Cause the Heavens to Shake For Your Good

In response to President Nelson’s invitation, one question I am asking myself today is this: How have I been blessed by following the words of a living prophet?  One of the foundational principles of the Restoration is that God calls and speaks to His servants the prophets for the blessing of the whole world.  The Lord declared, “Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:17).  The Lord called the prophet Joseph Smith and his successors, among other reasons, to declare unto them His commandments and to prepare us against the calamities and difficulties that would come in our time.  The Savior gave us this invitation and promise concerning the living prophet: “Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory” (Doctrine and Covenants 21:4-6).  Great blessings of spiritual protection and heavenly power to be with us are promised to those who will receive and heed the words of the living prophet. 

               During my childhood I grew up listening to and admiring President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet of my youth.  One of his areas of focus that stands out to me was his emphasis on gaining as much education as possible.  For example, he taught, “The Lord wants you to educate your minds and hands, whatever your chosen field. Whether it be repairing refrigerators, or the work of a skilled surgeon, you must train yourselves. Seek for the best schooling available. Become a workman of integrity in the world that lies ahead of you. … You will bring honor to the Church and you will be generously blessed because of that training. There can be no doubt, none whatever, that education pays. Do not short-circuit your lives. If you do so, you will pay for it over and over and over again.”  Trying to follow that counsel has brought me great blessings through my education at BYU and elsewhere and a focus on learning as much as possible has enabled me to also provide for the needs of my family.  Through my education I found an internship that led to a rewarding career where I’ve been for over a decade and also indirectly led to my wife and me meeting.  Of course one could say that these blessings had nothing to do with a prophet, but I feel very strongly as I look back on my life that the Lord has indeed caused “the heavens to shake for [my] good” because I sought to follow President Hinckley’s counsel about education.

               I distinctly remember where I was when President Monson became the 16^th president and prophet of the Church in early 2008.  And I remember the feeling I had as those events transpired that he had indeed been called of God.  I felt the Spirit testify that the Lord had prepared him through a lifetime of service and was His chosen servant.  One of the talks that deeply moved me which he gave in general conference was The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World.  He told the incredible story of the Mou Tham family who joined their church on a small Pacific island near Tahiti and had no means to pay for airfare to go to the nearest temple in New Zealand over 2500 miles away.  So the father and a son “made the difficult decision to travel 3,000 miles to work in New Caledonia, where another son was already employed. The three Mou Tham men labored for four years…. After four years, Brother Mou Tham and his sons had saved enough money to take the family to the New Zealand Temple.”  The family was indeed sealed and received the fullest blessings of the temple through that great sacrifice.  President Monson commented, “My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service…. Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure.” President Monson’s emphasis on temples and this talk in particular have helped me to focus on regularly worshipping in the house of the Lord, even when it seems like there is simply not enough time.  Through trying to follow his prophetic direction and encouragement, I know that my life has been deeply enriched through the spirit of in the temple where I have received answers to questions and the strength to persevere amid life’s challenges.

               I feel to also express gratitude for the teachings of President Ezra Taft Benson who emphasized the need for us to read and study the Book of Mormon.  He repeatedly taught the need for us to make the Book of Mormon a greater part of our lives and he spoke of how he had “a vision of homes alerted, of classes alive, and of pulpits aflame with the spirit of Book of Mormon messages.”  He specifically counseled us to be reading in the Book of Mormon every day: “At present, the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and seminary classes every fourth year. This four-year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal and family study. We need to read daily from the pages of the book that will get a man ‘nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.’”  Though I was too young at the time to remember this specific talk, I do believe it was these teachings that helped me at a young age to start reading the Book of Mormon, and it was his words that instilled in me a feeling that I must spend some time every day reading in the Book of Mormon.  I have tried since then to follow that counsel and I know that it has had a stabilizing impact on my life.  The messages and testimonies and spirit of the Book of Mormon have profoundly shaped and directed my life, and I thank the Lord for prophets who have brought us these words and guided us to put them at the center of our lives.  I have a long ways to go to fully follow all the direction and counsel that our prophets give us, but I know that the Lord has indeed “disperse[d] the powers of darkness from before [me]” as I have sought to follow hearken and heed the voice of living prophets.