Thoughts from the May 2012 CES Fireside

The May 2012 CES Fireside featured Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the 70. As is Church policy, Elder Jensen will become an Emeritus General Authority at his 70th birthday. This speaking opportunity before a worldwide audience was apparently his last. Below is a summary of what Elder Jensen shared:

• Some places are made sacred on earth by the events that happen at these locations.
• Mount Sinai--Moses and the Burning Bush
• The Sacred Grove--the place in New York where God the Father and Jesus Christ first appeared to Joseph Smith.
• Elder Jensen compared four eternal principles with the characteristics of trees. 

1. Trees always grow toward the light. Light is a more important catalyst in the spiritual realm. The more light we have, the less darkness that can be present. Sharon Cox, clinical counsellor from the U.K., has more information about this characteristic on her blog. Click here for access to further clarification
2. Trees require opposition to fill the measure of their creation. Opposition also tempers and enriches our lives.
3. Trees prosper together. People flourish when they work together. We build meeting houses, not hermitages. Charity seeketh not her own.
4. New trees draw strength from the nutrients of old, fallen trees. We should learn from the lives of our ancestors. Good family stories make good history.