My dad and I were painting back bedrooms in our house when I was 16 years old. It was a hot dry dusty summer Utah day. My mom and sister were shopping and our dogs were outside roaming the forest behind our house. Our back yard bordered the forest service so we had a mountain and the forest as our backyard. When we let the dogs outside, we normally left the backdoor open so they could come in whenever they felt like it.
My dad became thirsty, so he decided to get something to drink from the kitchen. Within a couple of seconds after he left me, he started yelling and shouting. Now my Dad was a very calm man. He rarely lost his temper and he never raised his voice, but he was quite excited about something and was yelling for me to come here.
I walked to the hallway outside of our dining room and saw my dad pointing in the corner of the room. I stepped into the dining room and looked in the corner to see what he was pointing at. There was a rather large snake - about 3'-4' long and about as big around as the largest part of my forearm -- in the corner. The snake had crawled in the backdoor we had left open for the dogs.
My dad and I were not really sure what kind of snake it was. Rattlers are bad and gopher snakes are pretty harmless, but they look very similar and this snake could have been either. Well, we were not going to take any chances, so my dad went down to the garage and found a couple of six foot long boards. The plan was that I would push the snake with my board towards the backdoor and once the snake was by the door my dad would push it outside. Only problem was, the snake did not want to go back outside. It coiled up in the corner, raised it rattles in the air, and began to strike at our sticks.
When those rattles started shaking, my dad jumped back and said 'Hot darn, it is a rattle snake," almost like he was happy and excited to see a rattler in our dining room. And yes, he really said "Hot darn" - I'm not editing.
Our life is like a house, it's built on sand or on stone, a holy temple or an unholy temple. If we leave the wrong door open, and the snake of sin enters our life, we make our self a place where the Spirit can not dwell,[1] where Jesus can not come.
The Lord knows you, He loves you, and wants to be part of your life in a very personal way. He is always at the front door knocking, but sometimes we can't hear because we are dealing with a snake in our dining room. Maybe we are uncomfortable inviting a heavenly guest into our house because of our not so friendly snake.
What do we say to a guest who's come over for dinner and we have a snake in our dining room? "Oh hey, come on in. Glad you could come over for dinner. Don't mind the snake in the dining room. Just keep your feet up and he probably won't bother you."
After we made a few attempts to move that snake towards the back door, it became really mad and started lunging at us. One time it lunged at my dad with full force. Its body went completely straight in the blink of an eye. You can imagine the adrenaline that would rush through your veins if a rattle snake moved 3'-4' towards you faster than you could blink.
My dad jumped back and he smacked that rattler on the head with his board. Then, he pulled back the board with a backswing that would have made Tiger Woods envious, and with a perfect 300 yard forward swing he launched the snake out the door - and, no divot in the carpet.
Once a snake enters your dining room, it may be hard to get it out. You may need help from a parent, a spouse or a Bishop. But getting it out is worth it. The joy that will fill your soul will exceed your pain.[2] It is better to be obedient, leave the backdoor shut, and have your house ready at all times, but repentance is a way to cleanse your house, if necessary.
Jesus said "I stand at the door, and knock, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."[3] Because He loves us, knows us, and wants to be part of our life, He is at our front door already and we need to prepare your house through obedience and repentance to accept him. Once we have cleaned our house and are prepared to receive the Lord, we must hear His voice and knocking at the door. I testify that we hear His voice at the door when we faithfully study the word of God. Let me illustrate.
Paul McCauley was a happy devoted member of the Baptist church in the late 1960s. He loved his family and he worked hard to provide for them. He understood the value of spending quality time together as a family, so one year they took a long family vacation, in their station wagon, from the East to the West and back East again.
It was a foggy day when they arrived in Manti Utah on their way to Bryce Canyon and Arches. Paul said they came into town and there was a fog low to the ground. Because it was low to the ground, He saw what looked like a castle floating on a cloud. The Manti temple would look like it was floating because it sits on a hill and was above the fog.
He decided he needed stop and take a closer look at this floating Mormon castle, which he knew was a Mormon Temple because of all the road signs. He parked his car in the temple parking lot and headed towards the backdoor of the Temple in shorts and a pack of cigarettes rolled up in the sleeve of his tee-shirt. He said he headed to the backdoor, the wrong door, because he figured missionaries would try to snag his name at the front door - and if missionaries got hold of his name and address they'd never leave him alone.
There was a nice grounds keeper who saw Paul headed to the back door of the temple and said, "You are not a member, are you?"
The grounds keeper did his best to explain to Paul why he and his family could not tour the inside of the temple and he showed Paul to the visitor center.
Paul was just curious enough to know more that he went into the visitor center to see what he could find out about the church. At one point of the tour, he found himself in a small theater watching Man's Search for Happiness. So many of his questions were answered by just that one movie, and, maybe more importantly, he felt something powerful. So, Paul filled out a referral card, at the insistence of his wife, in spite of the fact that he did not really want missionaries knocking on his door.
A year passed after the McCauley's came home from their vacation and no missionaries showed up at their home. Paul had pretty much forgotten about Mormons. But, one night he came home a bit tipsy from the drink, and did something he'd done for most of his life before going to bed. He sat down, grabbed his scriptures, let them fall open to a page, and read on that page. On that night he said something remarkable happened. He said he clearly remembers the scriptures speaking to him, they said: "Paul, you are a drunken disciple." The message was clear, Paul knew he needed to get his life in order. He asked his sweet wife to "Call the Mormon missionaries" and two sister missionaries showed up knocking at the front door the next day.
One thing led to another, and the McCauleys were baptized members of the Church. The Lord knew the McCauleys and He loved them. Paul heard the voice of the Lord at the front door as he studied the word of God. And when we immerse ourselves "in the scriptures regularly and consistently...testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow."[4] We will hear the Lord's voice and knocking at the front door.
Remember, the Lord said "I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him..."[5] We must hear and heed his voice and I testify that we hear his voice at the door and hear him knocking when we study the word of God.
I'm grateful Paul heard the voice of the Lord (and the Sister missionaries) at the front door as he read the scriptures because he started something that day that would have eternal consequences. In my case, Nancy McCauley, his daughter, became my best friend and we entered the front door of the Washington, D.C. temple to become eternal companions.
Through study of his word, we have heard his voice at the front door. Through obedience and repentance, we have prepared our house to receive him.
Notice that the Lord said, He stands at the door, and He knocks. He tells us that we must to hear Him and we must open the door—hearing and opening are our responsibility. So how do we open the door? Prayer is how we open the front door to let him in. Let me explain.
In September of 2002, I had the privilege of eating lunch with the magnificent and happy Elder Perry - sat right next to him and chatted all through lunch. When I got home that night, I shared my experience with Sister Sessions.
She gasped because she really wanted to meet Elder Perry. He is one of her favorite apostles - she appreciates his persistent smile and positive attitude. With Elder Perry, you can tell that "when Jesus shows his smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul!"[6] Later that month after I met Elder Perry, Sister Sessions and I went to General Conference in Salt Lake. I had arranged to meet with Elder Condie of the seventy while we were in Salt Lake because Elder Condie was going to preside at our Stake Conference in a few weeks. He wanted to meet with me to discuss the needs of our stake and agendas for the various meetings we were going to have.
I knew Elder Condie's office was located in the same building where the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve were located. For a couple of weeks prior to our visit to Salt Lake I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to bless Sister Sessions that she might meet and shake the hand of one of the Apostles, maybe even Elder Perry, while I met with Elder Condie.
When we arrived at Elder Condie's office, we found it was right next to the office of one of the Apostles. I went in and met with Elder Condie and Sister Sessions sat in a chair outside the door of the Apostle's office - and that apostle was in his office. I knew my prayer would be answered and she would meet an Apostle. When I came out of Elder Condie's office, Sister Sessions and I started to head for the front door, and I asked if she had met the Apostle.
She said "No," he got a phone call right after we arrived and he closed the door to his office. He only reopened the door a couple minutes before I finished my meeting, but he never came out of his office so she never met him.
As we walked towards the front door, my heart sank that she had not met one of the Apostles. I wanted so much for her to have a sweet experience shaking the hand and saying hello to one of those great men. As I put my hand on the door to open it and leave the building, I still had a prayer in my heart that she would meet someone, and an office door to our right opened and several brethren stepped out. One of the brethren walked directly towards us and we paused for a moment realizing the person walking our direction was James E. Faust, counselor in the First Presidency.
We were the only people there and it suddenly seemed very quiet. President Faust shook Sister Sessions hand and spoke sweetly and gently to her. He then shook my hand, asked my name, and where we were from. But then he didn't let go of my hand. He moved closer and looked into my eyes. He didn't say a word, just held his eyes on mine. After what seemed like a long time, I said a very short prayer and asked "what is going on here?" The prayer in my heart opened the front door to heaven and the Spirit said very plainly, "you are having your PPI."
Well, you can imagine how I felt at that moment. Emotions welled up inside of me and tears filled my eyes. I was just about to melt when President Faust let go of my hand, patted me on the shoulder and said, "you'll be fine." Then, he walked away leaving me speechless.
It wasn't the kind of experience that was going to save our souls or change our testimonies, but we knew Heavenly Father knew us intimately and loved us perfectly. He wanted to come into our house in a very personal way.
Think how amazing prayer really is - Prayer provides you and me with an opportunity to have a two-way communication with the most loving, knowledgeable, wise, merciful being in the entire universe. We can express our concerns and joys to him. He shares insights and guidance with us. He looks into our eyes and sees us for who we are - and then blesses us - sometimes with a simple statement of counsel, such as, "you are having your PPI," or with words of comfort like "you'll be fine."
Like the primary song says, "Heavenly Father, are you really there? And do you hear and answer every child's prayer? Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray."[7] At the next General Conference, President Faust spoke directly to Sister Sessions and I in his talk.[8] I know some of you have had similar experiences in the past. Now she and I know he spoke to all Saints world-wide, but it was as if he'd peered into our deepest concerns about our family and spoke, no, spoke is the wrong word, it was more like he prayed for us and our family for 20 minutes. Prayer for our family had opened the front door to heaven and Heavenly Father spoke to us through one of His divinely appointed servants.
Oh, just a minute, my smart phone must have been listening to me. It sent me a message - these smart phones are just too smart. The message reads, "but aren't I the modern day equivalent to the ball of curious workmanship? Don't people stare into their phone, even while walking, hoping it will point the way they should go?"
Silly phone, I have to call you to repentance. You are so prideful. When Lehi came out of his tent, he didn't find a cell phone or a tablet. You are not our Liahona-in-a-box. Our Liahona is found in the words of God and in the promptings of the Spirit.
Better make sure you are turned off...
Through studying the word of God we hear his voice at the door, like Paul McCauley did. Obedience and repentance prepares us to receive him by cleaning our house—we don't want any snakes in the dining room. And prayer opens the door so He can come in and converse with us. Once our guest is inside, we want to sit together at the dining room table and serve Him a meal. We serve the Savior when we serve others. "When we offer succor to anyone, the Savior feels it as if we reached out to succor Him."[9] One of our sons served in the military and was called to serve overseas. He had not been overseas very long when we received a phone call that he'd been seriously wounded.
Nancy and I met our son at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital a couple of days after we received the phone call—those were long days and nights we waited. When we met him, he was pretty busted up.
Following his fifth surgery in less than 3 days, he was in excruciating pain. The pain would come in great waves and then it would subside for a moment. It was terrible to hear him moan and scream in pain. He held his mom's little hand and I could see her tender fingers turn white when his grip tightened as the pain grew.
It was absolute chaos in his room. Doctors and nurses were running in and out. They gave him various medications and increased dosages, but nothing worked. After about 10 minutes of frantic activity at his bedside, the doctors decided to consult in the hallway. When they left, my son looked at me and said, "Dad, I need a blessing." The time for preparation was past. There was no time to fast or repent or get a snake out of my dining room. There was no time to figure out how to get in tune with the Spirit. I was the person—now was time.
The blessing was among the shortest that has ever crossed my lips. He was told that he would be able to withstand the pain until the doctors determined how to properly treat him.
He instantly relaxed and became calm. His entire facial expression changed. In less than a minute, the doctors came back into the room from the hallway. One doctor asked him, "what is different? Something has changed and everything seems to be better." My son looked at him calmly and said, "I can't explain it to you in a way that you would understand. The pain is just as bad as it was before, but somehow I am able to withstand it now."
The doctors wheeled him out of the room to another surgery room to see if they could figure out what was wrong. As he was being wheeled out, he looked at me and said, "Dad, it was the priesthood." Over the next hour, the doctors determined the shunt they had put in to deliver pain medicine was in the wrong place so it wasn't working and they were able to move it and relieve his pain.
How will we come to know the Savior as He is[10] if we do not strive to walk in His shoes?[11] It's one thing to read about riding a bike, but you won't know what riding a bike is really like if you do not ride it yourself. It is one thing to read about the Savior praying for and ministering to the sick and afflicted, it is another thing entirely to pray for and administer to the sick and afflicted. We must do His work to become as He is.
While my role of service in capacity as a priesthood holder provided my son with much needed relief, and we all experienced the power of the God that day, Nancy lived at Walter Reed with my son for the next five months, and had the opportunity to serve him nearly every moment of every day that she was with him. He couldn't walk or do many of the things he'd grown accustomed to doing for himself. She was his legs and, in many cases, his brains, advocate, paper filler outer, food getter, and a host of other things. It was hard for her. She was away from her other family members, her home, and friends. She had to witness on a daily basis the most terrible consequences war could inflict on the human body and mind with not only our son but many many men and woman. There were times she put our son to bed and go eat in the cafeteria by herself, but she was not alone—the Lord knew her personally, He loved her perfectly, and He supped with her and blessed her. She supped with the Lord by serving Him a meal, because His meal is served when we serve others.[12] "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."[13] The gospel challenges us to grow beyond a testimony of what we know, by doing His work so that we become even as He is.[14] Nancy grew and was strengthened with a gift of Christ-like love, even for the enemies that tried to kill our son - she came to understand that all are children of God.
Nancy and my son experienced God's love through service. She changed and became more God-like because God-like love dwelled in her, and because that love dwelled in her, God dwelled in her. "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."[15] God comes in and sups with those who serve others and he fills them with His love.
I have heard and read the brethren repeat so many times these four small and simple things[16] I have shared with you - they are:
- Read your scriptures - to hear his voice at the door
- Say your prayers - to open the door
- Be obedient - to keep your house clean
- Serve one another - and he will sup with you
Read your scriptures, say your prayers, be obedient, and serve one another.
I have planted these four seeds in the garden of my heart[17] and can testify that these are the straight and narrow path that lead to the tree of life. They are the blueprint to build spirituality, the way to hear the Lord at the door, to welcome Him in to sup with you. Doing these four small and simple things allow us to know Him as He is.
Jesus Christ lives. He knows you intimately, loves you perfectly, and wants to be a personal part of your life - let Him in, and He will sup with you. To this I testify, In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] See for example: 1 Nephi 10:21, D&C 109:20, Alma 40:26, 3 Nephi 27:19, Alma 11:37
[2] Alma 36:20
[3] Revelations 3:20
[4] Ezra Taft Benson, "The Power of the Word," The Teachings of Presidents of the Church, p. 120
[5] Revelations 3:20
[6] "There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today," Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, p. 227
[7] "A Child's Prayer," Children's Songbook, p. 12
[8] James E. Faust, "Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered," Ensign, April 2003
[9] Henry B. Eyring, "Is Not This the Fast That I Have Chosen?," General Conference, April 2015
[10] D&C 130:1
[11] See for example: 2 Nephi 31:12; 3 Nephi 18:24, 27:21; JST Matthew 26:25
[12] John 4:34
[13] Mosiah 2:17
[14] Dallin H. Oaks, "The Challenge to Become." Ensign, November 2000
[15] 1 John 4:16
[16] Alma 37:6
[17] Alma 32:28-43 for the experiment of planting the word of God