Talk given by Daylene Walker, Rexburg East Stake Conference, December 2017
I usually hesitate sharing examples of what our family does, in fear that others might think I am suggesting we are the example to follow. Please know, that is not the case! But for the sake of this talk, I’m going to take a risk and invite you into our home. Into our kitchen to be exact. It’s 8:00 in the morning and the first thing you’ll probably notice is that I could work a little harder on my house keeping skills….although today, it looks pretty good because I knew you were coming! But you’ll see that our table is cluttered with empty breakfast dishes, there’s probably a little peanut butter smeared on the table cloth, blankets have been left behind that were brought it by our sleepy children and open Books of Mormon are scattered around where our children sat earlier that morning. It’s a mess really, but it’s a beautiful sight to me because I know for that day, we helped our children “feast upon the words of Christ” (well, some mornings its more of a nibble) but we hope it will generate an appetite, thirst and hunger for more within them and that they will seek and want more of it for themselves. Kyle and I know that “feasting upon the words of Christ” is how they will really come to know their Father in Heaven and His Son, and that is one of the greatest gifts we could ever hope for them to receive.
I love the
Book of Mormon!
It has become something I hunger for in my life and that has happened
over a period of years and through a number of experiences.
A Test
I remember one of the first times I really got
a taste for the Book of Mormon and tested it to see if those ancient stories
were really applicable to me. (20 years
ago) Kyle was in graduate school, and we were blessed to live rent free, in a
funeral home, but it came at a very heavy price—we were married to that
place. We answered doors, telephones,
cleaned daily and before and after every viewing and funeral, met with families
and had to move out furniture and set up chairs for funerals that were held at
the mortuary and then put it all back together after the funeral was over. It was a lot of work and very demanding. We were on call 24 hours a day. We had been living and raising our family
there for 3 years. Josh was 4 and Drake
was a very hard 2 1/2-year-old at the time.
I was maxed out on energy and felt like we were barely surviving the
heavy load and demands of schooling, parenting, church callings and life at the
mortuary. It was at this time that Kyle
and I both felt like we should have another baby, but it felt impossible to me
unless we moved out of the mortuary, but that didn’t feel right either. And plus, how do you walk away from free
housing in the midst of graduate school?
I wasn’t convinced and wasn’t moving forward in faith. I was scared and I was doubting the
inspiration that Kyle and I were receiving.
That is when my wise husband shared Mosiah, chapter 24 with me. We read
and reread verses 14 and 15 together and I marveled at the possibility these
verses suggested.
(Amulon persecutes
Alma and his people)
“And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders,
that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage;
and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye
may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their
afflictions.15And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.”
I remember asking Kyle if he thought this could work for us. He already knew the answer, and so instead of answering he asked me if I thought this could work for us? Could we have an Alma like experience in our own family? Better yet, could we exercise Alma like faith? Well, to answer that question, about a year later, Kelsie joined our family and I had prayed every day of that year that my burdens would be made light that I would have the strength to bear them up with ease just like He did for the people of Alma. After Kelsie was born, I remember feeling really bad and worried for the owners of the mortuary. Business seemed unusually slow that year and I feared they wouldn’t clear a very good profit. As I asked one of the owners about it, I was shocked when he told me it was their busiest year on record and because so many funerals had been held at our building they were in the process of drawing up plans for the addition of an onsite chapel where future services could be held.
I didn’t believe him. We were busier than ever, but it didn’t feel
like it. The Lord blessed and
strengthened us that we were able to go through that pregnancy, and that year
of life at the mortuary with ease. Three
months later we were miraculously delivered from the mortuary as an inexpensive
home rental practically fell into our laps.
This experience increased our trust in Heavenly Father and his promises.
We learned to always move forward in faith.
God had heard and answered our prayers, and we were reminded that God
was mindful of our little family and we were able to trust that he had a plan
for us. These timely and crucial lessons
prepared us for and blessed us through the trials we would yet face in our
lives.
Hungry for More
This experience wet my appetite for the Book of Mormon. Our family had an Alma like experience! I was hungry for more! It’s amazing to think that what worked for
Alma and his people can work for us today.
The Book of Mormon never gets outdated!
That’s amazing! As life has
progressed the Book of Mormon has never failed us! When we are in it’s pages that is when God
speaks to us and we have always found or been led to the help we were looking
for. That is because the full power of
the gospel of Jesus Christ is contained in the Book of Mormon and its
application is the solution to all of life’s challenges, just as it was anciently,
and just as it will be years from now. President
Nelson says that the Book of Mormon contains the answers to life’s most
compelling questions.So, here’s one of those compelling questions: What do you do when life seems to be contradicting a promise given in a priesthood blessing? We have a son who suffers from seizures, for about a year and a half now, uncontrolled so far, that have come on as a late side effect of surgeries, chemo and radiation to his brain. A few months ago, in a very powerful priesthood blessing, he was promised that he would never have a seizure again. That’s what I heard, but a few weeks later he had not one, but two seizures within hours of each other and the second one ending with a call to the paramedics because he fell and got hurt during it. How do you settle that one? You’re promised one thing, but the opposite happens? The Book of Mormon teaches us that Sorrow and faith can exist together. Sorrow is different than despair. Have we been sorrowful? Yes! Doubting the Lord? No! Like Nephi we are saying, we don’t know the meaning of everything, but we know that God loves His children. We know we are His children. And we know God is a God of truth and cannot lie. And while we wait upon the Lord, and seek greater understanding, moving forward in faith, our souls are comforted in Christ and our hope in Christ sustains us as we know that all of God’s promises will be fulfilled, eventually.
President Nelson said, “when I think of the Book of Mormon, I think of the word power. The truths of the Book of Mormon have the power to heal, comfort, restore, succor, strengthen, console and cheer our souls.” I know that is true. The truths of the Book of Mormon have healed us from wounds inflicted by mortality, has comforted us on our darkest days, have restored our hope, have succored us when the troubles of the day seem bigger than us and too heavy to bare, has strengthened us to do what we never thought possible, has consoled us through our disappointments and has cheered our souls when sorrow looms long. Through those pages we have come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ and have gained greater understanding of his great atoning sacrifice in a very intimate and powerful way. And God’s great plan of happiness has become a very real, hope filled and beautiful thing to us.
My Testimony
I love the Book of Mormon and this opportunity to reflect upon why I do has made me fall in love with it all over again! I know it’s true. The Book of Mormon is a miracle, prepared by the hand of God to guide us day by day. The Book of Mormon has changed me. Through prayer and scripture study I have found my true identity. I am a daughter of God! Can I tell you how freeing that is? Free from self-doubt and worry that I’m not good enough. Free from pressures to be something or someone I’m not. Free from the pain of untruths I used to believe about myself. Free to be me, and that’s enough! And because I’m His daughter, I want to not only return to Him some day, but I want to be like Him when I do. And I want my family there with me. The Love my Father in Heaven has for me is what I base my confidence on and when I fail to invite the spirit into my life on a daily basis by reading the scriptures to remind me of that love, I find that is when my confidence wanes. I’m a better mother when I’ve invited the spirit into my life as the spirit helps me throughout the day as I battle the urge to re-act to situations, and instead, pause, and act. Those are my really good mommy days….when I know I’m acting and not re-acting! And on those days when I’m less than my best, I’m so grateful that I can repent and try again. .as many times as it takes. The truths I am learning replace fear with faith as I am reminded time and time again that there isn’t a problem too big for the Lord. He has all power and can do whatsoever He will for the benefit of man. That gives me great confidence in turning to Him with all of my problems.
The things I want for my children will only come as they seek the Lord through feasting upon his words. I want my children to know who they truly are. I want for them what President Monson has promised, to hear the voice of the spirit, have power to resist temptation, overcome doubt and fear and receive Heaven’s help in their lives. I want them to have as many experiences with light and truth as possible so that when they encounter the Sheram’s and the Nehor’s of the world, they like Jacob from the Book of Mormon, because of their many experiences and choices, “will not be shaken.” As so when I see them in their Books of Mormon, reading on their own, I know they are on the right track.
As we have tried to daily feast upon God’s word, individually and as a family, I can testify that there has come into our lives and into our home an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God, just as President Hinckley promised years ago.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
A great story told by
President Faust. Keep for a future talk.
“The answer to those questions may
best be given by relating the story of a young piano student. His mother,
wishing to encourage him, “bought tickets for a performance of the great Polish
pianist, Paderewski. The night of the concert arrived and the mother and son
found their seats near the front of the concert hall. While the mother visited
with friends, the boy slipped quietly away.
“Suddenly, it was time for the
performance to begin and a single spotlight cut through the darkness of the
concert hall to illuminate the grand piano on stage. Only then did the audience
notice the little boy on the bench, innocently picking out ‘Twinkle, Twinkle,
Little Star.’
“His mother gasped, but before she
could move, Paderewski appeared on stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He
whispered to the boy, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And then, leaning over, the
master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon
his right arm reached around the other side, encircling the child, to add a running
obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd
mesmerized.
“In our lives, unpolished though we
may be, it is the Master who surrounds us and whispers in our ear, time and
time again, ‘Don’t quit. Keep playing.’ And as we do, He augments and
supplements until a work of amazing beauty is created. He is right there with
all of us, telling us over and over, ‘Keep playing.’”7