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"The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten
years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of
lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has
become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the
world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001.
There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following
the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for
God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times
were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for
the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it.
Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.
Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the
years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has
indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow
moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of
our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful.
When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our
minds and hearts as well.
Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He
softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers.
Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has
promised us that this will never change.
But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail,
and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the
commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to
commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and
the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very
much to our detriment.
If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of
that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness
that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a
commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the
crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember
Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our
faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.
The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him
every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in
hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve
Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will
mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be
mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.
It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely
opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight
to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our
lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than
we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus
Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God
in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm."
Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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