Installment 3 on Homecoming Talk Oct. 2008Elder

Elder Swasey, Elder Ronny, Elder Christensen   King Williams town South Africa

3        Recognizing, and responding from answers to prayers.

   I don’t think it is always easy for us to recognize answers to our prayers.  God makes us put forth some sort of effort on our part usually and He works in this pattern to cause us to learn and grow. Elder Richard G. Scott says that our responses to prayer often come a piece at a time until we receive the whole answer. When me and my companion would go and follow up on a lesson that we had taught to an investigator, we would have them explain as much as they could to us, and then we would help them with the parts that they were missing. We could have easily just re-taught them the lesson, but we knew that when they had to think and participate they would gain so much more from our visits. I think the same principal we used is very similar with what our Heavenly Father does. He could easily just tell us everything we need to know, but then the effort on our part is lost and we won’t grow. Answers to prayers are always available, whether its yes, no, go here, go there, do this or do that, be patient I’ll take care of it, or answer could be simply use your best judgment it will be fine. We just have to be able to be in tune with the spirit enough and listening and we will always find our answers whatever it may be. Being in a place that is conducive to the spirit will always help with us accomplishing this task.  (Tell in Your own words I remember an experience I had just a few months ago, were my companion and I were preparing a meeting for the missionaries in our area, we knelt down and prayed before we started planning …. Nothing…. In a place where the spirit could prompt and the spirit prompted me that we needed to pray again. We responded to the prompting that we received and then the revelation flowed) When we respond to the answers that we have identified that God has given us.  He gives us more. Because we have proven that we will respond. As a missionary you get to watch the restoration dvd many times, and you begin to be able to quote it. One of my favorite quotes from that film is a part where…… I contend that God has given to each of us the ability to think… to reason for our selves.  And it is true although we should always seek instruction and guidance from our Heavenly Father, we should also use our own skill and judgment for many things. For example God will probably not tell you what flavor of  ice cream to buy while you are at the store. PMG explains this really well there is a quote by Dallin H Oaks in PMG under the chapter following the spirit where it says.