Chapter 13
Learning for Myself
Randal A. Wright
Several years ago, our eight-year-old son came in from playing outside with a huge potted plant. He seemed very excited and told his mother that he was giving it to her as a present. Of course, the first thing we asked him was where he had gotten this special gift. He told us he had found it in a clearing in the woods behind our house. The plant was about five feet tall and very green and healthy. This just didn’t make sense to me. It was obvious that someone had taken good care of the plant, and it was in a nice container. After further questioning, we had him show us exactly where he had found the plant. He quickly took us to the spot. We couldn’t imagine how the plant had gotten there or who could have taken such good care of it, but we were convinced that our son really had found it behind our house.
We decided to put the present in our living room, next to our couch. I must admit that it looked nice sitting there. We have frequent visitors to our home, and several people, including our home teachers and several ward and stake leaders, commented on how nice the plant looked in our living room. But there was something about the plant that never seemed right. Maybe it was the strange smell that was always apparent when you sat near it, or the strange feeling we got as we looked closely at it. It looked more like a healthy weed than anything else. Finally, after about a month, I pulled down a plant book to see if I could identify what kind of plant we had been tending. I flipped through the pages until I finally spotted a plant that looked exactly like ours. I checked very closely to be sure. I even pulled off one of the leaves and put it on the kitchen stove burner to be sure. There was no question about it. We had in our living room a healthy, five-foottall marijuana plant. I thought of how good it had looked in the room, and of how many friends and relatives had commented on its beauty. But the fact remained that we not only had an illegal plant in our home, we had actually cared for it. We had the plant destroyed, but I learned for myself from this experience that it is possible to have things in our lives that are not right and yet not even notice them. If we are to make it through life safely, we are going to have to look closely at our actions and our environment to make sure there is nothing inappropriate in them.
As we go through life, we will all make mistakes. But if we learn from our own experience and the experiences of others, we can live happy, useful lives.
Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1.) One day after work, I stopped at a self-service gas station. As I was pumping gas into my car, a young man pulled up on the opposite side of the pumps and began to fill his car. I thought as I looked at him, “Poor guy, he doesn’t have a chance in life.” He had long hair and out-of-style clothing, and he wasn’t very comely in his appearance. I found myself looking down on him and actually thinking I was probably better than he was.
After I finished putting the gas in my car, I went to pay the attendant. To my embarrassment, I didn’t have enough money to pay the bill. I went back to the car to find some more money. I looked in the glove compartment, under the seat, even under the floor mats—nothing, not one cent! I knew I would have to ask the attendant if I could go home to get more money. Reluctantly, I walked back toward the cashier. About halfway there, I passed the young man I had judged earlier. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry about it, man.” I thought, “Same to you, smart aleck!” But I had no idea what he was talking about.
Back with the attendant, I explained that I had no money with me. Since I lived only about a mile and a half away, I suggested that I would go home, get some money, and come back to pay her—all within a few minutes. She seemed very calm as she rang up the bills of the other customers, not paying much attention to my dismay. Finally, she said that the young man behind me in line had seen my predicament and paid my gas bill, asking her to tell me not to worry about it.
I hurried outside, ran to his car, and said, “Look, I live just down the road. Please wait here, and I’ll bring you the money right back.” His only words were, “Don’t worry about it, man,” and he drove off.
I had never seen this young man before, nor have I seen him since, but he taught me that we should be very careful about judging others. There are many good people in the world who do not necessarily look or act the way we think they should. If we are not careful, we can be lifted up in pride and judge them only by the way they look, or even by the brand of clothing they wear. Let us judge not that we be not judged.
Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16.) Several years ago when I was serving as a stake missionary, I was privileged to meet a fulltime missionary from Utah named Maurice Begay. Elder Begay was a full-blooded Indian and a perfect example of one who had “blossomed as a rose.” He showed me, during a “missionary split” one night, why we sometimes need to let our lights shine, even when it’s hard. That night as we were out tracting, we drove into a poor area of town. Elder Begay asked me to pull up to a particular mobile home so we could tract it out. I tried to tell him that I was sure the people who lived there would not be interested in the Church, but he would not listen and began to walk up the driveway. I followed him past a couple of junked cars and scattered trash up to the trailer door. I was more than a little nervous as Elder Begay knocked loudly on the door. My confidence sank even more when the man of the house opened the door. He had a cigarette in his mouth, no shirt, tattoos all over his arms, and a scowl on his face. “What do you want?” he asked. I thought, “I want to go home. What do you think I want?” But I said nothing. Elder Begay told him who we were and asked if we could come in and share a message about Christ’s visit to the Americas with his family. After a long pause, he invited us in. In his small living room sat his wife and four children. All needed a comb, a bath, a handkerchief, and some better clothing. There was tension in the air as we sat down, and it became obvious that no one was going to speak to us because of their involvement in a TV movie. After a short time, Elder Begay told the family we had a message to share with them. No one responded to his comment. I became more nervous and had a strong desire to get up and leave. The elder tried two more times to talk with the family about the Church, but still they would not reply. After we had sat there for about fifteen minutes, Elder Begay did something that took as much courage as anything I have ever seen. With no warning this young missionary picked up his chair and set it right in front of the TV set, then sat down so the family could not see the movie. Then he reached around and turned off the set. “You don’t mind if I turn this off do you?” he asked. There was an eery silence in the room as the family stared at him in disbelief. I have never wanted to run so bad in all my life. After what seemed like an eternity, the man replied, “I guess not; I’ve already seen that movie anyway.” Hearing that brought me more relief than I can describe. That night a young Lamanite missionary taught that family about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The family was not interested in the Church, just as I had first suspected, but I had witnessed one of the most inspirational events of my life.
That event was more than ten years ago, but I still recall it often, especially when things get hard. I learned for myself that the example we set can affect people for years. When I saw this young elder’s light shine before me, it made me want to glorify my Father in heaven through my own actions.
The Lord promised, “If you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.” (D&C 11:5.) My wife is a convert to the Church and the only member in her immediate family. She has two younger brothers who have been active members of another faith. Trying to be good missionaries, we prayed for ways to introduce her family to the Church. We invited them to socials and other activities but didn’t have much luck.
Finally, we felt the answer to our prayers had come. Her brother Richard agreed to go to a stake dance with us. He was seventeen. We were so excited! We took special pains getting ready so that we felt totally prepared, and we left early to be there on time. We forgot though, that Mormon standard time was in effect. Very few people were there. We introduced Richard to those who were there, but they just said hello and went on their way.
Then the thought hit us: “After praying him here, now what do we do with him?” I have never felt more uncomfortable in my life. Isn’t that about the way it is? We pray for something for years, only to find that we don’t know what to do with the answer.
As other young people arrived at the dance, we would introduce Richard to them. Again, after a brief “It’s good to meet you,” they would walk away and dance with the people they already knew, leaving Richard on the sidelines with us. He was close friends with Linda, one of our LDS girls, so we nervously waited for her arrival. As the evening grew into night, a new prayer formed in our hearts, one asking for help to know what to do to help Richard feel welcome and accepted.
Finally Linda came in, walked right up to Richard, and began taking him around introducing him to her friends. What a relief! We began to relax, thinking that all was well—our prayers had again been answered! Our relief was short-lived however, because about fifteen minutes after Linda arrived, Alden walked in. He was the tall, muscular, football-player type, who happened to be Linda’s boyfriend. She went straight to him, leaving Richard by himself again. He was soon back at our side looking uncomfortable. The pressure was unreal. We had prayed so diligently for him to come to the activity, never dreaming that he might have a terrible time once he got there.
I looked out on the dance floor and saw Linda and Alden. She was our only hope. I was about to give up and suggest we leave when again our prayers were answered. As this young couple was dancing to a fast song, Alden suddenly made a quick move, and we heard a loud rip from the sidelines. He had ripped the seat of his pants from top to bottom.
Alden lived in another town several miles away. He had no choice but to go home for the night. As soon as he walked out with his hands over his back side, Linda came right over to Richard and never left him for the duration of the dance.
Now, you may think that Alden’s ripping his pants was a coincidence, but how many times have you seen something like that happen at a dance? I learned for myself that if we ask, we will receive. The Lord does answer prayers, and sometimes he answers them in unusual ways.
The Lord taught Joseph Smith, “Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (D&C 1:38.) One of the nicest and most attractive young women I’ve known is named Monica. She plays the piano, was a straight-A student in high school, and never missed a day in seminary for four years, even though it began at 5:55 A.M. She is a true hundred-percenter in everything she does.
You would think that while she was in high school she would have had all kinds of boys asking her out. She did at first, until they found out her standards. But she took a stand that seriously hurt her social life. She decided to follow what the prophets have counseled regarding dating. First, she refused to date until she was sixteen. Even though many young men wanted to take Monica out before her sixteenth birthday, she followed the Church’s counsel. The biggest event in the eighth grade is the end-of-the-year banquet, a formal dinnerdance. Monica was one of only a few girls who attended this special event without a date. Second, she refused to date nonmembers or unworthy members. Living in the mission field and attending a large, predominately nonmember high school, Monica found herself being asked out for dates by nice, popular nonmember boys. That’s a tough decision, but she had taken a stand and was determined to stick with it. Monica kept her vow and never went out with a nonmember.
As you can imagine, she ended up having very few dates in high school. She used the time to work on goals, such as sewing, cooking, making good grades, reading the scriptures, obtaining her Young Womanhood Recognition Award, and so on. She was also one of the high school beauties and an officer on the drill team.
Monica did well enough in high school to receive a scholarship to Brigham Young University. After a year she met a young, good-looking returned missionary. They courted and then began a new life together after their marriage in the Washington, D.C., Temple.
Shortly after their wedding, Monica and Benson spoke at our stake’s Standard’s Night. She wore her white wedding dress and looked beautiful. She told the youth that one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do was go to the eighthgrade banquet alone. It was difficult to turn down dates with nonmembers and sit at home weekend after weekend. But then came her point: “I want to tell all of you here that when I knelt across the altar at the Washington, D.C., Temple and looked into the eyes of a worthy priesthood holder and heard ‘married for time and eternity,’ I knew it was all worth it!”
Following the Prophet at times seems hard, but if we will do it, there are always bigger and better rewards in the future. Going against the Prophet may bring temporary pleasure, but it always brings long-term consequences.
As I looked at Monica and Benson that night, I learned for myself that whether words of counsel are from the Lord or his prophet, it is the same. When we follow this counsel, great rewards will come.
You may like cats, and I think that’s great. I don’t mind cats—as long as they belong to someone else. Once when our sons were small, a good friend had a huge litter of kittens and was not having too much luck giving them away. Knowing of my “unfondness” for the feline species, she knew better than to offer a kitten to me, so she extended the invitation to our four-year-old son Nathan. We politely said, “Thank you,” and went on our way. What else could I say, since the kitten had been a gift?
Nathan loved that cat so much that he dubbed her “Miss Mormon.” How can you turn your kid down when he gives an animal a name like that? I still didn’t like the cat rubbing against my leg—I didn’t even want her in the house! In time, things changed somewhat. As the kitten grew, I saw how much fun the boys had with her, and I began to enjoy her a little myself. I kind of liked having her around.
Then one day Nathan couldn’t find Miss Mormon anywhere. We looked all over the neighborhood. After several days, my wife was coming home from a meeting and saw our cat on the side of the road, dead. She had apparently been hit by a car.
I told Nathan what had happened and that we would need to go pick her up so we could bury her. He went in and got a small plastic garbage sack and bravely took my hand as we walked down the road in the direction my wife had pointed out. When we found our cat, she was stiff and bloated. Her tongue was hanging out, and her tail was sticking straight up into the air.
I wanted to teach my son a lesson, so I said, “It’s your cat. You put her in the bag.” But she was so stiff he couldn’t do it. I tried to use my foot to help him out a little, but we didn’t have much luck.
Finally I saw it was no use. The cat was too big and stiff to get into the sack, so Nathan just wrapped the bag around the cat and carried it. It was quite a sight. Our small son, eyes red from crying, carrying a huge, stiff cat—its tongue sticking out and tail sticking out from under the bag.
As we made our way down the road toward home, Nathan could barely carry the cat. As we passed by our neighbor’s home, Mrs. Cooper waved at us from her yard. She took one look at Nathan’s bundle and burst out laughing. I looked down at that big, stiff cat that he loved—it was almost as big as he was right then—and almost laughed myself. But then I saw the big tears rolling down Nathan’s cheeks.
We finally arrived home and buried the cat in the backyard. Several months later, the Coopers moved from our neighborhood. Three years went by, and one day Nathan was told that Mrs. Cooper was coming for a visit. He said, “I don’t like Mrs. Cooper.” “Why not?” I asked. “Because she laughed at me when Miss Mormon got killed.” He had remembered that incident vividly for three years.
Empathy and understanding are very important. I learned for myself that people are hurt and may resent us if we are not sensitive to their feelings. We should remember to treat people as we want to be treated ourselves.
Joseph Smith once wrote, “Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory!” (D&C 128:22.) While attending a youth conference in a southern state recently, I listened as several youth bore their testimonies. Michelle, a beautiful black girl, walked up to the podium and began unfolding her life’s goal—to be a recording artist—and the events that had recently happened in her pursuit of this goal.
She said that she had worked hard, and finally it appeared as if her dream would come true. Representatives came to her home with a song and offered her the opportunity to make her first record. Michelle felt like jumping up and down she was so excited! But then she began reading the words to the song that had been written especially for her, and a sick feeling came over her. She felt her new-found dream slipping away. The lyrics were not up to Church standards. What would you do? They weren’t too bad, but she didn’t feel good about performing something that went against her values and beliefs.
There was a silence in the room, and then Michelle looked up at the recording company representative and said, “I can’t sing this song. Its words go against what I believe in.” The people tried to convince her that one song wouldn’t matter. Michelle knew the answer, but it hurt badly. Her parents said, “Michelle, this is the big opportunity that you have been waiting for. Go ahead and sing it. Don’t throw away this chance.”
But some things in life cannot be bought. Michelle stood up for what she knew was right. The answer was no. She could not and would not sing that song. Sometimes it isn’t easy to stand up for what you believe in. The representative left, and Michelle went to her room and cried herself to sleep that night. But she felt good that she had had the courage to stand up for what was right.
Two days later someone knocked at the front door. There stood the same people who had visited her before. They explained that they had changed the lyrics just for Michelle, and that they still wanted her to sing it. This young woman, who stood up for what was right when everything and everybody around her said to compromise her standards, now has her first record out and will probably have many more to come. I was so proud of this young girl. Tears came to my eyes as I heard her story of great courage. That day I learned for myself that when we go forth in a great cause and have courage, the Lord will bless us and the victory will be ours.
The Lord has said, “Behold and lo, mine eyes are upon you, and the heavens and earth are in mine hands.” (D&C 67:2.)
Recently I visited with a seminary teacher in a central state. He shared with me a story of a former seminary student named Mike. One day after class, this big football player came up to his seminary teacher and said, “We’re having a keg party Friday night in the canyon. You should come.” Then he turned around laughing with his friends and began walking out of the class. Well, what would you have said if you had been the teacher? This teacher said, “You bet, I’ll be there! Where are you going to be and what time does it start?” This took Mike by surprise, and he said, “You’re not really going to come, are you?” He looked afraid and almost pleading now. No longer was he trying to impress his friends—he was trying to get himself out of a tight situation.
There are lots of Mikes out there, probably some in your school—Mr. tough guy during the week, goes to keg parties on the weekends, then sits in church on Sunday. They seem to want to impress their friends more than they want to keep the commandments.
This loving seminary teacher continued the conversation. He said, “No, Mike, I won’t come to your party on Friday. I can tell you really don’t want me there, but I’d like you to do me a favor.” By now Mike probably would have done anything to get the pressure off. The teacher continued, “I want you to promise me that Friday night as you go to take a drink, you will keep your eyes open.” Mike answered, “Well, I guess so. But, why?” “Because when you lean your head back to drink your beer, I want you to look up in the sky so you’ll remember something. Will you remember as you look up that our Heavenly Father is watching you? He will be looking down into your eyes. And, do you know what, Mike? I don’t think you’ll have the nerve to drink that beer, knowing Heavenly Father will be watching you. Will you do that, Mike? Keep your eyes open?” With that, they parted company.
The next Monday, Mike came into seminary and said to his teacher, “You ruined my whole weekend.” “Why, what happened?” his teacher asked. “Well, I went to the party and took a glass of beer from the keg. Just as I got the glass to my lips, I remembered what you had said about keeping my eyes open, and so I did. Then I looked up and imagined Heavenly Father watching me. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in all my life. You ruined my whole night,” Mike concluded. But he said it with a twinkle in his eye and a tone of thankfulness.
I learned for myself from this experience that it helps to remember that a loving Heavenly Father is watching our actions. This can be a great protection from the temptations we face.
King Benjamin said, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17.) Brandie was so excited. She had been invited by her best friend to go to Astroworld, a large amusement park in Houston, Texas. This outing would be a kind of going-away party for her friend, whose family would be moving soon. She ran into the house to tell her mom. Everyone was happy for her. Then they looked at the calendar and realized that date was already taken. A youth service project had been planned for that date, and Brandie knew that she would have to choose a church activity over the amusement park. She suddenly wasn’t happy at all.
The morning of the service project, Brandie got up begrudgingly, pulled on her work clothes, and headed for the widow’s house the group would be painting. I got there about mid-morning to find Brandie on top of the house, hot and sweaty in the August heat. I asked her if she was having fun, just to kid her a little, knowing that she had been upset about not being able to go with her friend. “Yes, I am,” came her reply. “I really am. I’m so glad I’m here. We should do this more often.” She had paint from head to toe and was dipping her brush into a bucket to finish off the last little bit of the eaves. At first I thought she was being sarcastic, but I soon realized that she was serious. She really was glad to be a part of the service project.
All the youth took great pride in their work. Since that special day, many of the youth have driven past the house several times to see the difference that coat of paint made on the widow’s home and to remember the good feelings that came from their act of service.
The youth received the following letter from the widow: “I want to thank all of the young people and their parents for painting my house. I still go outside and walk all the way around just to look at it and be sure it isn’t something I’d dreamed about. It’s all true, and there are young people in this world who are taught to love and serve elderly people who can’t do everything for themselves. I pray the Lord will bless each and every one. I hope they remember, too, that in doing for ‘the least of these,’ we are serving him.”
I learned for myself, just as Brandie had, that when we’re in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God.
The Lord said, “Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.” (D&C 6:33.) During our son Nathan’s freshman year in high school, he was asked to participate with two classmates in a three-part speech. He was excited for this part of his speech class until he found out what their topic would be. The three youth were assigned to present the positive side of a woman’s right to an abortion. Nathan came home quite upset. The other two in his team didn’t want to talk on that any more than he did. They had asked the teacher for another topic, but her reply was, “You can give this topic or get a zero—take your choice.” They asked if they could give their speech on the pro-life side of the issue, but she said no.
After talking among themselves, the two non-members decided they’d just go ahead with the assigned topic, even though they didn’t agree with the pro-abortion issue. We had taught Nathan to obey and respect his teachers, so he felt real turmoil in this matter. By the time he came home that afternoon, he needed some parental intervention.
“Do others know you are a Mormon?” we asked. “Sure, everyone in the class! And I’m the only member of the Church in this class,” he replied. “What if someone gets an abortion someday because of something I say in my speech about abortion being okay?” These were the ideas going through his mind, but on the other hand, he knew he couldn’t afford a zero since this was a major part of his grade.
I brought my files on the abortion issue home. Nathan began thumbing through the papers and came across some vivid colored pictures depicting the horrors of abortion. This had a tremendous impact on him, and helped him come up with his decision. He said, “I’m not giving the speech, whether she gives me a zero or not. I just can’t speak favorably about something that goes against everything I believe in.”
The next day he went to his speech class and politely explained to his teacher that he would not be giving the speech on the positive aspects of abortion. There was a long silence as he looked down at his teacher sitting at her desk. The silence was broken when he said, “And I don’t want a zero either.” Then he sat down, leaving her with a decision of her own to make.
We knew Nathan had done the right thing, but we didn’t want him to fail this portion of his class either. The next day after school, he came in and said, “Guess what the new topic is for my speech: Why abortion should be illegal.” He was so excited—and relieved!
The next week, Nathan gave a powerful pro-life speech after his two teammates had presented the pro-abortion side of the issue. He noticed several tears in his classmates’ eyes when he was presenting his speech, and various students talked to him afterward about his statements. The teacher was visibly irritated with his remarks. She was critical of his presentation, especially mentioning that he got the class too emotionally involved.
A short time later, we received an invitation to attend a year-end academic awards presentation at the high school. Nathan makes good grades, so we figured he’d be receiving an honor in biology or algebra. The names were read off for both of those subjects with no mention of our son’s name. Toward the end of the event, we heard Nathan’s name called out. We weren’t really paying much attention to this category—theater arts, debate, speech—because we knew he didn’t have a chance in this area. But, Nathan was going to pick up his award—the honor award for ninth-grade speech class. We were totally surprised! Apparently the teacher had reconsidered her opinion and ended up admiring him for his stand. Nathan learned for himself that he need not fear doing good and that if he sows good, he will reap good for his reward.
The Lord said, “If it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy.” (D&C 18:15.) A few months ago our family received a letter from Japan. Since we didn’t know anyone who lived there, we were all curious about the contents of the letter. I opened it and found a letter and a picture from a beautiful Japanese girl. We couldn’t imagine who she was and how she had gotten our address or why she would be writing to our family. The letter read: “Dear Wright Family:
“How do you do? My name is Chikako Iba. I am Japanese. I met the sister missionaries on the street and the next day I went to church. This was three weeks ago. The sisters taught me about the plan of salvation and the church. I learned a lot of new things.
“I would like to introduce myself. There are six people in my family (father, mother, little brother, grandfather and grandmother). I am 20 years old, and am a student at the Yamagata Women’s Community College. I study Japanese Literature.
“I will graduate soon, so school tests are soon. I am studying very much. Japan is very cold. Is Vidor, Texas, cold? Please take care of yourself.
“I live in Iwate-Ken. Iwate-Ken is very nice. Please come and see me. I was given a Book of Mormon from your family. Thank you very much. It is a real treat to me. The Book of Mormon is a help to know the truth. [Then it hit me. About a year earlier our family had written our testimonies and placed them in copies of the Book of Mormon with a family picture and sent them to a Japanese Mission.]
“Once again, thank you for the Book of Mormon and helping me to know the truth. I was baptized on January 22, 1989, at the Yamagata Ward. I am very happy.”
I can’t tell you the joy our family received from that letter. To think that with such little effort on our part, a young girl thousands of miles away had joined the Church. We learned for ourselves the great joy that comes from sharing the gospel with others.
The Lord told Martin Harris, “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.” (D&C 19:23.) In our world there is much trouble and sorrow. The teenage years can be especially trying for many. But there are many helps available if we will take advantage of them. We have the scriptures, prayers, our families, friends, church leaders, youth programs, seminary, temple trips, youth conferences, and many other things to help us. Many youth fail to catch the vision of how these aids can help. Their scriptures lay unopened, and they do not attend Church meetings and activities as well as they should be. Some fail to attend youth programs and conferences because these cost money, and they are unwilling to work and sacrifice to attend. Some go to these programs only for the fun and fail to catch the vision of what they can learn. Fortunately, there are others who make any sacrifice required to learn about the important things in life. I would like to tell you about two of these youth.
When I first met Adam, I misjudged him badly. I thought because of his stylish clothes and hair that he was at the youth conference for all the wrong reasons. But I was wrong. Although he had come to the conference to have fun and meet new people, he had also come seeking a testimony. He sincerely wanted to learn. Because he was where he was supposed to be for the right reasons, he got the peace he sought. After one of the youth conference speakers had spoken on the life of Christ, this young man decided he must do as Joseph Smith had done. When he returned home from the conference, he prayed for divine guidance. He wrote a poem that described his experience and shared it with me.
Tonight I felt something I’ve never felt
While at bedside on my knees I knelt
To the Father, a silent prayer I dealt.
My knees hit the floor, and the bed gave a squeak.
The flesh was willing but the spirit was weak.
In the silent night, I heard my mind speak:
Our Father in heaven—Canst thou hear my prayer?
Does my muffled cry pierce thy heavenly air?
Canst thou lift me from my earthly care?
Did thy son to the world of old descend?
Has thy church been restored to the earth again?
Is it true what they say? That’s all-amen.
Does God really exist? Would an answer come?
Could my feeble prayer reach his mighty kingdom?
Could an infidel receive revelation?
In the silent night—I yawned and sighed,
Then an answer came as a peaceful tide.
My heart did swell and hours I cried.
The confusion fled, and all my doubts died.
I had prayed with faith as the scriptures had said.
Oh, that feeling forever—that prayer in my head
Because Adam, as a teenager, went to that conference to learn about the Savior and the important things in life, he learned for himself, just as the scriptures have promised.
One of the most beautiful teenage girls I know is named Chelsey. Not only is she beautiful on the outside but on the inside as well. I have never met a girl her age who tried harder to learn about the Savior and to be like him.
When Chelsey had a chance to attend a youth conference in her area in Texas, she began planning to attend. Although she comes from a large family and money is tight, she worked hard to earn the money to go. Like others, she went to meet new friends and to have fun. But that wasn’t her main reason for attending—she want to learn more about the Savior. Because she went with that intent, she got her desire. She wrote the following letter after the event.
“The conference was the best spiritual experience I’ve had in my whole life, other than the temple trips I’ve made. The classes were extremely inspirational. Each class seemed to help me with different problems I was having. I know what they mean about being at the right place at the right time. Things that I’ve been hearing all my life just seemed to make more sense when I heard them at the conference. For example, I heard, “When ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” in one of the talks. For some reason it seemed to take on a different meaning. I’ve always thought it applied to service, but I realized that when we are mean to a person, it’s like we’re being mean to Christ. After I thought about it, it really made me want to be nicer, sweeter, and more compassionate toward people. While I was there, we got to watch two slide shows about Christ, and it had beautiful music playing with it. I don’t guess I’ve ever realized how much Jesus really loves me as an individual until I saw these slide shows. It made me want to try harder to get back to him. It just gives me chills to think about him embracing me and saying, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” I think the conference helped me realize how much harder I need to work to be able to live with him again. I love my Savior with all my heart, and there’s nothing I’d rather do than spend eternity with my family and with God in the celestial kingdom. The testimony meeting was really spiritual. It just seemed to pull us all closer together. This conference was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my whole life.”
Adam and Chelsey learned for themselves the great joy and peace that come from learning more about the Savior. As you go through life, I hope you will learn for yourself what is really important. And if you learn nothing else, I hope you will learn that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that the Church is true, that we have a living prophet today, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that we have a loving Heavenly Father. If we learn these things for ourselves, then we will find real joy and purpose in life.
Randal A. Wright is an institute director and regional coordinator for the Church Educational System. He was the founder and editor of Mormon Sport Magazine and has published a book, Families in Danger. He and his wife, Wendy, have five children, and they live in Vidor, Texas.