Hear Him!

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the April 2011 conference.

One of President Nelson's admonitions was to "Hear Him" especially as we made Jesus the focus of our lives, and let God prevail. Elder Uchtdorf's talk has some important reminders about how we can do exactly that.

To better hear His voice, it would be wise to turn down the volume control of the worldly noise in our lives.

 

My husband frequently asks me if I've heard about this or that in the news currently. Often I have only seen a headline but not followed through reading the whole article or listening to a podcast or YouTube video. I just don't have the "bandwidth" to keep up with all the bad news in the world. It gets to be so depressing and discouraging. (I wish there was a channel devoted to just reporting the good things that are happening!)

I love listening to the new hymns while I'm working around my home, currently packing up to move, or while I'm driving (it's forty-five minutes to the towns where I shop and attend church). The hymns are soothing, inspiring, and conducive to hearing the Spirit.

My dear brothers and sisters, let us strive to be among those whom the Lord can rely on to hear His whisperings and respond, as Saul did on his road to Damascus, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"

Not only can we receive promptings for service, but answers to questions, solutions to challenges, and ways to move forward.

I remember what it's like to be home surrounded by clamoring children and in the throes of intense motherhood. Generally at the end of the day I could be heard saying, "Please, Mother needs peace!" Putting on some classical music to soothe the savage beasts helped relieve the clamor and brought a better spirit into our home, enough so that I could feel calm and be able to hear and perceive the Spirit. I remember a few times of receiving promptings of what I could do for the sisters I visited taught (the olden days). But also answers to what I could do for solving challenges we were facing in our family. Never discount the work we do in our homes with our families as somehow less than serving others outside. The people most important to us, now and in eternity, are our own family, spouse and children!

If we live according to our beliefs, people will notice. If the countenance of Jesus Christ shines in our lives, if we are joyful and at peace with the world, people will want to know why.

Once I asked my children if they could tell what was most important to me. "Yes, Mom, the gospel," they answered in an almost exasperated tone, as if that was a duh question. It made me feel good to know that I was doing something right and that they knew what and who my life was focused on, besides them.

Brothers and sisters, dear friends, let us not wait too long on our road to Damascus. Instead, let us courageously move forward in faith, hope and charity, and we will be blessed with the light was are all seeking upon the path of true discipleship.

Rest Unto Your Souls

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday afternoon session of the October 2010 conference.

Our son's suicide was the most lift up-ending event that has ever happened to me. It shook the foundations of our family, rattled my faith, and shattered my sense of identity and worth. 

About six months prior to James leaving us, I had an urgent and persistent prompting to study the gospel more diligently and deeply. Following that inspiration proved to be life saving to me.

Elder Per G. Malm of the Seventy said, "Faith in Jesus Christ and following His teachings give us a firm hope, and this hope becomes a solid anchor to our souls. We can become steadfast and immovable. We can enter into the rest of the Lord."

That first sleepless night after my husband discovered what had happened to James I tossed and turned unable to turn off my brain or my tears. All night my mind alternated between two thoughts as wave after wave of gratitude filled my soul: "I know that my Redeemer lives!" and "I'm so grateful for the honor and privilege of being James' mother." 

The past two and a half years have been hard, lonely, and uncertain as we've grieved, navigated changes in life plans, and healed from the gaping hole that James left in our family.

Elder Malm says, "A helpful habit is to lift our vision daily in order to maintain an eternal perspective of the things we plan and do, especially if we detect a tendency to wait until a future tomorrow to do what we know we should pursue while we have our present today."

I shudder to think of how weak I might have been if I hadn't followed the prompting to deepen my knowledge and testimony of the Atonement of the Savior, the Plan of Salvation, and eternal families. I often wonder how others who do not know what I do, and have what I have, endure the pain of a loved one's death.

If I ever wonder how to tell if a prompting is from God, I remember what I know from Moroni. Elder Malm reminds me in his talk. "When we learn to handle the small and simple daily things in a wise and inspired way, the result is a positive influence that will solidify harmony in our souls and build up and strengthen those around us. This is so because everything which invites us to do good 'is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore [we] may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God' (Moroni 7:16)."

Sister Camille Johnson's talk in the most recent general conference fits well with this one too. We can be whole in Jesus Christ even though we are not physically, emotionally, or mentally healed. The death of James is permanent for the rest of my life, he will not be returned to me. I will miss him every day and feel a void where he used to be. But I am whole in Christ and can keep pressing forward steadfast in Him knowing that our family will be reunited in the future.

 

Payments and Dividends

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the October 2007 conference.

About six months prior to our son's suicide I felt a strong impression that I needed to "up my game" in gospel study. I worked on being more diligent at studying every day. When the crisis hit my testimony of the Savior and His Atonement was strong enough to support me through that trying time. 

Elder Keith K. Hilbig of the Seventy says, "If you set your payment, which is your personal effort, very low, you may not be able to avail yourself of all the Spirit has to offer. You may even quench the Spirit! However, if you set your personal contribution high, you will reap an abundant harvest from the Spirit. The payment I reference is, of course, not money, rather it is a greater commitment to and involvement in personal spiritual endeavors and behaviors."

"Would you consider investing more of your time in the things of eternity in order to merit the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and to benefit more fully from His influence?"

I'll be forever grateful I paid attention and acted upon that particular prompting.

Start Early and Be Steady

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Afternoon session of the October 2005 conference.

Towards the end of 2022 as I began thinking about New Year's Resolutions, goals, and what I wanted to accomplish in the new year I felt the distinct impression that I needed to up my game, so to speak, in daily scripture study. I needed to be consistent and faithful. It was such a strong impression that I didn't think about anything else and began right away to make a weekly plan and study each day. 

I learned to love the scriptures as a child from my father and his father, my Grandpa Joe. Then as a teen seminary was a wonderful time of learning and I began to mark scriptures and look for cross references. Serving as a missionary brought greater understanding as I studied each day and then taught others the gospel of Jesus Christ. That time of my life laid a strong foundation for the rest of my life.

But, I failed to keep it up and there were times when I didn't study at all. Raising children limited my study time and I rarely got more than the minimum read for lessons, talks, or Family Home Evenings. After all the children left home I got more diligent and began to enjoy again the sweetness of personal revelation through the scriptures.

From December 2022 to April 2024 I don't think I missed a day of study. My testimony of the Savior deepened as I studied the New Testament accounts of His life. My gratitude for Him grew too.

Elder Henry B. Eyring said, "What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation. It is to have developed a faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends. That test is part of the purpose God had for us in the Creation."

My day of testing came on a Monday when my husband called me to tell me our precious son was gone, killed by his own hand. I have never felt pain, nor screamed, nor cried like I did at that moment. It was horrific and frightening. But as my heart raced the thought that filled my mind and my heart was, "I know that my Redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives." My faith was anchored to the Rock of Our Redeemer. I was so grateful to have followed the prompting to increase my gospel study over the preceding five months.

The great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God's commands in the midst of the storms of life. It is not to endure storms, but to choose the right while they rage.

I'm nobody special, I've no special powers, or even calling. Sometimes I'm really good at ignoring promptings or procrastinating following them. But in that instance I was obedient and I'm so glad I was. 

However much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation. Procrastination and inconsistency are its mortal enemies.

Over the past year when I have felt like giving up and giving in to grief and despair, I remember the tender mercy from Heavenly Father prompting me to study more diligently. He knew what was coming and what I would need. I'm grateful I obeyed. I hope I can continue faithful and endure to the end of my mortal test.

James, Tatum & Daniel