On this wonderful day in your lives, I want to share with you a story and four principles. I hope they will be helpful to you.
Here is the story. A single mother knelt by the side of her bed one evening filled with worry about her fifteen-year old son. She was worried about his friends, about his attitudes, about his school work, and about his behavior.
That night her prayer was very simple: “Oh, Heavenly Father, please help me with my son. I don’t know what to do. Everything I try seems to make him draw further away from me.”
Far away from where that mother lived, a young man and his wife sat at the table in their tiny apartment. They had a two-year-old daughter and were expecting their second child. The young woman had graduated the year before; her husband was planning to graduate in two months. They felt blessed to have job offers in two different places; now they had to decide. One offer was in a large city with a very prestigious multinational company; the salary seemed amazing to them. The other was in a smaller city with a local, mid-sized company; the salary was much less.
They had fasted and prayed, and both felt that they should take the job with the smaller company. It was really hard to turn down the money and the prestige, but they followed the promptings of the Spirit and took the job in the smaller city. When they moved, they found an apartment that put them in the single mother’s ward. Within a few weeks, the young father was called into the young men’s presidency.
Through tears, here is how the mother of the 15-year-old boy described what happened:
When that young father was called into the young men’s presidency, my son began to show more interest and started to attend young men activities. I couldn’t believe the change that took place.
That couple has a special spirit about them. There is light in their eyes. They really live the gospel, and they really love the young people in our ward. My son loves them. That young father has had so much influence on my son. He’s helped my son see the importance of school, and he’s such a good example of a righteous father and husband. My son now talks with me about wanting to grow up and be just like him. My son is happy and loves to go to school and to Church. I thank God for that young father and his wife. They were the answer to my prayers.
Here are the four principles that will be important to you as you move forward:
Principle #1: Pray for and be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Ghost will “testify of Christ,”[1] “guide you into all truth,”[2] “comfort you,”[3] “teach you all things,”[4] “show . . . you all things [you] should do,”[5] and sanctify your soul.
The companionship of the Holy Ghost is worth whatever it takes to have it.
Pray for the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
Principle #2: Do not trust in the arm of flesh
It is very easy to trust in the arm of flesh, especially your own. The arm of flesh includes the honors, wealth, philosophies, and commandments of men. As Proverbs wisely counsels us:
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”[6]
“Be not wise in thine own eyes.”[7]
Pray every day that God will help you not to trust in the arm of flesh.
Principle #3: Pray that God will send His angels
We all need the help of the angels of God, whether from the other side, or from this side of the veil. The Lord has said: “I have given . . . mine angels charge concerning you.”[8]
Pray every day that God will send His angels to help you.
Principle #4: Be the answer to someone’s prayer for help
If you live these principles, the Lord will trust you and send you on His errands. You will be the answer to the prayer of a bishop, or a mother, or someone you home or visit teach—or one of your own children. You will fulfill this remarkable charge President Monson has given all of us:
Not only by precept did Jesus teach, but also by example. . . . He stretched forth his hand . . . to succor the weak and lift up the hands which hang down and strengthen the feeble knees. Each of us has the charge to be . . . a doer . . . a lifter. . . . There are those within the sphere of our own influence who, with outstretched hands, cry out: ‘Is there no balm in Gilead?’9
Pray every day to know who the Lord wants you to help that day.
Brothers and sisters, I pray that you will trust in the Lord and have His Spirit in your hearts so that you will be the Lord’s angels who bring the balm of Gilead, the good tidings of great joy, the healing and redeeming power of Jesus Christ to those who are lost, whose hands hang down, whose knees are weak, and whose hearts are heavy.
I know the Savior lives. This is His Church and kingdom on the earth. I bear witness that there is available to all the Father’s children peace, happiness, and joy through the marvelous gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Jacob 7:11
[2] John 16:13
[3] Isaiah 66:13
[4] John 14:26
[5] 2 Nephi 32:5
[6] Proverbs 3:5
[7] Proverbs 3:7
[8] D&C 84:42
[9] Thomas S. Monson, “With Hand and Heart, Ensign, October 1971