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| My companion and I participating in the Mormon Helping Hands cleanup after Hurricane Matthew in 2017. |
Another Earthquake. Another Hurricane. Another Shooting.
It's flooded our news feeds and there is no escape to it.
But maybe we're not supposed to escape it.
Maybe we're not supposed to try to fix it.
Maybe we're supposed to turn to God.
In the recent General Conference that took place this last weekend, the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints spoke of hope in a fallen world. They spoke of a peace that comes only through the Savior Jesus Christ and liberation that comes only through Christ's Atonement and the wonderful sacrifice He made for each of us. It is only through him that we can have peace and direction during these trying times.
But what about the tree on your house? What about the lives that are lost? What about you're own personal trials that you're going through that aren't plastered on the news or seen on anybody's twitter feed? The kind that nobody knows about, but that keep you up all hours of the night? What do we do about those?
One of my favorite conference talks comes from the October 1993 conference. In it Elder Jeffrey R. Holland tells a story about four year old Katie Lewis as recounted by Katie's mother. As I look at the horror happening in the world around me, I can't help but feel like the world needs to hear this message. In this talk Elder Holland says that Katie lewis is his neighbor, her father, Randy, was his bishop; her mother, Melanie, was a saint. And her older brother, Jimmie, was battling lukemia.
Elder Holland shared what follows;
"Sister Lewis recently recounted for me the unspeakable fear and grief that came to their family when Jimmie’s illness was diagnosed. She spoke of the tears and the waves of sorrow that any mother would experience with a prognosis as grim as Jimmie’s was. But like the faithful Latter-day Saints they are, the Lewises turned to God with urgency and with faith and with hope. They fasted and prayed, prayed and fasted. And they went again and again to the temple.
"One day Sister Lewis came home from a temple session weary and worried, feeling the impact of so many days—and nights—of fear being held at bay only by monumental faith.
"As she entered her home, four-year-old Katie ran up to her with love in her eyes and a crumpled sheaf of papers in her hand. Holding the papers out to her mother, she said enthusiastically, “Mommy, do you know what these are?”
"Sister Lewis said frankly her first impulse was to deflect Katie’s zeal and say she didn’t feel like playing just then. But she thought of her children—all her children—and the possible regret of missed opportunities and little lives that pass too swiftly. So she smiled through her sorrow and said, “No, Katie. I don’t know what they are. Please tell me.”
"“They are the scriptures,” Katie beamed back, “and do you know what they say?”
Sister Lewis stopped smiling, gazed deeply at this little child, knelt down to her level, and said, “Tell me, Katie. What do the scriptures say?”
"“They say, ‘Trust Jesus.’” And then she was gone.
"Sister Lewis said that as she stood back up, holding a fistful of her four-year-old’s scribbling, she felt near-tangible arms of peace encircle her weary soul and a divine stillness calm her troubled heart.
Katie Lewis, “angel and minister of grace,” I’m with you. In a world of some discouragement, sorrow, and overmuch sin, in times when fear and despair seem to prevail, when humanity is feverish with no worldly physicians in sight, I too say, “Trust Jesus.” Let him still the tempest and ride upon the storm. Believe that he can lift mankind from its bed of affliction, in time and in eternity."
My friends... I echo Elder Holland's counsel he learned from four year old Katie Lewis. Maybe when we look at the world around us and see it crumbling we need to "trust Jesus."
Our government can't stop hurricanes. Our laws can't stop people from having cold hearts. But with the hope that comes from the Atonement of Jesus Christ our hearts can change. We can begin to help one another. We can begin to be Saviors on Mount Zion.
In this recent conference President Henry B. Eyring spoke of the recent hurricanes that have hit Florida. He told a story of a family who was on vacation when the hurricane hit, but was anxious to serve. He said that when they got back to their town they asked their church leader what they could do to help. This family later recounted that when they got home they found a tree on their house and being so overwhelmed by this they decided to reach out and serve someone else and trust that God would provide a way for their tree to be removed. In so doing they were blessed with an army of helping hands to lift this tree from off their roof.
My friends, we all have metaphorical trees on our houses. We all have things that seem to be crushing us. We, as a nation, have trees that have toppled over that no amount of political debate can provide the physical force to lift it off. We can't remove our trees alone. But as we follow the counsel of our beloved church leaders to turn to others, we can trust in the hope that God will remove our trees.
As we trust Jesus we have no need to fear. He has won the victory over death and sin and trial for each of us before, no doubt He can continue to do so for us today, but only if we allow Him.
So my friends, in these times of trial, trust Jesus. For He is the only one that can help us overcome this.
-Whit
