I NEPHI 16:29 By Small things the Lord Brings about Great Things.

The most famous sculpture I have personally seen and one of my favorite pieces of art is called “The Pieta”  by Michelangelo.   This famous sculpture sits in the Vatican’s massive St. Peter’s Basilica in the Rome.  It’s a larger than life rendition of the crucified Savior in the arms of His mother, Mary.  If you were to look closely at the sculpture you may think it impossible for such an beautiful work of art to be created with only a chisel and a mallet … but it was, over 600 years ago, in 1499.

                                        

I appreciate great art, but I certainly have to talent in sculpture.  I can’t even imagine where I would begin if all I were standing in front of a huge piece of marble holding only a chisel and mallet. But Michelangelo obviously had a vision for this slab of marble and could see what he wanted the final product to be … and then he began - one mallet stroke at a time - over and over and over again.  Out of each of those small mallet strokes slowly came one of the greatest works of art known to mankind.

I believe that’s the secret behind “small things becoming great;” those small things need to have a larger vision behind them.  For Michaelangelo it was being able to see the beauty and emotion of the “Pieta.”  For Nephi and his family the goal was to journey to a land promised them by the Lord.

This same sentiment was expressed anciently by Lao Tzu a Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism when he said:

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

I think this is a great lesson in life.  We can only reach our most important goals by doing the small details along the way.

In I Nephi Chapter 16 Nephi and his family were in the wilderness striving to reach the Promised Land.  In order to reach this goal the Lord provided for them a small "compass" or "ball" which Lehi found outside his tent one morning.  Later in the Book of Mormon it's referred to as the "Lihona."  I can imagine Nephi's brothers looking at this small ball "of curious workmanship" and wondering how in the world this little thing could lead them across all of their known world and on to a new one. 

Much like Nephi, we too are striving to reach the “promised land.”  The ultimate Promised Land we’re hoping to attain is a return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.  An important immediate goal we need along the way is the guidance of the Holy Ghost.  These lofty spiritual desires, like Nephi's journey, are also accomplished by many small steps along the way.

I’d like to share with you some of those “small” things I believe we need to include in our lives in order to be successful in our spiritual journey.

1)   Read the Scriptures.  I know you’ve heard this over and over and over again, but it’s so true.  Just as water will always freeze at 32 degrees and boil at 212 degrees … Just like bread needs yeast to rise and we need air to survive … our spirit needs continual doses of the scriptures to keep it strong and vibrant.

2)   Prayer.  Prayer is another small thing that needs to be done constantly.  The scriptures don’t say “Pray every once in a while when you feel like it.”  The scriptures are filled with the admonition to “Pray always.”

3)    Attend your Church meetings.  Even though this is just once a week, the strength we can receive from partaking the Sacrament each week and promising to be disciples of the Savior by taking upon us His name will carry us through our trials and temptations.

The secret of the success of these “small things” is consistency.  As many of you know, I was recently in New Zealand.  While I was there I met an amazing church member by the name of Paora Winitana.  Let me tell you a little about Paora.  (You can also "Google" him to learn more about his career.)

Paora didn’t start playing basketball until he was in High School.  In his first game he scored 96 points … all by himself!!  As you might imagine, there were many colleges who wanted him to play basketball for them – both in New Zealand and the United States.  He turned down a full-ride scholarship at a University in the U.S. so he could serve a mission in Brisbane, Australia.  When he returned from his mission quickly earned a position as a shooting guard in the New Zealand NBL (National Basketball League) where he was rookie of the year.  He later became a starter for the “Tall-Blacks,” the New Zealand National Team.  He’s played in Olympic competition against LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.  He’s been the New Zealand MVP and 5-time All-Star.  You can probably tell, he’s very good.

                                                            

I had the privilege of spending a couple of days with him and his family.  The nickname the announcer’s have for him when he is on the basketball court is, “The Bishop,” because until recently he served as Bishop.  He’s only 34 years-old and has a lovely wife and three athletic boys.  We filmed him working out on the court and going through his weight training.  It was impressive.  While he was training he told me he feels very strongly that “it’s more important to do little things consistently than bigger things occasionally.”  He felt that’s where he found success in all aspects of his life … professionally as a basketball player, spiritually, emotionally, and perhaps most importantly as a husband and father in his family.

I believe both Michaelanglo and Paorda Winitana learned what Nephi taught us all those years ago … that by small things great things are made.

I promise as you do the small things spiritually, educationally, physically and in your family you will see great things happen.  I promise that as you read the scriptures, pray, and attend your church meetings constantly and consistently you will be creating a “great soul” in the sight of our Heavenly Father … and best yet, that you will find yourself heading towards the promised blessing the Lord has for you.