The Touch of the Master's Hand

This is a poem written by Myra Brooks Welch but was quoted in a Conference talk by Boyd K Packer entitiled "The Touch of the Master's Hand".  Its a really good talk so feel free to read it here.   

’Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer

Thought it scarcely worth his while

To waste much time on the old violin,

But held it up with a smile:

“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,

“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”

“A dollar, a dollar”; then, “Two!” “Only two?

Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;

Going for three—” But no,

From the room, far back, a gray-haired man

Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,

And tightening the loose strings,

He played a melody pure and sweet

As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,

With a voice that was quiet and low,

Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”

And he held it up with the bow.

“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?

Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?

Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,

And going, and gone!” said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,

“We do not quite understand

What changed its worth.” Swift came the reply:

“The touch of a master’s hand.”

And many a man with life out of tune,

And battered and scarred with sin,

Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,

Much like the old violin.

A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine,

A game—and he travels on.

He’s “going” once, and “going” twice,

He’s “going” and almost “gone.”

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd

Never can quite understand

The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought

By the touch of the Master’s hand. ²⁹

 

^Harmony 

^{Harmony is a part of the music that written that does not carry the melody.} 

The Power Tower

One of the stories that I read the other day in the scriptures was about towers.  Towers often represent the wicked or worldly things in the scriptures.  For example, in Mosiah 11:12  King Noah, built a tower right next to the temple so that the people would look to him instead of God for protection, freedom and answers.  In Genesis 11 the people erect the tower of Babel.  This scripture is another example of people who forsook  God and tried to get to Heaven on their own.  Again, in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 8 we read in Lehi's dream about a grand building that represents the pride of the world, mocking those true believers of Christ. 

Something I've noticed that is associated with each of those towers in the scriptures is pride.  King Noah was greedy and prideful, caring less about the people in his city than about building himself up.  The people of the tower of Babel were so prideful as to think that they would be able to make it to Heaven by the work of their own hands.  In Lehi's dream, the prideful people in the building mock those who follow Christ so as to pet their own ego and build up their own pride. 

When we let pride into our lives, we build towers up in our lives, pointing the praise towards ourselves instead of towards God.  As we root pride out of our lives, we tear down the towers that keep us from growing closer to him and the focus of our lives turn to those around us.  So now think about what are some of the towers in you life that separates you from him and start taking it down.   When we tear down the towers, we give the credit for everything in our lives to God instead of taking it for ourselves. 

_Elder Halbert

Fear Not

People fear almost anything, from spiders to clocks failure to great mole rats (zemmiphobia).  However, fear in the gospel sense, is the opposite of faith.  When we fear, we lack trust that God is really in control.  Countless times in the scriptures it says "Doubt not fear not."  Often times when angels or prophets speak, they start by saying fear not.  True love casteth out all fear.  If we really love and God, we wouldn't fear man.  In D&C 3, the Lord chastens Oliver Cowdery by saying, "You should not have feared man more than God".  Elisha says to his servant in 2 Kings, "Fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them." 

I'm a big Star Wars fan.  In Episode I, Yoda says to the young Anakin that fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.  All of the feelings qualify as those that come from the devil.  They build on each other and they do not come from God.  God teaches love, trust, and calmness, opposites of those other qualities. 

So while Star Wars is a great thing, and Halloween is lots of fun, the moral is that we need to cultivate love and trust in God.  When we trust in God, we do not fear what life will bring.  We know that all things will work out for our good and that God will not leave us comfortless or abandoned.  I love the consoling words that the Lord speaks to Joshua in the first chapter "As I was with Moses, so shall I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.  Be strong and of a good courage:"  When we are faithful to the Lord, that promise applies to us as well.  He will not fail us or forsake us.  No matter what comes, we can walk with the assurance that He will be there with us.  We can be like Joshua; strong and of a good courage.  So during this gloomy fast approaching season, laden with creepy crawlies, spooks, and spine chilling masks; and when things get to be a little much for you, remember  2 Tim 1:7 God hath not given us the spirit fear" and 1 Jn 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear".

_Elder Halbert

Don't Look Back!

I love the scripture story of Lot leaving his home town.  Lot was living in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah which to say the least was a pretty dumpy dirty place.  The Lord was going to destroy it because of the wickedness of the people so he warned Lot and his family and told them to hightail it out of the city.  The Lord told him that when they left, they shouldn't look back.  A they were walking away from the city, the wife of Lot disobeyed a commandment of the Lord and looked back and was turn into a pillar of salt.  When we look back on a life of sin, maybe still longing to be there, or when we dwell in the past, we lack faith and trust that what the Lord has in store is better than what we are leaving.  So I realize that this video is a little dated, like 10 months late, or just 2 months early, but its still a really good video and you don't have to wait for the new year to change. Enjoy!  

_Elder Halbert 

Frozen Pipes

In the Apr. 1988 Liahona, there was a story called "The Bucket of Water".  In short, the story goes that it was an exceptionally cold winter and the pipes in the city were freezing.  Since a couple of missionaries didn't have running water anymore, they wanted to have some in the apartment in case of emergency.  So they went door to door asking for a bucket of water but the people were selfish in saying that every bucket of water they gave away, that was one less bucket they would have. Finally one lady said, “One bucket of water? One bucket of water—is that all? I will let you have two, or three, or ten, or more. Keep coming back, because if I give the water away the water pipes will never freeze. When the water is flowing, it doesn’t freeze. In a way, the more I give, the more I get in return.”

Our lives are the very same way.  The more we give the more we receive.  and the happier we are.  When we give our time and talents and love and our means to help others, it keeps the water in our pipes from freezing.  When "iniquity shall abound, [the] love of many shall wax cold".  When we keep giving and giving, it keeps our water from going stagnant, and our hearts from waxing cold.  The more we give, the more we receive.

 As we continue giving and giving, we are filled with the Holy Ghost, that keeps our lines from ever going cold.  We show our gratitude for what we have and that we care enough to pass it on to someone else.  When we serve, we become more like Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

_Elder Halbert

What Motivates You?

In my study of the Book of Mormon the other day, I was comparing the war stories of Mormon and or Moroni.  Both were leaders, captains even, of the Nephite armies.  In Alma 48:16 and Mormon 7:2 show us that both of them were men of God that worked hard to keep the faith of their people.  During both of their eras of war, they were at some point depended upon to strengthen the moral of their men to keep them from fleeing from the enemy.  During their speeches, they both used their homes, families, and country to motivate them.  The difference though, was that Moroni's army was an army of God.  They cried unto the Lord for His support.  Even though Mormon was a God fearing man, his army didn't care for the things of God and because of that, they eventually lost the battles and in the end the war.  This comparison shows us that if we don't have God in our lives, and if he isn't the main motivating factor behind why we do what we do, we will in the end lose the war.  God was ready and willing to support both armies if they would turn to Him, but only one did.  Just the same, God is ready and willing to help any of us in our lives if we will just turn to and trust in Him.  But like the army of Captain Moroni, that starts with the basics.  Pray, every day.  Read every day.  Trust in Him every day, and He will support you through every bump in the road, every disappointment, and trial or problem that confronts you. 
 _Elder Halbert

Nails and Wood

Berny had a temper problem.  He would fight and kick and scream at the other kids if he didn't get what he wanted.  Tantrums were frequent with Berny.  He was still young and his mother wanted him to learn to control it before he grew up and the problem went out of hand.  So, she proposed an idea to Little Berny.  She told him that every time that he was angry or when his temper was out of whack, he could go and take his Dad's hammer and nail a nail into the picket fence in the back of the yard.  In no time at all the fence was full of nails and looked a bit dingy.  Berny didn't really like that.  He was slowly learning to control his temper because he really didn't like that it was starting to ruin the back fence.  So he asked permission from his mother to take them out.  The condition, she told him, was that in order to take a nail out, he had to do something nice for someone.  Well, Berny was starting to become quite the pleasant little fellow.  Occasionally, another nail would get pounded in by an angry Berny and, and even more often, a nail would be pulled out.  With some time, soon all the nails were pulled out of the fence and Berny was beaming.  A few years down the road, Berny realized something wasn't quite right.  There were still holes left in the fence even though the nails were gone. Then the awful symbolism hit him as he imagined an angry little boy with a hammer and some nails and a wooden board, and a man on a cross.   
That is why we need a Savior.  Though we can try our very hardest to repair the damage that we have done, we can't make the wood the same again.  We can fill it, putty it, sand and paint it, but the wood still isn't the same as it was.  If it weren't for the Atonement, no matter what we do, there will always be a fence full of nails and holes at the end of our lives.  The miracle of the Atonement, is that those holes can be filled.  Put back the way they were, as if it never happened.  I am so grateful for the blessing of the Atonement in my life and that no matter where I am or what I have done, I can be forgiven, completely forgiven.  That blessing is available to everybody who wants it. 
_Elder Halbert