“Whither Shall We Go?”

“Whither Shall We Go?” 

Tim and I were asked to speak in sacrament a last week on prophets & revelations.  As I sat thinking about what direction I wanted to go with this. I remembered an article I read in this month’s ensign called “Whither Shall We Go?” This article spoke volumes to my heart; and I’ll will be referencing this talk today. 

First, what is revelation?

Revelation is communication from God to man. It can occur in many different ways. Some prophets, like Moses and Joseph Smith, have talked with God face to face. Some persons have had personal communication with angels. Other revelations have come, as Elder James E. Talmage described it, “through the dreams of sleep or in waking visions of the mind”

However , for most of us:  revelation or inspiration comes by means of words or thoughts communicated to the mind, by sudden enlightenment,by positive or negative feelings about proposed courses of action, or even by inspiring performances, as in the performing arts. As Elder Boyd K. Packer has stated, “Inspiration comes more as a feeling than as a sound”

President Harold B. Lee taught that “every man has the privilege to exercise these gifts and these privileges in the conduct of his own affairs; in bringing up his children in the way they should go; in the management of his business, or whatever he does. It is his right to enjoy the spirit of revelation and of inspiration to do the right thing, to be wise and prudent, just and good, in everything that he does.”

In ELDER KENT D. WATSON talk in this month’s ensign called “Whither Shall We Go.”   He said this” The Lord is most generous in giving revelation. … The Lord loves you and wants to reveal to you His mind and will. Could you ever imagine the Lord having a problem He could not solve? I can’t. Because you are entitled to revelation, He can help you solve every concern you have … if you will but seek His help.”

In an uncertain world, the question of where to go is one that each of us will ask and need to answer—repeatedly.

Questions like:

•        What kind of work should I do?

·         Should I go back to school?

·         Should I take another job opportunity?

·         How should I solve a conflict?

•        How will I support my family?

•        How will I respond to Church callings?

Elder Watson says,” There are some constants,—eternal principles that are unchanging and that can help us answer those questions. 

First is:

1. Be obedient.

Obedience is essential in preparing to receive personal revelation. The Savior gave this counsel: “When we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:21). He promised, “But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom”

 Soon after Lehi and his family arrived in the land of Bountiful, the Lord said to Nephi, “Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters”. Nephi did not ask why or seek clarification about where they would end up after crossing the waters. His direct response to the Lord was:

“Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?

“And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go”

Later, after Nephi had lived a lifetime of obedience and had been a great influence upon his people, he taught, “For none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation”

2. Pray always.

Prayers of faith are heard and answered. The Savior gave a powerful promise concerning the power of faith in our prayers: “And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.”

He says,”Be diligent as you inquire of your Heavenly Father where you should go. That is what the brother of Jared did when he was asked to “go and inquire of the Lord … whither we shall go” The Lord heard the brother of Jared and had compassion on him. He said: “I will go before thee into a land which is choice. … And there will I bless thee and thy seed”

The Liahona worked according to faith and diligence. Sometimes the answer for us may not be clear. We must first study things out in our minds and trust the Lord. The heavenly expectation is that we will act for ourselves, but when we do our part, we will have the sweet assurance that we can make corOur communications with Heavenly Father must be done with great humility. This is a form of reverence and respect for Deity. It is submitting our will to His will. The Savior said, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers” (D&C 112:10).

Our communications with Heavenly Father must be done with great humility. This is a form of reverence and respect for Deity. It is submitting our will to His will. The Savior said, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers”

As we all face our own or family trials, I sat pondering on an example of how prayer helped me receive revelation in a recent trial that our family went through.

Mason our little 2 year old, was hospitalized for a week, earlier last month. He was having trouble breathing, and would make a wheezing noise when he breathed. I took him into his pediatrician; she immediately placed him on a nebulizer and diagnosed him with croup. He was admitted to the hospital overnight. However, the following day after he was released he continued to have trouble breathing and the wheezing got worse. He ended up back in the ER, having tests ran, the doctors couldn't understand why he wasn't getting better. They knew something else had to be wrong with him. As I sat in the hospital bed, holding Mason on the third night, and being exhausted, scared, over whelmed.  I began praying with great humility, I knew I needed to give all the pain I had, the burden I was feeling to my Heavenly Father. At that moment, I had faith that it was in the Lords hands. As I sat there praying for almost 2 hours, I had a thought come into my mind. I thought he needs to be seen by a Ears, Nose and Throat specialist. I knew that it was more than just croup. It was something in his throat that was causing him to wheeze. The very next day we were told by the attending doctor that Mason should be seen by an ENT doctor up at Primary’s.  We ended up having him seen by a ENT specialist, where they took a camera down his throat to look for a possible infection or a foreign object. They ended up finding he had bacteria in his windpipe. I knew, right then.. I had received an answer to my prayer. It's because I acted on a thought that came into my mind as I sat praying in humility.

Praying with great humility is essential if our prayers are to be heard and answered. The Savior has given a warning to all who forget the importance of the principle of humility: “For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him”

3. Listen carefully to the still, small voice.

If you are diligent, patient, meek, and steadfast, the promise is that “it shall be given you by the Comforter what you shall do and whither you shall go”

“When your heart begins to tell you things that your mind does not, then you are getting the Spirit of the Lord.”

The means by which the Spirit speaks to both the mind and the heart is through the still, small voice spoken of in the scriptures. This voice is often called the “voice of the Spirit” Sometimes that voice is heard within, but more often it is felt. It may prompt us with both a thought and a feeling concerning a matter.

In asking whither we should go, we must listen to the still, small voice—the voice of the Comforter—which “will show unto you all things what ye should do”

When Tim and I prayed and fasted about the decision of moving many times prior to putting our house up on the market last spring, and the during those previous times when prayed we didn’t feel that moving then was right. Then in April, Tim and I had an impression that the timing was right. We prayed and fasted again, and this time we both felt we would act on the impression and we just out of the blue placed our house on the market. We put our trust and faith in knowing if it was meant to be, it would sell and things would fall in to place. To be quite honest, I was SCARED!  I didn’t know where we would go, neither did Tim. We put our trust and faith into God’s hands and he guided us in the direction. We ended up selling our home in just 21 days. I testify, that listening to the still small voice was what we did, and we acted in faith, with that impression we received. Even now, I may not have all the answers about how our life will work out, but I do know that if we follow these steps we will be guided in the right direction. The lord will provide a way, if we life faithfully and make righteous choices.

The next thing Elder Watson suggests is:

4. Magnify our callings.

Every Latter-day Saint is instructed to pray, “labor in the church … [and] be diligent in all things” (D&C 75:28–29). As they do so, it will “be made known from on high, even by the Comforter, whither they shall go” (D&C 75:27; emphasis added). Over the years, I have been frequently asked, “How can I achieve balance among my family responsibilities, ecclesiastical duties, and professional obligations?”

The Lord has promised, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Surely it is in seeking the kingdom that we can know from on high, even by the Comforter, whither we shall go.

Tim is my role model when it comes to magnifying his calling. I’m extremely blessed to be married to him. He has taught me what it truly means to magnify our calling. He give his calling 100%. He lives this every day. It’s not something he does once in a while; it is an everyday choice he makes. When we first were married and he was serving with Bishop Peterson in the Bishopric of the Young Single Adult ward, Tim was diligent in being there any time a young single adult needed him. He made it a priority to make an impact in those young kids’ lives and as he does now in his calling with the boy scouts in this stake.  This last spring, Tim spent countless hour’s hand making the pinewood debry car stands for the boy scouts, something he didn’t have to do but wanted to do for the boy scouts, something they could display their cars on.  I believe that we as a family we have been blessed because of this.

5.  Be loyal to your family.

The prophet Nephi provides a wonderful example of this principle. During a difficult time, his brothers criticized him because he had broken his steel bow and his people had no way to obtain food. Even his father murmured. Yet Nephi honored his father.

“I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

“And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord”

I’m grateful for the examples of this I have in my life. I was raised by amazing parents who taught me at an early age to rely on Heavenly Father. I see the examples of inquiring of the Lord, in both sets of parents and I’m blessed because of their examples.

6. Know that God knows you.

Our Heavenly Father knows each of us and will always be there for us. He was with us in the beginning. He knows us as we were then. He knows us as we are now. And He knows what we can become.

President Monson has taught that our decisions determine our destiny. He said: “I would not be standing before you, had I not followed the counsel of a prophet, had I not prayed about a decision, had I not come to an appreciation of the important truth: The wisdom of God oft times appears as foolishness to men. But the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right.”

Our Heavenly Father knows us. He is there for us. If we seek Him, we will find Him. If we ask, He will answer. When we do our part, He is sure to do His part in pointing the way and answering the question, “Whither shall we go?”

 I testify that the things, I know them to be true. We are blessed to be given the power of revelation, if we seek it, pray for it, listen to the still small voice and then act we will be given the answers we so diligently are seeking. I know that God lives, and I know he loves each and every one of us.

He wants us to be happy. I’m grateful for my wonderful husband who loves and supports me each and every day, and who is a great example to me. And I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Jesus will tell us, “Whither Shall We Go?”