Following The Spirit
The prophet Nephi said, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded" (1 Ne 3:7.) How was it that Nephi was able to accomplish what the Lord wanted him to do? He was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [he] should do" (1 Nephi 4:6.)
If we are to understand the guidance that the Lord would give to us in our lives, we must learn how to hear and understand the Spirit of God, and learn to follow the prompting we receive.
//For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will--yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man. (D&C 76:10)//
Often we are guided by the circumstances around us and think of them as the "signs" of what we should do. The scripture says, "But, behold, faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe" (D&C 63:9.) It is our faith, and our listening ear to the spirit that shows us the signs. To the spiritually blind, such activities are meaningless.
To the Lamanites, persecuting the righteous missionaries Nephi and Lehi, the Lord showed a sign.
//And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings. And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul-- And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth;//
-Helaman 5:29-31
I think that one of the most difficult, and yet most important, lessons of life is to learn to recognize the prompting of the spirit. Once we know what the spirit is directing us to do we have the option to choose whether we will obey.
When I was a freshman at BYU I was enrolled in a downhill skiing class. We met on Tuesdays to travel to the ski resort for a few hours of instruction and then an afternoon of skiing. One of the weeks was scheduled as an optional day. We were informed a week in advance that the busses would be provided so that we could get to the slopes and that the same reduced price lift tickets would apply, but that there would be no instruction or roll taking. My Tuesday afternoons of skiing were something I always looked forward to. I was able to leave my other cares and worries behind and have some fun. On this particular Tuesday I had a large amount of reading to do for a biology class. I had done very little by the time I was to begin getting ready for the busses to arrive, which was at 12:30. As I thought about the chance to ski I began to reason with myself. "It is part of a class. Normally I would have to go and this week is no different. I need the practice. We will be home by 6pm and I can do my reading and other assignments when I return." This was the logic of my thinking. Despite having logically convinced myself that I could go I still felt uneasy, so I decide that if it was serious enough to bother me it was serious enough to pray about. I knelt down in my room and offered my concerns to my Heavenly Father. I explained the options and why I felt I should go, and asked for guidance in my decision. As I finished my prayer I stood up and thought of the fun of skiing. I would need to hurry to get ready to catch the bus. I reached my skis and boots off the shelf and put them on the floor. I got my clothing out of the closet and began to get dressed. While doing so I put in one of my favorite CD's to listen to and let the player randomly select the song order. A song came on that caught my attention.
//How can I convince you,
what you see is real
who am I to blame you
for doubting what you feel. . . //
-Survivor, "The Search is Over."
The word went straight to my heart and I felt as if they were speaking to me. I felt uneasy about going to ski. I thought to myself, "I don't have time to go and I am trying to convince myself that I do have time." I knelt and thanked my Father for giving me the counsel I needed. The counsel I had asked for, even when I was hesitant to recognize it when it first arrived.
//"And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; [but] the LORD [was] not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; [but] the LORD [was] not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; [but] the LORD [was] not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was [so], when Elijah heard [it], that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave" (1 Kings 19:11-13.) //
The guidance that I received was not from the song that was playing. It is not the signs around us that are the Lord speaking to us, but the feelings that accompany such experiences. Revelation is always available if we are seeking it and listening for a response.
//A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.,) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.//
-Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Three 1838-39, p.151
Whether teaching the gospel or making choices based on the prompting of the spirit, the spirit of the lord is available to guide us as a still small voice. As we learn to follow it we may find that sometimes it asks us to do things that we do not understand, but that we know, by the spirit, that we are to do.
While serving as a missionary in Juneau, Alaska my companion and I were planning to go meet some investigators. As we went out to meet them we felt that there was something else that we should do. I offered a prayer, asking where we should go that we could be of the most use to our Father, and what He would like of us. As we concluded we decided that we should go "out the road." Juneau is an isolated city. Despite being the capital of Alaska the only access to it is by boat or plane. The city and all nearby communities are sandwiched between the tall mountains in the east and the ocean on the west. Roads to the north and south had been built as far as the coast would support construction. To the north was the area we referred to as "out the road." Out to about mile market 20 there were fairly regular homes and side streets. We began to drive out in this direction and as we passed these areas we felt that we should keep going. After about mile 25 the homes became few and far between. Some of the ones that we did see looked unused. We became confused by the reasoning for our feeling. This section of "town," if it could still be considered such, didn't look like somewhere the Lord would want us so we pulled over to pray once again and ask if we should turn around and do these dilapidated homes we had just passed. The impression was quite clear, keep going. Unsure of the reasoning, but firm in our impressions, we drove on. We decided to drive until we felt that we should stop. As we passed mile 35 we saw no more houses and shortly afterward, we left the paved road and passed a sign indicating no more road maintenance. We slowed down but continued to press on. We finally passed a sign that we were entering a national forest. Here we knew that there would be no homes but the feelings persisted. We drove to the end of the road. There was a small cove, a boat launch and a picnic area, but no people. We parked our car and walked around a bit. We knelt, we prayed, we thought, but all we knew is that we were where we were supposed to be. So we waited. As we were walking back to our car another car pulled up. We were so happy to see someone else that we walked faster, at least as best you can when you are wrapped up in an overcoat, towards them and where our car was parked. We didn't feel like we should talk to them strangely enough and they didn't look like they wanted to talk. The old car looked full of people and they looked preoccupied. We got in our car and pulled up next to them. We opened our area book and began looking for things to do as soon as this strange episode was finished. The other car pulled out and squealed its tires as it took off in what appeared to be a great hurry. Once they were gone we felt that our reason for being there was gone, so we headed back to town.
Many days later we found out second hand from some of the members that a group of criminals had tried to get out of Juneau, and been caught on the public ferry system. They had missed their rendevous with a private boat that would have helped them make their escape.
I must admit that I have no certainty that I had anything to do with theses criminals. The people we saw would have fit a criminal description. But even if they were not criminals, or even if there was some completely unrelated reason for our presence out on that deserted edge of Juneau, I know that I was supposed to be there.
The spirit is a powerful influence in our lives. It guides us and directs us. It can be a source of general nudging or specific and timely instruction. If we will listen, and obey, the Lord will give us the information that we need to know so that we can be successful in whatever our responsibilities or our needs. I testify that God loves us and that he is more than willing to guide us, and that he wants to do so, if we will let him in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
1999 Karl Kowallis
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