Not a Coincidence

Elder Bednar said, speaking of the choir singing his favorite hymn just prior to his first Conference address, "Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them."

I was recently at a Stake Primary Leadership Meeting where each ward's Primary Presidency was given an assignment to look at a certain week's lesson from the 2010 manual and give a brief idea of how they might present it in Sharing Time.

A jar was passed around with the assignments on slips of paper, and each ward drew a slip. The deaf branch, which recently became part of our stake, was the last to pick from the jar.

And somehow, randomly, by coincidence ;o) the topic they were to present was on /listening/ to the Holy Ghost.

So the Primary President got up when it was their turn to speak, and she said that they would teach this particular lesson differently than most others would, simply because some of the children in their branch don't know the difference between a whisper and a scream. Telling them that the Spirit whispers in a still, small voice isn't helpful to them.

Therefore, their idea for the lesson would be to bring a candle and let the children feel its warmth. They would teach them that the heat from the candle is just a little bit of heat, not like the sun on a hot day or a roaring fire. And the Spirit is like that. Just a small, little feeling of heat in your chest. You have to be paying attention if you want to feel it.

As I was listening, I was so grateful that I was there to hear that. Because to be honest, the thought of the Holy Ghost "whispering in a still, small voice" isn't particularly helpful to me either, because no matter how hard I strain my ears, I don't hear a single thing. It's all a feeling. A warming of my heart. An enlightening of my mind. A candle is the perfect imagery for the Holy Ghost to me.

The spirit lights my way and warms my heart. It's just a little spark, but if I live right, the light and heat from that candle can be with me all the time. And what a difference it makes when I hold it close, feel its warmth, and follow the path it is lighting ahead of me.