Observation, Reason, Faith, and Revelation | Dale G. Renlund | 2023

[Music] Thank you, brothers and sisters, for being  here. Thank you for coming to Education Week. Thank you for your faith, your faithfulness,  your examples, and your desires to be here.

Sometimes we fall into a trap of  dealing with false dichotomies. For instance, we might believe that observation  or reason are the only valid ways to learn truth. Or we might believe that observation and  reason undermine faith to such an extent that they should have no role in religious life.

This is a false dichotomy because observation  and reason work synergistically with faith. “Faith without works” will not amplify itself.  Faith will only grow by observation and reasoning, coupled with other spiritual work.

In addition,  observation, reason, and faith are often prerequisites not only to receiving personal  revelation but to understanding that revelation. First, let’s look at how observation alone can be  unreliable, especially when we are unaware of the external conditions affecting our observations.  Technologies that use computer-generated images and videos are rapidly evolving and can portray  believable material.

A news story in May 2023 used an artificial intelligence–generated photo  to “document” an explosion at the Pentagon. This caused the stock markets to dip—until  the bogus nature of the photo was made known. And, to ingratiate myself with this audience, I will show you a photo depicting me receiving a  diploma from the BYU president himself in 1976.

I like this image, but it is an  artificial intelligence–generated image. I didn’t graduate from BYU. In the future, we  would be wise to avoid relying on observation alone and should seek corroborating  evidence from other reliable sources.

Second, reliance on reason alone can mislead. Interpolation can be erroneous, and  extrapolation is potentially even more dangerous. Let me illustrate.

In the fourth century BC,  Aristotle was an amazing Greek philosopher. His teachings profoundly affected  scholarship into the Renaissance. He was tutored by Plato, and, in turn, Aristotle  tutored a boy in Macedonia named Alexander, who received the last name of “the Great.

” Aristotle taught that heavier objects  fall faster than lighter objects. He reasoned that those heavier  objects “belonged” more on the ground, therefore they would fall faster than lighter  objects that “belonged” less on the ground. Let’s test his reasoning.

I  have here two fans of Aristotle: Sister Melanie Soares and Brother  Ethan Brown. I hold in one hand a hymnbook and in the other hand a piece of paper. Melanie, you check.

Which is heavier? The hymnbook. Ethan, double-check.

Okay. I am going to drop them  at the same time, and I would like you to tell us which hits the ground first. Which one hit first?

The hymnbook. These individuals presume from this  demonstration that Aristotle was right, as he always was thought to be. Now, if I crumple the paper,  has the weight changed?

No. Let’s just double-check. Melanie,  is the book still heavier?

Yes. Now, when I drop them both,  which one hits the ground first? The hymnbook and the paper hit the ground at the  same time.

That is amazing! When friction and air resistance are eliminated, heavy things  and light things fall at the same rate. So from this demonstration, Melanie and  Ethan may question Aristotle’s teaching.

They may suspect, though, that my involvement in  the demonstration may have affected the outcome. Ethan could say, “Elder Renlund, I  might believe you, but you’re old! ” And Melanie could and would likely say, “I  might believe you, but you’re bald!

” And they both could say, with some loathing,  “And you didn’t even graduate from BYU! ” Nonetheless, reasoning alone led  Aristotle astray in his teachings. In the 1600s, Galileo had to couple observation  with reasoning to prove Aristotle wrong.

Such methods can achieve  truth, but not always reliably. Third, let’s evaluate how reliance  on faith alone could mislead. In 1984 a world-renowned eye surgeon, Ronald G. 

Michels, joined the Church in Baltimore, Maryland. I was serving as his bishop. He was absolutely  converted to Jesus Christ and His restored Church.

At the height of his career, Ron  developed a life-threatening cancer. His physicians prescribed chemotherapy. His  prognosis was bleak—even with treatment, it was unlikely that he would  survive for more than six months.

Some members of the Church told him  that he shouldn’t take the medicine and that he should instead rely on faith  alone. These members told him that taking the medicine would demonstrate  to God that his faith wasn’t absolute. Ron invited me to his office in the hospital. 

Spread over his desk were ten to fifteen pills. He told me his situation, the advice of his  doctors, and the advice of some Church members. He said, “Dale, you are my bishop.

If  you tell me to take the pills, I will. If you tell me not to, I won’t. ” As I struggled to formulate a response, I remembered what my wife and I had  recently read from the Book of Mormon: the letter Captain Moroni wrote to the governor  of the land, Pahoran.

In encouraging Pahoran to give more support to the armies that  were fighting for freedom, Moroni wrote: Behold, could ye suppose that  ye could sit upon your thrones, and because of the exceeding  goodness of God ye could do nothing and he would deliver you? Behold, if ye  have supposed this ye have supposed in vain. Moroni repeated himself for emphasis: Or do ye suppose that the Lord will  still deliver us, while we sit upon our thrones and do not make use of the  means which the Lord has provided for us?

I asked Ron to read these verses, and then  I asked, “What do these verses teach you? ” He replied, “I think it means that I should take  the pills and continue to exercise my faith. ” He took his prescribed medicine, followed  the advice of his doctors—making use of the means that the Lord had provided—and  exercised his extraordinary faith.

He lived much longer than expected, approximately  eight years. Both he and I were confident that the outcome would have been  worse if he had relied on faith alone. Given that observation alone, reason alone,  and faith without action are not sufficient, let’s look at the interaction among  observation, reason, and faith.

After John the Baptist had been imprisoned, he  sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus if He were the promised Messiah. The Lord could  have simply answered, “Yes! ” However, He responded in a way that encouraged the disciples  to use observation and reason to develop faith: Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew  John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the  lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,  and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

These disciples were to observe what  was happening, use their reason to answer their own question, and come to the  realization that Jesus was the Messiah. In this example, the Savior encouraged  observation and reason to activate faith. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior warned of  “false prophets” who might appear as sheep but inwardly were “ravening wolves.

” The Lord taught  how such scoundrels were to be detected. He said: Ye shall know them by their fruits. .

. . .

. . Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth  forth evil fruit.

. . .

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. To evaluate metaphorical fruit, one needs to  observe and discern whether it is good or not. Again, the Savior asks us to discern truth by  observation and reasoning.

The Savior’s parables are premised similarly. His parables are simple  stories that use ordinary objects or events to illustrate a spiritual truth. He then asks us to  reason our way to discern the underlying meaning.

Recall the time when the Savior was asked by “a  certain lawyer” how “to inherit eternal life. ” This led to the scriptural answer that included  the admonition to love our neighbor as ourselves. This prompted the lawyer to  ask, “Who is my neighbour?

” After relating the parable of the  good Samaritan, the Savior asked: Which now of these three [the priest,  the Levite, or the Samaritan], thinkest thou, was neighbour unto  him that fell among the thieves? And [the inquiring lawyer] said,  He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him,  Go, and do thou likewise.

Insightful reasoning was required to discern the underlying meaning and the  application of the parable. As we use observation and reasoning to build  faith, our own inclinations toward or away from faith are critical. In Acts 2, we read that  the apostles gathered to teach the people: And suddenly there came a sound from  heaven as of a rushing mighty wind.

. . .

And there appeared unto them  cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of [the apostles]. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,  and began to speak with other tongues. .

. . .

. . The multitude came together.

. . .

And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are  not all these which speak Galilæans? And how hear we every man in our  own tongue, wherein we were born? However, some in the assembled group were  disinclined to look for and see the hand of God working in this circumstance.

They relied  solely on their own intellect and logic and came up with what they considered the most reasonable  explanation. They mockingly asserted, “These men are [drunk]. ” Often those who lack faith in God  choose to trust in their own limited understanding or choose skepticism and doubt.

That leads them  to say such things as “It is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come” or “Some  things [alleged prophets] may have guessed right, among so many; but behold, we know that all these  great and marvelous works cannot come to pass. ” Those disinclined toward faith in God  often rely too heavily on reasoning and look to explain away the hand of God. That  is what happened on the day of Pentecost.

Inclinations away from faith caused some to  misinterpret this remarkable spiritual outpouring. While inclinations away from  faith hamper its development, inclinations toward faith promote it. In  his mission to the Zoramites, Alma and his missionary companions found that they couldn’t  teach the self-righteous Zoramites anything.

Alma likely reflected on his experience  with Korihor when he said to the Zoramites, “Yea, there are many who do say: If thou  wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall  believe. ” Alma knew that miracles don’t produce faith and that seeking a sign is very different  from sincerely asking, seeking, and knocking. So he taught how faith can grow and how an  inclination toward faith makes all the difference.

Alma invited the subset of the Zoramites who  would listen to him to perform an experiment, comparing his words to a seed. Brothers  and sisters, we blunder if we equate this experiment to the scientific method, even  though it uses observation and reasoning. A scientific experiment carefully  seeks to minimize—or, preferably, eliminate—inclinations toward a particular  outcome.

Skepticism is a treasured attribute when using the scientific method and is  necessary to interpret the results correctly. The experiment encouraged by Alma was different; a favorable outcome depended on an  inclination to believe. He said: But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your  faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to  believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye  can give place for a portion of my words.

Alma recommended that his listeners abandon  skepticism and encouraged an inclination to believe. He even counseled against  approaching the experiment neutrally so that they didn’t accidentally “cast  [the seed] out by [their] unbelief. ” With an inclination to believe, we plant  the seed in our hearts.

When we do, the seed “will begin to swell within [our] breasts.  . .

. It beginneth to enlarge [our] soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten [our] understanding,  yea, it beginneth to be delicious to [us]. ” As the seed swells, sprouts, and  grows, our faith is strengthened, and we come to “know that this  is a good seed.

” Alma said: And now, behold, are ye sure that this is  a good seed? I say unto you, Yea. .

. . And now, behold, because ye have tried  the experiment .

. . , ye must needs know that the seed is good.

And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and  your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your  souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be  enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. O then, is not this real?

I say unto you,  Yea, . . .

ye must know that it is good. When we start with an inclination to  believe, observation leads to faith. As faith grows, reason facilitates the  transformation of faith into revelatory knowledge, and revelatory knowledge produces added faith.

The  Zoramites understood the metaphor but were a bit fuzzy on what “the word,” which was likened to a  “seed,” represented. This is crucial because it is this word that we can know is true. Alma  clarified and encouraged his listeners to begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that  he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead,  which shall bring to pass the resurrection.

The word that Alma wanted them to plant in  their hearts was Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Alma promised that if they did plant the word in  their hearts, they would come to know the reality of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice  and this knowledge would “become a tree, springing up in [them] unto everlasting life. ” This knowledge enables receiving the  greatest gift God can give His children.

While Alma applied the metaphor of a  seed to Jesus Christ and His Atonement, others, including the Savior, used a  simile comparing a seed to faith itself. Sister Beatrice Goff Jackson did so in her  beautiful children’s song “Faith. ” She penned: Faith is like a little seed: If planted, it will grow.

Faith is a swelling within my heart. When I do right, I know. “Strong faith is developed by obedience  to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

” I wish we could transmit faith the way that we  transmit the common cold. That way we could just go around and sneeze on people, and their faith  would increase. But that is not how faith grows.

This principle can perhaps be illustrated with a  hypothetical faith curve. It starts at zero. Then faith is kindled by hearing the testimonies of  those who have faith.

After the initial kindling, for faith to grow further, we need to act  in faith. Faith is nourished and grows “by righteousness. ” As Sister Jackson correctly  explained, “I feel [faith] grow Whenever I obey.

” President Russell M. Nelson taught that we  gain faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement by (1) studying about Jesus Christ, (2) choosing to believe in Him, (3) acting in faith, (4) partaking of sacred ordinances worthily, and (5) asking our Heavenly Father, in  the name of Jesus Christ, for help. As we do so, something remarkable happens: faith  in Jesus Christ and His Atonement not only grows but can be transformed into the spiritual gift  of knowing “that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for  the sins of the world”—for your sins and for mine.

This transformation  occurs when we keep the commandments of God, remain faithful, and continue to be willing  to receive more and more. We will then come “to know the mysteries of God .  .

. in full” and know all things. On this hypothetical faith  curve, nowhere is the slope zero.

“Faith is either growing stronger or becoming  weaker. ” There is no built-in place to stop and rest; there is no plateau. Faith  can atrophy in at least three ways: 1.

Faith atrophies if we stop actively  building our faith. This happens when we harden our hearts or we become self-satisfied  with our status quo. This is doing the opposite of what President Nelson encouraged us to do:  we stop studying, stop choosing to believe, stop acting in faith, stop participating in  ordinances, and stop asking God for help.

2. Faith atrophies when we actively  choose to go back down the faith curve. This happens when we become  disobedient and stop repenting.

3. Faith atrophies when we shift our inclination  away from faith toward skepticism and doubt. Recall those individuals in Lehi’s vision who  made it to the tree of life, partook of the fruit, and then looked around “as if they were ashamed.

”  In that vision the fruit represents the blessings Jesus Christ can bestow because He  accomplished His atoning sacrifice. The ashamed people represent those of us who  pay attention to those who demean, ridicule, or scoff at our faith. Lehi noted, “For as many  as heeded them, had fallen away.

” If we shift our inclination away from faith and pay attention  to distracting voices, we will fall away. In all three ways, faith atrophies and we receive  less and less until we lose all that we had previously received. We lose the companionship  of the Holy Ghost and ultimately “know nothing concerning” the mysteries of God.

It will be like  disengaging the gears of a vehicle that has no brakes on a steep, ascending mountain road. Once  our upward momentum ceases, we will roll backward. And it will happen no matter how flashy  the car is or how powerful the engine is.

Now, the combination of observation, reason, and  faith in receiving and understanding revelation is well illustrated in an example from  the life of President Joseph F. Smith. In 1918, President Smith was in poor  health, and death was on his mind.

His oldest son, Hyrum, became ill  and died of a ruptured appendix. Hyrum’s widow, Ida, died of heart failure  shortly thereafter. A world war was raging.

More than fifteen million soldiers and civilians  eventually died. A deadly strain of influenza was killing people around the world. The number  of deaths worldwide would reach fifty million.

On October 3, President Smith sat in his room, reflecting on the Atonement of  Jesus Christ and the redemption of the world. He opened his New Testament to 1 Peter and read about the Savior preaching to the  spirits in the spirit world. .

. . .

. . The prophet felt the Spirit descend  upon him, opening his eyes of understanding.

He saw into the spirit world and saw  that the Savior appeared to multitudes of righteous women and men who had died  before the Savior’s mortal ministry. These righteous spirits rejoiced  at their liberation from death. President Smith wondered how the Savior  could preach to all the spirits in prison because His ministry was limited to the time  between the Crucifixion and His Resurrection.

Having formulated the  question, President Smith then understood [by revelation] that the Savior did not  go in person to the disobedient spirits. Rather, he organized the righteous spirits . .

. to carry  the gospel message to the spirits in darkness. This revelation is now canonized as  section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

As we consider these experiences of President  Smith, we see that reason and faith provided a springboard for that revelation. Let’s discuss  some principles that are involved in this process. Personal revelation requires work, including learning how the Holy Ghost communicates  individually with us.

Personal revelation involves more than simply being confirmed a member of the  Church. It is naive to think that just because we have received the gift of the Holy Ghost all  we need to do is say, “Okay, I’m ready. Reveal!

” Early in his time as a scribe to Joseph Smith,  Oliver Cowdery made that mistake, thinking that all he had to do was ask. Studying it out in one’s  mind—coupling faith with observation and reason—is necessary for spiritual impressions to come. We  focus on a problem, study it out, and think about it.

We formulate various solutions. It seems that  only then can personal revelation reliably come. The Holy Ghost communicates in different  ways to different people at different times.

Observing how He speaks to us is  critical to receiving further revelation. The voice of the Holy Ghost is  mild and still, like a whisper—not loud or noisy. It may be stunningly simple  and plain.

It can be piercing or burning. It affects both the mind and the heart. It brings  peace, joy, and hope—not fear, anxiety, or worry.

It is enlightening and “delicious,”  not muddling. Observing this, we can reasonably dismiss certain contrary voices  and focus on the voice of the Holy Ghost. Elder David A.

Bednar taught that spiritual  impressions could come along a spectrum ranging from all at once—like flipping on a  light switch—to gradually—like the intensity of light progressively increasing, as occurs in  a sunrise. Most of the time when impressions come all at once, observation and reason precede that  “flip of the light switch. ” Most of the time when impressions come gradually, observation and reason  are part of the progressive revelatory process.

Some members hesitantly admit that they are  not sure that they have ever felt the Spirit. We should remember those remarkable  Lamanite converts in the Book of Mormon who were “baptize[d] with fire and with the  Holy Ghost . .

. , and . .

. knew it not. ” We might discern that we have been influenced  by the Holy Ghost if we ask ourselves, “Have I ever felt peaceful  after making a decision, felt an increased capacity to resist  temptation, felt an increase in love for others, or felt an increased desire to serve?

”  or “Have I received ideas to help, wanted to be a peacemaker in a conflict, or  simply known what to do in a complex situation? ” These feelings may be manifestations of  the Holy Ghost influencing us to do good. Personal revelation is facilitated by  understanding and formulating questions from multiple angles.

Formulating and reframing  questions require observation, reason, and faith. At one time or another, many of us have asked  ourselves, “How do I know whether the thought I have is my own or if it is from the Holy Ghost? ”  This is a reasonable question.

Perhaps a better question, and certainly a more actionable one, is  this: “Should I act on this particular thought? ” The prophet Mormon answered  this second question. He taught: Every thing which inviteth  and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve  him, is inspired of God.

. . .

. . .

The way to judge is as plain, that  ye may know with a perfect knowledge. . .

. . .

. For every thing which inviteth to do good,  and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore  ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do  evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with  a perfect knowledge it is of the devil.

These are the criteria to determine whether  we should act on a particular thought: the thought promotes believing in Heavenly  Father and Jesus Christ; it promotes loving and serving Them; and it promotes doing good. If  the thought meets these criteria, does it really matter whether it was planted directly by the Holy  Ghost in that exact moment or if the thought arose thanks to a lifetime of experiences and prior  decisions? In reality, it doesn’t.

But observation and reason provide a filter through which we  determine whether to act on an impression. Understanding and formulating  questions from multiple angles are not the same as repeatedly asking God  the identical question. Doing so is unwise, as Joseph Smith learned in the episode with  Martin Harris and the 116 manuscript pages.

I have wondered what would have happened if  Joseph had relied on the answer he first received and had then formulated different questions  the second time Martin Harris approached him. What would have happened if Joseph had  clearly stated the problem to the Lord? The prayer would have been something like  “Heavenly Father, we have a problem, and that problem could interfere with the coming forth  of the book I am translating.

We need Martin’s resources, but his wife is opposed to him helping.  What can we do to make things easier for Martin? ” Do you think posing and pondering  this question might have resulted in different insights or answers?

Perhaps. Personal revelation usually requires depending  on and acting on incomplete understanding. For me, revelation frequently comes in short,  terse, imperative directives such as “Go!

” and “Do! ” and “Say! ” Or it may come as ideas, usually  coupled with a nudge to act on those ideas.

Such promptings may be conveyed without  words. Revelation can be delicate, and trying to put into words that which was  not given with words can limit understanding. Rarely does revelation come with clear  explanations of why we should do something.

Trying to explain “why” when no revelatory reason was given often misleads  or can cause us to stumble. President M. Russell Ballard shared his tender  experience of rationalizing away a spiritual prompting.

It is instructive for us all. As he  was leaving his bishop’s office late one evening, President Ballard had a strong impression to visit  an elderly widow in his ward. However, he reasoned that it was too late.

And it was snowing.  He postponed the visit until the next day. Early the next morning, [he] drove  straight to the widow’s home.

Her daughter answered the door and tearfully  said, “Oh, Bishop, thank you for coming. Mother passed away two hours ago. ” [President  Ballard] was devastated.

. . .

[He had missed the opportunity to] hold her hand,  comfort her, and perhaps give her a final blessing . . .

because [he had] reasoned  away this strong prompting from the Spirit. Something like this has happened to me more  than once. Perhaps it has happened to you too.

Observation, reason, and acting  in faith does not mean that we are paralyzed when we do not feel an affirmative  prompting. President Dallin H. Oaks taught: We should study things out in our minds, using the  reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us.

Then we should pray for guidance  and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we  should act upon our best judgment. Elder Richard G.

Scott made  this comforting promise: “When you are living righteously and are acting  with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if  you have made the wrong decision. ” Personal revelation is iterative. God has said: For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will  give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here  a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my  precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto  him that receiveth I will give more.

Thus we should recognize what God has already revealed to us personally while being  open to further revelation from Him. Even when we have received revelation, it  often takes acting in faith to understand how best to apply that information. You may  recall that the apostle Peter had a vision in which he saw something like a tablecloth  being let down wherein were all kinds of foods that observant Jews considered unclean. 

He was commanded to eat, but he protested. He was then told, “What God hath  cleansed, that call not thou common. ” The vision occurred three times.

The vision was  crystal clear, as if a light switch had been flipped, but Peter didn’t understand it. He had  to walk all the next day from Joppa to Cæsarea, enter the home of the centurion Cornelius, and  hear him out before Peter understood that the revelation was a commandment to take the gospel  to the non-Jewish population. Even then Peter and the other apostles had to discuss and reason  how to apply this revelation in practical terms.

Only after “it seemed good to the Holy Ghost,  and to [them],” did they know how to proceed. That understanding came gradually, like the  light of dawn progressively getting brighter. Personal revelation requires humility to  corroborate and not concoct impressions.

Observation, reason, and faith propel  us to corroborate spiritual impressions. As we pray for inspiration, we compare our  spiritual impressions with the scriptures and the teachings of living prophets. Impressions  from the Spirit will align with these sources.

We rely on personal revelation only within our own  purview and not within the prerogative of others. When we seek revelation that is rightly the  prerogative of others, it is easy to be deceived. Years ago, three acquaintances  separately mentioned to me that they felt inspired that they  were going to marry the same woman.

None of the three had even gone on  a date with her. I believe all three misinterpreted physical attraction and  raging hormones as spiritual promptings. None of the three ended up marrying her.

Heavenly Father respects agency and is unlikely  to send promptings that violate the agency of someone else. He may prompt us to further action,  but coercion will never be part of His plan. President Dallin H.

Oaks cautioned: Persons who persist in seeking revelatory  guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an  answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer  through the medium of false revelation. The Prophet Joseph Smith warned, “Nothing is  a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit,  when they think they have the spirit of God. ” We shouldn’t try to force spiritual things.

If we try to, we may rely on emotions that  mimic spiritual promptings but are not. These emotions may include sentimentality,  awe, empathy, excitement—or raging hormones. Similarly, it is an advanced spiritual skill  to know that revelation has not been received and to be prompted not to act.

I know a  Relief Society president, Sister Jones, whose first counselor moved out of  the ward and needed to be released. Sister Jones felt inspired to recommend that her  second counselor be called as her first counselor but didn’t feel prompted to recommend a new  second counselor. The bishop encouraged her to consider several qualified sisters.

She  gave prayerful consideration, but affirmative confirmation didn’t come, and she knew it. So  she waited, and she knew that she should wait. Two weeks later, a relatively new convert,  Sister Brown, moved into the ward.

Sister Jones now felt a prompting to recommend  that Sister Brown be interviewed by the bishop and, if he felt a spiritual confirmation,  that she be called as the second counselor. Sister Brown was called and served for several  years as a counselor to Sister Jones—not only helping significantly but learning from Sister  Jones and the experienced first counselor. Upon Sister Jones’s release, Sister Brown was called  to be the new ward Relief Society president.

I am grateful that Sister Jones did  not force a conclusion prematurely and instead had become  sufficiently spiritually mature to know that revelation hadn’t been received and  that she had been prompted to wait on the Lord. Brothers and sisters, observation, reason, and faith facilitate revelation and enable  the Holy Ghost to be a reliable, trustworthy, and beloved companion. These elements will  be key factors in producing “spiritual momentum in our lives” and helping us move  “forward amid .

. . fear and uncertainty.

” I testify of Heavenly Father and His plan, Jesus  Christ and His Atonement, and the Holy Ghost and His role in helping us fulfill our purpose in  mortality, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.