The Lord Speaks

As expected, here is my semi-annual General Conference report of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This conference was as great as every other conference I've listened to. Elder Holland's talk was beautiful and the General Priesthood session was filled with great council. I wanted to write about Elder Hales' talk though, if only because it was the first one I have re-read since conference ended, and because it was very wise council for our times. (Elder Robert D. Hales, Becoming Provident Providers: Temporally and Spiritually, General Conference April 2009)

My wife and I had been exploring a job opportunity that had some great upsides, but just as many downsides. It seemed like there was no clear answer - at least to me, because I really wanted to accept it. After Elder Hales' talk, I knew that we needed to sit down and read it together and that the answer to our situation would be apparent.

We finally made the time to do so, and within the first couple of paragraphs I had my answer. We finished reading the talk and we both knew what we should do. I had the impression that if I took this job, we'd be so caught up in trying to make ends meet that the good habits we are trying to establish would begin to slip. I knew that we needed to be better prepared spiritually and temporally before we took such a step.

The impression was so real that I thought I had read those words in the talk itself. After I told my wife my thoughts, I tried to find the section of the talk I thought it came from. I could not find those words. I was a little surprised by this and was so sure that I had read something about losing spiritual strength by incurring debt that I read the talk again. After a little searching, I finally found the sentence that must have triggered the thought. Speaking of debt and addiction, Elder Hales said, "All of these excesses affect us individually and undermine our family relationships."

After I read that sentence it was like someone said to me, "If you take this job, you will not be the husband and father you need to be." Although those words were not in Elder Hales' talk, I know where they came from: the Lord speaks to us when we open our hearts to the prompting of the Holy Ghost and are willing to submit our will to His.

When we sit down to study, pray, or listen to a church talk or lesson with the intent and expectation to learn and hear the Lord's voice, and obey it, He will always speak to us (in His own time and way of course). I just read this quote from President Hinckley that affirms this conviction; "Call upon the Lord. He has extended the invitation, and He will answer” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 469).

I know that to be true. The Lord lives and He speaks to us. We just have to wait patiently and listen. I am anxious to go through the other talks and hear what the Lord wants me to know and do.

Listening to the Spirit

Since moving to Virginia (Aug 2007), I have been listening to General Conference talks on my iPod on my way to work. Because my commute is sometimes more than an hour each way, I've listened to the same talks many times. To mix things up, I recently decided to download last conference in Spanish. I will admit the reason was not so I could get more out of conference, but rather so I could brush up on Spanish.

What happened was that I really had to listen to the words very carefully to catch their meaning. I had to "open my ears." As I did that, the Spirit touched my heart as these great men and women of the Lord testified of Him and His gospel. Even though I had heard it all many times before, my testimony was renewed.

This small experience reinforced in my mind the importance of really listening to the Lord's voice in the scriptures, at church, and during General Conference. Doing so, I think, can renew our testimonies each day and keep the fire burning strong so that we can have, as President Eyring has taught, "more than a memory of the moment when the Spirit whispered to [our] minds and hearts that God lived, that Jesus was the Christ, and that Joseph was their prophet." (Elder Eyring, An Enduring Testimony of the Mission of the Prophet Joseph, Ensign, Nov. 2003)

I have felt especially blessed this last week to have been born in the gospel as they say. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and know it's true. I know there are prophets and apostle on the earth today. I hope I can follow them, even as they point away from themselves and toward the Savior whom they serve.

General Conference...Living Water!

The Lord never lets us down! I had been feeling particularly worried about a certain aspect of my life, and the very first talk I really got to listen to (Elder Scott's, in the Priesthood Session) inspired and uplifted me just in the way I needed.

I wonder what would happen if we were to pray , or read the scriptures or attend church with the same attitude we have towards General Conference. I think we would probably find that the Lord is eagerly waiting for us to listen so He can inspire and uplift us. I think of the Nephites/Lamanites when Heavenly Father was announcing the Savior from heaven. They really had to turn to the sound of His voice and "open their ears" to hear Him. (3 Nephi 11:5) I have found that even the strangest of testimony meetings can be just as uplifting as General Conference, if we "open our ears."

I really believe that each moment of prayer, each time we attend church, each time we study the gospel, we can have that “General Conference” experience; when it seems as though what we are hearing/reading is directed at us personally. Of course, I don't think it will happen every time. We all have to experience trials of faith. But I think that if we prepare ourselves to hear the Lord's voice, when we really need to be directed and inspired, He will always speak to us.

I also think of President Monson, when he said something like, 'I want the Lord to know, that when He has something that needs to be done, Tom Monson will do it.' What a great thought! I think we all want to reach that level of trust with the Lord. The more obedient we are - which requires the exercise of faith - the more promptings we will get. And I am confident that the promptings will always be to do something to serve and help another one of Father's children.

I guess what I am saying is that, although we won't necessarily have "amazing" spiritual experiences every Sunday or every time we study and pray (we might not even feel anything), if we have been obedient and are listening for the Lord's voice, He will never let us down in our time of need. When He comes to us, to uplift and inspire, it might not be as quickly as we would like, but I know He will come. And the converse is, if we are disobedient and turn away from Him when more worldly pleasures are calling, we will probably miss out on hearing His voice and an opportunity to prove that when He has something that needs to be done, we will do it. Whenever I begin to feel that I am not getting anything out of my prayers, study, or church, the first thing I do is repent! I know that it is not the Lord who has distanced Himself from me, but that I have turned from Him.

I know that Heavenly Father speaks to us through His Son, through the Holy Ghost and our thoughts and feelings, and through the scriptures. He speaks to us through President Monson and the General Authorities of the church. He can speak to us through our local leaders, Sunday School teachers, Home Teachers, parents, siblings, children. We just have to turn our eyes towards Him and open our ears.

I am thankful that for all the times I have offended Him, He still speaks to me. He does so because I am His son and He loves me. I know I am not special in that regard, but we are all His children and He loves us all without condition.