17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.
18: I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
25: ...These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you (while I’m still here)
26: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name (after I’m gone), He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
I open with this scripture because it encapsulates what this past weekend was like for us, and every other moment we are called upon to talk in an official capacity without preparation!
We were asked to speak with Elder Jaggi, a General Authority, in the Springfield Stake after our Zone Conference there. We stayed two extra days to do so, but since the Saturday session was in the late afternoon, I hopped at the chance to teach with 2 of our sister missionaries earlier in the day which happened to be at the same building where the Stk. conf was being held. While I was in with the girls, Rick found a classroom to use for his office until he was discovered by the Stake President who invited us both to come in and meet with their whole council and Elder Jaggi. I couldn’t stay after our brief introduction because I was in the teaching appointment, but Rick did and was invited to sit on the stand for the leadership session (which we hadn’t previously even been invited to.)
Once we finished our teaching appointment and I had taken our investigating friend home, I slipped in the back of the chapel just in time to watch Elder Jaggi lean over and whisper something to Rick during the last verse of the intermediate hymn. Even from the back, I could see all the color flow from his face and he was white as a sheet! Moments later he was standing and leading a 20-minute-long discussion on “The work of salvation on both sides of the veil and how to conduct MCM meetings”.
My heart was pounding for him as I know this is the definition of his worst night mare to be called upon with no preparation BUT, he did beautifully, even seamlessly! Now it stands to reason that with even a 5-minute heads-up, he could have drummed up some quotes, looked up some scriptures, thought of some powerful thought-provoking questions to augment and support the discussion, but there was no time for that, so instead, he taught from his experience and his heart, relying wholly upon the spirit who somehow brought questions and scriptures to mind which he had previously studied. Occasionally, Elder Yaggi would lean forward and whisper an instruction to help him like “Ask them to come up” when teaching who should participate in an MCM, or tell more about that...”
Shortly after, Elder Jaggi spotted me in the back of the room and had me come up and join Rick at the pulpit and eventually had me share a personal experience that supported a new group discussion he had just initiated.
The following session, he does it again; Turns around in the middle of the intermediate hymn and asks us to come up together and offer our testimonies. (Though I seldom mind that because I love speaking about my Savior.) Later that evening as we were leaving, he asks us to take the talks we had both prepared for the next morning and plan to stand at the pulpit together and give them. As we drove away, I said, “That was the only thing I ‘comfortably’ had left! Which one of our talks are we going to give- Yours or mine?”
So rather than breathe a sigh of relief that night and feel prepared, we sat in our hotel room and tried to figure out how to volley back and forth and teach something coherent together and then I laid awake fitfully worrying about what new curveball could be tossed our way. Somehow, it worked beautifully and felt natural and comfortable- like Cinderella’s slipper fitting on her foot.
As I think back about this experience now, I wonder if Elder Jaggi (and frankly every other visiting authority,) is trying to teach us to forget ourselves and trust the spirit. It seems every single time, we’ve been forced terribly far outside our circle of comfort, only to learn we can survive it. If that’s a deliberate attempt, I don’t know, but it’s horribly uncomfortable...
Like I imagine it would be if you run across a train track, get your foot stuck, see a train barreling toward you, brace yourself for impact and then uncover your face to discover the train is suddenly on the other side of you and you’re safely watching the caboose disappear around the corner out of sight. You kind of stand there breathless and limp, like “What just happened?” And yet-THAT’S the Holy Spirit and His ability to “teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance.” It’s certainly not us! But apparently, it’s very important we become ever more comfortable with that kind of reliance!
We have 2 more conferences to speak in this coming weekend (1 with a visiting authority) It’s hard to imagine we’ll ever be comfortable doing this! Let’s just say... In time I’m hopeful we will.
We’ve learned to recognize and act upon promptings in our personal life forever, particularly in the last decade, but this time it’s on display for all to see when, and if, there’s failure. It’s the most intimidating, difficult thing I’ve ever done! I feel like I bring this up nearly every week, but it’s sooo much a part of my fear. A fear, I am determined to overcome with faith! Because we’ve been promised... “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
I know the Comforter can and will abide with me forever.
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