See With Their Eyes

Yesterday my younger children decided to ride their bikes and were getting ready in the front yard to go somewhere when I went outside. They had started going around our neighborhood a bit, and I helped my nine-year-old find her helmet. As I stood in front of our garage with her, I saw my five-year-old daughter on the other side of the street getting ready to come back to our house using the school crosswalk that is in front of our property. I looked just in time and yelled at her to stop because she was about to step into the crosswalk a few seconds before a car was about to pass through it (on her side). Gratefully she heard me, and it was enough to get her to stop. The driver of the car clearly did not see her until it was far too late for her to stop, and if I hadn’t yelled my daughter would have almost certainly been hit. It was a scary experience to say the least. I was incredibly grateful that the Lord had protected her and brought my eyes to see her just in time to warn her. It was a miracle, and the incident reminded me to be more vigilant with my children and driving in my car. I shudder to think how it might have ended if I had not looked up. I give thanks to the Lord for what did not happen.

After I got over the shock and got to my daughter, I asked why she was trying to cross when a car was coming. I thought we had taught her well enough that she knew when to go and when not to know. She told me that she didn’t see the car. That seemed unfathomable to me because the car was so close it was almost right in front of her. Now as I ponder the experience a day later, I wonder what things spiritually I do not see even though they might be right in front of my eyes. President Nelson recently said, “My dear brothers and sisters, do you see what is happening right before our eyes? I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this moment! The Lord is indeed hastening His work.” Elder Rasband spoke about this in his most recent talk, saying, “We are grateful to be on earth when the Church is increasing in numbers and influence, but more importantly in the hearts and lives of its members. We are known as disciples of Jesus Christ. We share our testimonies of Him, His Church, His ways, and His covenant path. We are His people, and He is our Savior. I marvel at what President Nelson calls the ‘majesty of this moment’ and express profound gratitude to the Lord for His work. I encourage us to stand tall as His disciples, eyewitnesses of the fulfillment of prophecy, both ancient and modern.” Indeed, if we do not look carefully, we may miss what the Lord is doing for the world, for the Church, and for our own individual families.

I remember once many years ago when President Hinckley was the prophet, I watching general conference and at the end of the session the choir sang We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet. I don’t recall the details, but I remember that I was overcome with the power of the moment as the Spirit bore witness to me that he was indeed a prophet. In that moment the song was being sung not for Joseph Smith but for him as we gave thanks that God had chosen him to guide us in these latter days. There seemed to be a power in the hymn in which the multitude of the members of the Church were bearing witness that President Hinckley was a prophet of God. I did not want the conference to end, and I was surprised when I realized that others around me hadn’t felt the same significance of that moment. For them it was just another end of a conference, and they were quick to get it over and get on to some food. In that experience, they did not have eyes to see what was right in front of them. But I know at many other times that has been me; I have been far too often those of whom Isaiah described in this well-known verse: “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed” (Isaiah 6:10). We all need to be those who have ears that hear, not ears that are heavy; we need to be those who have eyes to see, not those who shut their eyes. We can strive to follow the counsel of King Benjamin as we approach spiritual things so we do not miss the majesty of the work of the Lord in our own lives: “Open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view” (Mosiah 2:9). I am so grateful that I opened my eyes in that moment to see my daughter before something tragic happened, and I hope that I can keep my spiritual eyes open to not miss the majesty of what the Lord is doing all around me.