"If You Listen, You Will Find"

I didn't know what to say. The man sat there in tears as he explained that it had been just one week since his fourteen year-old son had drowned, and I sat there speechless. I had been called to be a representative of Jesus Christ, and yet I could think of nothing to say to ease this man's pain. That was until the countdown to the next session of General Conference popped up on the screen and the words came to me:

"Hermano," I said, "What you're about to hear are talks given by men of God--apostles and prophets." I then felt the impression to given him a specific promise, and immediately voiced it. "If you listen, you will find peace."

This experience was one of the most powerful experiences I had on my mission. That man, who had gone such a significant and devastating trial, was in need of comfort that I could not give him, though I longed and prayed that I could. In that case, the Lord had led him to that Church building so that he could listen to the voices of His servants--His prophets and apostles--in order to find the peace that he was seeking. And so that humble man stayed and listened to the prophets of God.

To close that session and the conference, the Prophet and President of the Church, Thomas Monson, said this:

"We live at a time in the world’s history when there are many difficult challenges but also great opportunities and reasons for rejoicing. There are, of course, those times when we experience disappointments, heartaches, and even tragedies in our lives. However, if we will put our trust in the Lord, He will help us through our difficulties, whatever they may be. The Psalmist provided this assurance: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” ("Until We Meet Again" April 2013).

I will never forget when the conference ended, and I turned to see the man's reaction. He had a smile on his face. "Thank you, hermano," he said, and he extended his hand to shake mine. He had found the peace he so desperately needed. 

Though he did not know that he was going to listen to General Conference on that Sunday (he had gone to Church because we told him the time and the place, but that had been weeks prior, and we made no mention of General Conference), he had come with a question/concern, he listened with real intent, and then found his answer. For us the formula is the same.

If we want to find answers or peace or anything from the messages given in General Conference, we must first come prepared with specific questions. We all have struggles. Just as President Monson said, we all have times when we experiences "disappointments, heartaches, and even tragedies." Sometimes we just have a question that needs answering. Listening to the voices of the prophets, apostles, and other General leaders allows us a perfect opportunity to find what we are looking for. 

But coming prepared with questions really does us no good if we're not actively listening for those answers. So we must listen with real intent. Real intent means that we are seeking the answer with the intention of following through with whatever instruction we might receive. It requires faith, and it requires that we open our hearts and our mind to whatever the Lord would tell us. It all requires that we are awake physically. That is often hard, especially when we intend to find our answer listening live to the Conference; ten hours of talks is an incredibly long time. But it's a sacred time. If we listen with real intent, we can find the answers we are seeking.

But we also must keep in mind that it is the Lord's will whether we are to receive answers to our questions. We must also be prepared for the possibility that we will not receive an answer, and that additional study and additional trust is required in order to find them. If we have faith and trust in the process of revelation, we will still find.

Just like the man on my mission, the Lord intends for us to seek guidance and peace through General Conference. And that promise stands for all:

If you listen, you will find.


"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth."
Matthew 7:7-8

Magnifying Our Callings

Oftentimes we don't realize just how important our callings in the Church are. But they're not just important because of what we're doing, but what we're becoming as we do it. 

Oliver Cowdery was one of the most important men of the early Church. He was the Prophet's primary scribe of the Book of Mormon. He saw and handled the plates, acting as one of the prophesied Three Witnesses. He saw great visions alongside the prophet Joseph. But none of us is immune to the effects of the natural man. Oliver had a prideful side. And it was that side that pushed him away from the Church when his high standing was exchanged for a "lesser" calling of Mission President. He apostatized.

Decades later he arrived at Salt Lake, and was given permission by Brigham Young to address the body of the Priesthood. He said the following:

"In the history of the Church I stood in her councils. Not because I was better than other men was I called but to fill the purposes of God. He called me to a high and holy calling. I wrote with my own pen the entire Book of Mormon as it fell from the lips of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and he translated it by the power and gift of God. I beheld with Joseph when an Holy Angel from Heaven came down and conferred upon us the Aaronic Priesthood, and said to us, at the same time, that it should remain on earth while the earth stands. I was also present with Joseph when the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred by the Holy Angels from on high. Brethren, for a number of years, I have been separated from you. I now desire to come back. I wish to come humble and be one in your midst. I know the door."

President Gordon B. Hinckley shared this quote in a General Conference address, then made his own comments: "His is one of the most touching, pathetic stories in the history of this great work. So long as he magnified his calling, he was magnified. When he diminished that calling, he shrank to oblivion and poverty."

With Oliver's story and President Hinckley's powerful commentary, we learn about the importance of magnifying our calling. His is obviously an extreme example of the principle, but it is no less instructive. When we magnify our callings, we not only bring about God's work in that area of the Church, but we are given indispensable gifts and experiences that bring us closer to becoming more holy and more Christlike. 

It is certainly easy to wonder if our calling is that important. How could a nursery leader calling be important at all? I'm just babysitting. How could a YSA Family Home Evening group leader calling be important at all? Or how could a Relief Society Visiting Teaching or Elders' Quorum Home Teaching District Leader calling be important?

It's important, because every calling we have in the Church will bring us closer to that Christ-like disciple if we treat them as important.

President Hinckley said: "To each of us the Lord has said, 'Magnify your calling.' It is not always easy. But it is always rewarding. It blesses him who holds this divine authority. On the other hand, looking through the wrong lens shrinks and shrivels our power and diminishes our contribution. In working from the opposite perspective, the true and the natural and the godly perspective, we enlarge and lift, we grow in strength and gladness, we bless the lives of others now and forever."

Your calling is important. It is important that we always remember that it is the Lord who is giving us the calling. And "whom the Lord calls, he qualifies." (See a previous post on this specific aspect of callings here.) Once we decide we would like to take that step to magnify our calling, there are specific things that must be done. President Marion G. Romney noted that first step, a desire, and added two more:

"Another is that we search and ponder the words of eternal life. And a third is that we pray."

There are important personal ramifications for magnifying our callings. And the formula to do so is straight-forward. If we can nurture the desire to serve our fellow brothers and sisters in whatever capacity we may be called to, seek for inspiration through diligent study of the scriptures and the words of the modern prophets, and seek guidance from the Lord through fervent prayer, not only will we see miracles among the people we are serving, we will see miracles in ourselves. As we seek to serve as Christ would serve, we little by little become like Him.

"We magnify...and enlarge our calling when we serve with diligence and enthusiasm in those responsibilities to which we are called by proper authority. I emphasize the words, 'diligence' and 'enthusiasm.' This work has not reached its present stature through indifference on the part of those who have labored in its behalf."

-Gordon B. Hinckley