FROM THE PULPIT

Excerpts from messages being presented at area places of worship this weekend.

@List hed 10:J. Daniel Reinhardt, Omaha Nebraska Papillion Stake president, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Our Heavenly Father desires that we have happiness in life. But in search of this happiness, we can be distracted by activities the world advertises as “fun.” These activities carry great expectations of happiness, yet leave us feeling unfulfilled. How do we distinguish between what is fun, and what brings true happiness? The Savior Jesus Christ taught about the prodigal son, who left home in search of fulfillment. He found that his desires only left him empty, having experienced only the “fun” of riotous living. He eventually returned home to find true happiness — the love and acceptance that comes from home and family. This love within our families can be the true and lasting happiness that Heavenly Father desires for us, and it is most likely achieved when our lives and families are founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Happiness is not fleeting when we live according to the principles taught by Jesus Christ.

@List hed 10:Rabbi Mordechai Levin, Beth El Synagogue

How much do we need? Every person has the right — and should have the opportunity — to meet his or her basic needs: food, clothing, housing, education, health care, work. But after acquiring these things, how much more do we need? And what price should we be willing to pay for it? There is a story by the Russian author, Leo Tolstoy, titled, “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” In the story, a man is offered the gift of land. He can have all the land he is able to walk around in one day. The man plans his walk and calculates how far he can walk in a day, if he keeps up a brisk pace. He sets out, and before long, spots a little patch of land just outside the perimeters of his planned journey. It’s a pretty little piece of land which will take only a few minutes to walk around. Without too much extra effort, he will finish the walk during the allotted time, so the man adds that little bit of land to his original path. Further on, he adds another plot of land, and later, a third piece. With each addition, the man must pick up the pace, but is confident he can still get back to the start in time. It is late in the day, and now he can see the finish. He runs to make his goal but falls down dead just as he reaches it. Tolstoy answers the title’s question, “How Much Land Does a Man Need,” in the very last line of the tale. “Six feet from his head to his heels, that’s all the land he needed.” The Jewish sage Ben Zoma taught in the Mishnah — a collection of rabbinic traditions from the beginning of the third century — “Who is rich? Those who are happy with what they have.” May we find blessing in what we have and not be driven by what is missing.

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