Chapter 85: The Voice of The Lord

"As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. He hath delivered my soul in peace."

Psalm 55:16-18

A crazy week spent completely in Ireland; we came over Monday from Edinburgh, traveling down that evening to Dublin where we held All-Ireland conference on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Elder Yorgason and I made our way over to Cork through Waterford doing some flat inspections and having exchanges with the Cork Elders there until that night when we were met by Elder Lambert and Elder Kulmayer. Thursday morning we left Cork and made our way over to hike Carrauntoohil, the tallest mountain in Ireland, after which we made our way up through Limerick and Galway to Sligo. Friday we spent in Sligo scouting out accommodation for future missionaries until the evening when we traveled to Belfast through Donegal, where we stayed and did exchanges until we left earlier today to head back to Scotland.

It was a crazy trip!

Throughout the week I have recovered from my illness which I am grateful for, and had many special experiences which gave me perspective and peace.

When we travel, it can be hard for me to feel settled and have good routines. This was especially true of this past week and I felt like I struggled to meaningfully connect with God. This is ironic because what we have been discussing in our companionship a lot and what we taught about in Conference is the importance of prioritizing sacred, quiet time to hear the voice of The Lord.

In the busyness of life, even on a mission, it can be incredibly difficult to hear God's voice and just as incredibly easy to become distracted from the importance of such an action. Satan delights in the distraction of otherwise devoted disciples, pressing hard to get us to forget our Father in Heaven amid the day to day demands of life.

We know, however, God's feelings on the importance of hearing his Son, his words ringing through the eternities: "this is my Beloved Son, hear him!" To hear the Saviour is to receive divine peace, guidance, and confidence from his Spirit and in turn follow such instruction and feelings to further become the disciples he needs us to be. But how do we do this?

"Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God" (Doctrine and Covenants 101:16). Hearing the voice of The Lord entails trusting that he and Heavenly Father are in control, taking a step back, being still and taking time to get to know God through pondering, prayer, study, and other private acts of devotion. Such is crucial to our spiritual stamina in this life, for we can only quench the fiery darts of the adversary if our reservoirs of faith are filled. Taking time to be still allows God to replenish us and for our focus to become realigned with what is truly real.

On Sunday morning, I felt very empty inside. I was eager to fast as a sign to the Lord that I wanted to be close with him and try harder to be better. I was pretty down about my seeming lack of progress, but went to sacrament meeting with hope that as I gave it to the Lord, I could be filled with some sort of peace and forgiveness. As we came to the church it was one of the only times I remember feeling uncomfortable in church, like for some reason I didn't belong because of how poorly I felt I was doing at being good. During the sacrament, I pondered Christ's sacrifice, and felt the Spirit nudge me to look at Hymn 185, Reverently and Meekly Now. The words of the last verse touched my soul:

"At the throne I intercede;

For thee ever do I plead.

I have loved thee as thy friend,

With a love that cannot end.

Be obedient, I implore,

Prayerful, watchful evermore,

And be constant unto me,

That thy Savior I may be."

I heard the voice of The Lord. He spoke to me and blessed me with peace and forgiveness. The whole rest of the day I just continued to be filled with light. I hope to continue to do what I need to in order to have those experiences with God.

You can have them too if you take time to be still and know that he is God.

Life is good.

God is wise.

Don't give up.

Elder Childers

Dinner at Wings with the Zone Leaders of Ireland!

The Waterford viking ship

Irish Cows

Pictures from the hike!

Dinner at Durty Nelly's!

Selfie and river at Donegal

Selfie with Elder Ferguson and Tolman