I loved Neil A. Maxwell. Some of my favorite talks are by him. He talked about what it meant to be a disciple - not just a believer, but a disciple. A follower. I get itchy with any kind of authority, so that was hard for me to even read, but the very, very few moments in my life I have managed to come close to it, I understood a bit of what he meant.
Let me see if I can find my favorite talk.
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No way, I dreamed about him. He was wearing a beret because he didn't have any hair (I realized he recovered from that a few years ago.) But he was also young. We sat at a table and he asked if he didn't know me from somewhere, and I told him of a friend we hold mutually. He smiled and said "Ah, yes..."
I think we were in a little cafe like Medici's in Hyde park. Then I got distracted because one of my children had drawn a large fish with a blue highlighter on the nursery carpet.
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When I was single and in College, I really loved Elder Maxwell.
(Background in case anyone is reading these, Maxwell was one of 12 Apostles and we would hear him speak at the two conferences the church holds each year. He was considered one of the church's 15 prophets (12 apostles + the 3 in the Church's presidency composed of President and 2 counselors. They are also apostles, but the quorum of 12 are in addition to them)
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Not to sound insensitive or anything, but who here really believes this is going to affect those of us who are non-Mormon in the same way it affects the Mormons here? This sounds like something that would fit better on Nauvoo.
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I almost wrote the same thing, though with a different prespective, Justa. But why should democrats who weren't old enough to vote during his admin care when Reagan died? Why should anyone care that someone's relative died? If your mentor who led you to your profession died, we would want to know. That's why hatrack is a community.
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The reason I posted it here is because there are many people here that DO care. If you're not one, don't worry. You don't have to read it.
I don't read a lot of threads that deal with topics that I care nothing about. That doesn't mean that people don't have a right to share their feelings on anything here.
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All I'm saying is that this will strengthen the image of Hatrack being a primarily Mormon forum, with others counting after that.
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I'm most definitely NOT LDS and I still felt comfortable expressing condolences. Because in a way for those in the LDS faith it is like a grandfather dying.
AJ
(I would expect a similar thread when Billy Graham dies too.)
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Not everyone here likes homestarrunner, but enough do that homestarrunner threads are plentiful here. Not everyone here hates Bush, but enough do that there are many threads about that as well. Not everyone here is LDS, but enough are that this is the sort of thing that we will inevitably talk about. Hatrack is for talking, and that's all we're doing.
I always loved re-reading Elder Maxwell's talks in the Ensign because I'd always learn far more than I got the first time hearing them. Thanks for the link, Katie. I enjoyed the talk again.
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He had such a brilliant mind. I feel like this loss is bigger than anyone realizes. (at least in the temporal scheme of things.) I love the way he spoke too, his gentle delivery of some of the most profound thoughts ever spoken over that pulpit.
This is my favorite talk by him in General Conference. It's about trusting in an all-powerful God, a God so powerful that he knows each of us by name and our own personalities and weaknesses.
quote:God, who oversees the interlacings of galaxies, stars, and worlds, asks us to confess His hand in our personal lives, too (see D&C 59:21). Have we not been reassured about the fall of one sparrow and that the very hairs of our heads are numbered? (see Matthew 10:29–30; D&C 84:80). God is in the details! Just as the Lord knows all of His vast creations, He also knows and loves each in any crowd—indeed, He knows and loves each and all of mankind! (see 1 Nephi 11:17).
Consider His tender salutations to Moses—"I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight" (Exodus 33:12)—and to Joseph: "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Joseph Smith—History 1:17).
No wonder King Benjamin pleads with us to believe that we do not comprehend all that God comprehends (see Mosiah 4:9). Ignoring the revelations about God's astounding capacity is like playing aimlessly and contentedly with wooden blocks featuring the letters of the alphabet, without realizing Shakespearean sonnets were created using that same alphabet.
Father Abraham "staggered not" at the divine promise of posterity, because he was "fully persuaded that, what [God] had promised, he was able also to perform" (Romans 4:20–21). May we be "fully persuaded."
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Thank you, Narnia. Here's a quote from the talk I linked to earlier.
quote:Our spiritual experiences are personal and spiritual. Often they are not sharable. Some may be, but it takes inspiration to know when to share them. President Marion G. Romney, who often combined wit and wisdom, said, “We’d have more spiritual experiences if we didn’t talk so much about them.”
Be assured that God is in the details and in the subtleties of the defining and preparatory moments of discipleship. He will reassure you. He will remind you. Sometimes, if you’re like me, He will brace or reprove you in a highly personal process not understood or appreciated by those outside the context.
In the revelations, the Lord speaks of how the voice of His spirit will be felt in our minds. He also says that if we read His words—meaning the scriptures—we will hear His voice. Many disciples have had private moments of pondering and reading the scriptures when the words came through in a clear, clarion way. We know Who it is who’s speaking to us! We’ve all had the experience of going over a scripture many times without having it register. Then, all of a sudden, we’re ready to receive it! We hear the voice of the Lord through His words.
So it is in the process of discipleship. There are more meaningful moments than we use profitably, just as in terms of service there are more opportunities around us than we now use. God is ever ready; if only we were always ready.
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As one of the only three Apostles I have actually seen in person, and the only one to visit my home area, I have always held a special place in my heart for Elder Maxwell. I'm also a huge admirer of the art of the well-turned phrase, and the world (and church) now mourns the loss another great master of that craft. May his soul now enter into eternal rest.
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Elder Maxwell was a wonderful man - intelligent, eloquent, and powerful. He did amazing and selfless things for the Church during his years of service and he will be greatly missed.
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He was a great guy. I saw him washing the dishes once (a friend was thrown a bridal shower by his wife, who I hadn't realized had died). Though come to think of it, I've don't think I've met more than 3 apostles either.
I didn't realize that he only spoke in Priesthood session this last conference. Unless I'm wrong.
Katie, were you maybe on your mission in '98 or so? Because he lost all his hair for at least one conference. It was very clear he was being treated for cancer. I don't think he ever had heart surgery, though a ton of the church leaders have.
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Hmmm...maybe he WAS a heart surgeon. I went stateside for the mission - I remember the baldness, come to think of it.
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Neal A Maxwell was an administrator at the University of Utah. He was a prolific writer and an expert in the English language.
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I'm not LDS, but I'm continually impressed by the devotion of this faith. My condolences go out to all of you whose life Mr. Maxwell touched. He sounds like a person worthy of respect, no matter the forum.
In my opinion, the times I've expressed my grief about matters secular/personal on this forum, you've all been there to support me, without question as to its appropriateness to the forum.
For what it's worth, I'm glad you posted this, because it exposed me to another good person, whose life was celebrated by those who knew him.
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There isn't any apostle I can think of that it isn't sad they leave this world because of the contributions they make. I will miss Elder Maxwell's good turn of a phrase like I did Elder Ashton's always smiling face.
Not to get too morbid, but Elder Haight will probably go soon as well. He has a lot of wit and charm. But, expounding on that should be for a later time. Right now I have two thoughts. The first is how graceful Elder Maxwell was through all his trials. He never once seemed to complain or try to shorten his services even when he probably should have. The second is an inevitable curiosity as to who will take his place in the Quorum of the Twelve. Well, time will answer that question.
Till we meet again, Elder Maxwell, at the pleasing bar of God. Posts: 2207 | Registered: Oct 2003
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