the symbol of our declaration

Automatic for the Lord

Wynn Hill

We had some excitement at our house a few weeks ago. We bought a car. Notice I did not say a new car because it is a very used older car; perfect for the teenage drivers that we have. There was a bonus attached to getting an old car; it had a cassette tape deck in it. I was so excited; I pulled out my old classic cassettes and have really been enjoying them. I love the cassette tapes, the way they make that noise as the go around in the player, the static, the sound. My teenage girls have been making a lot of fun of me.

By the way, this is a cassette tape. It is how we listened to music in my day. One tape I have pulled out is titled, “Automatic for the People.” I thought this was a curious name for an album and so I looked into it. The band took the album name from a little diner were they would eat. The man who ran the diner had a sign hanging up that said “Automatic for the People.” He said that whenever anyone asked him for something, anything, he would say, “Automatic.” He focused all of his energy and attention on serving the customers that come into his restaurant.

I love that attitude. He does not have to think about it, he just does it. I want to talk about being automatic, automatic for the Lord. When we chose to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ and made covenants with our Heavenly Father, we changed. We committed to keep His commandments and always remember him. We chose to do this automatically, no questions or hesitations, for Him. We chose to, as Alma said at the waters of Mormon, “come into the fold of God, and to be called his people.”¹  What a great blessing it is to be called the people of God and literally represent Him.

President Hinckley talked about the importance of representing the Lord in an Ensign article in April 2005.  The article talks of President Hinckley’s experience taking clergy through the Mesa Arizona temple right before it was rededicated after some major renovations. He said that one protestant minister asked, “I’ve been all through this building, this temple which carries on its face the name of Jesus Christ, but nowhere have I seen any representation of the cross, the symbol of Christianity. I have noted that your buildings elsewhere and likewise find an absence of the cross. Why is this when you say you believe in Jesus Christ?”

Years ago, a friend actually asked me this very question. My answer was not nearly as eloquent as President Hinckley’s. Listen to how he responded. He said, “I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian colleagues who use the cross on the steeples of their cathedrals and at the altars of their chapels, who wear it on their vestments, and imprint it on their books and other literature. But for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Christ, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ.”

The minister then asks, “If you do not use the cross, what is the symbol of your religion?” President Hinckley responds, “I replied that the lives of our people must become the most meaningful expression of our faith and, in fact, therefore, the symbol of our worship.”

What a beautiful and humbling concept. As individuals we must truly represent the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. This puts a bit of pressure on us as well. We know that others watch us. We are reminded of that, sometimes by friends, sometimes by media. This is why we must be “automatic.” We cannot afford to hesitate or justify when it comes to doing what we know is right. We are not perfect, but to be “automatic for the Lord” we must strive to love as he loves and keep His commandments so that we can be true instruments for him.

Jesus Christ, in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon, is automatic in his service to God. He is our perfect example. Take the example found in Luke 18, when Jesus comes into the city of Jericho and passes by a blind man. We learn from the same account in Mark that this man’s name was Bartimaeus. By this time in the Savior’s ministry, he has many followers; Bartimaeus hears all the commotion around. Bartimaeus asks what is going on, and one of the disciples tells him that Jesus is traveling through. When Bartimaeus hears this, the scriptures say he cries and says, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Some of the followers who are with Jesus get angry with Bartimaeus and tell him to be quiet. They might have felt that he was not that important or just another beggar. But Bartimaeus yells out again, this time in a louder voice. Of course, when Jesus hears him, he commands that Bartimaeus be brought to him. Now I wonder if those who had rebuked Bartimaeus are beginning to understand that Jesus loves everyone, no matter their circumstance, especially those who know him and cry out to him. Luke 18:40-43 says, “And when he was come near, he asked him, Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him.”

This is a great example of love for someone who is hurting or in need. This man was looked over by others but not the Savior. This is an example of not only service, but of automatic respect and compassion. We cannot always heal like the Savior did, but we can strive to treat others and often serve like he did. I, like you, have examples of this in my own life. Even in my own family.

When my oldest daughter Debanie was in fourth grade, she had a big field trip scheduled for her Idaho History studies. She invited me to go with her. She was excited for me to ride the bus with her for the hour-long ride to Massacre Rocks. When we boarded, we walked to the middle of the bus and sat down. I noticed a young man in the seat in front of us. He was by himself and even asked a few passing students if they wanted to sit with him. No one was mean, but they all politely declined and found other seats. It was like a sad scene from a movie—the lonely boy that no one would sit by. I could tell that he was sad and felt a little awkward all alone. I said to Debanie, “Hey would it be ok if I sat with Brian for a bit of the trip?” Her answer surprised me. She didn’t say yes, she said, “I will sit with him.” She moved up a seat and sat with Brian. What I saw was amazing. Not only did she sit with him, but she started to visit with him, they started giggling and laughing and having fun. I saw this lonely, sad boy change. His eyes shined, he had a smile on his face. I was taught by my ten year old daughter. She, just like the Savior, loved someone in need. She did not hesitate or make excuses of why she couldn’t. She just automatically did the right thing and was truly an example of our faith.

My father once taught me about being “automatic for the Lord.”  I love all sports, but I really love basketball. When I was in high school, I was way too big and athletic to play varsity ball and so I played for the Pocatello 16th ward. Church ball was more important than anything to my friends and me. We played hard and my dad coached. I worked with my dad at our family business and one night we were hurrying home to get to a ball game. We were late, it was snowing and my dad pulled in the driveway. He stayed in the truck while I ran in the house to grab my gear. I jumped back in the truck and we headed down the street.

At the end of the street, Sister Olsen, a widow in the ward, was shoveling her driveway. My dad pulled over and said, “Grab her shovel.” And then he took one out of the back of our truck and we started shoveling Sister Olsen’s walks and driveway. I couldn’t believe it. I was not happy. I might have even asked my dad, “What are you doing?” This game was important, not only to me, but to my dad too. Now I don’t remember if we made it to the game, or if we won. But years later, I remember serving someone in need. I was taught what it meant to be a representative of the Lord. My Dad didn’t hesitate or even have to think about not stopping. It’s just what he does. I remember specifically feeling the spirit as Sister Olsen thanked us for the help.

At the conclusion of the October 2012 Conference, President Monson said, “May we ever watch over one another, assisting in times of need. Let us not be critical and judgmental but let us be tolerant, ever emulating the Savior’s example of loving kindness. In that vein, may we willingly serve one another. May we pray for the inspiration to know of the needs of those around us, and then may we go forward and provide assistance.”

By serving one another, we are literally doing the Lord’s work here on earth. We know that what King Benjamin taught is true. “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”  We really can be instruments in the Lord’s hands.

Another way we need to be “automatic for the Lord” is in keeping His commandments or, in other words, living the standards that the Lord has put in place for us. This again is a covenant we make when we are baptized. We commit to keep His commandments. This becomes increasingly difficult as the world’s standards continue to decline. But if we do keep the standards that we committed to keep, we will stand out as a testament of truthfulness and light. We will have joy and be happy. We will bring others to Christ just by our example of goodness. We all have heard stories about someone who kept their standards and, because of that, impressed others enough to interest them in the gospel of Christ.

Remember that story from President Hinckley about being the symbol of our faith? This is how he ends that story. He says, “As His followers, we cannot do a mean or shoddy or ungracious thing without tarnishing His image. Nor can we do a good and gracious and generous act without burnishing more brightly the symbol of Him whose name we have taken upon ourselves. And so our lives must become a meaningful expression, the symbol of our declaration of our testimony of the Living Christ, the Eternal Son of the Living God.”

The Lord must have great faith in us to allow us to take upon us His name, knowing that we represent Him.

It is true. I do not want to do a single thing that would tarnish the image of Jesus Christ. The very one, that I made a covenant with to always remember and keep His Commandments. I want to help His image be a symbol of hope, peace and love.

I know that as we continue to serve and as we strive to keep the covenants that we have made with our Heavenly Father, the Lord will bless us with his spirit. We can be “automatic for the Lord.”

I know that the Savior walked the earth. That he died so that we can live again. That he taught the same truths that we teach today. I love him for that and I will do my best for him.