Talk I gave in church January 10, 2010 3rd Section

This is Section 3 of ‘Talk January 10, 2010’.
This story is entitled ‘Praying for an Answer’. It’s in the January 2010 New Era, another church magazines (message me if there’s questions…). It was written by Sylvia Waterbohr.
“Sometimes you pray for help, but the answers come only after your faith is tested.
“One day while taking a math test, I couldn’t remember how to solve one of the problems. I had prepared for this test, but I could not remember what I had reviewed at home. I did, however, have faith that I could ask my Father in Heaven for help. “
I decided I would accept the first prompting I felt. After the prayer, I had the feeling that I could solve the problem in a specific way. But I began to doubt because it seemed like an odd way to work the problem. So I went ahead and did it on my own as well as I could.
“Once all the tests had been handed in, our teacher went over the test with us. I found that the feeling I had had after the prayer would have led to the right answer, but I had not listened. “Later, during final exams, I found once again that I could not solve one of the problems, even though I had practiced this problem at home.
“I wanted to ask Heavenly Father for help, but I remembered when I had bluntly rejected His help. Now I felt ashamed to ask. But because I couldn’t think of any other solution, I prayed for help anyway.
“Once again I doubted when the prompting came; I was even more confused than I had been before. But I had promised the Lord that I would listen. So I suppressed the doubts and did exactly what the prompting said I should do.
“After correcting the tests, our teacher announced our grades. She made it exciting by starting with the worst grades and working up to the best ones. When she did not call my name among the 3s—a low grade—I was pleased that I would have a 2, the best grade I had ever gotten in math. But when she didn’t call my name among the 2s, I felt quite differently. I was absolutely certain that I could not have gotten a 1, so I began to fear that I had done the very worst in the whole class.
“But then my name was called among the 1s. A lump appeared in my throat when I recognized the hand of the Lord in this and knew of His love for and patience with me. When some of my classmates said, “You did great!” I could only shake my head. I succeeded only when I followed the prompting.”
Awesome stuff can happen when we follow the promptings of the Spirit! We don’t always know why we are being prompted to do something or even why we went through a certain hardship or trial. All we know is that we’ll be able to look back on it later and realize ‘Hey I followed the Spirit and made this happen…’ or ‘Hey now I know why I had to go through such and such…’. It’s pretty awesome. The Lord knows what’s going on. He’s got His hands full. :D
In the September 2007 Ensign, President Gordon B. Hinckley published an article entitled ‘Inspirational Thoughts’. Under the heading ‘Modern Revelation’ it says:
““How wonderful it is that we believe in modern revelation. I cannot get over the feeling that if revelation were needed anciently, when life was simple, that revelation is also needed today, when life is complex. There never was a time in the history of the earth when men needed revelation more than they need it now.
“I want to testify to you, my brothers and sisters, that the book of revelation is not closed. God directs this day and time and speaks as certainly today as He did in the days of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob” (meeting, Madrid, Spain, May 29, 2004).”
Even our prophet tells us of the importance of modern revelation. Why wouldn’t I believe a prophet?!
These next few quotes are from a General Conference address by Elder Robert D. Hales in October 2007. The address is entitled ‘Personal Revelation: The Teachings and Examples of the Prophets.’ There are quite a few quotes. I’ll put the quote and then the paragraph number after the quote.
“The events of these past two days teach us the need for revelation in the Lord’s work and personal revelation in our own lives. Personal revelation is the way we know for ourselves the most important truths of our existence: the living reality of God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ; the truthfulness of the restored gospel; and God’s purpose and direction for us.” (paragraph 2).
“As faithful children, youth, parents, teachers, and leaders, we may receive personal revelation more frequently than we realize. The more we receive and acknowledge personal revelation, the more our testimonies grow. As a bishop, my testimony grew each time I received revelation to extend callings to ward members. That testimony has been strengthened each time I witness General Authorities and officers, Area Seventies, and stake presidents called or given new assignments. More importantly, I am strengthened by the personal revelations I receive in my role as a son of God, a husband, and a father. I am so thankful for the guidance and direction of the Spirit in our home as we seek for direction in family matters.” (paragraph 10).
“Prophets receive personal revelations to help them in their own lives and in directing the earthly affairs of the Church. Our responsibility is to seek personal revelations for ourselves and for the responsibilities the Lord has given us.” (paragraph 12).
“By design, most miracles are spiritual demonstrations of God’s power—tender mercies gently bestowed through impressions, ideas, feelings of assurance, solutions to problems, strength to meet challenges, and comfort to bear disappointments and sorrow.” (paragraph 20).
“When President David O. McKay was a young man herding cattle, he sought a witness, but it did not come until many years later while serving his mission in Scotland. He wrote, “It was a manifestation for which as a doubting youth I had secretly prayed … on hillside and in meadow. It was an assurance to me that sincere prayer is answered ‘sometime, somewhere.’ The answer may be “Not now—be patient and wait.” (paragraphs 21-22).
See my personal story in Section 1 of my talk where I talk about ‘puzzle pieces’.
“While we are commanded not to seek after signs, we are commanded to “seek … earnestly the best gifts.” These gifts include the Holy Ghost and personal revelation. That revelation will come “line upon line, precept upon precept,” as the Savior said, and “unto him that receiveth [the Lord] will give more.” (paragraph 23).
In General Conference October of 2009, in an address by President Henry B. Eyring entitled ‘The Enduring Legacy of Relief Society’ comes the following story of The Yellow Tulips.
“I talked with a Relief Society member about a visit she had made. It was to a woman who would soon lose her husband suddenly and tragically. In recent years the woman had only intermittent contact with Relief Society.
“The visitor prepared by stopping at a shop to buy flowers. It was a season when the tulips were stacked for sale in many colors. She chose one color, her favorite, but then felt impressed to try another. She didn’t know why she selected yellow, but she did.
“When she presented the yellow tulips at the door, the woman smiled and said, “Come. See my backyard garden.” It was filled with yellow tulips in full bloom. The woman said, “I was just wondering if I should cut some for the house. But now I can leave them and enjoy them a little longer in my garden because you brought me these.” They chatted pleasantly as if they were old friends. From that impression to bring some flowers and to choose yellow tulips, that visiting teacher had evidence that she was on the Lord’s errand. When she told me, I could hear the joy in her voice.
“When she spoke with me, she didn’t know what the widow felt after the visit. But if the widow felt that God loved her and that He had sent an angel to her, the visiting teacher had helped her move down the road to success in the Lord’s eyes. That visitor may verify success from her faithful effort only in the world to come.”
Another story of my life! This summer/fall I was able to find a job. I prayed throughout the entire summer that I could find a job. I applied at about 7 or 8 places between the months of July and September. I did not even get an interview until mid-September. That was my one and only interview. I’ve been at my current job since then.
In the April 2007 edition of General Conference Elder Richard G. Scott gave an address entitled ‘The Supernatural Gift of Prayer’.
“Don’t worry about your clumsily expressed feelings. Just talk to your compassionate, understanding Father. You are His precious child whom He loves perfectly and wants to help. As you pray, recognize that Father in Heaven is near and He is listening. “A key to improved prayer is to learn to ask the right questions. Consider changing from asking for the things you want to honestly seeking what He wants for you. Then as you learn His will, pray that you will be led to have the strength to fulfill it.” (paragraphs 4-5).
Heavenly Father doesn’t care how bad our grammar is. He just wants us to try to communicate with Him and then He’ll help us from there. :D
In the ‘Preach My Gospel’ manual (Message me for questions!), for members as well as missionaries, on pages 94-95 it says:
“Strive to pray sincerely, with real intent, and with “all the energy of heart” (Moroni 7:48). Effective prayer requires great effort (see Moroni 10:3–4; D&C 8:10; 9:7). Give serious thought to your attitude and to the words you use. Consider the following when you pray:
• Use the language of prayer, which shows that you love and respect your Heavenly Father. Use proper and respectful language in whatever language you speak. For example, in English use scriptural pronouns such as Thee, Thou, Thy, and Thine.
• Always express gratitude for your blessings. A conscious effort to be grateful will help you recognize how merciful the Lord has been in your life.
• Pray specifically for the guidance and help of the Holy Ghost. Show that you value this blessing by being sensitive to and aware of spiritual promptings. Then courageously follow those promptings.
• Pray with love and charity. Pray for people by name. Ask for inspiration to help you understand and meet their needs. Pray for the welfare of contacts, investigators, new converts, and less-active members. Pray for the members and priesthood and auxiliary leaders in your area. Pray for your family at home. Pray for your companion, other missionaries, and your mission president. Pray to know how you can help others, and then be willing to sacrifice in their behalf.
• Pray that you will be shown where to go and what to do. Pray that you will be led to those who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. Pray that you will recognize them. • Recognize that your Heavenly Father knows what you need better than you do. Rely on the Spirit to know what to pray for (see 3 Nephi 19:24; D&C 46:28, 30). Recognize tS
• In your prayers at night, give the Lord an accounting of your day’s activities. Then review with Him your plan for the next day. Listen for the promptings of the Spirit.
• Pray to overcome temptation. Yielding to temptation interferes with the Spirit.
• Pray and, when appropriate, fast for special blessings.
• Pray about and ponder the scriptures. The scriptures open the window to revelation.
• Believe that God will answer your prayers. Recognize that God’s thoughts are not your thoughts (see Isaiah 55:8–9), and trust God to answer your prayers in His own way and in His own time.