One of the greatest blessings that we have in this
gospel is the is the blessing that Heavenly father speaks to His children.
Revelation is communication from God to His children. This guidance comes
through various channels according to the needs and circumstances of the
individual. According to your faithfulness, you can receive revelation to help
you with your specific needs, responsibilities, and questions to help
strengthen your testimony.
Saying that making the
decision to serve a mission was hard and an understatement! It was very
difficult! Without personal revelation, and a lot of trust, I do not know if I
would be giving this talk today, and leaving in a few days to enter the MTC.
Sister Julie B. Beck said:
“The ability to qualify for, and act on personal
revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this
life.”
Why do you think that is? Why
is that so important? I know that for me in my life, that the ability to
qualify for, and act on personal revelation has been very
important, crucial even in these last 11 months since I graduated. This time in
my life is when I have needed God’s help and guidance more than ever before.
Before, I would pray to know what I should do and then talk to my parents about
my question. My parents would usually be able to help answer my question. That
is part of their role, and Heavenly Father gives revelation to parents for
their children. But in this chapter in my life I have needed to rely more on
God for answers. My parents were definitely a source of counsel and comfort,
but for receiving answers I needed to put forth a lot of effort to receiving
those answers and directions.
There
are several important lessons that I have learned while making this decision to
serve.
I
have always had the desire to serve a mission since I was a little girl, but as
I was in the last few years of high school, I had to consider all of my
options. Where should I get a job? Should I go to school before or after my
mission? Who do I be friends with? Should I date this person? Should I go to
YSA? Should I even go on a mission?
The first lesson that I have learned, is that as
children of God, we have agency. In a video clip titled: Being an agent to act,
Elder Bednar said the following.
“If we did not have moral agency, we would simply
be puppets manipulated by the strings of fate.”
We are free! This is such a great comfort to me, as
I have the power to make my own decisions and that what I choose is my choice.
I love this scripture in Helaman 14: for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted
to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he
hath made you free.
31 He hath given unto you that ye might know
good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death;
and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which
is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil
restored unto you.
There have been many times
where I almost did not want the choice, and have said “Whatever it is You want
me to do, I’ll do it!” Similarly, Elder Eyring said this in a recent Face2Face
with the youth “I reached the point where I said “I’ve got a choice to make.
I’ve got to do something. I’m not wise enough. I give up! I’ll do whatever You
want, tell me. Thy will be done! Father I’ll do what You want, I can’t go
without you.” My words and Elder Eyring words sound similar, but our
experiences with it are quite different. I had said that because I did want to
do what God wanted, but I hadn’t put forth all of the work on my part to
receive an answer. I said that because I was lazy and didn’t want to take the
time to search it out in the scriptures, or to ponder. In contrast, Elder
Eyring had reached the point of desperation almost. He had put forth the effort
to try to figure out the solution to his problem, and had complete reverence
and humility in his heart. He was spiritually in-tune and did not have hidden
ideas or opinions circling around in his head. He said that in those times, he
has received the greatest feeling of peace and reverence.
In his conference address in
April 2016, Elder Robert D. Hales said: “The Holy Ghost provides revelation to
help us make major life decisions about such things as education, missions,
careers, marriages, children, where we will live with our families, and so on.
In these matters, Heavenly father expects us to use our agency, study the
situation out in our minds according to gospel principles, and bring a decision
to Him in prayer.” “I remind all of us that the Holy Ghost is not
given to control us. Some of us unwisely seek the Holy Ghost’s direction on
every minor decision in our lives. This trivializes His sacred role. The Holy
Ghost honors the principle of agency. He speaks to our minds and our hearts
gently about many matters of consequence.”
The second lesson I learned is to make the decision
to act on the revelation and trust God. I have learned recently that more often
I will have to make a decision and act on it before I get the confirmation of
that choice, spoken about in D&C 9:7-8. 7 Behold, you have
not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took
no thought save it was to ask me.
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must
study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is
right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall
feel that it is right. There is a considerable amount of faith required to make
this step before receiving confirmation. I believe that we must have faith and
trust that Heavenly Father will help us with our choices. We can count on Him
that He will not let us make the wrong choice blindly. I also know He will not
force us to do that which is right. Elder Bednar said, and I
quote:
“The Savior’s gospel teaches that first we
act; then the power comes. We don’t know where to go, we don’t know what to do,
but my trust in Him enables me to act. He blesses me with His power, and that
confidence increases. We then can ultimately navigate the most difficult
circumstances in life knowing that we will never be alone and we will always
have his help.”
1 Nephi 4:6-7 “And I was led by the Spirit not
knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless, I went forth.”
I believe that the great test of mortality is to
see if we will obey the commandments and the revelation given to us. God knows
me, and if I pray for an answer, but I have no real intent to act on that
revelation, I will most likely not receive an answer.
Another
lesson that I have learned while deciding to serve a mission, is that I must
have humility and a desire to receive an answer and be grateful. Several months
ago, I had an important decision to make. I had prayed several times
before about it, but I hadn’t really received any direction. On one Sunday I
knew that I needed to get to the bottom of this.
- I counselled with parents and
bishop.
- I received a blessing.
- I repented and told the Lord
that I would try harder.
- I showed that I actually did
want an answer and had to humble myself to say that I needed the Lord’s help.
- I made a goal and told the
Lord my plan.
- I read my scriptures and said
meaningful prayers that week.
- I wrote down inspiration that
I received after I had humbled myself.
- I worked on improving other
aspects of my life like spending less time on my phone, and trying to keep a
clean room.
- The next Sunday I fasted and
went to a devotional. I prayed so hard that I would receive an answer during
that devotional, but I didn’t get one.
- That night I prayed and I had
come to the conclusion that I was OK if the Lord didn’t give me an answer yet.
I had more trust in Him and His timing than I had had the week before.
- I expressed gratitude.
- I received my answer. Small
but clear. More gratitude.
Elder Eyring said in the Face2Face that I mentioned
before, that when we pray, we should reverence ourselves. We need to prepare to
speak with God Almighty. We should prepare as though we are coming before The
Throne. He is our Father, and loves us, but we should not make our prayers
casual like we are going to chat with God. We must have humility and be
reverent.
The
next lesson that I learned, is the lesson that Elder Rasband taught in his last
conference address. “We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we
rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is
just our own thoughts. When we begin to second-guess, even third-guess, our
feelings—and we all have—we are dismissing the Spirit; we are questioning
divine counsel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the
first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten. The Lord has
said, “Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good.” May we live
close to the Spirit, acting quickly upon our first promptings, knowing they
come from God.”
Many times I have second
guessed, or have had worries or doubts that what I was doing wasn’t in harmony
with what God wanted for my life. My Mom and others would remind me to think of
when I had received my answer. She reminded me of when Martin Harris wanted the
first manuscript. Joseph Smith pleaded with Heavenly Father for permission to
lend the first 116 pages of the translated Book of Mormon to Martin Harris. The
Holy Ghost did not give Joseph a confirming feeling. Joseph asked two more
times until the Lord allowed Joseph to lend the pages anyway. Martin Harris
lost them, and Joseph learned a hard lesson – that he should listen to what the
Lord says the first time. When I begin to question whether or not serving a
mission is right for me, I try to first: remember when I first received my
small and simple answer. Second: pray for peace and the excitement of service
to come back. Then I must be patient and keep pressing forward. 22 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon
the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning
the truth of these things.
23 Did I not speak peace to your mind
concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God? D&C
6:22-23
I
know that God is there and that he listens to the pleadings of our hearts. The
last lesson that I have learned is that it is so important for everyone to have
personal relationship with God. He loves us and wants to help us!
President
Hugh B. Brown:
“I think one of
the first things that every young person should do is attempt to get acquainted
with God. I mean that in a very literal sense. I mean it in the sense that we
are able to go to Him and obtain the kind of help that we need. … I remember my
mother said to me when I went to go on my mission …: ‘My boy, you are
going a long ways away from me now. Do you remember,’ she said, ‘that when you
were a little lad you used to have bad dreams and get frightened? Your bedroom
was just off mine, and frequently you would cry out in the night and say,
“Mother, are you there?” And I would answer, “Yes, my boy, I’m here—everything
is all right. Turn over and go to sleep.” You always did. Knowing that I was
there gave you courage.
“‘Now,’ she said,
‘you will be about 6,000 miles away, and though you may cry out for me I cannot
answer you.’ She added this: ‘There is one who can, and if you call to Him,
He’ll hear you when you call. He will respond to your appeal. You just say,
“Father, are you there?” and there will come into your heart the comfort and
solace such as you knew as a boy when I answered you.’
“I want to say to
you young people that many times since then in many and varying conditions I
have cried out, ‘Father, are you there?’ I made that plea when in the mission
field we were mobbed almost every night, driven from place to place. We were
beaten, expelled from cities, our lives threatened. Every time before I went
out to those meetings I would say, ‘Father, are you there?’ And though I didn’t
hear a voice and I didn’t see His person, I want to tell you young people He
replied to me with the comfort and assurance and testimony of His presence”
(“Father, Are You There?” [address given at Brigham Young University,
8 Oct. 1967], pp. 5–6).
