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| By BRIAN PETERSON, Missouri-Kansas City |
The Missouri-Kansas City Student Chapter held its annual dinner on October 13 at the UMKC Law School. We were treated with the presence of Kevin Worthen, Dean of J. Reuben Clark Law School ? and the KC barbeque was pretty darn good too.
Attorneys, law students and their spouses left with a drive to apply the principles Dean Worthen addressed. Dean Worthen?s theme was ?The Strength that Comes to the Practice when a Lawyer Applies his Religious Convictions.?
The Main Thing is to Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
So often, we cannot accomplish everything we need or want to. Time constraints thus force us to prioritize and get the most important things done. Certainly this is a skill we must obtain. Prioritizing in our day, and even in practicing law, requires distinguishing good things from better things. Doctrine and Covenants 46:7 reads, ?[do] that which the spirit testifies unto you ? considering the end of your salvation? (emphasis added). A retired general said the most important advice he ever got was that ?in combat, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, otherwise, you die.?
Each is a Child of God?Our Client and our Adversary. We Should Pray for All
A lawyer lamented after he watched an attorney verbally abuse a female attorney. The lawyer resolved to never let a daughter of God be treated in such a way again. However, he soon realized that the offender was a son of God. Feeling inadequate to help the offender, he decided to call upon one who could help. He prayed for him. From then on, he prayed for every party who was adversarial to his side and his feelings of enmity towards them were dispelled. Praying for those who oppose us or for those who are our superiors helps us overcome pride.
The Tender Mercies of God
The Book of Mormon begins and ends by instructing us to note the tender mercy God grants to his faithful children. See 1 Nephi 1:20; Moroni 10:3. At the BYU Law School?s first graduation convocation under Dean Worthen, President Hinckley attended solely to see his granddaughter graduate. At the convocation, the student body honored the spouse of a student who passed away during his second year and left behind his wife and two children. Although President Hinckley needed to leave promptly after the convocation so he could get back to a busy schedule, as the congregation remained seated allowing him to leave, he stopped and spent a few minutes talking with the widow. President Hinckley likely did not know about this widow and her trial before arriving, but God did. Difficult challenges come to us as part of divine intervention to help us grow. A loving Heavenly Father sends tender mercy to strengthen us through those times and allow us to carry on. If we will focus on the things that are most important and instill religious convictions into our practice, the practice of law will be wonderful for us.
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