In last week’s address by Brother Rob Stewart we learned that we can “choose to live happily ever after.” Brother Stewart shared how he loves stories that have characters that are able to live happily ever after. He also taught that we are living the most important story of all time with a promise that we can live happily ever after and obedience is one of the keys to reaching that fairy tale ending to our eternal goal. [1]
As you have pondered how you can use Brother Stewart’s teachings to live happily ever after, I pray my comments today will help you on your way through your own fairy tale as I share some pieces of my fairy tale with you. When promptings come to you, please make a physical note of them in some way. I often feel like Moses in that I am not an eloquent speaker. However, I do know the Spirit will teach you what I hope to convey today.
Earlier this year our beloved prophet gave us an invitation prior to the celebration of Easter and in conjunction with the 200th anniversary of Joseph Smith’s vision that is changing the world. [2]
I have thought a lot about President Nelson’s question in this video. How do I hear Him? Did you also hear his invitation to “take steps to hear Him better”? While I have pondered this question in my mind, I have come to the realization that I also need to listen in order to hear.
As a young child going to Primary right after we got out of school every Tuesday afternoon, I remember the chaos of 50 or so kids jumping off the buses and running towards the church house. It was a miniature three-ringed circus. However, I also remember many occasions when the teachers would greet us with an opening song, to help us turn our attention to the Savior. It was a simple song that goes:
The chapel doors seem to say to me,
“Sh, be still.”
For this is a reverent place to be,
“Sh, be still.”
We gather here on the Sabbath day
To learn of Jesus, to sing and pray.
So when we come through the chapel doors,
“Sh, be still.” [3]
The chorus of this song has played an important part in my life. As we work towards reaching our fairy tale ending to this life, there is a lot that goes on around us. Difficult choices may lie before us. Challenges certainly await us. Confusion and discouragement may set in around us. But if we do as the words of the children’s song says, and take time to put the phrase “Sh, be still” into action, we will be able to “hear Him” and reach our most worthy goals.
As a boy, Joseph Smith was surrounded by many “crying, ‘Lo, here!’ and others, ‘Lo, there!’ Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.” [4] He was so confused. He knew he needed to be following the gospel, but each faith told him something different. How could he possibly decide which church to join with all the confusion in his mind? In 1820, Joseph decided to go to the woods to be alone and take time to be still. What happened because of his choice to do so allowed him to hear what he needed to hear and begin the process that would bless millions of lives eternally. [5]
Growing up, I had only one goal in mind; it was that of becoming a professional bull rider. I worked as hard as I could at the time to reach that goal. Working towards that goal required a lot of hard work, and it did not come without cost. After graduating from high school, I went to work farming for some neighbors. There was plenty of work to do, and I could earn extra money to put into my efforts of realizing my dreams. I had decided at that point that I was more destined to be a bull rider than a missionary for the Lord. I felt that the time frame for me to serve a mission had passed. One day as I traveled back and forth hauling wheat to market, a storm was on the horizon. If we did not beat the pending rain, we would get behind. Getting behind meant other things would also have to be put on hold or not get taken care of. I was traveling in haste, and for one moment everything seemed perfect, but the next moment everything changed. Something caused the truck to die. As it died, it was going quickly too far to the side of the road. With all my might I steered the truck away from the edge of the road only to have it go uncontrolled to a gutter on the other side of the road. As we went into the gutter and the truck turned on its side, something happened beyond my control. I don’t even know what happened. The next thing I remember, the truck was on its wheels and back on the road. A very loud voice in my mind was yelling, “You should have been on your mission.”
Arguing with my mind for the next few days was not a pleasant experience. Being on a mission would ruin my chances of becoming a professional bull rider. However, inside the cab of a tractor and all alone, I took time to be still. I knew what the Spirit had told me to do, so I asked for Heavenly Father’s help in knowing how to find the courage to do it. It would be way out of my comfort zone to serve a mission. I didn’t feel prepared. I was scared of the possibility of being sent to a strange land or, worse yet, have to learn a new language. However, over the next few weeks I came to know that it was Heavenly Father’s desire that I go, and that He would prepare the way for me to do so.
I gave into the will of our Heavenly Father. I never rode another bull. And I served a mission for the Lord. That turned out to be a challenge that is blessing my life endlessly.
On this week’s discussion board, I shared a small part of 3 Nephi 10, which was one of my favorite things to teach the people of Honduras and Guatemala while serving my mission. In this time the Nephites have been through a time of great destruction and calamity because of their wicked ways. The people had been in darkness and suffered great sadness for the loss of their loved ones. “And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away.” [6] The resurrected Jesus Christ then came to visit them as they had been promised for centuries, but they had to be still and listen before they heard the Father announce the coming of the Son.
I asked for you to share your experiences when you may have heard a prompting but may not have understood or followed it because you weren’t listening.
After reading the questions I posed, one sister reached out to me by email and has allowed me to share this very personal story of an experience that helped her understand the importance of listening to the Spirit when He speaks:
When I was 16 years old, my aunt passed away suddenly. My ward was scheduled to leave for a trip to Nauvoo just a few days after it happened. . . . After several days of spiritual uplifting and stories of the pioneers, I went into the Nauvoo temple to do baptisms for the dead. While waiting, one leader commented how amazing it was that spirits of deceased relatives were able to be there in the temple to witness their baptisms. . . . The first thought that popped into my head was of my aunt. That thought made me feel very strongly, and I immediately repressed it because I did not want to cry. The thought returned a second and third time and then went away.
After doing the baptisms for my family names, I went on to do their confirmations. My bishop was the one performing the ordinances. I waited my turn, and then received the gift of the Holy Ghost on behalf of my family names. As I got up to leave, my bishop stopped me, and told me that he had just felt a very strong prompting that he needed to tell me that my aunt was present there in the room with us. When I wouldn't "open my ears to hear" the third time he tried to tell me she was there, he went to someone who would hear and asked them to tell me to listen.
Immediately after my bishop told me that, I felt so overwhelmed that I had to leave and go somewhere alone. After a few minutes, I stopped. I was still. I listened and I understood. I felt so strongly loved in that moment, far more than I have ever felt in my lifetime. It felt as though I were being given a hug, and I felt real peace for the first time in a long time. I knew that everything would be alright. It never felt fair that she was taken away, and that her two-year-old daughter would never know her mother. But when I listened, I knew that they would be okay, and so would I.
Many times throughout my adult years as a husband and father, I have had to take time to be still. Life has not always been easy for my wife and me. Raising four children came with a set of challenges that neither of us was educated in.
I was the oldest of 11 children. I had plenty of opportunities growing up to learn how to milk the cow, do my chores, change diapers, wash dishes, do laundry, cook, and babysit. I assumed I had learned all that could be learned about raising kids and being a parent. Boy, was I wrong! Raising your own children comes with its own unique set of challenges. There are emotional and physical challenges that are unique to each child. There are spiritual challenges that must be worked through, both between parents and children.
It became clear very quickly that I knew very little about being a parent. There are so many ways to raise children, and as parents we would have to counsel together about what is best for our children. As each challenge would arise, I learned that the first requirement to find resolution was to be still. By being still for a moment, I found it easier to listen for a prompting from the Holy Ghost to help me know what to do. That moment often came in the middle of the night, on the top of a mountain, or sometimes in the middle of a disagreement. Things haven’t always worked out in the way I wanted them to, but I have been blessed beyond measure for taking time to be still and wait for help from the greatest source of all.
A few years ago, I was called to serve in a YSA ward here on campus. It was an unexpected calling, and I was sure the Lord needed someone better than me to serve His young single adults of the Church.
As I sat with the stake presidency for my visit that day, I was asked if I would be willing to shave my mustache to qualify to serve. I was not excited to hear that question. I didn’t want to shave my mustache. I had had a mustache for my whole life since returning from my mission. It was like my trademark. My wife and children had never known me without it.
That night I wrestled with the choice before me. I could just keep my mustache and tell them I was good with being in my home ward calling. I could just keep it and see what happened. Or I could do as asked and shave it off. It was a real dilemma in my mind.
At some time in the night I heard the words of the Primary song in my mind, “Sh, be still.” So, I did. I decided to stop wrestling with the decision and worry about it the next day. Later that night as I was not worrying about the dilemma I had been wrestling with, the Spirit touched my heart and whispered in my mind, “Would you miss all the blessings that can be yours—for a mustache?”
Over the next few months, I served as a ward clerk, then a high councilor, and just a year ago was called as a bishop. As I have served in the YSA wards, I have seen blessings so abundant I cannot even list them. Without having taken the time to be still, I may not have been prepared to receive the answer I got that night. That answer prepared me for the time that I would be needed to serve the Lord in the capacity of bishop. Even though I still miss my mustache, I have seen miracles take place in some of your lives because of the opportunity I took to hear Him.
Dan Crenshaw was a Navy Seal who now serves as a congressman in Washington, D.C. During his training in the Navy, one of the trainings he had to do was “drown-proofing.” As a Navy Seal, that is important training since a lot of their time is spent in water. A requisite for being able to keep from drowning is to learn to be still. The ability to be still and think prepared him for what would happen to him after his training.
During his service in the Navy, he was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. He has dealt with outraged protestors and constituents while serving in congress. He has felt the work of Satan all around him. He has also felt the importance of religion and the hand of God in his life. He firmly believes in the concept of being still. He points out that by taking time to be still and listen, we can make better decisions and more informed opinions about the things that go on around us. But he also points out the chaos that can destroy us if we do not take the steps to be still before acting. Mr. Crenshaw said, “A still person has the power to simply . . . not know . . . . To be still is to be much, much happier. . . . What if life hits you unexpectedly? . . . When that unfortunate moment comes (it will), promise yourself that you will encounter it with tenacity, thoughtfulness, . . . and self-control. You will be ready. You will be ready to listen . . . . You will be ready to admit you don’t know the answer and seek it out . . . because you live with stillness.” [7]
The last few months have been challenging for all of us around the world. With a global pandemic taking place, many of us have not been sure of how to handle our situation. Some of us had to figure out how to finish classes online. Some of us finished up our college experience but could not have a graduation to celebrate our accomplishment. Some want to go home but cannot. We have not been able to attend church and worship the Savior and be with those who can strengthen us. Some have lost jobs or loved ones. How can we possibly hear Him with all this going on around us?
As you struggle to make sense of the issues playing out before us, accept the invitation Mr. Crenshaw made and promise yourself that you will be ready to be still and listen. Let’s take time out of our busy days to hear Him by being still. The words of the Hymn “Master, the Tempest Is Raging” shares a message similar to the troubles we are facing:
Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today.
The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul,
And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
Oh, hasten and take control!
And then the chorus beautifully promises us His hand will be there to help us through the storms of life:
The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:
Peace, be still.
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
Or demons or men or whatever it be,
No waters can swallow the ship where lies
The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, be still; peace, be still.
They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
Peace, peace, be still. [8]
I hope you have made physical notes as you have listened to the Spirit today. In addition, I would invite each of you to ponder and prove the words of the Primary song when you need to hear Him. Not only when you come to the chapel doors but when you have a choice to make, face a new challenge, or struggle with fears of the world around you, remember, “Sh, be still.” I have had to take several opportunities to remind myself and others,“Sh, be still. ” In doing so I have been able to receive answers from the Spirit to help me know what to do. I have had special experiences that have helped me hear Him and know that we are still under the careful and watchful eyes of a loving Heavenly Father. As I have been blessed by doing so in my life, I know you can be blessed by doing so as well. Of these things I so testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] See Robert Stewart, “Choose to Live Happily Ever After,” BYU-Idaho devotional, Aug. 11, 2020.
[2] See “#HearHim: President Nelson Invites Us to Hear the Voice of The Lord”; churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2020-02-1000-hearhim-president-nelson-invites-us-to-hear-the-voice-of-the-lord?lang=eng.
[3] Children’s Songbook, 156.
[4] Joseph Smith—History 1:5.
[5] See Leon Parson, “Joseph, This Is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!,” oil, 1999.
[6] 3 Nephi 10:9.
[7] Dan Crenshaw, Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage, 2020.
[8] Hymns, 105.