In Psalm 46:10 we read, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Being still can mean many things. When your parents tell you to sit still, they want you to stop wiggling. When our teachers tell us to be still, they want us not not move our bodies and listen to what they need to teach us. But when Heavenly Father asks us to be still, He wants us to be reverent. To me, being reverent means being quiet, holding still, not being distracting, being thoughtful, and also staying focused.
We are asked to be reverent when we come to church. Our meetinghouses belong to Heavenly Father, and they are holy places. We are to show reverence when we go into a meetinghouse and we should dress carefully to show our respect. We should also sing and pray reverently, think of Jesus Christ when we take the sacrament,
and listen quietly to our teachers and the speakers. If we behave irreverently—running, talking loudly, littering, or distracting others—we cannot hear and feel what Jesus Christ wants the Holy Ghost to tell us. We also keep others from feeling His Spirit. This includes time before church begins and after our meetings are over. Just because primary is over does not mean we can talk loudly or run in church. We always need to be reverent at church and show respect to other wards that are still having church meetings. When we are reverent at church, the Holy Ghost will help us know and feel the things that the Savior wants to teach us. Reverence begins with each one of us.
I would like to read a story to you. This was told by our profit President Thomas S. Monson
I was a boy during the Great Depression. I remember children wearing galoshes because they had no shoes and going hungry because they had no food. These were difficult times.A bright light of hope shining amidst the gloom was Primary. I was 10 years old. I had a marvelous teacher. I look back upon that year as my finest in Primary, and I must say it was because of my wonderful teacher. It wasn’t because the
boys in the class were particularly enlightened or unusually well behaved; on the contrary.The laughter of the boys and the chatter of the girls at times must have been most disconcerting to our Primary leaders.One day as we left the chapel for our classrooms, I noted that our Primary president remained behind. I paused and observed her. She sat all alone on the front row of the benches, she took out her handkerchief, and began to weep.
I walked up to her and said, “Sister Georgell, don’t cry.”
She said, “I’m sad.”
I responded, “What’s the matter?”
She said, “I can’t control your primary class. Will you help me?”
Of course I answered, “Yes.”
She said, “Oh, that would be wonderful, Tommy, if you would.”
What I didn’t know then is that I was one of those responsible for her tears. She had effectively enlisted me to aid in achieving reverence in our Primary. And we did.
As you can see from this story, we are sometimes not aware of how our choices effect others. We are taught to choose the right so that not only we can be happy but we can help those around us be happy to. When we make the choice to be reverent at church we are showing our love for one another and Heavenly Father and Jesus.
This is a poem I like about being reverent.
Whenever my mom takes me to the zoo,
Do you know what I always do?
I like to visit the butterflies,
A yellow, blue and white surprise
I dip my hand in the water, so,
Then I sit very still till the butterflies know
That it’s safe to float down on their delicate wings
And sip from my hand a butterfly drink.
But if I run or shout or play,
They lift their wings and flutter away.
And when I go to Primary,
I like to see how quiet I can be.
I fold my arms; my feet are still;
Then I listen and listen and listen until
A feeling of peace settles all around
And a still, small voice without a sound
Whispers a truth so sweet and mild
“Heavenly Father loves you, for you are His child”
And then my hear just sings and sings,
As it does at the touch of butterfly wings.
I would like to bear my testimony. I know the importance of being reverent and choosing the right (he filled in the blanks here). I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
