Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Official Report 756KB pdf

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Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is time for reflection. Our time for reflection leader is President Cecil O Samuelson of Brigham Young University.

I appreciate the high honour of this privilege to share my reflections with you this afternoon. At the outset, I confess that I consider myself a son of Scotland, if somewhat removed. My maternal grandfather, Joseph Mitchell, was born and reared in Dalry, Ayrshire. I lived in Scotland for two years while serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have returned multiple times since then. My love and admiration for this nation and its people are deep and abiding.

As the leader of one of the largest private universities in the United States and as a general officer of my church, I bring their greeting. We are grateful for the courtesy and generosity of this body in accepting our student interns. Brian Adam MSP deserves our especial thanks, but we wish to include all who have treated our young people so well. We know that they return to us more mature and dedicated to public service as a result of your examples and teaching.

At the entrance of the Brigham Young University campus in Provo, Utah, USA, is found our motto:

“Enter to learn, go forth to serve.”

Central to our theology is the conviction that all people are the spiritual progeny of God and are, therefore, brothers and sisters in a literal sense.

In our scriptures is found this statement of a great prophet-king:

“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when you are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

Thus our faith and trust in heaven are strongly linked to our respect and responsibility for all people, including those of vastly different backgrounds or persuasions.

With conviction that heaven smiles on your consecrated service in this chamber of the people, it is my privilege to invoke a blessing on you. I bless you, the people you serve and this special land that has given so much to the world with all that is needed to be successful in fulfilling your responsibilities as you serve. I extend these blessings to your families and loved ones, with the assurance that God honours those who serve with integrity and humility.