Faith Matters

The speakers and lessons in church today inspired me! The first speaker talked about prayer. It was a great reminder how prayers are answered. A few months ago I was praying for one of my children. In my prayer I was fervently praying "whatever it takes..." when I sort of caught my breath and paused. Maybe NOT whatever it takes! Yes, of course, whatever it takes...Where was my faith? I am always saying I believe the Lord's hand is in everything. The next day I found out that my son had lost his job, and I could see that the Lord's hand is in everything. I put my faith and trust in him. It has taken nearly five months for my son to find a new job. He has become a better, more faithful person through the hardships of being out of work. I truly believe that putting it in the hands of our Heavenly Father and trusting in Him is the only answer. Donovan starts a great new job in a week.

The second speaker talked about life after death. Both speakers are older widowers who have lost their wives in the last year or so. I reflected on the death of my father, nearly ten years ago. It was a very warm night in the first of July, and I was in bed asleep when the phone woke us. My sister was calling to report that Daddy was gone. He was only 75--a very young and healthy 75, and we had hoped to have him for many years yet. After calling my brother and other sister, I returned to bed. I was shaking and shivering as if it were the icy dead of winter. I couldn't stop. Finally, I slid from my bed and onto my knees, pleading for help and solace and strength of testimony. It came into my mind to turn on the television. I flipped to BYU-TV, and there, in the middle of that July night was a replaying of Elder Bruce R. McConkie's last Conference talk before his death. It was like fire to me, warming me to the bone and calming my shivering, shaking body. His testimony pierced my soul. His last words from that final talk:

"And now as pertaining to this perfect Atonement, I testify that it took place at Gethsemane and at Golgotha. And as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God who was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person. I am one of His witnesses. And in the coming day I will feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet His feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I do now that He is God's almighty Son, and He is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through His atoning blood and in no other way. God grant that all of us will walk in the light, as God our Father is in the light so that according to His promises the blood of Jesus Christ his Son will cleanse us from all sin...(Bruce R. McConkie, April Conference, 1985, died thirteen days after giving this testimony.)"