As The Psalmist Contemplated With Awe...

Elder Henry D. Taylor Assistant to the Council of the Twelve ¶

As the psalmist contemplated with awe the beauties of the Lord's creation, with man as the crowning achievement, he exclaimed in wonderment: ¶

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ¶

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ¶

"For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ¶

"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet. . . . ¶

"O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" (Ps. 8:3-6, 9.) ¶

Many have described man in glowing terms. This is Shakespeare's analysis: "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! . . ." (Hamlet, Act 2.) ¶

What Is Man

What Is Man

Well might we ask the same question, "What is man?" and well might the answer be: Man is the spiritual offspring of heavenly parents, privileged through righteous living to come to this world, to be born of earthly parents, and to be blessed with a mortal body. ¶

The possession of this wonderful body is a sacred trust. President Joseph Fielding Smith has declared: ¶

"The importance of these mortal tabernacles is apparent from the knowledge we have of eternal life. Spirits cannot be made perfect without the body of flesh and bones. This body and its spirit are brought to immortality and blessings of salvation through the resurrection. After the resurrection there can be no separation again, body and spirit become inseparably connected that man may receive a fullness of Joy. In no other way, other than birth into this life and the resurrection, can spirits become like our eternal Father." (Era, Vol. 34 [September 1931], p. 643.) ¶

Mission Of Adam And Eve

When Adam was placed here upon the earth, our Heavenly Father indicated that by himself, Adam never could people the earth or subdue it. ¶

"It is not good," the Lord said, "that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." (Gen. ¶

2:18.) So Eve was created and given to Adam in the bonds of eternal marriage, to continue with him, and to be his loving wife and companion. ¶

This noble couple were given the commandment to perpetuate themselves: "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." ¶

(Gen. 1:28.) These objectives could not be achieved without effort, and so the Father further admonished Adam: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. . . ." (Gen. 3:19.) He was to labor and struggle for a living. Then, so that the man and wife would be united in their journey through life, the Lord added: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." (Gen. 2:24.) That is, one in unity, purpose, and harmony, to bring to life in mortality the spiritual offspring of Deity, to furnish mortal bodies for others, and to "replenish" or "fill" the earth. No life's purpose such as this could ever be devised by finite mind. It is truly divine. ¶

Ideal Home Environment

What a glorious thing it would be if each child born into this world could have the assurance of these things: ¶

1. To be born into a home where parents enjoy a respected and honorable name. In other words, "to be born of goodly parents." ¶

2. To be born into homes where they are wanted: a place in which they are loved; a place where proper examples are manifest. One father said: ¶

"I am not trying to be a model father. ¶

All I am trying to do is to live so that when someone says to my son, 'You remind me of your father,' he can stick out his chest and not his tongue." ¶

3. A place where the children are encouraged to prepare themselves for life, both here and hereafter, to live up to their full potential; a home where they are instructed to stand on their own feet, to be independent and self-supporting; a home where they are taught to prepare to establish homes of their own through proper training and securing an adequate education.

Security Never Granted

To "subdue the earth," a person must look mainly to himself and not to others, except as others might offer good counsel or set a good example. ¶

Most persons are striving to find what they consider security. It has been pointed out: ¶

"People who look to government for 'security' are seeking that which has never been granted to human kind. ¶

Man was promised his living by the sweat of his brow, and where he wastes his substance he will want in spite of all human devices to render it otherwise. Nowhere in her system does nature offer security to anyone or anything. Nature's way is the law of change and succession, or replacement and fulfillment; but never the unalterable, the fixed or the guaranteed. It is defeatism in the individuals to seek security in living, a misunderstanding of the function of life itself. ¶

It was not so that the pioneers of this land lived, when there were few governments to do things for them. They met the wilderness on its own terms, and pushed it back. Men and women worked together to found their homes, raise their children, and wrest a competence from what the land had to offer them. They helped one another. They had time for worship, and they knew that over man there was God. Our age is a pioneering one, and to each are offered widening chances of development. It is a neglect of self-improvement to seek security without having earned it, to attempt to reap without having sown. No government can produce what people don't in themselves create." ("Security —A Mirage!" Life Line, October 31, 1964.) A prominent American, in contemplating the subject, gave this advice to young people: "Don't dream about security; make it for yourself, out of yourself." He then concluded his thoughts on self-reliance with these words: "Dare to believe in yourself . . . and act accordingly. If you do, both your present and your future are secure." ¶

"Men Are That They Might Have Joy"

While man is struggling to achieve security and independence, he should also realize that happiness and joy can be his. The Prophet Lehi, speaking under the inspiration of the Lord, taught his sons that "men are, that they might have joy." (2 Ne. 2:25.) This joy could come from performing unselfish acts for others, a life filled with love for fellowmen, the rewards that come from honest toil, from a home where love and kindness abide, the peace and tranquility that come from observing the commandments of the Lord. ¶

There are many today who are seeking for thrills and so-called pleasure. ¶

These things are but momentary and fleeting. Happiness and joy come from more enduring and lasting acts. ¶

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that "happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. ¶

255-56.) ¶

Rewards Of Life

Even though this life is real and earnest, it is possible to receive many rewards and satisfactions. I have noted serene joy in the face of a mother as she gazed with tenderness at her newly born child. I have viewed the pride, happiness, and joy in the expressions of parents as they watched and listened to the report of their son or daughter who had just returned from completing an honorable and successful mission, or other righteous achievements. ¶

It is a humbling and warming experience to be present in the temple with the parents, friends, and families as a young couple is married and sealed for time and for all eternity. ¶

Certainly there is joy and happiness there. ¶

I am confident that each of us has personally experienced the warm glow of happiness that comes from performing an unselfish act or rendering a service for someone else. ¶

The Prophet Joseph Smith has said: ¶

"If a man gets a fullness of the Priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the House of the Lord. . . ." (Ibid., page 308.) ¶

Greater Blessings Promised

While joy and happiness are possible in life here upon the earth, greater rewards and blessings have been promised and will come following the time of the resurrection, after we have left this frail existence. At that time those who have been faithful will not only be reunited with their families and loved ones of mortality, but they will also be privileged to dwell in the glorious celestial world where God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son, dwell. ¶

Surely, this will be joy supreme. And it is possible to every one of us if we keep the faith and endure in righteousness to the end. ¶

For this I humbly pray, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶