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Elder Bednar Teaches Women the Spiritual Pattern of Small and Simple
Things

Contributed By Melissa Merrill, Church News and Events

4 MAY 2011

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ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

Elder David A. Bednar was the concluding speaker at BYU's 2011


Women's Conference.

He taught the importance of vital spiritual patterns, such as, "By small

and simple things are great things bought to pass" (Alma 37:6).

He used the example of a drip irrigation system to illustrate the


importance of consistency in seemingly small and simple things.

"Ordinary people who faithfully, diligently, and consistently do simple

things that are right before God will bring forth extraordinary results." —Elder

David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

RELATED LINKS

Read a summary of Sister Julie B. Beck's address at BYU's 2011

Women's Conference.
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Find more information on Women's Conference.

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught

women in the Church an important spiritual pattern: “By small and simple
things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6), during the Brigham

Young University Women’s Conference on April 29, 2011. The scripture was

also the theme for Women’s Conference.

Elder Bednar began by reading Doctrine and Covenants 52:14 and then

inviting the congregation to consider a specific phrase from that verse: “a

pattern in all things.”

“A pattern is a guide or a model,” he said. “Patterns are used in sewing

and knitting, in wood- and metalworking, and in a wide variety of other

productive pursuits, activities, and jobs. Patterns help to avoid waste and
unwanted deviations and facilitate uniformity that is appropriate and

beneficial.”

Elder Bednar taught that vital spiritual patterns are evident in the life of

the Savior, the scriptures, and the teachings of living prophets and apostles.
“These spiritual patterns are now and always have been important aids to
discernment and sources of direction and protection for faithful Latter-day

Saints,” he said.

Among the powerful patterns the Lord uses to advance His work, Elder
Bednar explained, is the pattern taught in Alma 37:6: “By small and simple
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things are great things brought to pass.”

“Many people in our contemporary world are drawn to promises of big

results that occur quickly and all at once,” Elder Bednar said. “Consider, for
example, all of the money spent on lottery tickets. Recall the claims of
advertising messages you have received that pledge immediate weight loss,

instant health, fast hair growth, and a more youthful appearance in just 14
days. We are bombarded constantly with messages from a multiplicity of

sources promoting speedy supersizing, instant gratification, and outstanding


performance that will impress our families and friends.”

The adversary made “impressive assertions about big results” in similar


ways in premortality, Elder Bednar said, citing Moses 4:1, 3. In contrast to
Satan’s method and the methods of the world, “the Lord typically ministers

‘one by one,’” (3 Nephi 11:15) Elder Bednar taught. “He enables us to learn
‘line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little’ (2 Nephi

28:30). And He accomplishes His work by bringing to pass great things


through small and simple means.”

“I believe many, if not all, of the most satisfying and memorable


accomplishments in our homes, in the Church, in our jobs and professions,
and in our communities will be the product of this important spiritual pattern

—of simple and small things,” Elder Bednar said. “Brothers and sisters, we
should find great comfort in the fact that ordinary people who faithfully,

diligently, and consistently do simple things that are right before God will
bring forth extraordinary results.”
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He then shared three examples illustrating the truth of the pattern of “by

small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

Gustavus Adolphus Perry

The first was the personal story of Gustavus Adolphus Perry, the first
ancestor of Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to join
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gustavus; his wife, Eunice;
and their seven children heard the message of the restored gospel in 1830

and were baptized in 1832. Over the following years they gathered with the
Saints in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and then the Salt Lake Valley.

In 1997, the Perry family celebrated the 200th birthday of Gustavus


Perry. In preparation for the celebration Elder L. Tom Perry’s brother
“conducted extensive research” in identifying as many of Gustavus and
Eunice’s descendants as he could. He found more than 10,000 of them.

Elder Bednar then quoted Elder Perry, who said: “The number
overwhelmed me. I could not believe that there could be more than 10,000

descendants of Gustavus Adolphus Perry. In seven to eight generations, his


family had sufficient numbers to organize three stakes of the Church”
(Brigham Young University Devotional, Feb. 11, 1997, 2).

Elder Bednar continued: “In this illustration we witness the power of a


profound spiritual pattern— small and simple things bringing great things to
pass. A faithful husband and wife did their best to rear children in
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righteousness; testimony and deepening conversion to Christ persisted

across the generations to grandchildren, great grandchildren, and thousands


more. Many seemingly ordinary family prayers, common experiences working
together, gospel conversations, tragedies and triumphs, and Sabbath days in
scores of families across the generations produced a legacy of faithfulness.”

Luke and Christiana Syphus and Joseph and Adelaide Ridges

The second example Elder Bednar shared was of Luke Syphus and
Christiana Long, who are among Elder Bednar’s forebears and who joined the

Church in England, married, and then, in the 1850s, emigrated to Australia.

During their five-month voyage, the Syphuses became good friends with

another couple, Joseph and Adelaide Ridges, who were likewise immigrating
to Australia from their native England. When the ship arrived at its destination
in April of 1853, the Syphus and Ridges families lived and worked together at
Pennant Hills, approximately 15 miles northwest of Sydney.

During their journey from England, the Ridges had grown to admire the
Syphuses for their good habits, kindness, strength, and devotion. Luke
loaned Joseph a copy of the Book of Mormon and a text of the teachings of

Elder Orson Pratt. Both Joseph and Adelaide ultimately became convinced of
the truthfulness of the gospel and were baptized in 1853.

Joseph, who as a child in England had been fascinated by an organ


factory near his home, began building a small, seven-stop pipe organ in his
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spare time. Mission president Augustus Farnham suggested that Brother


Ridges donate the organ to the Church in Salt Lake City, to which Joseph
agreed. With the help of members and missionaries, Joseph dismantled the
organ, packed the parts, and stowed the instrument in the cargo hold of a
sailing vessel, the Jenny Lind. In 1856 the Ridges and the Syphus families

and some 100 others boarded the vessel and set sail for Utah.

Upon arriving in California, the families loaded the organ in a wagon and

hauled it across the desert by mule team. They arrived in Salt Lake City in
June of 1857. Brother Ridges installed the small organ in the old adobe
tabernacle on Temple Square, where the Assembly Hall now stands. That
simple instrument was the forerunner of a great organ Brother Ridges later
built—the organ for the Tabernacle on Temple Square. That instrument would

take more than 10 years to construct and would eventually have two manuals,
27 pedals, 35 stops, and approximately 2,000 pipes—and would measure 20
feet long by 30 feet wide by 40 feet high (6m by 9m by 12m). It would
become, Elder Bednar said, “one of the iconic symbols of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

This example also shows the “profound spiritual pattern” of small and
simple things bringing great things to pass, Elder Bednar said. “Acts of

kindness, of righteous influence, and of Christian compassion by Luke and


Christiana were instrumental in bringing to pass the conversions of Joseph
and Adelaide. A small and simple organ in Australia helped to bring forth the
great Tabernacle organ. … No big results occurred quickly or all at once.
Rather, by small and simple things great things were brought to pass.”
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Elder and Sister Bednar’s Sons

The third example Elder Bednar shared came from his own life. After
Elder Bednar completed his studies at Purdue University, the Bednar family
moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas. “Susan and I were excited to learn if life truly

existed after graduate school,” Elder Bednar said. “We anticipated with great
excitement the adventure of a new start for our family in a wonderful

community.”

But one day, one of their sons came home from school and reported

that several children had told him that they could not play with him at recess
because “he was a Mormon and not a Christian.” He wanted to know why

these children said such things and acted this way.

“We simply told him that they did not know much about our beliefs and

Church—and that he would have a terrific opportunity to be a missionary,”

Elder Bednar said.

“In the months and years that followed, this son and his two brothers,

along with a small number of other Latter-day Saint youth who lived in the
area, endeavored to be good examples as they participated in a wide range

of school activities, countless athletic contests, and many community


events,” Elder Bednar related. “Our sons certainly were not perfect. ... They

were quite normal, fun-loving, and often rambunctious boys. But our boys did

strive to live the gospel and to be examples of the believers ‘in word, in
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity’ (1 Timothy 4:12). They
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declined invitations to play on all-star athletic teams if Sunday practices and

play were expected. And they did not participate in activities or events that
would compromise their standards.”

As their sons progressed through junior high and high school, Elder and
Sister Bednar were intrigued to learn that the parents of their sons’ friends

would frequently ask their children if the Bednar boys were going to attend a
party or some other activity.

“Interestingly, if the answer were yes, then those parents would permit

their children to attend,” Elder Bednar said. “If the answer were no, then many
parents often would not allow their children to participate. We continue to

cherish the associations and friendships we developed with the parents of our
sons’ friends—good and God-fearing men and women who were not

members of our Church,” Elder Bednar said.

Then, in 1997, the Bednars moved from Fayetteville to Rexburg, Idaho,

where Elder Bednar became president of Ricks College, now Brigham Young

University–Idaho. In preparing to leave, the Bednars visited a number of


friends with whom they had associated for many years.

“I asked a favor of one good friend to whom I previously had given a


copy of the Book of Mormon and with whom I had often talked about the

Savior’s restored Church,” Elder Bednar told the audience. “I indicated to my


friend that falsehoods about our Church and our beliefs often were

promulgated in our community. He readily acknowledged that such things


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occurred. I then asked for his help. He responded that he gladly would be of
assistance.

“I gave him a copy of Elder M. Russell Ballard’s book entitled Our


Search for Happiness: An Invitation to Understand The Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints and requested that he read it. I explained to him

that since I would no longer be in a position to explain our beliefs and defend
our Church, I needed him to do so. I invited him to become a defender of our

faith in a community where Latter-day Saints often were maligned and


mocked.”

Elder Bednar’s friend agreed and then said this: “We have been
watching the LDS kids in the schools over the years, and we all know that you

Latter-day Saints have something we do not have. I will do my best to help

stop the falsehoods.”

“Such a dramatic change of perspective in just a few short years—from

an elementary school playground and the taunting of a little LDS boy because
he allegedly was not a Christian to an acknowledgement by prominent

parents in our community that ‘you Latter-day Saints have something we do


not have,’” Elder Bednar said.

“In this example we again witness the power of a profound spiritual


pattern—small and simple things bringing great things to pass. A relative

handful of young men and young women lived the gospel in small and simple

and ordinary ways. On countless occasions when many other youth used
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coarse and inappropriate language, these young disciples did not. On

countless occasions when other youth engaged in improper or immoral

behavior, these young disciples did not. On countless occasions many when
other youth turned inward through self-centeredness and selfishness, these

young disciples often turned outward with compassion and in service. No big
results occurred quickly or all at once. Rather, by small and simple things,

great things were brought to pass.”

He then compared the spiritual pattern he had been describing to drip or

trickle irrigation, in which water is applied in a more focused and frequent way

than with other methods, providing “a high moisture level in the soil wherein
plants can flourish,” said Elder Bednar.

“In like manner, if you and I are focused and frequent in receiving
consistent drops of spiritual nourishment, then gospel roots can sink deep

into our soul, can become firmly established and grounded, and can produce
extraordinary and delicious fruit,” he said.

The spiritual pattern of small and simple things bringing forth great
things produces firmness and steadfastness, deepening devotion, and more

complete conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel, Elder Bednar

explained.

“As you and I become increasingly steadfast and immovable, we are

less prone to zealous and exaggerated spurts of spirituality followed by


extended periods of slackness.
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“A spiritual ‘spurter’ is one who is given to short bursts of spectacular


effort followed by frequent and lengthy periods of rest,” he said. While “a big

spurt may appear to be impressive in the short run, … steadiness in small

things over time is far more effective [and] far less dangerous and produces
far better results.”

After providing additional examples from President Spencer W. Kimball


(1895–1985) and Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004), Elder Bednar cited

additional scriptures showing the principle “by small and simple things are
great things brought to pass,” including Doctrine and Covenants 64:33 and

123:16–17.

“In a world of increasing wickedness, in a world where good is called

evil and evil is called good, in a world that puts darkness for light and light for

darkness (see 2 Nephi 15:20), you can be blessed with ‘the hope of
righteousness’ (Galatians 5:5), ‘the light of the Lord’ (Isaiah 2:5), and

protection against deception (see 1 Nephi 15:24; Helaman 5:12),” Elder


Bednar testified.

He concluded with his witness that Jesus Christ lives and is the Light
and Life of the world.

Women’s Conference, cosponsored by the Relief Society organization,


was held on April 28 and
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June 1, 2018

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June 3, 2018

Worldwide Youth Devotional: Messages from President Russell M.


Nelson and Sister Wendy W.

Concepción Chile Temple Open House and Dedication

Church Transferring 169 Missionaries Out of Nicaragua

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TempleSquareEvents.lds.org

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Family History Library

Send an Email to News.lds.org

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August 31, 2009

The Title of Your Paper Goes Here

This essay is formatted according to a modified “MLA style,” which is


simply an accepted guide for writing academic essays. This essay is meant to

illustrate how, according to “MLA style,” an essay ought to look. Remember,


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of course, that each teacher’s preferences may differ slightly from this

standard; it is your job, as the writer, to learn exactly what you need to do.

Also, keep in mind that your essays in this course should be from 800 to 1,000

words long. (This essay, including the Works Cited page at the end, is 1093
words long.)

Line spacing and margins are important. When using “MLA style,”
you should double-space everything, from your name at the top to the very last

line. To double-space your essay using Microsoft Word Version 97-2003,

highlight the entire essay after you have typed it in. Then go to “Format” and

select “Paragraphs”. A window will open up in which you will see a place to
change the line spacing to “Double.” If you use Word 2007 instead, double-

space like this: look for the tiny x by the word “Paragraph” under the Home

tab in the menu bar. If you click on that tiny x, it will open up a box that lets

you change the line spacing from “Single” or “Multiple” to “Double.” Your

paper’s left margin should be one inch or so, but you don’t need to adjust the
left margin. Just keep the default margin settings in your word-processing

software. Do, however, make sure to make the right margin “ragged” instead

of “justified” by clicking on the “Align Text Left” icon. A ragged right margin

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Essays are written in paragraphs made up of series of sentences that


discuss the same idea. A new paragraph is created every time you press the

ENTER key, so don’t hit the ENTER key until you are ready to start a new

paragraph. Especially, don’t press the ENTER key when you come to the end

of a line. Instead, let your word processing software automatically “wrap” each

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paragraph, press the ENTER key. This will put your cursor on the next line.

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time you indent.

At the top left corner of the first page, you should put your name and

class information as shown above. Double-space these as you would the rest of

the paper. Also, you should create a “header” that includes your last name and
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repeat on all other pages of your essay as well, and if you use the “Insert Page

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so that they appear next to the right margin of each page.

Be sure to include a title for your essay. Center your title using the Center

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bar or TAB key to center your title.) Also, don’t place quotation marks around

your essay’s title. Quotation marks are only used around a title when it is

quoted elsewhere, as in this sentence: I read Juanita Doe’s essay, “Time for a
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only occasionally for emphasis. Also, there is no need to make paragraph text

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“I saw Dr. Garcia every day”—press the space bar only once.) Always put a

comma or period directly after the word it follows. Also,

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