Faith of Father
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Calling him "a man of amazing gifts and talents" whose "faith and loving heart extend to every nation, tongue and people," President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency, opened his Sunday morning address with a story about President Thomas S. Monson.
Some years ago, he said, President Monson was in Hamburg, Germany, for a regional conference and asked him about former stake president and current patriarch Michael Panitsch. When told Brother Panitsch was seriously ill and bedridden, President Monson said he wanted to go visit him.
President Uchtdorf said he knew President Monson had recently had foot surgery and would have difficulty walking up the stairs to Brother Panitsch's fifth-floor apartment.
"But President Monson insisted. And so we went."
President Uchtdorf said President Monson could only take a few stairs at a time between rests, but "he never uttered a word of complaint, and he would not turn back."
After arriving at the apartment, President Monson visited with Brother Panitsch, thanked him for his service and gave him a blessing.
President Uchtdorf said, "(President Monson's) vision is so broad and far-reaching to grasp the complexities of a worldwide Church, yet he is also so compassionate to focus on the one."
He then turned his remarks to reflections of the refrain "Faith of Our Fathers" (Hymns, No. 84), elaborating on the various ways it can be interpreted.
He said the phrase for many members of the Church refers to "valiant pioneers who abandoned the comfort of their homes and traveled by wagon and on foot until they reached the valley of the Great Salt Lake."
While his own ancestors in Europe were not a part of that experience, President Uchtdorf said, "As a member of the Church, I claim with gratitude and pride this pioneer legacy as my own."
In his family, he said, "faith of our fathers" brings to mind the Lutheran faith to which it belonged for generations.
Then he said, "As the restored Church of Jesus Christ blossoms throughout the globe ... 'the faith of our fathers' has an expanded meaning. For some, it could refer to their family's heritage in one of the hundreds of Christian faiths; for others, it could refer to Middle-Eastern, Asian or African faiths and traditions.
"I have spent most of my life in areas of the world where members of our Church are a small minority. During that time I have learned that often, when people learn of the restored gospel, they are impressed by it — many even want to join the Church. But they are reluctant to disappoint their ancestors; they feel they should be true to the faith of their fathers."
He spoke of a case he was intimately acquainted with where one young mother and her two daughters showed up at the meetinghouse where President Uchtdorf's family attended when he was young. He ended up marrying one of the daughters — Harriet Reich.
He said, "Harriet's mother, Carmen, had recently lost her husband and, during a period of introspection, became interested in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After studying the doctrines, Carmen and her daughters knew the Church was true and made plans for baptism.
"When Carmen told her mother about this decision, however, her mother was devastated. 'How can you be so unfaithful to the faith of your fathers?' she asked.
"Carmen's mother was not the only one who objected. Carmen's strong-willed sister, Lisa, was every bit as troubled by the news. Perhaps troubled is too soft a word. She was very angry.
"Lisa said that she would find those young missionaries and tell them just how wrong they were. She marched to the chapel, found the missionaries and, you guessed it, Lisa was baptized too."
He went on to say that Carmen's mother was baptized while in her mid-70s, telling her daughters and grandchildren, "I want to be in the same heaven as you."
Looking beyond parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, President Uchtdorf asked about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, "Are they not our fathers? Are we not of the house of Israel? What of Noah and Enoch and our first parents, Adam and Eve?
"What of the Savior and those disciples who followed Him?"
Then he said, "The faith of our Father in Heaven has been consistent since the beginning of time, even from the foundation of the world."
Speaking of the war in heaven, he said, "All who have ever lived on this earth were among those who fought against Satan and stood with the Son and the Father. Therefore, do we not owe our allegiance to God our Heavenly Father?"
He said, "I testify that the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the faith of our Heavenly Father. It is His truth revealed to His servants the prophets from the days of Father Adam until our own time. ... God desires that all of His children receive it, irrespective of their background, culture or tradition. True religion should not originate from what pleases men or the traditions of ancestors, but rather from what pleases God, our Eternal Father."
He concluded, "We invite everyone on this beautiful planet to taste of His doctrine and see if it is not sweet and good and precious. We ask those of sincere heart to learn of this doctrine and ask their Father in Heaven if it is not true. And by so doing, all can discover, embrace and walk in the true faith of their Father, which faith will make them whole."
