HHH-11

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Session 11- Recorded Session with Kevin Hinckley and Christi Turley

Step 11- Seek through humble prayer to know the Lord’s will and to be empowered to carry it out.

In order to better prepare the early Saints for the blessings of the temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith convened the School of the Prophets. In this school, he taught “that three things are necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation. First, the idea that he actually exists. Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections and attributes.”

As we work through the healing steps, we come to a greater understanding of our Heavenly Father, and his Son Jesus Christ. We better understand their character and a greater appreciation for their loving, healing attributes. This growing knowledge fills us with the hope necessary to move forward and trust that He will remove our weaknesses as He has promised.

Joseph Smith then explains the third element of faith, necessary for salvation, is “an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will.” (Lectures on Faith, Lecture Third, p. 1) In other words, for faith to be complete, we need His divine reassurance that we are safely on the path He desires for us.

Striving to know His will requires that we listen and recognize His voice when it speaks to us. In the Book of Mormon, one group described this voice by saying “…that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul.” (Helaman 5:30) When we surrender and allow our hurts, habits and hang-ups to be healed by the Atonement, we hear His voice. We hear His voice in the peace that replaces the confusion and pain that always accompanied our weaknesses. We hear His voice in the quiet urging to move forward in our lives.

And we hear Him directing us in the changes we now need to make in our daily actions.

Making these necessary changes is often uncomfortable, even painful. Moving forward, without the comfort of our former habits and hang-ups may seem daunting and even impossible. As we come to know His will for us, what He is asking may feel overwhelming.

To those who would follow Him, the Savior gives a simple invitation. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt 11:29,30) He asks us to take upon us his yoke, to do what He asks us to do. However, He promises that this yoke, unlike the destructive yokes of bondage we’ve been carrying, will be ‘easy’ and ‘light’.

How can this be? We wonder. We have lived our lives, to this point, with the companionship of these destructive, but familiar weaknesses. How will I know what to do or how to respond to challenges in life without them?

The answer, of course, is that the Savior will empower us to do the things we are asked to do. “…I will go before you face,” he promises. “I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my spirit shall be in your hearts, and my angels round about you, to bear you up.” (D&C 84:88)

It is for this reason that we need not be dismayed by the size of the task of changing our life. He never intended us to do it alone. To the Children of Israel, the Lord offered this reassurance: “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” (2 Chronicles 20:15)

Before us lies a ‘great multitude’ of challenges; new ways of approaching life and relationships. But, the battle is not ours alone. He will not leave us “comfortless”. As we desire to learn His will for our lives, He will direct us toward the experiences that are in our best interest and of those we are to serve.

At the same time, He will empower us, filling us with His spirit and helping us to know how we are to accomplish the challenges before us. “Be thou humble,” He counsels, “and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (D&C 112:10)

Read and Ponder

President Henry B. Eyring

The Lord will not only magnify the power of your efforts. He will work with you Himself. His voice to four missionaries, called through the Prophet Joseph Smith to a difficult task, gives courage to everyone He calls in His kingdom: “And I myself will go with them and be in their midst; and I am their advocate with the Father, and nothing shall prevail against them.” (D&C 32:3) (2002 October General Conference)

• If He magnifies your efforts, how will you be different? In what way will your behaviors change?

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“Seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel form his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.” (Jacob 4:10)

• When you honestly evaluate your prayers, how much time to you spend ‘counseling’ the Lord on the things you want him to do and how much of the time is spent trying to discover what He wants you to do? What do you need to do differently to allow Him to counsel you more often?

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Elder Richard G. Scott

Sometimes you may feel to complain to the Lord about a challenge that has come into your life through no fault of your own…God knows what is best for us. Although we may not understand why we experience some things now, in His timetable we will know and be grateful. (1999 October General Conference)

• How can complaining about our challenges prevent Him from empowering us?

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Notes

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