When I read through President Eyring’s talk “Where Two orThree Are Gathered,”
my heart went out to the two individuals whose problem he described of wanting
to feel nearer to God:
I know of at least two
people listening today who want that blessing with all their hearts. They will
try earnestly to draw nearer to the Lord during this conference. They each
wrote to me—their letters arriving at my office in the same week—pleading for
the same kind of help.
Both of them are converts to
the Church and have previously received clear testimonies of the love of God
the Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. They knew
that the Prophet Joseph Smith organized the Church by direct revelation from
God and that the keys of the holy priesthood were restored. Each felt a witness
that keys are in place in the Church today. They bore to me their solemn
testimony in writing.
Yet both lamented that
feelings of love for the Lord and His love for them were lessening. They both
wanted, with full heart, for me to help them regain the joy and the feeling of
being loved that was theirs as they came into the kingdom of God. Both
expressed a fear that if they could not regain in full those feelings of love
for the Savior and His Church, the trials and tests they faced would finally
overcome their faith.
They are not alone in their
concern, nor is their test a new one.
I noticed that President Eyring’s talk is full of helpful
doctrine and admonitions for those who might be going through this same
difficulty.
Note that he says they
are not alone in their concern and their test isn’t a new one. I would almost say the problem is
endemic to the fallen mortal condition. We are prone to wander and leave the
God we love. Even as members of the church we are still liable to relax and
forget the Lord. And on top of
that, we have the challenges of mortality, as President Eyring lists elsewhere
in his talk:
All of us have had our faith tested
by precious blessings delayed, vicious attacks of those who wanted to destroy
our faith, temptations to sin, and selfish interests that reduced our efforts
to cultivate and soften the spiritual depths of our hearts.
--Blessings delayed (These can make us feel forgotten by
God. Our resentment can rise and it takes faith and patience to overcome this.)
--Vicious attacks (These can make us feel unsupported by
God. We want God prove we are right or defend us. Or we might wonder where we
can find answers to sudden questions.
It takes courage and trust and patience to overcome this.)
--Temptations (These can make us feel like God’s way is
unattractive or not enticing. It takes trust and the capacity to sacrificially
mortify the flesh to overcome this.)
--selfish interests
(These can make us feel like God doesn’t want us to have our way or that
He doesn’t care about our individuality. It takes humility and sacrifice to
overcome this.)
Probably the main point President Erying wanted to make
about how we can overcome the tendency to stray and lose our connection to our
Heavenly Father comes even before he mentions the problem:
Where and when we feel the
closeness of the Savior depend on each of us. He gave this instruction:
“And again, verily I say
unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts,
with this commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I
am near—
“Draw near unto me and I
will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye
shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (D&C
88:62–63).
President Eyring included a quotation from Christ’s parable
of the sower about the four different types of ground receiving seed. The seed
is the same; it is the ground that is ready to receive it or not. Likewise, the word is the same, it is
our hearts that are ready to receive it or not.
What I really liked was that in his talk he outlined some
very quick and immediate steps that everyone could take during conference to
soften our hearts and receive and nourish the word. He suggested we pray throughout conference:
--Pray with those who are praying
--Pray as a speaker approaches the pulpit to receive the
Spirit of truth
--Pray as the choir is about to sing
--As speakers are about to end talks, pray that God would
give them of right words of testimony to lift everyone
I remember when he suggested this I was very touched, and I
tried to do that throughout conference. It did
help me feel increased closeness to God.
It also helped me pay extra attention to the speakers’ ending
testimonies, and I appreciated them much more than I had done before.
I learned through this experience how important prayer is to
increasing our closeness to God. I
extrapolate that this practice of personal, silent prayer can be used not just
during general conference, but at all our church meetings as well.
But prayer isn’t the only way that we can do our part to
draw near to the Lord. While I was reading this talk, I ended up making a quick
list of things I have found help me draw nearer to the Lord:
--Taking the sacrament
--Remembering Christ at various times and places
--Daily scripture study
--Diligent service to others
--Temple worship
--Fasting
Drawing closer to God takes effort on our part. We can’t
just drift and wish He were closer. We have to take action and move closer
ourselves.
At a very young age (in late elementary school) I noticed
the pride cycle pattern in my life, though I didn’t know enough to call it
that. I noticed that after a period of trying hard to be good, I would start
slacking off and then my spiritual life would go downhill. With that slacking off would come a
feeling of apathy that made church activity annoying. I didn’t like being in that spiritual condition.
Each time I noticed this, I had to make a choice to try to live right again. When I did, I felt closer to the Lord,
I felt I was progressing, I felt better about life, I felt happier.
As I got older, this cycle continued in my life, and I began
to look for ways to avoid falling into the negative part of the cycle. When I was in high school, I stumbled
across a scripture that said “Weary not in well-doing” and I knew that was the
key to escaping the pride cycle and staying on the good side.
President Eyring says something really insightful about our
condition when we notice we’re feeling distanced from the Lord:
Those who are saddened by the loss
of the joy they once had are the blessed ones. Some do not see the withering of
faith within themselves. Satan is clever. He
tells those he wishes to be miserable that the joy they once felt was childish
self-delusion.
Satan tries to make us think that losing that closeness to
God is irreversible. Or he tries to make us think that we’re progressing beyond
the need for it. Both of those
messages are lies.
If we notice we’ve lost what we once had, we’re blessed
because seeing the problem is the first step toward fixing it. But to fix it, we have to do our part
seeking after the Lord.
We’re more in trouble if we don’t see our own faith
withering or if we think we’ve outgrown faith or joy from the gospel.
1)
The only way we outgrow faith is if we know for certain the truth of the things
we once simply believed.
2)
Since the eternal destiny of Heavenly Father’s
righteous children is eternal joy, it is not possible to outgrow
joy. A fullness of joy is our
coveted end, not a temporary waystation.
There is nothing childish or self-delusive about true joy.
This talk has been a good reminder for me how much I need
prayer in addition to the other practices for drawing closer to God.
Suggestions for
teaching:
Read class members the account of the two members writing
letters to President Eyring. Ask
them if they have ever gone through that kind of challenge. Ask them what they would advise those
two members if they had been in President Eyring’s position.
Ask class members to brainstorm lies that Satan tells us
about our lessening feelings of love from the Lord. What is false about those thoughts, and what is the truth?
Ask class members what life experiences or circumstances
have challenged their faith or made it more difficult for them to feel the love
of the Lord in their lives.
Have class members look up the scriptures that Elder Eyring
quoted in his talk. What do those scriptures teach that can help with the
problem of feeling distanced from the Lord and His love?
Ask class members to share what things they do that help
them draw closer to the Lord. How
do these things help?
Ask class members if they followed President Eyring’s
counsel to pray for those speaking, singing, praying, or testifying in
conference. Ask them to share what
they felt when they did. Challenge
them to try praying at other church meetings similarly.
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