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cover story:young women in high adventure, p.20

the uncommon , common man p.3

Shortly after I was sustained in General Conference to be a General Authority, I was to be ordained a

Seventy by President Thomas S. Monson. You can probably relate to this simple farm boy’s feelings of inadequacy and awe as my wife and I walked into the beautifully pan-eled board room in the Church Administra-tion Building to meet with the First Presi-dency. President Monson was very kind. He spent a few minutes sharing personal experi-ences and counseling with us. Then, before he laid his hands on my head to ordain me a Seventy and confer the sealing power, he looked at me and said, “Elder Jones, you are an uncommon, common man.”

I am not sure exactly what he meant by that comment, but I have pondered it many times. The uncommon, common man is the topic I would like to address today. I believe it applies to all of us, you and me.

I come from a very common background. I was raised in very modest conditions. I was not born a General Authority. My faithful father was never a bishop or stake president. We lived in southwestern New Mexico in the

little village of Virden, population 136. My two brothers and I shared one of two bed-rooms in our small home. Dad was a farmer. When I was little, we raised potatoes on our 80-acre farm, but we could not compete with Idaho spuds, so Dad decided to grow cotton and alfalfa. I spent long hours doing farm chores; hoeing, picking cotton, haul-ing hay, driving the tractor, and irrigating the fields.

My wife did not marry a General Author-ity. She married me, a routine returned mis-sionary who never served as a zone leader or an assistant to the president. I was study-ing Animal Science at BYU and dreamed of someday raising cattle on a ranch. The thought of carrying the mantle of a Seventy was not a part of even my wildest imagina-tions. I was a common, simple guy with weaknesses that I was working to overcome.

Today, I am still a common man, but I happen to have a very special calling as a Seventy, an especial witness of Jesus Christ. As with all callings, I will someday be released as a Seventy, but I will continue to be what I enjoy the most: a husband to my

c THE UNCOMMON,

common manBy E ldEr SpEncEr V. JonESOf the Quorum of the Seventy

“Elder Jones, you are an uncommon, common man.” I am not sure exactly what he meant by that comment, but I have pondered it many times. The uncommon, common man is the topic I would like to address today.

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sweetheart. We will be Dad and Mom to our children, and grandparents (or Nanny and Poppy) to our grandchildren.

How can someone as common and simple as we are, become uncommon? We simply follow the example of the perfect model, Jesus Christ. The scriptures share much information about his birth and about His ministry that began when He turned thirty. Very little is written about the time in between, but what is written gives us some revealing insight.

Luke wrote a short verse about that in-terval: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

This verse indicates that Christ increased or developed Himself in four areas: He in-creased in wisdom (educational, personal, and career development), in stature (physi-cal development and health), in favor with God (spiritual development), and in favor with man (citizenship and social develop-ment). Christ became well rounded. He set a pattern for us to follow. You and I have the privilege of following His example and developing these same attributes ourselves.

Jesus is the Only Begotten Son of God. He is the only, Only Begotten. It gives Him a uniqueness and capacities that we do not have. Like us, He had to grow and develop. Unlike us, He never made a mistake

In Section 93 John refers to Jesus, saying that He “received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness.” John then indicates that when He reached thirty years of age and was baptized, the Holy Ghost descended upon Him as a dove, and He received “a fulness” and “all power”.

A few verses later, John made an awe-some promise to us: “And it shall come to pass, that if you are faithful you shall

receive the fulness...”What is this fulness, and how do com-

mon men attain it? (Sisters, when I say men, that also includes you.) It is attained through the discipleship process.

Elder Bednar taught about this in a pre-vious devotional. He said:

“A disciple of Christ is one who is following and learning to be like Christ—learning to think, to feel, and to act as He does. He or she is striving to gain “. . . the mind of Christ.” Becoming a true disciple of the Savior and following His ways are the most demanding learn-ing objectives we can ever strive to achieve. No other discipline compares with His curriculum in either requirements or rewards.”

I want to address the requirements and the rewards. The requirements of discipleship, or learning to be like Christ, are uncommon. They are met in the process of receiving the saving ordinances of baptism, confirmation, priest-hood, temple endowment, and temple marriage; then, the more difficult part, keeping all the covenants associated with these ordinances and endur-ing to the end.

Now let me address the re-wards. Ponder Christ’s words. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” When I was young, I felt that this scripture was telling me to act perfectly and be a good, obedient boy. I interpreted it as being on the requirement’s side of discipleship, the keeping of the

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covenants. Now older and hopefully wiser, I see that it does mean that, but it also has a much broader meaning. It addresses the reward. It is also a divine directive regard-ing the ultimate reward of discipleship. It is a mandate to reach our capacity or divine potential to become, over a period of time and refining, even as our Father in Heaven. Think of your Father in Heaven. Consider His power, His glory, His knowledge, His ca-pacity to love, His mercy, the worlds without number He has created, and His countless offspring.

To the uncommon man that lives up to the oath and covenant of the priesthood, “all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.”

If we are to become as Christ, we must become uncommon. We cannot follow the world. We stand apart. We make and keep sacred covenants.

You young people are at the most signifi-cant decision-making stage of your life. In general, you are between 18 and 26 years of age. You are deciding on your major, a mis-

sion, who to date, and what career to follow. The most important decision of your life will be choosing your eternal companion; the father or mother of your children. When all is said and done, and only if you keep your covenants, your spouse is the only earthly possession you will be able take with you to the next life.

My friends, daily decisions determine divinity. Use common sense when selecting a major. Maybe I should call it uncommon sense. Choose a major that will give you the opportunity to find honorable work, provide for your family, allow you to spend time with your family, and serve in the church. Take a good hard look at yourself, your personality, and your attributes, and then make a sensible decision.

The uncommon principles: Choose the right. The Lord will bless. The blessings are not always immediate, but in the long run, they will come.

The uncommon principles: Resist the lure of the crowd. Form the habit of scripture study and prayer. Looking back, I realize that I had developed such a love and appetite for the scriptures that I even carried them with me on the hunt. Regular scripture study keeps us close to Deity and opens the door to divine communication.

The uncommon principle: Deep study of the doctrine of the Atonement will open the floodgates of heaven and bring higher spiritual sensitivity.

In the last few years I have been impressed by the number of people I have counseled with who are facing unique special challeng-es. Almost without exception, when I asked them how they cope with their situation, each one has said something like this, “I turn to the Atonement. It brings me peace.”From a June 2008 Brigham Young University-Idaho address.

I t is a mandate to reach our capacity or

divine potential to become, over a period of time and refining, even as our Father in Heaven. Think of your Father in Heaven. Consider His power, His glory, His knowledge, His capacity to love, His mercy, the worlds without number He has created, and His countless offspring.

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