CC #10 Elder Costa

The transcription discusses the importance of having a living prophet to reveal God's secrets. It introduces a podcast called Conference Chronicles that dissects conference talks. The specific talk being discussed is titled "The Power of Jesus Christ in Our Lives Every Day" by Elder Joaquin E. Costa. The speaker emphasizes the need for faith in Jesus Christ to find strength during trials. The story of Damon West, a man who turned his life around while serving a prison sentence, is also mentioned. Surely, the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets. How blessed we are to have a living prophet today. Brothers and sisters, the Savior declared, whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. Welcome to Conference Chronicles, where we systematically take one conference talk per week from the previous conference and dissect it and learn from it. I'm your host, Taylor Lithgow, and I firmly believe that as we listen to and apply the Lord's teachings through His living prophets, we will fulfill the full measure of our creation and we will be prepared for the Lord at His second coming. So please join with me each week as we take this quest called Conference Chronicles. Hello, hello, everybody. Welcome to this week's episode of Conference Chronicles. I appreciate everyone and anyone who listens, and I would greatly appreciate if you do listen to share with others. Follow on social media, follow on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and share the message with the people you know and love. That would be much appreciated. With that being said, the talk for this week is titled, The Power of Jesus Christ in Our Lives Every Day by Elder Joaquin E. Costa of the Seventy. I'm going to start by reading a little excerpt from the beginning of his talk. He said, I am thankful that President Russell M. Nelson has reminded us to use the correct name of the Lord's Church often so that we remember whose church this is and whose teachings we follow. President Nelson has stated, In coming days we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power that the world has ever seen. He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful. I want to pause right there and please can we ponder that for one moment, what our prophet who communicates with the Lord just said. In coming days we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power that the world has ever seen. Last week in the episode from Elder Newman, we discussed when the Savior came to the Nephites and throughout those verses it says many times that tongue cannot even speak or repeat the miracles that the Savior performed. Words were not adequate to describe what they experienced, what they saw, what they heard, and what they witnessed with the Savior in their presence. That's just one of the examples of so many miracles that we read of in the scriptures. The Savior guarding the Red Sea, the Savior causing the blind to see, feeding 5,000 with the loaves and the fishes, I mean the list goes on and on and on and on. And here the prophet says that in the coming days we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior's power that the world has ever seen. Wow. I want to be prepared for that. I want to be able to recognize those miracles when they happen and how they happen. With that being said, let me kind of move into the actual topic of his talk. Elder Costa goes on to say, One of the greatest privileges for me and my wife Renee is to meet with the saints where we serve. We hear their stories, we witness their losses, we share their grief, and we rejoice with their successes. We have witnessed many of the blessings and miracles that the Savior has bestowed upon the faithful. We have met people who have gone through the impossible, who have suffered the unthinkable. We have seen the manifestation of the Savior's power in a widow who lost her husband while they were on the Lord's errand in Bolivia. We have seen it in a young woman in Argentina who fell under a train and lost her leg just because someone wanted to steal her cell phone, and in her single father who now must pick up the pieces and strengthen his daughter after such an unexplainable act of cruelty. We have seen it in the families that lost their homes and every possession during the fires in Chile just two days before Christmas in 2022. We have seen it in those who suffer after a traumatic divorce and in those who are innocent victims of abuse. What gives them power to go through hard things? What gives an extra layer of strength to go on when everything seems lost? I have found that the source of that strength is faith in Jesus Christ as we intentionally seek to come unto Him each and every day. So as I was reading and listening to this talk and contemplating trials and challenges and as Elder Kosta says, people who have gone through the impossible and who have suffered the unthinkable and yet still come out better and stronger, it made me think of this work conference that I went to last year. I work for Sunrun, the solar company, and we had this conference in San Francisco, and the keynote speaker is named Damon West, and he shared his experience. He's the author of the book entitled The Coffee Bean, and I think his story kind of illustrates some of these points that Elder Kosta is making as well. So I'm going to try to recount Damon West's story off of memory from when he came and visited the conference. It was really impactful for me. Essentially, Damon grew up in a small town in Texas and seemed to excel in every area of life. He was a football player. He ended up getting a D1 scholarship to play quarterback at the University of North Texas. In his first or second year, I can't remember, he suffered a season-ending injury, which was devastating to him because he had put his whole worth on being a great quarterback, and so he started using drugs to cope with some of the physical pain of the injury and also some of the emotional pain of the fact that his football career might be coming to an end. He eventually moved to Dallas, where he started working in the stock market, and he was working long hours, and he was introduced to more and more drugs until eventually he was introduced to meth, and he said the first time he took meth, he was addicted. He was hooked. Unfortunately, that story applies to many others as well, but he goes on to explain that it took over his life so much that not only was he using the drug, but he also began selling the drug and distributing it, and he became one of the main movers of this drug in the whole Dallas area. In fact, he organized many burglaries in these nice areas in Dallas, actually. He would go in when these people were out of town and steal all of their things and sell them to continue to fund his drug business until one day he was sitting in his apartment and something comes crashing through his window and a big boom-like explosion comes, and he's on the ground reeling with his ears just ringing and trying to understand what's happened, and finally when he comes to, there's a barrel of a gun in his face, and it's the SWAT team saying, Damon West, you're under arrest, and he goes on to say that he went to trial and was sentenced to 65 years in a high-security penitentiary in Texas. His whole life was crashing in on top of him. His parents, who he described as being loving, caring parents who raised him right, were devastated naturally, of course they were, and he felt like his life was over. He got sent to a county prison at first as kind of a holding period before he got transferred to the high-security prison. He said that he met many people in that county jail, and they all offered him similar advice, just telling him, hey, when you get into the penitentiary, you need to join a gang as soon as possible. You're going to get eaten alive if you don't join one of these Syrian, racist, white, supremacist gang groups there. All the other gangs are just going to eat you up if you don't join a gang. So he was getting all this advice, except for one of the people in the county jail offered him a little bit different advice. He said this was an old black man named Mr. Jackson, who had been there almost his whole life, but he said he was the happiest, kindest person he has ever met in his life, and this man, Mr. Jackson, ended up changing his life with this bit of advice. He told him, do not join a gang if you want to have any chance of being happy in this life or getting out of that penitentiary. You need to take this advice. You need to be a coffee bean. Of course, Damon was confused at what this meant, just like I am and all of you are right now, but Mr. Jackson went on to explain. He said, that prison is like a pot of boiling water. If you have a carrot and you put it into a pot of boiling water, what will happen? And Damon said, well, I guess it'll get soft, and he said, exactly, it'll get soft. Now if you take an egg and you place it in that pot of boiling water, what will happen? Damon thought, well, I guess it'll get hard, right? It'll turn into a hard-boiled egg. And Mr. Jackson said, exactly, now if you take a coffee bean and you put it in water, what happens? He goes on to explain that the coffee bean will change the whole chemical makeup of the water. We don't call it water anymore, we call it coffee. Coffee changes the makeup of the water and turns it into something completely different. And Mr. Jackson said, now you, Damon, if you want to have any chance in this life, you need to be a coffee bean. Fast forward, he goes to the penitentiary, and he's having a really hard time. He's getting in fights every day just to defend himself, and he's down on himself and depressed, and it seems like that advice that he got from Mr. Jackson less than a year earlier was getting farther and farther away. And he was talking with one of his acquaintances in the prison, Carlos, and he explained this whole coffee bean, and he explained this whole coffee bean idea to him. And Carlos' response was, you can't be a coffee bean, Damon, because you have stinkin' thinkin'. You think prison is a punishment. You need to start thinking of it as an opportunity. He tells him he has stinkin' thinkin'. He's thinking that prison is a punishment, but he needs to start thinking of it as an opportunity. Fast forward, Damon goes on to explain he eventually became very close with every single racial group within the prison. He explains that in prison, unfortunately, it's all about race. The white guys stick together, the black guys stick together, the Latino guys stick together, and they all have their different activities and different interests within the prison. But Damon was able to play basketball with one group and play a different sport with another group and lift weights with another group, and eventually was able to work his way into every single group in the whole prison. And it actually broke down a lot of those walls and racial barriers that already existed within the prison. He changed the whole dynamic, and all of the counselors in the prison, everyone noticed, and everyone loved Damon. He truly ended up being a coffee bean that changed the makeup of that maximum security penitentiary. So, Damon was released after only seven years. He did not serve 65 years. He has now gone on to be a college professor and a public speaker. He speaks at a lot of professional and collegiate sports teams. He was on one of my favorite podcasts, the Ed Milet Show, and he has completely changed his life around because of that advice that he got from Mr. Jackson those years earlier. Okay, with that story as a backdrop, let's ask ourselves, why would someone be a soft carrot or a hard egg? What would cause somebody to turn into one of those two things? AKA, what would cause somebody to be a byproduct of their experience, an object that's just getting acted upon by their own life experience, versus an agent who acts for themselves and can change their circumstance? So what causes someone to be a soft carrot or a hard egg? I think the answer to that can be found in a lot of these different viewpoints and mindsets that people fall into. Have you ever heard somebody say that because they're going through trials or hard times, it means that God is displeased with them? Or the fact that these trials exist in the first place just means that God doesn't exist? Or how about this one? I know we've all heard this. If God was real, then why do bad things happen to good people? Or how about this one? Why me? Why am I going through this? Other people don't go through hard things like this. They start comparing themselves to others. Why do we sometimes fall into this way of thinking and these traps? I think largely it's simply because when we go through trials and tribulations, there is the Savior's way of handling these trials, the time-tested, eternal way that the Savior has prescribed. Or there is just some other way, and none of the other ways are sufficient to enable us to endure and thrive in the face of life's challenges. So what are some of those other ways that we use to cope with challenges? Of course pride is a huge one. Anger. Drugs. Like in the case of Damon West and many other people. Drugs in the form of hard drugs, alcohol, pornography. I think really anything that tricks us into thinking that we have control. When we get angry about something, anger is simply a secondary emotion, but it gives us the illusion that we're in control. I can't control these trials. I can't control what's going on in my life. But I can control being angry about it, and it gives us some false sense of security. The same with any drug of alcohol, pornography, drugs, anything. Any addict will tell you that it's all about control. Or even an eating disorder or something like that. It's always about control. This is an area that I can control, and it somehow gives me a momentary feeling of comfort. But that illusion of comfort will never last, and will never bring us enduring peace. The only thing that will bring enduring peace is tackling it in the Savior's way. So with that being said, how do we do that? How do we become a coffee bean? Someone that is an agent who acts for themselves and is strong in spite of life's challenges? Well first, let's just look at the greatest example of this that the world has ever known. How about we look towards the man who created this earth under the direction of the Father, and then came into this world, lived a perfect, sinless life, suffered trials beyond comprehension, and then overcame them all? Perhaps we should look to him for a bit of an example. This reminded me of a talk that Elder Holland gave in April 2009, entitled, None Were With Him. This quote I'm about to read is kind of long, but I think it's worth it. This is one of my favorite talks. It's beautifully written and delivered. Elder Holland says, giving significance to Matthew's words, quote, all the disciples left him and fled, close quote. Peter stayed near enough to be recognized and confronted. John stood at the foot of the cross with Jesus' mother. Especially and always, the blessed women in the Savior's life stayed as close to him as they could. But essentially, his lonely journey back to his father continued without comfort or companionship. Now I speak very carefully, even reverently, of what may have been the most difficult moment in all of this solitary journey to atonement. I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically, but which he may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually. That concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when he cries in ultimate loneliness, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The loss of mortal support he had anticipated, but apparently he had not comprehended this. Had he not said to his disciples, behold, the hour is now come that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me, and the Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Had he not said these things? And then Elder Holland says, with all the conviction of my soul, I testify that he did please his father perfectly, and that a perfect father did not forsake his son in that hour. Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of Christ's mortal ministry, the Father may have never been closer to his son than in these agonizing and final moments of suffering. Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice of his son might be as complete as it was, voluntary and solitary, the Father briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of his spirit, the support of his personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance of the atonement, that this perfect son, who had never spoken ill, nor done wrong, nor touched an unclean thing, had to know how the rest of humankind, us, all of us, would feel when we did commit such sins. For his atonement to be infinite and eternal, he had to feel what it was like to die, not only physically, but spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine spirit withdraw, leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone. But Jesus held on, he pressed on. The goodness in him allowed faith to triumph, even in a state of complete anguish. And against all odds, and with none to help or uphold him, Jesus of Nazareth, the living son of the living God, restored physical life where death had held sway, and brought joyful spiritual redemption out of sin, hellish darkness, and despair. With faith in the God he knew was there, he could say in triumph, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. Wow. How powerful is that, said only as Elder Holland can. On that note, that quote also reminded me of a couple other scriptures. For instance, in Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, verses 10 through 12, the Savior himself says, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. And then, in Doctrine and Covenants, section 122, verses 5 and 8, the Lord speaks to the prophet Joseph Smith as he was locked in a dungeon in the basement, and he says, If thou art called to pass through tribulation, if thou art in perils among false brethren, if thou art in perils among robbers, if thou art in perils by land or by sea, if thou art accused with all manner of false accusations, if thine enemies fall upon thee, if they tear thee from the society of thy father, and mother, and brethren, and sisters, and with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thy offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can't you stay with us? O my father, what are the men going to do with you? And if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged into prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb, and if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death pass upon thee, if thou be cast into the deep, if the billowing surge conspire against thee, if fierce winds become thine enemy, if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way, and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. And then the piercing question, the Son of Man hath descended below them all, art thou greater than he? So with all of these quotes and verses in mind, I think it safe to say that we are in good company when we experience trials and tribulations. To go back to the question of why do bad things happen to good people, well there was one perfect person, as Elder Holland said, that never spoke ill, or done wrong, or touched an unclean thing, and yet he suffered more than anyone else, and more than we can possibly comprehend. Is that fair? Of course it is not, but it was required for our salvation, it was required for him to be who he was meant to be, and so therefore our trials and tribulations are required for us to become who we are supposed to be. Without wind, a tree's roots can never be sufficiently strong enough to grow to the size that it's supposed to be. Without trials and tribulations, we can never become sufficiently strong to become who we are supposed to be. And should we not consider ourselves lucky to know the type of company we are in? For so persecuted the prophets which were before us, and so persecuted even the Savior Jesus Christ himself. Having this type of attitude, and to think of the Savior in this way, is the antidote for those selfish thoughts of, why me? If there was a God, would bad things really happen to good people? Or if I'm going through trials, does it mean that God is displeased with me? All of those thoughts and questions go out the window when we remember what the Savior has done, and when we think of ourselves being in that type of company. Okay, now lastly, how do we do this? How do we have this type of perspective? What is something actionable we can do to rely on him when these trials come? And to be completely honest, I think the answer actually comes in all of the things we do before the trial even gets there. And what I mean by that is, if you think of a courtroom trial, for instance, when the lawyer shows up to the courtroom trial, most all of his preparation has already been completed, and the lawyer is now there to deliver his or her argument. Or how about when you show up to play your basketball game, the state championship, or the NCAA championship, or the NBA finals, the time for preparation has already come. It's now time to perform. Or how about when you're taking a test at school, and you sit down to take that test, it's a closed book test. All of your time for reading and studying and preparation is done. It's now time to perform the test. The same it is with the trials we face in this life. When the trial has come, all of the time and hours of preparation we've put in leading up to that will help buoy us up and guide us through that trial. So what should we do? I think the answer is simple, and I think we all know it already. We need to do things daily. In fact, the name of this talk is the power of Jesus Christ in our lives every day. Things that allow the Holy Ghost to be the most prominent voice in our lives. It's not easy, because the voices of the world are loud, persistent, persuasive, and appealing, whereas the Spirit's voice is calm. But it is ever-present. We must simply tune into it, which is an action. Faith is a verb. So I would invite us all to take a mental inventory of the things that we fill our days with. Are those things strengthening our spiritual muscles, or are they making them weaker? What we feed will eventually win. What we give heed to, what we give our time and attention to, will eventually dominate who we are. And so, when moments of trial come, we won't be able to endure and thrive in the face of them if our spiritual muscles have atrophied, because we've ignored them in our daily lives. So let us do those simple daily things that we know we should be doing, so we can be sufficiently strong when the trials do come. So in closing, I'll read another quote from Elder Costa's talk. He says, At times, having faith in Jesus Christ may seem like something impossible, almost unattainable. We may think that coming unto Christ requires a strength, power, and perfection we don't have, and we just can't find the energy to do it all. But what I have learned is that faith in Jesus Christ is what gives us the energy to begin the journey. Sometimes, we may think, I need to fix my life before I come to Jesus. But the truth is that we come to Jesus to fix our lives through him. We don't come to Jesus because we are perfect. We come to him because we are flawed, and in him we can be perfected. I'd like to close with my testimony that I know that Satan is trying his very best to trick us into this flawed way of thinking, that we need to fix our own lives before we can come to Jesus, that we need to get our own energy up before we can possibly exercise faith in Christ. Again, it's that temptation to feel like we need to be in control. I testify that the sooner we can submit our will to his and do those simple daily things that strengthen our faith in him, the greater our strength will be to withstand trials and temptations. I know that the Savior stands at the head of his church, even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that he loves us more than we can understand, and I love him. And I close this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you again, everybody, for tuning in. I love to know that a few of you are listening every week. I do put in a lot of time and preparation for these, and I truly feel the Spirit as I do so. And so I hope that anyone and everyone listening can feel the same Spirit as it's conveyed through your speakers on your phone or your car or wherever you're listening. Next week's episode will be a discussion on the talk from Elder Gary E. Stevenson, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the talk is entitled Promptings of the Spirit. I'll see you all next week.