Home Teaching Message Jan 1, 2013
The Voice of the Lord
The Doctrine
and Covenants invites all people everywhere to hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ (see D&C
1:2, 4, 11, 34; 25:16).
It is filled with His messages, warnings, and encouraging exhortations given by
revelation to chosen prophets. In these revelations we can see how God can
answer our prayers of faith with messages of instruction, peace, and warning.
In our prayers we seek to know what God would have us do, what
we should do to find peace and happiness in this life and the next, and what
lies ahead of us. The Doctrine and Covenants is filled with answers to such
questions asked by ordinary people and by prophets in humble prayer. It can be
a precious guide to teach us how to receive answers to questions about our
temporal well-being and eternal salvation.
Humility and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are key. Oliver Cowdery received
an answer from the Lord regarding his desire to help in the translation of the Book of Mormon:
“Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle
not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not” (D&C
8:10).
Over and over in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord requires
faith and humility before He gives His help. One reason for this is that His answers
may not come in the way we expect. Neither will they always be easy to accept.
Church history and the experiences of our ancestors illustrate
this reality. My great-grandfather Henry Eyring prayed fervently to know what
he should do when he heard the restored gospel taught in 1855. The answer came
in a dream.
He dreamed that he was seated at a table with Elder Erastus Snow
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and with an elder named William Brown.
Elder Snow taught the principles of the gospel for what seemed to be an hour.
Then Elder Snow said, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to be baptized
and this man [Elder Brown] … shall baptize you.”1 My family
is grateful that Henry Eyring had the faith and humility to be baptized at 7:30
in the morning in a pool of rainwater in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, by Elder
Brown.
The answer to his prayer did not come in an audible voice from
the Lord. It came in a vision and dream in the night, as it did with Lehi (see 1 Nephi 8:2).
The Lord has taught us that answers can also come as feelings.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, He taught Oliver Cowdery, “Behold, I will tell
you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost,
which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart” (D&C 8:2).
And He encouraged Oliver this way: “Did I not speak peace to
your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from
God?” (D&C
6:23).
The Doctrine and Covenants, Church history, and the history kept
by Henry Eyring on his mission just after his baptism have taught me
that answers can be felt as warnings as well as peace.
In April 1857, Elder Parley P. Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles attended a conference in what is now Oklahoma, USA. Henry Eyring
recorded that Elder Pratt’s “mind was filled with gloomy forebodings … , not
being able to discern the future or any way of escape.”2 Henry
recorded the sad news immediately thereafter of the martyrdom of the Apostle.
Elder Pratt had gone forward on his journey despite feelings of danger, just as
the Prophet Joseph had done in going to Carthage.
It is my testimony that the Lord always answers the humble
prayer of faith. The Doctrine and Covenants and our personal experience teach
us how to recognize those answers and accept them in faith, whether they be
direction, confirmation of truth, or a warning. I pray that we always will listen
for and recognize the loving voice of the Lord.
Teaching
from This Message
1. Consider reading together the paragraphs about prayer in this
message. As you read, ask family
members to listen carefully for how God answers prayers. Consider testifying of
the importance of prayer.
2. The Doctrine
and Covenants is filled with answers to questions asked by people in
prayer. What if the answers to their questions (the revelations) were never
recorded? Encourage the family to learn to recognize and follow the promptings
of the Spirit. They may want to record their thoughts regarding prayer in their
journals.
Youth
Listening
for the Promptings
By María Isabel
Molina
10781_000_004
One night my young cousin ran away from home, so I hurried to go
look for her. As I drove, I prayed for the Spirit to help me. I knew that God
would answer and direct me, and I tried to listen to the Spirit’s promptings.
But when I couldn’t hear anything, I began to feel desperate and felt that the
Spirit was not prompting me.
Although I wanted to go farther away to search, I felt that I
should stay in the area around my cousin’s home. So I decided to drive around
the area once more. As I stopped at an intersection, I saw the silhouette of a
young girl walking. I had found my cousin!
As I got out of the car and ran to her, I realized that the
Spirit had been directing me all along by helping me feel that I should stay in
the same area. Because I had been listening for a quiet voice, I nearly ignored
the Spirit’s promptings. I then understood that many times we will not hear a
voice, but we will feel impressions in our hearts.
I was so thankful for the Spirit’s guidance. Truly He is always
there! As the scriptures say, “The Holy Ghost shall
be thy constant companion” D&C
121:46).
If we are worthy of the Spirit’s guidance and we pay attention,
we can be instruments in God’s hands to do good for many people. With the
constant companionship of the Spirit, we will know the way we should go.
Children
A
Prayer Adventure
10781_000_005
President Eyring teaches that prayers can be answered in many
different ways. You can have an adventure searching the scriptures to find out
some of those ways.
Use this map to begin your learning journey. Look up each
scripture on the map. On the blank lines, write a few words to describe what
the scripture says about answers to prayer.
Along the way, you can write in your journal about what you’re
learning as well as your own experiences with prayers being answered.
Visiting Teaching Message Jan 1, 2013
Missionary
Work
Latter-day Saints are sent forth “to labor in [the Lord’s]
vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men” (D&C
138:56), which includes missionary
work. We don’t need a formal mission call to share the gospel. Others whose
lives will be blessed by the gospel surround us, and as we prepare ourselves,
the Lord will use us. Visiting teachers can embrace their spiritual
responsibilities and help “bring to pass the immortality and
eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
When the Prophet Joseph
Smith organized the Relief Society in 1842, he said that the women were not
only to look after the poor but also to save souls.1 This is
still our purpose.
“The Lord … entrusts a testimony of the truth to those who will
share it with others,” said President Dieter F.
Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. “Even more, the Lord
expects the members of His Church to ‘open [their mouths] at all times,
declaring [His] gospel with the sound of rejoicing’ (D&C
28:16). … Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion
that affect someone’s life for eternity.”2
From
the Scriptures
From
Our History
The story of Olga Kovářová of the former Czechoslovakia is an
example of member missionary work from our Relief Society history. In the
1970s, Olga was a doctoral student and hungry for a deeper spiritual life. She
noticed 75-year-old Otakar Vojkůvka, a Latter-day Saint. “He appeared to me
seventy-five in his age but in his heart nearer to eighteen and full of joy,”
she said. “This was so unusual in Czechoslovakia at that time of cynicism.”
Olga asked Otakar and his family how they found joy. They introduced her
to other Church members and gave her a Book of Mormon. She read it eagerly and was
soon baptized and confirmed. Since that time Olga has been an influence for
good in a world of political oppression and religious persecution. She served
as Relief Society president in her little branch and helped save the souls of
others by bringing them to Christ.3
What
Can I Do?
2.
How am I helping the sisters I watch over to learn the gospel?
1.
See Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 453.
2.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf,
“Waiting on the Road to Damascus,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2011,
76–77.
.jpg)
“Loud
and Clear”
cji/mdi
1/1/13
Through
rushing waters
power and
awe
to
whispering winds
a zephyr
soft
lightly
touching
feelings
awakened
the
voice of the Lord
loud and
clear!
Copyright
© 2012 – cji
.jpg)
“Gleaning
the Wheat”
cji
1/1/13
The
trashing floor is full
workers found
at hand
calling
forth the winds
thrashing
the wheat
the
chaff to fly away
sisters
being obedient
gleaning
the wheat!
Copyright © 2012 – cji
here 
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