Then Shall Thy Confidence Wax Strong

President Eyring spoke about faith and revelation in the most recent general conference. He taught, “The way to receive revelation from God has not changed from the days of Adam and Eve. It has been the same for all called servants of the Lord from the beginning to the present day. It is the same for you and me. It is always done by exercising faith.” Our faith in Jesus Christ is a catalyst for revelation as we humbly seek to follow Him. One of the ways that we exercise faith is by humbly listening to the whisperings of His Spirit. He said, “If your faith in Jesus Christ has led to a heart softened through the effects of His Atonement, you will be more able to feel the whisperings of the Spirit in answer to your prayers. My personal experience is that the still, small voice—which is real—is clear and discernible in my mind when I feel an internal quiet and submission to the Lord’s will. That feeling of humility can be best described as ‘Not my will, but thine, be done.’” We must have faith to listen and recognize that His voice will not typically be loud. President Eyring continued, “The Lord will say things through His servants to you and to me today and in the days ahead. He will tell us what things we should do. The Savior will not shout commands to you and me.” He then quoted Elijah’s experience: “And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12). We must seek for revelation through the still small voice which will come as we quietly exercise faith in Him.

                One of the ways that we exercise that faith and show the Lord that we want to hear His voice is by being obedient to the commandments and inspiration He has already given us. I love this quote from President George Q. Cannon that President Eyring cited in his talk: “Obedience to the Gospel brings [people] into very close and intimate relationship with the Lord. It establishes a close connection between men on the earth and our Great Creator in the heavens. It brings to the human mind a feeling of perfect confidence in the Almighty and in His willingness to listen to and answer the supplications of those who trust in Him. In times of trial and difficulty this confidence is beyond price. Trouble may come upon the individual or upon the people, disaster may threaten and every human hope may seem to be overthrown, yet, where [people] have availed themselves of the privileges which obedience to the Gospel brings, they have a sure standing place; their feet are upon a rock that cannot be moved.” Obedience to the Lord’s commandments brings confidence—not confidence in ourselves but faith in Him that He will watch over and bless us no matter what happens. As we are obedient, with our “bowels full of charity towards all men” and virtue filling our hearts, we have this assurance: “Then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” With that the Lord further promised: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45-46). With obedience to Him we can have confidence before Him and the Holy Ghost will be present to guide and direct us. This reminds me of a scene from the memoir Le Chateau de ma Mère by Marcel Pagnol.  Near the end of the book, after Marcel’s family had been caught trespassing, the father of Marcel, one who rarely broke rules, was very embarrassed and exclaimed, “Comme on est faible, quand on est dans son tort!” (“How we are weak when we are in the wrong!”) Indeed we “become weak” and “the Spirit of the Lord [will] no more preserve [us]” when we disobey and are filled with iniquity (Helaman 4:24). On the other hand, we become strong when we are striving to follow His commands and exercise our faith in Jesus Christ through obedience to the principles of the gospel. As we do that and seek to listen to His still small voice, we can say with Ammon, “In his strength I can do all things” (Alma 26:12).