Good Mentors Help Us to be Our Very Best

President and Sister Satterthwaite led the Canada Toronto West Mission with humility and love. The impact of their devotion to the Lord, His missionaries, and the people of Ontario, Canada will ripple into the eternities.

It's yet another blistery winter day in North Dakota. With wind chill approaching -50 degrees, I made the executive decision to keep everyone home from church today. I've come to realize that the safety of my family is paramount. And with vehicles that are already in need of repair, I thought it best not to take chances in such extreme weather conditions.

While I pray almost daily now that this horrific cold snap will finally give way to some seasonal temperatures, I must admit that being shut in from the cold has its benefits. On this Sabbath Day, I'm taking the opportunity to reflect upon those I consider to have been my mentors over the years.

Just two years before his passing, Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a General Conference address titled, "Meeting the Challenges of Today's World". It's a wonderful talk and most certainly worth your time. In it, he gives valuable counsel on topics such as avoiding debt, saving, dating, and marriage. But perhaps my favorite part of it came from this single paragraph:

"Now, you may have serious questions about the choices ahead. In my young adult years, I sought counsel from my parents and from faithful, trusted advisers. One was a priesthood leader; another was a teacher who believed in me. Both said to me, 'If you want my counsel, be prepared to take it.' I understood what that meant. Prayerfully select mentors who have your spiritual well-being at heart. Be careful about taking advice from your peers. If you want more than you now have, reach up, not across!"

How true this is!

My parents joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in October of 1989. I followed by doing the same in December of that same year. I was just one month from turning 13 at the time. I think it goes without saying that this period of a young person's life can be a "do or die" one spiritually. This may be even more true today than it was when I was experiencing it. But in the summer of 1992, I had an experience that became a pivotal moment for me.

While at church one Sunday, we borrowed the VHS tape recording of the April 1992 General Conference. To be honest, I don't recall ever having viewed a General Conference before this. But I popped in the tape of what I now know as the Sunday Morning Session, and I was riveted. Each address, from the opening with President Thomas S. Monson to the closing with President Gordon B. Hinckley, was like manna from heaven to my young soul.

One of the stories shared during that Sunday Morning Session came from Elder Hales. At the time, he was Presiding Bishop of the Church. It's a great illustration of the power of mentors in our lives:

"Among the lessons taught me by my father was gratitude for what it meant to be a General Authority. Some years ago Father, then over eighty years of age, was expecting a visit from a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on a snowy winter day. Father, an artist, had painted a picture of the home of the Apostle. Rather than have the painting delivered to him, this sweet Apostle wanted to go personally to pick the painting up and thank my father for it. Knowing that Father would be concerned that everything was in readiness for the forthcoming visit, I dropped by his home. Because of the depth of the snow, snowplows had caused a snowbank in front of the walkway to the front door. Father had shoveled the walks and then labored to remove the snowbank. He returned to the house exhausted and in pain. When I arrived, he was experiencing heart pain from overexertion and stressful anxiety. My first concern was to warn him of his unwise physical efforts. Didn’t he know what the result of his labor would be?

"'Robert,' he said through interrupted short breaths, 'do you realize an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to my home? The walks must be clean. He should not have to come through a snowdrift.' He raised his hand, saying, 'Oh, Robert, don’t ever forget or take for granted the privilege it is to know and to serve with Apostles of the Lord.'"

As I mentioned before, this was just one of many stories I heard during this session of conference. But each one sunk into the depths of my heart and I suddenly had a yearning inside to learn from those who were older and more experienced than I was.

Those who know me best also know that I have a deep love and admiration for Apostle Boyd K. Packer. It was the 1992 General Conference where this began. His address, "Our Moral Environment", became an anchor for my young soul and was a blessing to me as a missionary and a bishop.

When I think of mentors, I think of Sister Alice Anderson. Alice had known our family for years. In fact, her mother --Gladys Hegland -- had been a friend to my grandma, Eldora LaBar. Alice became my seminary teacher and her youngest son, Matt, was my best friend. Failure was not an option with Alice. Her testimony of the Restored Gospel burned like the flames of a raging fire.

My experiences with Alice are too many to mention here. She was very much like a second mother to me. But two things I'll ever be grateful for, as a result of her tutelage, are my personal witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and obtaining my patriarchal blessing. The former came in the early morning hours of a seminary class in her living room. The latter came when she drove Matt and I to Salt Lake City, Utah, in October of 1994, to obtain our blessings from Patriarch L. Roland Bain. Both were defining moments in my life.

When I think of mentors, I think of Brother Mike Ames. When he was my Young Men's President, Brother Ames came to our home to encourage me to dress appropriately for church and to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. As my Elder's Quorum President and Bishop, he taught me the importance of integrity and hard work. It was because of his counsel that I went back to school and obtained a bachelor's degree. "It'll bless your family," he told me. He was right.

When I think of mentors, I think of Bishop Ed Maisey. As a youth, I didn't think there was a more steady man on all the Earth than Ed Maisey. As bishop, he was President of the Priest's Quorum. I'll never forget the Sunday quorum meeting in which he pulled me and the other priest into his office for a lesson. He taught us about the sacred nature of the ordinance of the sacrament and how important it was that we never do anything that would distract from the ordinance while carrying out our priesthood responsibilities regarding it. The message was clear. I had a Looney Tunes ties that I was quite fond of. Needless to say, I stopped wearing it.

While I was struggling with the decision to serve a mission, Bishop Maisey was there for me. He was the epitome of patience and love. When I finally made the decision to serve, and the time had come to do the paperwork, part of the process was dental work. My family couldn't afford it. Bishop Maisey -- a dentist -- did my dental work for nothing. I realize now that he saw the bigger picture. And it was worth more than any amount of dental work ever could be.

When I think of mentors, I think of Ed Jolley Pinegar. His students called him "Brother Ed". He was my Mission Preparation teacher at Utah Valley State College (UVSC) in Orem, Utah in the Fall of 1995. From him, I learned things like, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care" and "People will change no faster than they make and keep commitments."

If students were missing from Brother Ed's class, he would call them -- during class -- and find out if everything was okay. His students loved him and he loved us. As you can imagine, Ed Pinegar had hundreds of students. But he knew all of us... by name.

When I think of mentors, I think of my mission president, President Brent Satterthwaite. I suppose most missionaries feel the same, but I feel I served in the best mission with the best mission president. In fact, on one occasion, while Elder W. Craig Zwick of the Seventy was visiting our mission, he told us that he had visited a lot of missions and had met a lot of mission president's, but that we had the best. I felt it was true.

I'll never forget President Satterthwaite's counsel to us as new missionaries after we arrived at the mission home, "You're not in the United States anymore. Don't walk across lawns and take your shoes off at the door." Sounds kind of funny, but it was true. President Satterthwaite was all about people and building relationships of trust with those around us.

I sat in an interview with him on one occasion, and he seemed distracted as we visited. At the conclusion of the interview, he said, "Elder LaBar, why do you wear that ring on your thumb?" It was my CTR ring. I was caught off guard. "I don't know. I guess that's just the way I've worn it," I replied. "Did you ever consider it might be distracting to those you teach?" he said. The thought had never crossed my mind. "Well, you visit with Elder Utley and decide what's best," he continued.

I left the interview dumbfounded. "Of all things," I thought, "he's worried about my CTR ring being on my thumb?!" I told Elder Utley -- who was my trainer -- what had taken place in the interview. In typical Elder Utley fashion, he chuckled at me and encouraged me to be obedient. I took the ring off my thumb. But it didn't last long. "What difference does it make? Who cares which finger it's on?" I rationalized. I put the ring back on my thumb. As it turns out, this didn't last long either. I felt awful. Deep down I knew President Satterthwaite was right and I was wrong. Just like I had rid myself of the Looney Tunes tie in administering the sacrament as a priest, I removed the CTR ring from my thumb as a missionary--- for good.

I will not take the time to list all the valuable things I learned from President Satterthwaite. They are many. This is actually quite amazing when we consider the fact that the amount of time spent with a mission president is fairly small when compared to the entirety of a two-year mission. But one of the best things he ever did for me took place in our final interview.

Like many return missionaries will tell you, a full-time mission is a time of growth and development. I had undoubtedly grown into mine. As the time of my release neared, the thought of returning home was almost unbearable. I surely wanted to see my family, but beyond that nothing else mattered. The thought of leaving the good people of the Canada Toronto West Mission bordered on devastating for me.

I entered mission headquarters where President Satterthwaite invited me into his office for my final interview. I immediately began to weep. I don't recall all that was said, but I remember how it concluded. He left me with a four-part commitment:

1. Always pay your tithing.

2. Always look like a missionary on Sundays.

3. Get an education.

4. Get married in the temple.

I'm happy to report that I've kept those commitments. And not only have I been blessed for it, but my family has as well.

When I think of mentors, I think of Bishop Guy Schiessl. Bishop Schiessl had served for nine years in the Bismarck Stake Presidency, prior to becoming our bishop in Williston. I had always admired him. I served in the Young Men's Presidency and as Young Men's President while he was bishop. But on a Wednesday evening, in February of 2010, my life would take on a new chapter as Bishop Schiessl -- under the direction of the stake president -- took me from our Young Men's activity in the Cultural Hall into his office. It was there that he interviewed me to become a High Priest.

I had felt impressions that something new was coming. "Do you understand all the circumstances that would warrant you becoming a High Priest?" he asked. I acknowledged that I did. "It's not my responsibility to tell you the reason, so I'll leave that to the stake president," he said.

As it turned out, I was later interviewed by our Stake President, Rhoderic C. Greenhalgh, to serve as 2nd Counselor in the bishopric. He made it clear that the change came as a result of strong spiritual impressions felt by Bishop Schiessl. The timing was unusual. It was well-known that a boundary change was coming that would send me and my family to the New Town Branch. That change came in August of 2010, but the short six months I had serving in the Williston Ward bishopric was invaluable as I later served in the branch presidency in New Town, was called as branch president in the newly created Stanley Branch in June of 2012, and later as bishop of the newly created Stanley Ward.

I could go on. There are certainly others who played a part in mentoring me as the years have gone on. But suffice it to say that we are better off when we "reach up, not across" by having mentors for our lives.

When I think of those who have mentored me, I realize they had these things in common:

1. They loved me--- and I knew it.

2. They taught me correct principles.

3. They saw something in me I didn't see in myself.

4. They encouraged me to be my best.

5. They gave loving correction when needed.

6. They lived according to the impressions of the Holy Ghost.

I express my gratitude to a loving Father in Heaven for blessing my life through mentors. I'm especially grateful for the mentorship of my parents who, after a brief separation in 1989, saw the bigger picture of keeping our family together. Through their decision to not only reunite, but to make sacred covenants by entering the waters of baptism, our family has been the beneficiaries of blessings immeasurable. I cannot count the times I've relied on them for counsel and assistance over the years.

If you haven't already, find mentors in your life who will help you to be your very best. You'll be better off because of it.

Works Cited:

1. https://www.lds.org/church/leader/robert-d-hales?lang=eng

2. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/meeting-the-challenges-of-todays-world?lang=eng

3. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1992/04?lang=eng

4. https://www.lds.org/church/leader/boyd-k-packer?lang=eng

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_J._Pinegar

6. https://www.lds.org/church/leader/w-craig-zwick?lang=eng