Walking With Two Sisters
A poem by Larry Hiller, Ensign June 2009 p 9
Faith walks before me,
Holding up her lamp
As I try not to stumble in the ink-dark
hours before the dawn.
Her light illuminates
One step and then another.
Beside me, Hope, arm linked
with mine, encourages and steadies.
Sometimes in the tedium,
Distracted by the pain,
My mind begins to wander, then
my feet. I hesitate.
Unsure, I look to Hope.
Her hand takes mine.
The touch reminds me of another
hand held out to me,
One pierced and scarred
Yet oh so tender
Lifting me and blessing me when
I had fallen and despaired.
Remembering,
I move ahead
Buoyed up by Hope, who sees
the end with perfect clarity.
Helaman 5:12
12. And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
Two Powers in Force on the Earth - Not One
Mom and I spend a lot of time not listening to or reading the news these days. We try not to slip into total ignorance of what is going on locally and internationally, but frankly there is very little in the news that lifts and gives hope.
Satan swore to God that he would "reign with blood and horror on the earth." The terrible impact of his promise fulfilled has perhaps never been more evident than it is in our day. And the truth is that even our own family news is not all that good right now. If we were to publish our own family newspaper, the headlines could easily create feelings of hopelessness, and cause us to ask the same question asked by Joseph Smith 170 years ago: "O, God, where art thou?" (D&C 121:1)
The answer to that question is, of course, "I'm right here, next to you." Of this truth we cannot lose sight, for therein is our only true hope. To help us refocus on this hope, I offer the following from Moses 7:61-62, and from D&C 84:88. (Italics are mine)
Moses 7:61-62
61. And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth (and also our family); and great tribulations shall be among the children of men (our family)...
This is a summary of the power that Satan has over the earth and its inhabitants in the last days. If we were to stop our reading here, we would indeed have cause to despair. But The Savior had more to teach Enoch, and He continued:
61. ...but my people will I preserve.
62. And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth....and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood..."
In other words, while the world's news-delivery system finds it nearly impossible to give any focus to what is happening under the Savior's power, He is not just sitting by and letting Satan have his way. Christ is sending forth a flood of righteousness and of His Holy Power to counter Satan and to "preserve" His own people.
The following is at least one way through which God watches over us.
D&C 84:88
88. ...I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left,and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.
We have spoken before about ministering angels. It is not a stretch to my faith or hope - or even my imagination - to think about your mother's parents, and mine, and Stuart who at least have a right to be ministering angels for us if God should choose to allow them to serve - and according to my understanding He would most likely send them before sending angels unassociated with our family.
Find and Focus On God's Presence in our Daily Lives
We must let our eyes and hearts look for, find, and then focus upon, the times in our lives when God's presence and love and care for us are manifest plainly. And as we do so, we will realize that today, and yesterday, and the day before He was present, making manifest His will and His power on our behalf.
This is a perfect time to make certain that not every prayer we offer is a prayer of pleading, and of our list of needs. Let there be frequent prayers interspersed wherein we simply say: "Thank you, Heavenly Father." And then share with Him the events small and large where you have seen His workings on your behalf. If you ever kneel to pray and cannot share with Him even one such moment of having seen and felt His love and power, call me immediately, please, for we need to talk!
We love you immensely, and draw strength, faith and hope from your strength, faith, and hope. I invite you to refresh your "God's-Hands-in-My-Life" journal by at least making a list of the miracles large or small (mostly small, I suspect) which are occuring in your lives. Find a way to share them with us. One possibility is to post them to my blog as a response, or to post to our family website.
Press forward in Faith
