A Still Voice of Perfect Mildness

In the most recent general conference Elder Massimo De Feo spoke about the story of Bartimaeus who was blind. In the Biblical account he cried out when Jesus was near, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” People around him told him to be quiet, “but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47-48). Elder Feo commented, “It is interesting that this blind man, who didn’t have physical sight, recognized Jesus. He saw spiritually what he couldn’t see physically, while many others could see Jesus physically but were totally blind spiritually. From this story we learn more about clear spiritual vision.” Bartimaeus was able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah despite his blindness even while those around him with sight could not see this truth. Those who did not understand who Jesus was sought to quiet the blind man, but he had the faith to call out even louder for help from Jesus. Elder De Feo made this application: “Brothers and sisters, to keep our spiritual sight intact, we need to decide not to listen to the voices of the world around us. In this confusing and confused world, we must stay faithful to what we know, faithful to our covenants, faithful in keeping the commandments and reaffirm our beliefs even stronger, like this man did. We need to cry even louder our testimony of the Lord to the world. This man knew Jesus, stayed faithful to what he believed, and was not distracted by the voices around him.” We cannot let the myriad of voices of the world distract us from focusing on the most important voice of the Savior.  

Elder De Feo’s comments remind me of the words of President James E. Faust in a talk from 1993 that proved very prophetic. He commented, “The adversary tries to smother this voice with a multitude of loud, persistent, persuasive, and appealing voices: Murmuring voices that conjure up perceived injustices. Whining voices that abhor challenge and work. Seductive voices offering sensual enticements. Soothing voices that lull us into carnal security. Intellectual voices that profess sophistication and superiority. Proud voices that rely on the arm of flesh. Flattering voices that puff us up with pride. Cynical voices that destroy hope. Entertaining voices that promote pleasure seeking. Commercial voices that tempt us to ‘spend money for that which is of no worth’ and/or ‘labor for that which cannot satisfy’ (2 Nephi 9:51).” That is a very accurate description of the voices that seek to get our attention today! President Faust added, “In your generation you will be barraged by multitudes of voices telling you how to live, how to gratify your passions, how to have it all. You will have up to five hundred television channels at your fingertips. There will be all sorts of software, interactive computer modems, databases, and bulletin boards; there will be desktop publishing, satellite receivers, and communications networks that will suffocate you with information.” We are indeed suffocated with information, with voices at our fingertips in a way that couldn’t have hardly been dreamed of when he gave his talk. And that makes it very difficult to hear the voice of the Savior for us amidst so many contending for our attention. Like the Lamanites in Helaman 5—as well as Bartimaeus—perhaps what we need is some figurative darkness and stillness so we can focus on the most important voice. As they sat in darkness they were able to focus on the voice of God described this way: “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” (Helaman 5:30). We have to be able to shut out all the other voices of the world so that we can be still enough to perceive and understand the voice of “perfect mildness” which seeks to speak to us.

Bartimaeus was able to hear the voice of the Savior. The account finishes, “And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way” (Mark 10:49-52). The blind man heard the call and was healed by the Savior because he got up and came to him, despite the other voices around him which had tried to prevent such an encounter. Elder De Feo finished with these words: “I testify that this gospel is the answer for everything, because Jesus Christ is the answer for everyone. I am grateful for what I can see as I follow my Savior. I promise that as we hear the voice of the Lord and allow Him to guide us on the Savior’s covenant path, we will be blessed with clear vision, spiritual understanding, and peace of heart and mind throughout our lives.”