Good Men and Women in the Storm

A few days ago, my daughter came running out of the house to me to declare that we had a “big flood” in the bathroom. I ran in to see what was happening to find that the sink had overflowed and the bathroom and carpet were soaked. My wife was desperately trying to stop the water from spreading any further, and I ran downstairs to check the room beneath where the water was flowing. I was shocked to see water coming down everywhere from the ceiling. We frantically tried to start catching the water, putting down towels, and moving wet items. In the midst of the chaos, with my four-year-old crying because she didn’t understand what was happening, that same daughter who found the flood said to me, “Daddy, maybe we should say a prayer?” I thought of that moment again this morning as I read Elder Mark A. Bragg’s talk on Christlike Poise from the most recent general conference. He quoted what the UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said to him personally, “Be sure to have poise in every situation. Be a good man in a storm.” Elder Bragg continued, “That counsel to be calm, cool, and collected in all situations, particularly in times of adversity and pressure, resonated with me…. Spiritual poise blesses us to stay calm and focused on what matters most, especially when we are under pressure.” My daughter certainly showed great poise and a focus on what mattered most as we dealt with the stress of an unpleasant situation. I was proud of her for realizing that everything was going to be okay despite the turmoil and for turning to prayer in such a moment.

            One of the examples of failing to keep spiritual poise that Elder Bragg shared is the moment when Peter lashed out at Malchus and cut off his ear on that fateful night in the Garden of Gethsemane: “To contrast the difference between losing and maintaining poise, think about what happened as Christ and His Apostles left the Garden of Gethsemane. When confronted by soldiers seeking to arrest Jesus, Peter’s reaction was to lose his poise and lash out violently by cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant, Malchus. Jesus Christ’s reaction, on the other hand, was to keep His poise and to bring calm to a tense situation by healing Malchus.” Peter, it would seem, had not quite kept his poise, but what followed showed that there is hope for us even when in the past we have not been able to keep calm like we wish we could: “And for those of us who struggle with maintaining our poise and perhaps have grown discouraged, consider the rest of Peter’s story. A short time after this incident and the heartbreak of denying his association with Christ, Peter stood before the very same religious leaders who condemned the Savior, and with great poise under intense questioning, he bore eloquent testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ.” Indeed, Peter—under the threat of prison and physical harm—calmly bore witness of the Savior. He declared to those Jewish leaders who had brought him in and threatened him, “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him” (Acts 5:29-32). Peter was indeed beaten for his testimony, but with great Christlike poise, he went away “rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). I hope that I can learn to have the Christlike poise that Peter demonstrated in the book of Acts and that my daughter showed me this week. Elder Bragg summarized his message to us with these encouraging words, “As we remember who we are, knowing that there is a divine plan of mercy and drawing courage in the strength of the Lord, we can do all things. We will find calm. We will be good women and men in any storm. May we seek the blessings of Christlike poise, not only to help ourselves in challenging times but to bless others and help them through the storms in their lives.”