Plenary, 10 Mar 2004

Meeting date: Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Official Report 425KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Our time for reflection leader today is David McKelvie Rae, president of the Paisley Scotland Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Faith is the motivating cause of all action. All men have faith; no one embarks on a journey where the outcome is uncertain without faith. The proposition is, therefore, not whether we have faith, but in what we have faith. Our fourth article of faith states:

"We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are: First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ".

All the scientific knowledge that we have amassed over the centuries does not answer the vital questions of life, such as: did we exist before we came to this earth? Are we immortal? Is there purpose in our being born here? Does God live? Is Jesus Christ the only begotten son of God? Do we know where we are going after we leave this frail existence? Our faith in Christ leads us to answer those questions in the affirmative. Faith is not fanaticism; having faith in God is not believing in things that are not so. In matters of faith, the intellect must be involved, for there must exist the rational possibility for that which we believe to be true.

Of course there will always be scoffers and doubters; there always have been. Two thousand years ago, the apostle Paul addressed those people when he said—I quote from 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, verse 14—

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of … God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

God, we believe, is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. We also believe that he is omni-loving and that no one, no group and no sect has a monopoly on God's love. He loves all his children and his greatest desire is to bless them, if they would but ask.

May God bless you in your faith, whether it is in God or in your leaders or colleagues; hopefully, it is in yourselves. May your faith increase and result in greater accomplishments for the benefit of your fellow men.

I would like to offer a short prayer.

O God the eternal father, we bow before thee and thank thee for the many blessings thou hast given us. We particularly thank thee for those who are members of this Parliament, who have dedicated their time and their talents to serve the people of this great nation. Bless them with every blessing they stand in need of. Protect them from the designs of evil men. Help them to establish truth and justice for the welfare and fulfilment of the people in this land. Guide them in their deliberations that Scotland might be a better place tomorrow than it is today. That is our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.