When we dwelt in the presence of God our Heavenly Father, we were endowed with agency. This gave us the opportunity, the privilege, to choose what we would do—to make a free, untrammeled choice.
When Father Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, he was given this same power, and we now possess it. One is that we ought to be guided by the spirit of inspiration, the spirit of revelation. When we were with our Father in the preexistent sphere, he observed and studied us; he knew how we would respond to his laws when we were in his presence, when we had the knowledge that he was our Father and that the teachings presented to us came from him.
We walked by sight. Case study number one: There was a man named Oliver Cowdery. In the early days, he operated as an amanuensis to the Prophet. He was the scribe. He wrote down the words that the Prophet dictated while the Spirit rested upon him in the translation processes the Book of Mormon was then being translated.
Brother Cowdery was relatively spiritually immature at that time, and he sought and desired to do something beyond his then present spiritual capacity. He himself wanted to translate. And so he importuned the Prophet, the Prophet took the matter up with the Lord, and they got a revelation.
Well now, Oliver did what a good many of us would have done. And so he asked. And as you know, he failed; he was totally unable to translate. This caused some concern, I suppose, to him and the Prophet. We use the agency with which we have been endowed. We use every faculty and capacity and ability that we possess to bring about the eventuality that may be involved. I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.
How do you choose a wife? It never occurred to me to ask him. I went out and found the girl I wanted; she suited me; I evaluated and weighed the proposition, and it just seemed a hundred percent to me as though this ought to be. A more perfect thing to have done would have been to counsel with him relative to the decision and get a spiritual confirmation that the conclusion, which I by my agency and faculties had arrived at, was the right one.
Now, case study number two: There was a man whose name is not so much as preserved to us in the ancient record. From other sources we know his name was Moriancumer.
He was the spiritual leader, initially, of the Jaredite people. As they started their progress from the Tower of Babel to their American promised land, he was the one that got in communion with the Lord to get the direction, the spiritual guidance, that they, as a people, needed. And some very interesting things occurred.
So he built the barges. But this time they were going to be used under some peculiar and difficult circumstances, and he needed something more than was now present in them: he needed some air. So for all of us Latter-day Saints this weekend was General Conference.
One noticeable theme of this conference was the topic of Marriage. Several leaders spoke on how there are too many young people who put other priorities before marriage so they can focus on themselves or just have fun. They counseled the single members to try and put more efforts into finding their eternal companion and the blessings that come from marriage. Then after awhile, you start getting serious and considering marriage. But most LDS members pray about this decision, and this is where it gets very tricky.
I had extreme anxiety about praying about whether or not to marry my husband. The year earlier, I had dated someone who I really loved and hoped to marry. I was heartbroken. And after that, I felt like I had absolutely no control over who I married.
It seemed to me that you could be in a wonderful relationship where everything is going great, and then BAM! What if that same thing happened when I prayed about marrying Aaron, who I loved so much?
Aaron and I were getting serious , and the marriage questions was upon us. I knew that I had to pray about it, but I was scared.
So one day, I read this talk given by a church leader Bruce R. Basically he said that we come up with an idea, using the brain and good sense that God gave us, and we decide what we want to do. Then we take that plan to God, in prayer, and tell Him all about our plan. And sometimes it can take some time or not come in the way you were expecting.
He says it much better, believe me. Have you ever wanted something really badly that you needed divine help with? How did you go about trying to accomplish or solve these things?
Did you pray about it? Did you go try out different options? The other day, I read a talk from Elder Bruce R. Agency, 2. One is that we ought to be guided by the spirit of inspiration, the spirit of revelation. Elder McConkie then guides us through 3 case studies from scripture. Ether 2: 16 And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of a barges which ye have hitherto built.
And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the b instructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.
And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them ; therefore we shall perish. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood.
So, the brother of Jared decides to ask again about his other concern, about light sources. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?
This is where it really gets interesting! For behold, ye cannot have a windows , for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire…Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?
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