Posted on 02/07/2011 7:23:46 PM PST by Paragon Defender
Sydney S. Reynolds
First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency
Sydney S. Reynolds, "A God of Miracles", Ensign, May 2001, 12
I believe that all of us can bear witness to these small miracles.
With Moroni of old, I believe in a God of miracles. Moroni wrote to the people of our dispensation, Behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are (Morm. 9:11). Moroni proclaimed that Jesus Christ did many mighty miracles, that many mighty miracles were wrought by the hands of the Apostles, and that a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever must be a God of miracles today (see Morm. 9:18; Morm. 9:9).
Think of the miracles of the Old Testament. Remember Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. For all future generations of Israelites, the great miracles that led to their deliverance from Egypt provided undeniable proof of Gods existence and His love for them.
Many Book of Mormon prophets, including Nephi, pointed to the story of Moses to encourage faith and belief in a God who could deliver His people in their distress (see 1 Ne. 4:13). Other Book of Mormon prophets reminded the people that they themselves had witnessed miracles that should convince them of Gods power.
In the New Testament, the Apostle John shared his reason for recording many of the Saviors miraclesnamely, that [we] might believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 20:31).
In this dispensation we witness the great miracle of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. It began when a young boy entered a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York, and poured out his heart and his questions to a God he believed could answer himthe God of miracles. And miracles have followed in this dispensationmighty miraclesincluding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which is itself another testament of Jesus Christ.
Just as important as these mighty miracles are the smaller private miracles that teach each of us to have faith in the Lord. These come as we recognize and heed the promptings of the Spirit in our lives.
I am grateful for a teacher who encouraged his students to keep a journal of the whisperings or promptings of the Spirit in their lives. He directed us to note what we felt and what resulted. Little things became evident. One day I was frantically trying to complete some assignments and prepare for a trip. I had just been down to the laundry area of the dorm to move my clothes from the washer to the dryer. Unfortunately, all the dryers were in use, and they all had many minutes to go. I went back upstairs discouraged, knowing by the time those dryers finished, I had to be on the road. I had barely returned to my room when I felt prompted to go back downstairs and check the laundry again. Foolishness, I thoughtI had just been there, and I didnt have time. But because I was trying to listen, I went. Two of the dryers were emptyand I was able to meet all my commitments. Could the Lord possibly have been concerned about smoothing my way in such a small but, to me, important matter? I have learned since through many such experiences that the Lord will help us in every aspect of our lives when we are trying to serve Him and do His will.
I believe that all of us can bear witness to these small miracles. We know children who pray for help to find a lost item and find it. We know of young people who gather the courage to stand as a witness of God and feel His sustaining hand. We know friends who pay their tithing with the last of their money and then, through a miracle, find themselves able to pay their tuition or their rent or somehow obtain food for their family. We can share experiences of prayers answered and priesthood blessings that gave courage, brought comfort, or restored health. These daily miracles acquaint us with the hand of the Lord in our lives.
My mind has been much on this topic because of an experience our family has had in the last few months. Our daughter and her husband took a while to find each other and then, though they wanted children with all their hearts, over a number of years had difficulty realizing that dream. They prayed and they sought priesthood blessings and medical help, and eventually were thrilled to learn they were expecting twins.
Things did not go smoothly, however, and three and a half months before the babies were due to arrive, the mother-to-be found herself in the labor and delivery section of the hospital. The doctors at first were hopeful that they could stop the labor for a few more weeks. Quickly, however, the question became, would they even have the 48 hours necessary for medication to prepare the babies immature lungs to function?
A nurse came in from the newborn intensive care unit to show the couple pictures of the machines the babies would be hooked up to if they were born alive. She explained the risks for eye damage, for lung collapse, for physical impairment, for brain damage. The couple listened, humbled yet hopeful, and then, despite all the doctors could do, it was obvious that these babies were coming.
They were born alive. First the baby girl and then the baby boyweighing less than four pounds togetherwere rushed to the intensive care unit and put on ventilators, with umbilical tubes and intravenous lines and constant attention. They cant have too much light, they cant have too much noise, their chemical balances need constant monitoring, as the hospital, with millions of dollars of equipment and many wonderful doctors and nurses, attempted to replicate the miracle of a mothers womb.
There are multitudes of little miracles every day: a collapsed lung heals and then, despite the odds, continues to function properly; pneumonia is beaten back; more deadly infections invade and are overcome; IV lines go bad and are replaced. After two and a half months, the baby boy has gained two pounds and can breathe with an oxygen supplement. His ventilator is gone, he learns to eat, and his grateful parents take him home with monitors attached.
The baby girl keeps pulling her ventilator tube out, setting off alarms across the nursery. Maybe she wants to keep up with her brother, we think, but her throat closes off each time, and she just cant breathe on her own. Her throat is so inflamed that at times the respiratory therapists have great difficulty reinserting the tube, and she almost dies. Her normal progress is stymied by her continued dependence on the ventilator.
Finally, after her baby brother has been home for two months, the doctors feel they are forced to suggest surgery for hera surgery that will allow her to breathe by opening a hole in her throat, a surgery that might solve the stomach problems by opening a hole in her side, but a surgery that will impact her little body for many more months and maybe for the rest of her life. As the parents wrestled with this decision, a beloved aunt sent a message to all the family. She explained the situationthe critical issue of timing, the importance of getting off the ventilatorand suggested that we join our faith once again, and in prayer and fasting ask for one more miracleif it was the Lords will. We would culminate our fast with a prayer the evening of December 3.
Let me read from a letter that was sent to the family the morning of December 4. Dearest Family, Wonderful news! Blessings from the Lord. Our heartfelt thanks for your prayers and fasting in behalf of our little girl. Yesterday morning she came off the ventilator and has been off for 24 hours at this writing. To us, it is a miracle. The medical staff are still guarded about predicting the future, but we are so grateful to the Lord and to you. We are praying that this will mark the beginning of the end of her hospital stay. And we even dare to hope that shell be home for Christmas.
She did make it home for Christmas, and both babies are currently doing just fine. Our family has had its own parting of the Red Sea, and we are prepared to testify that there is today, as there was yesterday and will be forever, a God of miracles who loves His children and desires to bless them.
Now, we know, as you do, that all petitions to the Lord and all fasts do not receive this same hoped-for answer. Our extended family also has faced the death of loved ones, serious illness, the trial of divorce, and children who are choosing another path. We do not always understand the reasons behind the tests that come with mortality. But our faith has grown, and perhaps yours has too, as we have watched loved ones, friends, and people we know only by reputation endure with faith in the Lord the most severe trials. They, too, know the God of miracles and witness in their extremity that whatever the future holds for them, the Lord knows them and loves them and is blessing them. They are sealed to Him and to each other forever, and they are willing to submit their wills to His.
How have they come to such a point? How do we access the quiet miracle that the Lord works as He transforms us, His children, into worthy heirs of the kingdom of God? I believe it is made possible because God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). I believe it comes as we yield to the enticings of the Spirit, put off the natural man, and are filled with the love of God (see Mosiah 3:19). Through the Atonement of [Jesus] Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel (A of F 1:3). All mankindthat includes me, that includes youwe can each have part in the Atonement, the greatest of all Gods miracles.
God did part the Red Sea, and He did give us the Book of Mormon. He can heal us of our sins, and He can and will bless us, His children, in our daily lives. I know that He lives and loves us and is today a God of miracles, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Well, tekeela is made from a cactus...that's a herb, ain't it?
As will I.
Side note response - Just as I cannot get an answer from the one who will not answer a simple question, I never get a coherent answer on Zimbabwe. The fact is that white farmers fed most of Africa, and black farmers on the same land cannot feed themselves. This flies in the face of their beliefs that "diversity is our strength" and socialism will solve our problems. Socialism makes everyone except the ruling elite equally poor.
But economic poverty in this life pales in comparison to making the wrong choice with one's eternal salvation.
orchids have spikes
My gut feeling is...this guy is so right ...about other people in LDS, Inc. suffering the same things. But just going thru the motions. He was spot on.
I've never been a mormon....I looked into it when I was a young man. But the mormons I knew then...were pushy know it all's, anti-Jesus, and racist to a man. Totally turned me off....
There are so many funny Mormon Word of Wisdom stories.
My dear Swedish grandmother used to wait until grandfather (the bishop) went out to the fields. She would then brew a cup of coffee in a sauce pan. All my fathers sisters laugh and giggle every time we have a family reunion as none of them are stalwarts in the church and love to tell that story.
It was funny the time they caught me drinking at the Elks Club, right after I returned from my mission in 1963. I was their favorite nephew from that day on. Recently I sang at the funeral for one of the husbands.
Well, your “gut feeling” is right.
I lived like him for some time, I’ve heard from others who still do as well.
He is spot on.
There are so many funny Mormon Word of Wisdom stories.
My dear Swedish grandmother used to wait until grandfather (the bishop) went out to the fields. She would then brew a cup of coffee in a sauce pan. All my fathers sisters laugh and giggle every time we have a family reunion as none of them are stalwarts in the church and love to tell that story.
It was funny the time they caught me drinking at the Elks Club, right after I returned from my mission in 1963. I was their favorite nephew from that day on. Recently I sang at the funeral for one of the husbands.
Their farms and lands were taken by Mugambe rebels....As were most white farms taken.
Didn't matter that they lived there for 100 yrs. Now Zimbabwe is a mess.
Hyperinflation abounds..and misery goes hand in hand there. I have a Five Hundred Million Dollar bill from Zimbabwe on my desk. I think it's worth .30 cents or less....
Agree with the eternal salvation note.
FRegards,
i’LL HAVE TO FIGGER OUT HOW TO KEEP THE VARMITS AT BAY.
(wANNA BUY A capslock KEY)?
Gimme THAT command; Microsoft! CAPS_INVERT
Last summer was the first real garden we put in (Been here 5 years now) TOO much rain early on and too much critter munching later.
I planted corn twice - about 10*20 ft of it - got about 4 ears total!
Watermelons and cantalopes and pumpkins; oh MY! the size of.. of... your FIST!
Shouldn't you EXPECT this?
Being so close to...
Nowata
Well our boy PD just doesn't seem to figure it out - but the 'seekers' do and recognize the smoke and mirrors.
HelLO!!
That's why they invented ROOF RACKS!
I've prayed for you and your family.
I understand we cannot tell dirty jokes on a Religion forum.
And please tell the assembled mulitude here if you are PERFECT or not?
That is making me nauseated!
Welcome to MORMONism 101!
While we are waiting to start; enjoy the artwork on our walls.
If some of it seems shifty to you, just look at it real close and it will stop moving,
but another location will then start to crawl on you.
Do NOT think our DOCTRINE is this way!
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