It has been said that “change is inevitable.” Kathy Hall stated that “Change never hurt anyone except when it was thrown from the Empire State Building.”
Looking back at my life, it would appear that I have believed that and, in fact, it has been a catalyst for change most all of my life. My wife has often chided me because of my almost automatic response to every new environment I walk into. For example, we may walk into most any business, and before we leave, I will make a comment about how the business would be more efficient, or more effective, if they did this or that. My thirty years as a university administrator was a constant drive to make those functions that reported to me more efficient or more effective. For example, the second year after being hired at the institution, I was asked to be the first Director of Admissions. I discovered that each student applying to the institution had to submit a health examination report as part of the admission process to the institution. It was expensive to have the examination, and it was a headache for my staff to track all of the requirements, including that examination form. After a student was admitted, we sent the form to the Student Health Department. I decided to do a little research, so I talked with the student health department to see what they did with the examination information. They had a large room full of examination forms carefully filed away by clerical staff hired just to file and track them. I asked them how often were any of these forms requested by a health professional when seeing a student about a health problem. Their response was “very seldom.” They estimated that it would be less than two percent. Following that revelation, I wrote a report to the University President’s Council explaining the cost to students to see a doctor and have the exam performed (many of whom could ill afford it), and the fact that they were seldom used, and the work involved in tracking the form for our office, plus the delay it caused in admitting students to the university. The president’s council immediately did away with the requirement, saving students money, saving my office unnecessary labor and making the admission process faster for students. That was just one of many innovations that I initiated during my first years in that position. For me, in fact, change was inevitable.
Everything that man has originally made or devised could probably be modified and made better. Sometimes it happens because of new inventions that could be incorporated to make it better and sometimes by a new look by a new or fresh employee that would see things with a different eye. I believe that some people are born with a “fresh eye.” They have a way to look at or see things a little differently than the “norm.” There are some things in life that it matters not who looks at it because they just could not improve upon it no matter how hard they tried. For example, the following story portrays very well such a situation. The story comes from “Native American Wisdom:”
An old Indian chief sat in his hut on the reservation, smoking a ceremonial pipe and eyeing two U.S. government officials sent to interview him.
“Chief Two Eagles” asked one of the officials, “You have observed the white man for 90 years. You’ve seen his wars and his technological advances, you’ve seen all his progress.” The Chief nodded in agreement. The official continued, “Considering all these events, in your view, where has the white man gone wrong?” The Chief stared at the government officials for over a minute and then calmly replied. “When white man found this land, Indians were running it. No taxes, No debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, Women did all the work, Medicine man free, Indian man spent all day hunting and fishing, All night making love. Then the chief leaned back and smiled….” Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that.
Much like the Native American view of the things the white man has gotten wrong, there is one other thing that cannot be improved upon, and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We have moved several times either to an older home or a new house, it usually means new friends, and a new ward, but the thing that never changed was the gospel. No matter where we go in the world, it will be there, the same, as a never-failing presence that we can always count on. When we, as individuals, change, we grow. Growing, by its very definition, is a change. And when we start attending a new ward, even though it’s hard, we stretch ourselves in new ways. We can try to be better as we take the opportunity to start fresh. We can look for opportunities to learn, teach, or serve. And we can strengthen our testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel through our experiences.
Regardless of the changes we make, I can testify that the Lord’s church is unchanging. It’s very much the same everywhere, from the humble military service I attended at the Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco to the full-to-capacity wards I have gone to in Utah. There may be a little different feel based on local variations, but the gospel is the same. Truths are eternal. And from living in as many different wards as I have, I’m glad I can take comfort in knowing that the Church will be the same, and it will always be there for you and me.