Stephen K. Woodhouse, former President of LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah, addressed students, faculty, and staff at the BYU-Hawaii devotional on March 17. Woodhouse's speech, titled "Influence of the Holy Ghost," began with an introduction from his wife, Sytske Woodhouse. She set the tone for his talk by highlighting several milestones that have brought them, as a family, closer to the Lord.
She stated, "Without reservation I can say our best decisions came when we heeded the promptings of the Holy Ghost. ... Sometimes we don't know why we are prompted to do certain things, but when we listen, we are blessed, and down the road a way, we understand better the Lord's plan for us."
She then counseled: "Live your lives that you will always be ready to hear that still small voice, that gift given to us from a loving Heavenly Father."
After her introduction, her husband took the podium and began his portion of the address. He extended a greeting to everyone and shared his excitement about their recent appointment as ward missionaries. He then expressed his gratitude for how they have been richly blessed in their lives and noted, "We are promised that if we follow the Lord and keep His commandments, the blessings will flow."
He then quoted counsel from Elder Keith Hilbig of the Seventy: "The beckoning invitations of the world attempt to divert our attention from the strait and narrow path. The adversary labors to dull our sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit, whether we are teenagers, young adults, or mature men and women. The role of the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, is essential in every season of our mortal lives."
The first portion of his two-pronged speech was based on the latter portion of Elder Hilbig's counsel. He spoke of how the Spirit has influenced him and his family in every season of their lives:
As a child, he once broke his leg the day before school let out for the summer. He had a paper route, so his mother had to pull him around in a red wagon so that he could deliver the papers. "I hope you have such memories" he stated. "Was this the peak? You never really know where the peak is."
As a college student, he "developed some weighty questions about life" and read 'Jesus the Christ.' He received a testimony of the Lord through the Holy Ghost and asked, "Was this the peak or just the beginning?"
As a missionary, he learned German, "learned the gospel, ... and made some lifelong friendships." He stated, "This must be the peak--as good as it gets."
After marrying Sytske in the Salt Lake temple, he thought, "Boy, this must be the peak, the most exciting part of my life."
At forty, he was "president of a company that was expanding in multiple cities." He thought, "This must surely be the peak. In fact, wouldn't it be wonderful to retire at age fifty."
At fifty, he was president of LDS Business College. He asked, "Why was I ever thinking about retiring at age fifty?"
As a retiree, he asked, "Is this as good as it gets? Is this the peak? What happens when I'm seventy?"
To this rhetoric, he answered, "All I can say is, I don't think I'm there yet. I hope the best is yet to come. Sytske and I have certainly been blessed to live so many years together."
With each progressive experience, he looked for a peak, but found that his experiences continued, outweighing his limited vision of the future. He summed, "I hope that I haven't been too personal. But I do feel I have been given a glimpse of what it means to be influenced by the Holy Ghost. This is a gift that is given to every one of us. ... We don't always know what the Lord has in store for us. He has, however, given us comfort in knowing that through the influence of the Holy Ghost, we can be all that He expects us to be."
The second part of his two-pronged speech had three main points: 1) a positive attitude, 2) goals and achieving it, and 3) integrity.
He began with 'a positive attitude,' sharing the story of two buckets: Two buckets tied to the same rope were going up and down a well. When they passed in the middle, one bucket always complained, stating, "This is an impossible task. No matter how many times I come up full of water, I always go back down empty." The other bucket, in the same predicament, was "always filled with exuberance and joy" and said as he passed the other bucket, "Just think, no matter how many times I go down empty, I always come back up, full of water." To this, Woodhouse asked, "Isn't it all about attitude?"
Next, he spoke of the importance of 'having a goal and achieving it': "I have often told the students at LDS Business College that part of the test of getting a college degree is to finish the work. Even though the work may be difficult, sometimes even boring, when you get that diploma in hand it shows that you are a finisher." He then asked, "Why do we work so hard in this life?" To this he answered, "First of all, it gives us self worth, but it also helps make life a little easier for someone else."
Finally, he spoke of 'integrity'; he told the story of a high school basketball coach that learned a new perspective about winning when he officiated as a referee for a league championship basketball game between two teams, New Rochelle and Yonkers High: "The game was well played and closely contested." With thirty seconds of play time left on the clock, Yonkers held on to the lead by one point. In a last ditch effort to win, New Rochelle retrieved the ball from Yonkers and "tapped it in for what looked like victory. The tumult was deafening." Sadly, "the buzzer went off before the ball rolled off the rim, before the final tap-in was made." Yonkers had won, and the officiating referee was put in the uncomfortable position of breaking the news to the New Rochelle coach. The New Rochelle coach was still gloating from their supposed win when the officiating referee told him that Yonkers had won because of the lag in tap-in time. The New Rochelle coach's "face clouded over"; but the coach's son, who was serving as a time keeper for the game, approached his father and confirmed the news of their loss. The New Rochelle coach quickly changed his attitude and "the two of them walked off the court together, the coach's arm around his son's shoulder."
Woodhouse concluded simply, stating, "The Holy Ghost can possess our souls every day of our lives if we so let it."
--Photo by Monique Saenz