This morning as I was riding an exercise bike at the gym, I looked up to see Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's picture on the morning news. As the captions explained that he died last night, I felt especially saddened, then grateful for the good man he was. As an apostle for our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have always loved Elder Wirthlin's humble wisdom and darling sense of humor. My father-in-law once said that Elder Wirthlin's talks in General Conference, although hard to understand at first (Elder Wirthlin's eyesight was failing in recent years) were always the best to re-read. I especially loved his talk from the October General Conference. It's so good, I hope you don't mind my quoting it. With the Christmas music playing, this advice seems like the perfect way to remember Elder Wirthlin and to welcome in the holiday season:__________________________________________________________
There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh.
I remember loading up our children in a station wagon and driving to Los Angeles. There were at least nine of us in the car, and we would invariably get lost. Instead of getting angry, we laughed. Every time we made a wrong turn, we laughed harder.
Getting lost was not an unusual occurrence for us. Once while heading south to Cedar City, Utah, we took a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until two hours later when we saw the “Welcome to Nevada” signs. We didn’t get angry. We laughed, and as a result, anger and resentment rarely resulted. Our laughter created cherished memories for us. . . .
I remember loading up our children in a station wagon and driving to Los Angeles. There were at least nine of us in the car, and we would invariably get lost. Instead of getting angry, we laughed. Every time we made a wrong turn, we laughed harder.
Getting lost was not an unusual occurrence for us. Once while heading south to Cedar City, Utah, we took a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until two hours later when we saw the “Welcome to Nevada” signs. We didn’t get angry. We laughed, and as a result, anger and resentment rarely resulted. Our laughter created cherished memories for us. . . .
The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.
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The whole talk is wonderful http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-9,00.html if you have time to read it. May we all find more joy in this Christmas Season!
