26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.
27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.
28 And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
We just had many amazing sessions of General Conference in the last two weeks. And I did not fully realize how amazing they were until this Sunday when I went to fast and testimony meeting at my small-town ward in Colorado. The people in my ward are the salt of the Earth. They are wonderful, nice people who succeed in (mostly) shutting out the many negative things going on in the world. These people concentrate on their families, on their responsibilities, on their callings and on their testimonies.
Several of these good, guileless people used the wonder “ponderize” in their testimonies this Sunday. They said they have been inspired by the word “ponderize” to read the scriptures and memorize them and ponder what they say. Now if you read that word and laughed in a sarcastic, mocking way, you are part of the problem. Because of course that is what I did during Sacrament meeting: I laughed (to myself) at the word “ponderize” rather than immediately appreciate the fact that people actually are taking seriously the advice of people who speak at General Conference.
Why did I laugh? If you are connected to the internet and all of us sometimes cynical Mormons and ex-Mormons out there, you perhaps may have heard the mocking that took place because the son of Brother Durrant tried to commercialize the word “ponderize.” There is a lot of history there that I don’t want to repeat, but the bottom line is this: We should be more like the members of my ward. We should concentrate on the words of the people who speak at General Conference and not get caught up in the various world-created controversies. Satan’s trick is to encourage us to mock Church leaders rather than listen to what they say. Don’t fall for the trick.
With that in mind, I would like to link to Brother Durrant’s talk in the hopes that more people will read it and take in what he has to say.
Here are some key paragraphs:
My second invitation is quite different from and much more important than the first. It is this: I invite you to “ponderize” one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not found in the dictionary, but it has found a place in my heart. So what does it mean to ponderize? I like to say it’s a combination of 80 percent extended pondering and 20 percent memorization.
There are two simple steps:
First, choose a verse of scripture each week and place it where you will see it every day.
Second, read or think of the verse several times each day and ponder the meaning of its words and key phrases throughout the week.
Imagine the uplifting results of doing this weekly for six months, a year, 10 years, or more.
As you make this effort, you will feel an increase in spirituality. You will also be able to teach and lift those you love in more meaningful ways.
I would like to thank Brother Durrant for his service, and I would like to thank the people who do not mock people who speak at General Conference. Ever. These are the people we should emulate, not the people mocking and pointing.