responsibility, and of whom it could be said, as it was of Sir Galahad, “His strength was as the strength of ten, because he was pure.”  In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.