In 1988 I was with my brothers and sisters when the conversation drifted to our father, who had passed away many years earlier. We shared our memories of Dad: his ways of doing things, his favorite sayings, our fishing trips where all he did was bait hooks, and so forth.
I was surprised when my youngest sister started to cry during this conversation. She reminded us that she was only six years old when Dad passed away. While she was happy to hear our memories, she was sad that she had few memories of him.
That experience bothered me for several weeks. Being the oldest child, I had many memories of my father and could not imagine life without those memories. It bothered me further when I realized that my wife and most of the spouses of my siblings had never met Dad and that my children and their cousins would never know their grandfather. I enlisted my wife’s help, and we set about for the next several months compiling a book about my father.
We contacted extended family, friends, work associates, and church leaders who interacted with Dad and asked them to write down their memories of my father. We made copies of pictures, news articles, and documents showing his special achievements. After many months of effort, the book was finished, and we gave copies to family members as Christmas gifts.
BOOK OF LIFE
Although this book is of great value to our family, it really does not convey anything more than a glimpse into who my father really was. What would be needed is a more complete book. There is such a book. The scriptures call it the Book of Life.
The Book of Life is described in the Bible Dictionary as “the sum total of ones thoughts and actions—the record of his life.”
As I contemplated what I could learn about him from reading my father’s Book of Life, I began to wonder about my own book—and what was being recorded there.
As an accounting professor I find the idea of keeping books nothing new. One of the many responsibilities of an accountant is to keep the books or record the activities of organizations. These books are then used to analyze the performance of the organization.
In thinking about my Book of Life, I wondered if I could apply some of the principles accountants use. For example, one principle of accounting is that each organization keeps its own set of books. If you want to see what Bank of America is doing, you do not look in the books of Johnson & Johnson Company. The books of any enterprise are the records of the activities of that enterprise. The books of a local restaurant look very different than those of McDonald’s, even though these two enterprises are in the same industry. The books of an enterprise in India will differ from those of an enterprise in China or Australia. The key is that every enterprise keeps its own books, and each enterprise is evaluated according to what that enterprise did given their size, location, market, and so forth.
So it is with our Books of Life. My Book of Life will be very different than that of a friend in Atlanta, a cousin in Florida, or a professor in Chile. It will be different from that of my bishop, my neighbor, my brother, or my father. Each one of us has our own unique Book of Life. We need not compare ourselves with others.
PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
I have always found the parable of the talents to be interesting. In Matthew 25 the parable begins with the Master giving His goods to His servants. Verse 15 states: “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.”
Notice that the master did not give each servant the same amount; he gave to each according to their individual abilities. The first servant worked to increase his five talents to ten; the second servant increased his two talents to four; and the third servant buried his one talent to preserve what he had. Of interest to me is the master’s response to the first servant in verse 21: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
The second servant had started with fewer talents than the first and ended up with only four. The master’s response to the second servant was identical to his response to the first servant. It was not a matter of comparing the first servant to the second servant; it was a matter of each being evaluated for what they did with what they were given. So it is with us. It is not a matter of being compared to others; it is a matter of what we do with what we have been given.
In the eighth grade I took a PE course. I came to this earth with a body that has a few odd parts. Fortunately, and at times unfortunately, the competitive spirit I came with far exceeds my physical capabilities. I proceeded to take this pe course, vowing to get an A. Unfortunately, pull-ups were a problem, rope climbing was not good, and several other requirements of the class presented me with major challenges.
At the end of the term, I received a C grade for my achievement in the course. I was devastated and just a bit concerned what my father would say. When I got home, Dad looked at the grade and said, “Great, straight A’s. I am proud of you.” You see, the school reported two grades for every class, one grade for achievement (the C that I received) and one grade for effort. Dad only looked at the grade for effort. As long as my effort was A-level, the level of achievement was not a concern to Dad.
As long as we do the best we can with whatever we are given in this life, it will be accepted by our Heavenly Father. We need not compare ourselves with others.
BALANCE
Another principle of accounting that can be applied to our personal Book of Life is that of balance. Many of you have taken Accounting 200. One of the first things learned in Accounting 200 is that everything is in balance—debits always equal credits. All transactions have a debit and an equal-sized credit, with no exceptions. If you get a machine, you either give up cash or incur debt. If you recognize revenue, you recognize cash or a receipt. The books are always in balance.
How about in our Book of Life? I think it is fair to say that at the very basic level, we all know that if we do what is right, we will be blessed. Conversely, we know that if we do not do what is right, we will not be blessed.
Take receiving blessings as an example. Doctrine and Covenants 130:20–21 states: There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
Obedience brings blessings. Everything is in balance. Debits equal credits.
Another example of the principle of balance is found in 3 Nephi 14:7–8: Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Think of the Word of Wisdom, the sacrament prayer, and other such teachings where a given action is promised to result in certain blessings.
Now, there are times in each of our lives when we may feel that doing what is right does not result in blessings, that our prayers are not being answered, or that our particular challenge is just too much. In essence, we question the existence of balance as it applies to our lives.
I have a young nephew who went to work last summer on a road-paving crew to earn money for his mission. One day a car on the other side of the divided highway crossed the median and all lanes of traffic and pinned my nephew against a concrete barrier. He had been looking the other way and never even saw the car. Although my nephew felt blessed to escape death, his left foot was crushed. After months of trying to save the foot, it was eventually amputated. One might ask, “Why?” This is a good young man, working to fund a mission so that he can serve the Lord, who, through no fault of his own, suddenly finds himself in bed for six months trying to heal his foot only to have it amputated. Why? Where is the balance?
We are not alone in these feelings. Doctrine and Covenants 121 and 122 were given to the Prophet Joseph Smith while he was in Liberty Jail. In section 121, verses 1–6, the prophet pleads with the Lord to remember the Saints in their suffering. In verses 7–8, the Lord responds to the prophet, saying: My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
As if to emphasize his point, in section 122 the Lord tells Joseph that even if he were called to pass through tribulation, accused of all manner of false accusations, torn from family and friends, cast into a pit, sentenced to death, and if the very depths of hell gaped open after him, it would be for his good. Although we may not see it and may experience much pain and suffering in the process, everything in our Book of Life—when considered in the eternal sense—is in balance.
REPORTS
Every enterprise has three basic reports that come out of the books. The statement of cash flow describes the liquidity of an enterprise. Any enterprise must have enough cash to make needed payments— regardless of how else the enterprise is doing—or it will fail. The second report is the income statement. An income statement describes how an enterprise has done during a period of time. The third report is a balance sheet. This statement conveys a picture of how the enterprise is doing at any point in time. The balance sheet holds the cumulative result of operations during the life of the enterprise.
Spiritual Cash Flow
As I think about my Book of Life, I can clearly see three similar reports. I have been asked to respond to a plea for help, comfort someone in pain or anguish, or give a priesthood blessing. What is needed to respond to these requests is a reservoir of righteousness—a reserve of spiritual cash. When these requests come, the time to prepare is past; you either have the spiritual cash on hand or you don’t. There is no more terrible feeling than to be asked to exercise your spirituality when you have not built a reserve. What you may have done in the past or what you may do in the future does not really help when faced with the need for the Spirit now.
How is your spiritual cash flow? The way to build this reservoir has been clearly outlined: prayer, scripture study, and obedience.
Spiritual Income Statement
All enterprises periodically give an accounting of how they have done during some period of time. In this report, all revenues or inflows as well as all expenses or outflows are reported. When revenues exceed expenses, you have a net gain. When revenues are less than expenses, you have a net loss.
How is your spiritual income statement? I hope that at the end of each day in our personal prayers we are giving an accounting to the Lord of the activities of that day. Regular interviews with parents cause us to give an accounting of what we have been doing. PPIs for home teaching or visiting teaching interviews give us an opportunity to look at our income statement regarding those responsibilities.
In business, almost all companies go through cycles of good years and not-so-good years. The best companies are those who work continually to deal with the challenges that come and show steady positive net income year after year.
People act in a similar fashion. Some individuals enter a ward with a splash of activity and participation when life is going well only to withdraw when challenges come. Some individuals are engaged in one activity or position and ride that for the rest of their lives. I have met many less-active members who will spend hours talking about their missionary service as if it justifies their current lack of involvement. Remember, net income is measured for each period of time, and a positive net income one year does not automatically result in a positive net income during any other year.
Spiritual Balance Sheet
The third report found in all organizations is the balance sheet, which shows where an enterprise is at any point in time. It shows the assets of the enterprise, or things that an enterprise uses for its operations: cash, inventory, buildings, and land. On the other side, the balance sheet shows the liabilities, or what is owed others: accounts payable, loans payable, and notes payable. And it shows the equity or total amount invested into and earnings retained in the enterprise by the owners of the enterprise. In every balance sheet, assets = liabilities + owners’ equity.
As I think of my life’s balance sheet, the assets in this type of balance sheet can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 4:5–6: “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.” The sixth section of the Preach My Gospel manual describes these as “Christlike attributes” and adds obedience to the list.
Take a moment and think about someone outside of your family who has had a major impact for good in your life. I think of an old Scout leader named Charlie Murray. Brother Murray would spend hours with us on camps and service projects. I really enjoyed being with him because he was fun, and he would tell us what he thought about what we were doing in our lives. How he survived winter camp with the twenty Scouts in our troop is still a marvel to me. What makes a person special is his or her level of faith or hope or charity or the balance in any of the assets in the balance sheet of life.
Let me return for a moment to the question posed earlier about why good people face difficult, sometimes painful challenges. When all is going well in my life, I find it hard to develop tolerance, build my patience, or work on my humility. If things are great, hope is not a problem, and temperance comes easy. Many if not most of the assets in our eternal balance sheet can really only increase when we are working through challenges and difficulties. I do not in any way minimize the pain we might feel, but our attitude and perspective can make a significant difference in how we deal with challenges.
On the other side of the balance sheet are liabilities and owners’ equity. We all have a good idea of what the liabilities are in our books. Every time we fail to keep a commandment, we increase our liability balance.
The owners’ equity section of any balance sheet starts with the contributions of the owners of the enterprise. Consider that everything we have, including life itself, is from our Creator. Further, the blessings we receive throughout our lives come from obedience to His commandments and adherence to the covenants we have made. In essence, whatever equity we started with and any increase that has occurred is from the Lord. The owner of the owners’ equity section of our balance sheet is the Lord. Even more wondrous is that through the Atonement, Christ has already paid for our liabilities (sins). The scriptures tell us repeatedly that our liabilities will be forgiven if we repent.
Do we realize what an incredible blessing this is? The Lord has paid for all our liabilities, and they will be eliminated eternally from our Balance Sheet of Life if we repent and keep the commandments. At some point we will be before our Father to give an accounting of our activities while on this earth.
YOUR BOOK OF LIFE
Keeping a written history of our life on earth is a very important responsibility. Such histories bind generations of families together. I certainly encourage all to write personal histories.
At the same time, it is important to recognize that we are all, day by day, moment by moment, writing our Book of Life. Although not written on paper, the entries in this book are just as real and will have an eternal impact.
When I was born I had a number of physical challenges, the most serious being a deformity of the heart. At the age of nine, I had open-heart surgery, which at the time was in an early experimental stage. I was given a 50 percent chance of surviving the surgery. Obviously, I survived the surgery, and I have had no heart problems since.
Looking back at that time, there were two truths I knew then and still know today. The first was that the Lord knew me individually and was watching over me. I knew that because He loved me, everything would be okay, regardless of what I had to go through. That knowledge has been a tremendous blessing as I have faced various challenges in my life.
The second was that I had been given many blessings and that my life has a purpose. I also knew that with these blessings came a tremendous responsibility to do all I could to be worthy of that which I have been given.
The same is true for each of you. Each of us has a responsibility to live such that our Book of Life reflects actions taken that will permit us to return to live with Him forever. Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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Article written by Kevin Stocks
Photography by Bradley Slade
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kevin D. Stocks is director of the School of Accountancy. He has been on the accounting faculty for twenty-five years. He and his wife, Donna, have five children and two granddaughters.
