Savanna taught our lesson the second Sunday of March on Howard W. Hunter chapter 4. You can find the lesson by clicking HERE
I liked the story it told in the introduction to the chapter:
When [Howard W. Hunter] was serving as a bishop, a man in his ward expressed bitterness toward another man. President Hunter’s counsel reflected his testimony of the help that comes through prayer:
“I said to him, ‘My brother, if you will go home and pray for him every morning and every night, I’ll meet you two weeks from today at this same time and then we will decide what should be done.’”
After following this counsel, the man returned and humbly said of the other man, “He needs some help.”
“Are you willing to help him?” President Hunter asked.
“Yes, of course,” the man said.
“All the venom was gone and all the bitterness was gone,” President Hunter later recalled. “This is the way it is when we pray for one another.
Prayer can change our hearts!! I believe this is why Jesus told us in Matthew 5:44 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" Prayer is powerful, and if we can pray for people we are struggling with, we will receive help from on high in our circumstances, have a greater ability to love and forgive, even those who are difficult!
All of us face times in our lives when we need heavenly help in a special and urgent way. We all have moments when we are overwhelmed by circumstances or confused by the counsel we get from others, and we feel a great need to receive spiritual guidance, a great need to find the right path and do the right thing. ...the Lord promised that if we would be humble in such times of need and turn to him for aid, we would “be made strong, and [be] blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time.” (D&C 1:28.) That help is ours if we will but seek it, trust in it, and follow ... “the enticings of the Holy Spirit.” (Mosiah 3:19.)
“Be of good cheer,” the Lord says, “for I will lead you along.” (D&C 78:18.) “I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.” (D&C 11:13.)
President Hunter shares the story of Joseph Smith, "I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Of course, what happened next changed the course of human history. Determining to “ask of God,” young Joseph retired to a grove near his rural home. There, in answer to his fervent prayer, God, the Eternal Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ visited Joseph and counseled him. That great manifestation, of which I humbly testify, answered many more questions for our dispensation than simply which church young Joseph should or should not join.
But my purpose … is not to outline the first moments of the Restoration, though it is one of the most sacred stories in the scriptures. I wish, rather, simply to emphasize the impressive degree of spiritual sensitivity demonstrated by this very young and untutored boy.
How many of us, at fourteen or any age, could keep our heads steady and our wits calm with so many forces tugging and pulling on us, especially on such an important subject as our eternal salvation? How many of us could withstand the emotional conflict that might come when parents differ in their religious persuasions? How many of us, at fourteen or fifty, would search within our souls and search within holy writ to find answers to what the Apostle Paul called “the deep things of God”? (1 Cor. 2:10.)
How remarkable … that this lad would turn profoundly to the scriptures and then to private prayer, perhaps the two greatest sources of spiritual insight and spiritual impression that are available universally to mankind. Certainly he was torn by differing opinions, but he was determined to do the right thing and determined to find the right way. He believed, as you and I must believe, that he could be taught and blessed from on high, as he was.
But, we may say, Joseph Smith was a very special spirit, and his was a special case. What about the rest of us who may now be older—at least older than fourteen—and have not been destined to open a dispensation of the gospel? We also must make decisions and sort out confusion and cut through a war of words in a whole host of subjects that affect our lives. The world is full of such difficult decisions, and sometimes as we face them, we may feel our age or our infirmities.
Sometimes we may feel that our spiritual edge has grown dull. On some very trying days, we may even feel that God has forgotten us, has left us alone in our confusion and concern. But that feeling is no more justified for the older ones among us than it is for the younger and less experienced. God knows and loves us all. We are, every one of us, his daughters and his sons, and whatever life’s lessons may have brought us, the promise is still true: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5.)
The promise from James is to ALL OF US, not just Joseph Smith! God loves us all and is willing to help us if we turn to Him!
Developing spirituality and attuning ourselves to the highest influences of godliness is not an easy matter. It takes time and frequently involves a struggle. It will not happen by chance, but is accomplished only through deliberate effort and by calling upon God and keeping his commandments. The prophet Joseph Smith ... said: “We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker, and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment”
It has always been encouraging to me that the Lord said it is the “willing and obedient [who] shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.” All of us can be willing and obedient. If the Lord had said the perfect shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days, I suppose some of us would be discouraged and give up. …
The place to begin is here. The time to start is now. The length of our stride needs be but one step at a time. God, who has “designed our happiness,” will lead us along even as little children, and we will by that process approach perfection.
I love this! God doesn't require us to be perfect, and it doesn't matter where in life we are starting- He just asks that we be willing and obedient, and that we turn to Him, having faith. If we do those things, He will come through for us despite our imperfections! He will answer our prayers, He will lead us and guide us! We need to do as Joseph Smith did when we have concerns and turn to God, scriptures and prayer. I think too often we turn to our friends, our parents and other people before we turn to God. Maybe some people think they are too unworthy to receive help, but there is no such thing. No one is too unworthy to receive help from God. If you turn to Him with faith and a willing heart, you will receive guidance!
“Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;
“And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.” (D&C 11:12–14.)
Savanna also gave some excellent quotes from other talks. One quote she gave was from President Thomas S. Monson, from a first Presidency message entitled, "Come unto Him in Prayer and Faith." You can find the full message HERE
"Now, if we have hesitated in supplicating God our Eternal Father simply because we have not as yet made the attempt to pray, we certainly can take courage from the example of the Prophet Joseph. But let us remember, as did the Prophet, our prayer must be offered in faith, nothing wavering.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that the brother of Jared saw the finger of God touch the stones in response to his plea.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Noah erected an ark in obedience to the command from God.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Abraham was willing to offer up his beloved Isaac as a sacrifice.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Joshua and his followers brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down.
It was by faith, nothing wavering, that Joseph saw God our Eternal Father and Jesus Christ, His Son.
Now, the skeptic may say that these mighty accounts of faith occurred long ago, that times have changed.
Have times really changed? Don’t we today, as always, love our children and want them to live righteously? Don’t we today, as always, need God’s divine, protecting care? Don’t we today, as always, continue to be at His mercy and in His debt for the very life He has given us?
Times have not really changed. Prayer continues to provide power—spiritual power. Prayer continues to provide peace—spiritual peace.
Wherever we may be, our Heavenly Father can hear and answer the prayer offered in faith."
Another quote she gave that stuck out to me was from Carl B. Cook of the Seventy, from a talk entitled, "It is Better to Look Up". This talk can be found by clicking HERE
Elder Cook tells this story: At the end of a particularly tiring day toward the end of my first week as a General Authority, my briefcase was overloaded and my mind was preoccupied with the question “How can I possibly do this?” I left the office of the Seventy and entered the elevator of the Church Administration Building. As the elevator descended, my head was down and I stared blankly at the floor.
The door opened and someone entered, but I didn’t look up. As the door closed, I heard someone ask, “What are you looking at down there?” I recognized that voice—it was President Thomas S. Monson.
I quickly looked up and responded, “Oh, nothing.” (I’m sure that clever response inspired confidence in my abilities!)
But he had seen my subdued countenance and my heavy briefcase. He smiled and lovingly suggested, while pointing heavenward, “It is better to look up!”
...As we parted, the words of a scripture came to mind: “Believe in God; believe that he is … ; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth.” As I thought of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s power, my heart found the comfort I had sought in vain from the floor of that descending elevator. ...
Experience has taught me that if we, like President Monson, exercise our faith and look to God for help, we will not be overwhelmed with the burdens of life. We will not feel incapable of doing what we are called to do or need to do. We will be strengthened, and our lives will be filled with peace and joy. We will come to realize that most of what we worry about is not of eternal significance—and if it is, the Lord will help us. But we must have the faith to look up and the courage to follow His direction.
Why is it a challenge to consistently look up in our lives? Perhaps we lack the faith that such a simple act can solve our problems. For example, when the children of Israel were bitten by poisonous serpents, Moses was commanded to raise up a brass serpent on a pole. The brass serpent represented Christ. Those who looked up at the serpent, as admonished by the prophet, were healed. But many others failed to look up, and they perished.
Alma agreed that the reason the Israelites did not look to the serpent was that they did not believe doing so would heal them. Alma’s words are relevant to us today:
“O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful … ?
“If so, wo shall come upon you; but if not so, then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for [our] sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead.”
President Monson’s encouragement to look up is a metaphor for remembering Christ. As we remember Him and trust in His power, we receive strength through His Atonement. It is the means whereby we can be relieved of our anxieties, our burdens, and our suffering. It is the means whereby we can be forgiven and healed from the pain of our sins. It is the means whereby we can receive the faith and strength to endure all things.
