More Stately Mansions… – Sunday, February 10, 1980
We have all seen the remarkable construction of the chambered seashell—how each year the developing marine animal adds another compartment to its home, making a larger, expanded dwelling to accommodate the annual growth. Oliver Wendell Holmes’ observation of this phenomenon led him to a conclusion about man’s own need for continued growth and development. Speaking of the chambered nautilus, he wrote:
Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee
Child of the wandering sea. . .
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul
As the swift seasons roll
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, (be more) noble than the last. . .1
You know, Holmes’ suggestion that we build more stately mansions for our souls, that we continually seek opportunities to progress, is more appropriate today than at any time in the past. Affluence along with the reduced work week have provided us with a new freedom—freedom which could be used to explore, to study, to challenge our bodies, our minds, and our spirits.
Unfortunately, however, the vast majority of us will use this free time and means in the pursuit of leisure and recreation. Not that it is unimportant—for we need recreation. Certainly, entertainment fills a needed role in our lives; but so, do the other aspects of life. Physical, intellectual, and spiritual growth do not always result from passive amusement.
Despite this fact, our beaches and resorts are crowded on weekends, while churches which beautify the American landscape remain largely unfilled; and at the same time that literally millions are patronizing less challenging pursuits, there are adult education and evening classes being cancelled for want of interest.
Yes, in our effort to derive more and more pleasure from our freedom, many of us have forgotten that lasting happiness cannot occur without growth—growth which is achieved only through challenge and struggle.
May we resolve from this moment to use our freedom to expand our personalities; may we exert the time and discipline to gain some new skill, to think some new thought, to achieve some new spiritual insight; may the unfolding of each new moment find us with more stately mansions for our souls.
1 Oliver Wendell Holmes, “The Chambered Nautilus,” The Golden Treasury, The New American Library. 1961, p. 360.
‘The Spoken Word” heard over KSL and CBS from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 10, 1980 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Eastern Time Copyright 1980 Bonneville Productions
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February 10, 1980
Broadcast Number 2,634