Neal A. Maxwell
| Date of Birth | : | 06 Jul, 1926 |
| Date of Death | : | 21 Jul, 2004 |
| Place of Birth | : | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States |
| Profession | : | Educator, Scholar |
| Nationality | : | American |
Neal Ash Maxwell was an American scholar, educator, and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1981 until his death.
Biography
In his teen years, Neal also suffered from severe acne and was teased because he raised pigs, a project he had participated in since a young boy. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, also of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said the compassion evident in Elder Maxwell’s speaking and writing was developed in his teenage years. “What scarred the skin,” Elder Holland said, “seems to have softened the heart.”
After graduating from high school towards the end of World War II, Neal joined the army. He had a life-changing experience while in a fierce battle on Okinawa, Japan. During a battle, Neal’s mortar position was under fire. Three shells in a row had exploded, each closer to his foxhole than the previous one. He realized the enemy had determined his position. The next shell would land on top of him. He prayed “one of those selfish, honest prayers,”3 asking for protection from the next bomb. In his pocket he carried a copy of his patriarchal blessing that said his life would not be shortened and that he would not be deprived of fulfilling every assignment that was given to him in the premortal existence.
The shelling stopped. He later wrote: “I am sure the Lord answered my prayers. … The following night they began to pour shells in, but almost all of them were duds—either the ammunition had gotten wet or they were not exploding in the very thick, oozing mud. … I felt preserved, and unworthily so, but have tried to be somewhat faithful to that promise that was given at the time.”
After fulfilling his enlistment in the army, Elder Neal Maxwell was called to a full-time mission in the Canadian Mission, with headquarters in Toronto. After serving successfully, he returned to attend college and prepared to enter a career as an educator. He married Colleen Hinckley, and their family grew to include four children (Cory, Becky, Nancy, and Jane) and 24 grandchildren.
He was executive vice president at the University of Utah at the time of his appointment as the commissioner of education for the Church Educational System in 1970. He held that position for six years. He was called as an Assistant to the Twelve in 1974. In 1976 he was called to the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and in July 1981, he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Known for his extensive vocabulary and elegant writing style, Elder Maxwell has always presented a challenge to translators. During one general conference, the translators had categorized each talk in levels of difficulty. All of the talks fit in levels one through four except Elder Maxwell’s. His talk was alone at level five. President Gordon B. Hinckley said Elder Maxwell spoke “differently from any of the other General Authorities. He just has a unique style all his own. We all admire it.”
Towards the end of his life and while struggling with leukemia, Elder Maxwell had a sacred experience that he could only compare with what happened half a century before on Okinawa. The Spirit whispered, “I have given you leukemia that you might teach my people with authenticity.” Elder Maxwell will be remembered for his stirring words as he acted as a special witness for Christ.
Quotes
How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, 'Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then, let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!'
God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability.
Long ago when a child lay in a manger, a special star appeared. It didn't just show up that evening. It had to have been placed in its orbit centuries before in a trajectory that would make it appear at that special moment of time to announce the birth of a special child. Just as there is divine design in the universe, so each of us has been placed in our own orbits in this life to love, to serve, to help light the world.
If, in the end, you have not chosen Jesus Christ it will not matter what you have chosen.
In conclusion, the submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar. The many other things we 'give,' brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!
It is our job to lift others up, not to size them up.
The soul is like a violin string: it makes music only when it is stretched.
Trials and tribulations tend to squeeze the artificiality out of us, leaving the essence of what we really are and clarifying what we really yearn for.
I fear that, as conditions worsen, many will react to the failures of too much government by calling for even more government. Then there will be more and more lifeboats launched because fewer and fewer citizens know how to swim. Unlike some pendulums, political pendulums to not swing back automatically; they must be pushed. History is full of instances when people have waited in vain for pendulums to swing back.
The more seriously we work on our own imperfections, the less we are judgemental of the imperfections of others.
