Elder Bednar's Talk

I was reading my scriptures two nights ago and came across this talk. The church is often criticized for having old men as apostles. People complain that these "these old men are old fashioned and out of touch" or, "that we need to get some young people put into the 12 so that the church can move forward with the times". I believe that age is not what makes the church wonderful, rather the fact that the Lord is at the head of it and that these wonderful men, although many may be categorized as "old" follow the Lord's direction. 

I really enjoyed this talk. There is so much that can be learned from these great men that I look up to. They have a vast amount of experience in matters of the spirit as well as life experience in general. This is an excerpt from that talk. This is my favorite part of the message.

I speak about this topic from a decidedly distinctive perspective. For the last 11 years, I have been the youngest member of the Twelve in terms of chronological age. During my years of service, the average age of the men serving in the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has been 77 years—the oldest average age of the Apostles over an 11-year interval in this dispensation.

I have been blessed by the collective apostolic, personal, and professional experience and insight of the quorum members with whom I serve. An example from my association with Elder Robert D. Hales highlights the remarkable opportunities I have to learn from and serve with these leaders.

Several years ago I spent a Sunday afternoon with Elder Hales in his home as he was recovering from a serious illness. We discussed our families, our quorum responsibilities, and important experiences.

At one point I asked Elder Hales, “You have been a successful husband, father, athlete, pilot, business executive, and Church leader. What lessons have you learned as you have grown older and been constrained by decreased physical capacity?”

Elder Hales paused for a moment and responded, “When you cannot do what you have always done, then you only do what matters most.”

I was struck by the simplicity and comprehensiveness of his answer. My beloved apostolic associate shared with me a lesson of a lifetime—a lesson learned through the crucible of physical suffering and spiritual searching.

When we cannot do what we have always done, that's when we do what matters most. I like this thought because it shows us how how trials can help us zero in on the most important portions of our lives. Usually, our perspective changes to focus on family, faith, and love. Because that is truly what the Lord is most concerned about. If we can put our focus and our energy into those three things, everything else will work out.