So I will start with a beautiful story. A young dashing brilliant student from Germany came to the states in the 1930's to continue his education in physics. His quest to live his religion had led him from the heart of an increasingly dangerous battleground to the peaceful campus of Brigham Young University. He would eventually earn three degrees from the wonderful institution, including a PhD in both Physics and Mathematics. Soon he was drafted and served in the military for two years, before coming home to prepare for a mission. Due to his ability to speak German, imagine his surprise when he was called to Finland- a mission he honorably served and a language he still speaks to this day. Yet the best part of the story is still to come. Upon returning home, he met a young artist. A beautiful woman who could capture a heart in a brushstroke, portray a story in pottery, and create a dream in a frame. Their respective backgrounds connected in melodies and harmonies. Their love for music came from different places but rang just as true. They were sealed for time and all eternity and set off on the grandest adventure- marriage. Now they are in their eighties. He still teaches one class every semester at the local university, while her hand is no longer steady enough to sculpt or paint. Her creations adorn every wall of their quaint home and his experiments cover the desks. Their music runs through everything. This isn't just another Mormon couple success story. I now have the privilege of working for this darling couple several times a week. While he teaches, I stay with his wife and do basic housecleaning. Their life is simple. She eats the same thing for breakfast every morning and they pray together throughout the day. It's only part time, but I think I need them more than they need me. To be in a home filled with that kind of love and devotion for each other and for the Lord is humbling and inspiring. Tender mercies.
Maybe some of you already know about barnacles and Portland, but for those of you like me who didn't know, let me explain. Actually, President Monson explained it better in a talk in 1988 saying, "To some it may seem strange to see ships of many nations loading and unloading cargo along the docks at Portland, Oregon. That city is 100 miles from the ocean. Getting there involves a difficult, often turbulent passage over the bar guarding the Columbia River and a long trip up the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. But ship captains like to tie up at Portland. They know that as their ships travel the seas, a curious salt water shellfish called a barnacle fastens itself to the hull and stays there for the rest of its life, surrounding itself with a rock-like shell. As more and more barnacles attach themselves, they increase the ship’s drag, slow its progress, decrease its efficiency. Periodically, the ship must go into dry dock, where with great effort the barnacles are chiseled or scraped off. It’s a difficult, expensive process that ties up the ship for days. But not if the captain can get his ship to Portland. Barnacles can’t live in fresh water. There, in the sweet, fresh waters of the Willamette or Columbia, the barnacles loosen and fall away, and the ship returns to its task lightened and renewed. Sins are like those barnacles. Hardly anyone goes through life without picking up some. They increase the drag, slow our progress, decrease our efficiency. Unrepented, building up one on another, they can eventually sink us. In His infinite love and mercy, our Lord has provided a harbor where, through repentance, our barnacles fall away and are forgotten. With our souls lightened and renewed, we can go efficiently about our work and His.” In another talk, "getting to fresh water" refers to going to holy places, especially the temple, where we can get the barnacles off. Saturday I was able to go to the Chicago temple for the endowment and sealing of a young couple in my ward. It wasn't 100 miles up the Columbia, but it was 200 miles in a snow storm. At one point the van spun off the road, but the whole trip was worth it just to get to fresh water. I love how in the temple you can get the barnacles off, give your burden over to the Lord, and feel peace enough to be able to discover and find answers.
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