By Ian Miller
Brigham Young University (BYU) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” As part of their undergraduate coursework, BYU students take multiple semesters of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.
Here, in this column, students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the New Testament and gospel of Jesus Christ in the form of letters to someone they know. In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to witness to all of us of the relevance, power, and beauty of the New Testament, and God’s plan of happiness for each of us. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures. Let us know how these may help you in your own life. Share them with a friend.
Letter to my wife about giving up our will
I want to share an idea from my New Testament class this week. We were reading in Philippians 2 and noticed the importance of our will, especially in verses 12 through 17 or so. I have always found it interesting to notice that all we have that we can truly give to God, that He hasn’t directly given us, is our will. I have always felt humble about this idea and have loved attempting to accomplish it. Basically, the only way to do this is to place our will on the altar of God. Then, once our will has been given up, we can receive God’s will in our heart. I think this is the essence of the Atonement and our best way to become like Christ.
My professor told a story that really magnified this idea that I would like to share with you. It started with him telling us about a little old widow convert from his mission in Brazil. He said she lived down by the river on property that you don’t have to purchase, because no one is interested in a property that would flood a couple times every year. This woman’s house was tin-roofed and the slats that made up the walls left small gaps. In about a 10×8 foot house she had only a small bed, a stump for a chair, and a small table made of two sawhorses and three 2×6 pieces of wood.
After the bishop of the ward had been to her house, he felt badly for her and wanted to help her. He decided to start with one piece of furniture at a time. Over the pulpit during the next sacrament meeting, the bishop announced that a family that was in need of a small table and if anyone could spare one to come to his office after church. After church, he had a light knock on his door. It was the old woman. She said, “Bishop, I want to talk to you about your announcement today.” The bishop was afraid that she was offended. Instead, she told him that she thought all families should have a table to eat at and she had a very small basic table, but that she would give it to them until they could find a nicer one. The bishop then smiled and told her it was supposed to be for her. She was polite, but told him thanks anyways. She said he should spend his time helping those who really needed it.
I love this story, and think it very much explains the way we should give up our will. I hope I can do this and hope it brightens your day also.
Love you forever,
Ian