Several years ago, a big storm blew over our home during the night. After just a couple of minutes and several flashes of lightning, our little Manon climbed into bed with us. My wife Véronique, wanting to reassure our daughter, carried her over to the window and said: 'Don't be afraid. Look how beautiful the lights in the sky are'. But at that very moment, a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky with a frightening crack. Véronique stepped back in fear, and Manon was even more terrified!
As I watched the power of the elements that night, I could not help but think of our Savior Jesus Christ, the Creator of all things. I also thought of our Heavenly Father who gave His Only Son to save us. They accomplished the most significant act in the universe: clearing the way for us to attain eternal life.
I then thought of Moses, who was overcome with fear when the Savior asked him to deliver Israel. The Lord said to him:
'Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. '[i]
The Lord's voice must have sounded like thunder throughout Moses' body! Like Moses, we have a responsibility to gather Israel into a land of peace, into the stakes of Zion. Whatever our ability to express ourselves, we must move forward in faith. Do we feel capable of doing what the Lord wants us to do? Can we feel our responsibility in the gathering of Israel? Of course, it starts with ourselves, our spouse and our own children.
While my wife and daughter were very frightened by the storm, I thought to myself: 'I hope it rains now, because it's been so hot!' Different perspectives lead to different actions. Where do we stand when life does not lead us down the easiest path, or the path we wanted to take? As the storm grew increasingly fierce, I thought as well of Joseph Smith, who was often overwhelmed by all the responsibilities he had been given at such a young age. He frequently fell to his knees to plead with our Heavenly Father. Perhaps one of the most moving of these moments took place in Liberty Jail, when he felt abandoned by the Lord. The Lord said to him:
'And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? …therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever. '[ii]
These words must have felt like a clap of thunder throughout his sick and weary body. But because they came from our Savior, they gave him the strength and hope he needed to move forward, despite his hardships. Do we fall to our knees enough to receive His strength and hope?
The Lord often uses the gentle, calm voice of the Holy Spirit to speak to us, to comfort us, to warn us, to guide us, and to soothe us. He does so in moments of doubt, but also in times of turmoil, despair or distress. To ensure that we always hear this little voice, we must get used to hearing it, or rather feeling it, in quiet moments. Then, however gentle it may be, it will penetrate our hearts and minds like a bolt of lightning.
I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
[i] Exodus 4:10–12
[ii] D&A122: 7–9