Persist in the Inspiration You Receive

Life is hard. We often go through great struggles in this mortal journey. We see now great physical suffering throughout the world. In this past year or so, we've see terrorist attacks in Paris, in Belgium, in Orlando, and too many other places to name all over the world. Such situations are a product of a world without direction, and we can expect that such situations will not cease as we come closer to the time of our Savior's Second Coming.

Individually, we sometimes struggle to find direction for ourselves in this world of chaos. Often we are given stewardship over others, and must also help them find direction. This is nearly impossible for us to accomplish by ourselves. The comforting thing is that the Lord doesn't ask us to do it alone.

He said, "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 11:12-13). It is His Holy Spirit that can enlighten us in this seemingly impossible task of mortality. We can tap into that at anytime, if we humbly reach out to Him.

A true experience will help illustrate this, especially for those who find themselves in positions to minister to and serve others:

There was a missionary who was serving as zone leader in a zone that was struggling; it was a zone full of small branches in ranch towns that were also struggling. As this Elder tried to think of ways to inspire his missionaries, he felt inspired himself to take advantage of the weekly phone calls he did with the district leaders to share uplifting messages from the scriptures. He tried it on the first Sunday of the 6-week transfer with the 3 district leaders, sharing scriptures about the Atonement. The reaction from these Elders was less than receptive. "Maybe the Spirit doesn't travel so well through the phone," he recorded in his journal.

The next week came around and the numbers were again very low, far below the goals that had been set. This humble zone leader prayed for inspiration. The same impression arrived. Share scriptural messages. A certain scripture came to his mind and he shared it. Again, the Elders' reaction was not what he hoped, but he felt peace, knowing that the Lord had inspired him and it was what He wanted him to do. And so each week, he shared scriptures. Instead of attempting to question those Elders' efforts or shame them for their low numbers, he loved them and shared heartfelt messages with them.

On the last day of the transfer, after having received word from the assistants to the Mission President that he would be transferred the following day, he received a call. It was one of those district leaders. This particular leader had struggled mightily, as he was training a native speaking missionary while continuing to struggle with the language himself; he was also serving in a branch with a plethora of serious problems and incredible challenges. They spoke of the week and the progress they had both made. Suddenly, however, the Elder fell silent. It seemed to the zone leader that he was fighting back tears.

Finally this humbled district leader said, "Elder, I am so grateful for you trying so hard to help me. This transfer was really really hard. I literally had no idea what I was doing. But when you'd call on Sundays, you wouldn't chastise me like most leaders do. I could tell you really cared. And every time you'd share a scripture, it was always a direct answer to my prayers and my problems."

An overwhelming feeling of peace came over that zone leader. He knew that his efforts to humbly call upon the Lord had allowed the Lord to use him as an instrument to touch this struggling district leader and fellow son of God and representative of His Work.

We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the promise is there for us: if we humbly seek for it, we can have it. President Henry B. Eyring said, "You have had times when you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost. It may have happened for you today. You can treat those moments of inspiration like the seed of faith that Alma described (see Alma 32:28). Plant each one. You can do that by acting on the prompting you felt. The most valuable inspiration will be for you to know what God would have you do...Whatever it is, do it. When you demonstrate your willingness to obey, the Spirit will send you more impressions of what God would have you do for Him. As you obey, the impressions from the Spirit will come more frequently...Your power to choose the right will increase." (see the full talk from Pres. Eyring here)

In a world of chaos, we can have peace. When we have problems, we can find solutions. When we are lost, or at a fork in the path of our mortal journey, we can find direction. If we humbly seek to receive revelation, we will receive it. And once we do, we must act. One thing that it is important that we remember, however, is that it's not always going to be easy once we do. We will struggle. But if we persist in the inspiration we receive, we will find peace. Even if things don't turn out how we'd think or how we'd hope, acting on spiritual impressions will always lead to good. (See Ether 4:12 and Moroni 7:13). If we are inspired to share the gospel with a friend, and he or she rejects it, we can know we did what the Lord wanted. If we are inspired to pay tithing and we are confronted with serious financial trouble, we can receive the assurance that all will be well. Examples abound, and the principle is the same.

Life is hard enough by itself. It only gets harder when we don't have the Spirit guiding us along. We have to be ready to follow those gentle impressions when they come. When they do, we should act, then persist in that impression received. We will find peace in the journey. Christ promised that when he told his fearful apostles, "Peace I leave with you,,,not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid..." (John 14:27), "...Fear not, believe only" (Luke 8:50).