Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2–3). “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Among them we are to remember:įirst, we are to remember the Lord and His holy name. The Lord established His preeminent position through the commandments He gave Moses. The prophets of various dispensations, cultures, and languages have all been remarkably consistent in teaching what is most important for us to remember-and to do. Thus, “to remember” is “to do,” whereas “forgetting” is “failing to do.” The word rememberand its derivatives appear hundreds of times in the scriptures-certainly a lot to remember! This repetitious scriptural reminder to remember takes on added significance when we understand that in Hebrew the word remember has a much broader meaning than does the English connotation of “keeping something in mind.” In the Hebrew context, “doing” is an essential part of the remembering process. It seems to me that living the gospel has as much to do with remembering important things as it does with knowing them in the first place.
We should keep in mind that even the Lord, who is capable of remembering everything, has promised that He will forget our sins if we repent. Remembering the kindness of others while forgetting their offenses is spiritually much healthier than forgetting their kindness and remembering their offenses. Though no response is recorded, I suppose that Laman and Lemuel could have looked at each other and said, “Oh, yeah, we forgot.” They had seen an angel, and he had spoken to them. Nephi told his brothers that they were “slow to remember the Lord” (1 Nephi 17:45). One of Nephi’s experiences with Laman and Lemuel is an interesting example of this. Much trouble in life originates from forgetting what we should remember and remembering what we should forget. Confusing what we should remember with what we can or ought to forget creates difficulties for us. Remembering important things is fundamental to both our temporal and spiritual well-being. It has helped me to distinguish the important from the trivial, to remember the important things and to forget the things that have little consequence or that would, by forgetting them, bring a blessing. Over the years I have pondered his question. He looked at me and asked in a tone I still remember, “Is it important?”
On the way I happened to see one of my professors and asked him to clarify what for him must have been a very obscure matter. The closer I got to the exam, the more confused I became. Information, dates, and events were swimming around in my head. On one occasion, after a day of intense study, I was hurrying to class to take an exam. It is of great worth to know people who have been faithful to their commitments and covenants well into their eighties and nineties.ĭuring my first year of graduate school, I had an evening class on Slavic culture. I am glad that my father and Sister Neuenschwander’s parents are also here. My brothers and sisters, it is an honor and great privilege to be on campus today and to speak with you.
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