Tag: Prophet

Story: Growth and Miracles

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I have been writing and submitting since 1996. That’s twenty-six years. And I just received my 168th rejection. So I’ve decided to self publish or indie publish. To begin my indie publishing career, I purchased three e-books on Amazon. Two were in the genre I want to publish, fairy tale retelling, and one was a clean romance. The first one had a lot of plot or action, but not much character growth and the second one was pretty good. The clean romance, While You Were Speaking by Maria Hoagland, was well done and fun. Then I read through my book again and discovered that it was a lot like the first e-book I purchased, lots of plot but little connection to the characters.

At my writing group last night, Neysa Jensen shared from Jane Friedman’s website that plot is the external events and story is the internal transformation. We care about the character and the story through that internal transformation.

Today I read about Job from the Old Testament and his trials in D. Todd Christofferson’s talk, Our Relationship with God. I used to think that we study the scriptures for examples of people who always do what is right and try to emulate them. But Job cried out against God, saying that he’d been wronged. God chastises Job, and Job admits his sins and is humble before God. I can relate to Job. I can appreciate his story. His flaw, his despair, his abandonment. In our Come Follow Me study we’ve learned about Moses and the Israelites. They were a people who murmured and sinned again and again, but God refined them and prepared them for the promised land. They grew and progressed like Job, and that’s the story I can understand. The story isn’t about perfection. The story is about turning to Jesus Christ and allowing Him to teach and shape us.

I am fearful of this next step in writing. There’s so much I don’t know. My current manuscript is not as good as I originally thought. But I have a deep need, a desire, and a push from the Spirit that this is what I should be doing. I need to let my story be one of growth. Growth is painful. If expressing yourself through writing is not your thing, you may not understand this creative need I have. This trial may seem silly compared to yours, but there is probably something that is unfulfilled in your life for which God can do miracles if you let him. President Russell M. Nelson urged us to “seek and expect miracles.”

I’m committing to my characters’ growth. I’m committing to my own growth. I’m committing to story and miracles.

What I Know

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My husband was sustained as the bishop of a new ward this past Sunday. For our first Sunday, he asked that I share my testimony in sacrament meeting. I’ve never shared my testimony as the bishop’s wife before and while a bishop, including my husband, and his family are not perfect, there is an expectation of behavior and belief. I’ve thought a lot this week about my testimony. Recently due to questions from family members and friends concerning the restored gospel and our prophet, I’ve questioned my own beliefs and had frequent doubts. While there is so much I don’t know and understand, there are some things I do know.

God is my Heavenly Father and He loves me. My earliest memory of this was when I was a child, sometime before I was eight years old. I was in bed at night and my dad was at a church meeting. A feeling of despair came over me, an almost tangible heavy darkness in my room. When my dad came home, I asked him for a blessing or to pray. I can’t remember which. He did what I asked and the darkness lifted. I had faith in my father. I knew he loved me, and I knew he could dispel the darkness. I now know that was because of the power of the priesthood. My earthly father’s love and power were a manifestation of my Heavenly Father’s love and power.

Jesus Christ is my Savior and because of His atonement, I can be cleansed of my sins and succored in my trials. I was praying for one of my children, crying in despair, and into my mind came the words, “Your child is in my hands” along with the image of the Savior’s open hands with the marks from the cross. I was taught that I am not my child’s Savior, to have faith in the Savior, and that Jesus Christ’s atonement was for me and my child.

Joseph Smith was a prophet. He translated The Book of Mormon and restored the gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days. I just finished reading Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Bushman. There are pieces of church history that are uncomfortable, but Joseph Smith was able to accomplish more in his lifetime than seems humanly possible. And it wasn’t possible on his own. Learning more about Joseph Smith makes me appreciate his life and sacrifice and reminds me that the Lord can use my efforts to do great things.

I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real because of the personal revelation I receive through the Holy Ghost. Moroni, a prophet in The Book of Mormon, taught, “I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). When I was a child, I relied on the faith of my parents. They loved me and I felt good when I attended church, read my scriptures, and prayed. Much of my obedience was out of duty to my parents whom I loved and the culture of the church. As I began to receive consistent revelation of my own and I acted on that revelation, I saw the results of my faith and my faith increased. That still meant I needed to act in faith and then see what happened, but I had many experiences to remind me that I would be blessed when I acted in faith. One of those experiences was when I had the thought in the temple that I should start a book club in my new neighborhood. I resisted, but when I finally acted in faith, the eventual results were better than I imagined. I have come to love the women in my book club and am enriched every time we get together. I refer to this experience often to strengthen my faith. As the Stake Young Women’s Camp Director this past summer, I was reminded by the Spirit that as I did the Lord’s will concerning the book club, He made more of it than I could make on my own and that the same thing would happen with camp. On Sunday after my husband was set apart as the bishop, a member of the Stake Presidency asked if being the director for Young Women’s camp this past summer has helped me with my husband becoming the bishop. The answer is Yes! As I’ve had fear and doubts about how this would all work out and how members would feel about the changes and how all the callings would be filled and how my husband would be able to be the bishop during tax season, I’ve been reminded by the Spirit again and again of the miracles, personal revelation, and strength I received as the director of camp because of my willingness to do the Lord’s will. This is the Lord’s work!

I know that President Russell M. Nelson is a prophet. In April 2018, President Nelson said, “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation” (“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for our Lives”). That prophecy has been fulfilled for me. There is so much confusion, so much doubt, so much information and misinformation, that if I did not study my scriptures and pray daily and act on personal revelation, I would not survive spiritually.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Seeing the Face of God

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The First Vision, by Gary E. Smith

I have been studying Jesus Christ in the Topical Guide of the scriptures and am currently learning about Jesus Christ as the Redeemer. Since as mortals, we all sin, we cannot be in the presence of God. Through the Atonement, Jesus Christ paid the price/gave himself as a ransom/reconciled us to God/ redeemed us. I previously thought of this redemption as something that happens in the future when we are judged and then if we’ve repented and strived to keep the commandments, Jesus Christ’s redemption will make it possible for us to be in the presence of God and have eternal life. But in my recent scripture study, I’ve learned through the Spirit that Jesus Christ’s Atonement offers me redemption now. I can be in the presence of God now. I can see His face daily.

For Family Home Evening we read the Gospel Topics Essay about Joseph Smith’s First Vision Accounts and we watched the video, “Ask of God: Joseph Smith’s First Vision.” I love that Joseph Smith asked for forgiveness of his sins and wanted a closer relationship with God. He didn’t expect when he prayed aloud that he would be visited by God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They appeared to Joseph Smith and forgave him of his sins. He learned that he should not join any of the current churches and that Jesus Christ’s church would be restored through him. I used to long for the same experience. I thought that if Jesus Christ appeared to me, then I would have no doubts and I would have assurance of my acceptability before the Lord. Joseph Smith made mistakes after his vision, needed to repent, learned how to receive revelation, learned line upon line, was chastised by the Lord, repented again, received more revelation, and tried to understand the revelation he received. That is the same process for me. I do not receive revelation for the church, but as I receive revelation for me, my family, and my calling, I am seeing the face of God or in other words, communicating with him.

Recently I received personal revelation for myself about the COVID vaccine. I felt very resistant to getting the vaccine. I won’t go into all the reasons, but generally I felt like I was healthy and my immune system could handle the virus. I also don’t like being told what to do. I value my agency. I’d seen the post from President Russell M. Nelson in January when he received the vaccine, but didn’t feel like he was saying I had to get it. After a talk in Stake Conference from our Stake President, I felt like he was saying in order to follow the prophet I needed to get the vaccine. I read the January statement thoroughly, but still didn’t feel like the prophet was issuing a commandment to get the vaccine. I did feel like the statement encouraged each person to be responsible and figure out for themselves what was best. I decided to pray and ask God. I prayed thinking I would receive a prompting that I should get the vaccine and I thought I would be unhappy with that answer. That’s not what happened. The distinct thought that came into my mind was, “It’s up to you.” As soon as I had that spiritual impression, I decided to get the vaccine. I still don’t know why that answer helped me decide to get the vaccine. Maybe I needed to not feel like I was being forced or commanded.

Many are struggling with the most recent letter from The First Presidency with greater emphasis on getting the vaccine and wearing masks if physical distancing isn’t possible. I know that our Heavenly Father wants each of us to communicate with Him. He wants us to share our concerns, our sorrows, our fears. He wants to communicate with us. He wants us to see His face. This is how we do that. “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:1).

Jesus Christ already redeemed us. He offered Himself for us. I believe that as each person does the work to receive personal revelation about the vaccine and any other concerns, what is more important than the answer they receive, is the process of coming to the Savior and seeing His face. And we can offer each other grace in this process.

Daily Answers: On the Right Side of the Prophet

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I was discussing with my young adult son some of the current issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation. He said he doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of history. In the history of my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there was a time when black men of African descent were not ordained to the priesthood. In light of current racial equity awareness, it might seem that our church was on the wrong side of history. We need to be careful about presentism, judging the past with our current perceptions, and remember that the culture of racism has changed, not just by our church, but within many social constructs. For a greater understanding of Race and the Priesthood, read the essay published by the church.

We might ask, if the church was founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the teachings of Jesus Christ are true, aren’t they true at all times in history? When Jesus Christ lived on the earth, he taught that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). This is the highest law we can live. In ancient Israel the people were not ready to live the higher law so they were given the law of Moses by revelation to the prophet Moses through the god of the Old Testament who is Jesus Christ.

This week I read the account of the prophet Nephi in 3 Nephi from The Book of Mormon. This was shortly before Christ was born, and the people who believed in the prophesied signs of Christ’s birth were going to be put to death by the unbelievers if the signs didn’t happen by a designated day. Nephi sorrowed for the wickedness and was worried about the believers. “And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people” (3 Nephi 1:11). We have a prophet in our day, Russell M. Nelson. As I read about Nephi, I imagined President Nelson bowed down crying to God on our behalf. I know that President Nelson speaks to God, and I want to be a believer, one who looks to Christ and follows the prophet. I choose to be on the right side of the prophet.

Daily Answer: Prophets, Seers, Revelators in our day

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In my scripture study today I was prompted to learn more about prophesies of Jesus Christ. In Mosiah 8, Ammon and king Limhi discuss prophets, seers, and revelators. Ammon said, “a seer is a revelator and a prophet also…a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known. Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings” (Mosiah 8:16-18). I had written in a reference next to Mosiah 8:18 of Mosiah 13:33 which explains the role of a prophet, “For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah, and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began–have they not spoken more or less concerning these things? Have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth? Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, and that he, himself, should be oppressed and afflicted?” (Mosiah 13:33-35).

We live in a time where we are blessed to have prophets, seers, and revelators who testify of Jesus Christ, reveal the mind and will of the Lord, who see the past and things to come, and are a great benefit to their fellow beings. In General Conference we sustain the President of the Church, the First Presidency, and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators.

In this past General Conference, April 4-5, 2020, our prophet and President of the Church, Russell M. Nelson, presented a proclamation to the world in which our current prophets, seers, and revelators testified of Jesus Christ, revealed the Lord’s will for his people now and in the future as we prepare for the Second Coming of Christ, “With reverence and gratitude, we as His Apostles invite all to know—as we do—that the heavens are open. We affirm that God is making known His will for His beloved sons and daughters. We testify that those who prayerfully study the message of the Restoration and act in faith will be blessed to gain their own witness of its divinity and of its purpose to prepare the world for the promised Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (The Restoration of the Fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ).

I was grateful in my scripture study today to be reminded that prophesies of Jesus Christ are not just something of the past. I have seen and witnessed during this pandemic the miracles of having current prophets, revelators, and seers. The implementation of “Come Follow Me” in our homes prior to the pandemic, allowed us to be successful in having church in our homes. The change of policy in not having to wait a year after a civil marriage for a temple sealing will directly bless our family as the temples are closed for now and my son and his wife were married civilly. As I’ve responded to President Nelson’s plea to “do whatever it takes to increase [my] spiritual capacity to receive personal revelation,” I’ve experienced the blessings promised by President Nelson of “additional power to deal with temptation, struggles, and weakness…miracles in…marriage, family relationships, and daily work” (Hear Him, Russell M. Nelson, April 2020 General Conference).