A Father’s Thoughts to his Daughter

Sun., Mar. 7, 2010

Bri,

I feel impressed to share three stories from the Old Testament that have been great sources of power, comfort and faith since I first read them as a young boy in grade school . . .

1 Kings 18:17-39 . . . Elijah and the 450 “prophets of Baal”

17 ¶ And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that aAhab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
18 And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have aforsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.
19 Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the aprophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.
20 So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the aprophets together unto mount Carmel.
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between atwo opinions? if the Lord be God, bfollow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
25 And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your agods, but put no fire under.
26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is apursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
28 And they cried aloud, and acut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.
30 And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
31 And Elijah took atwelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, bIsrael shall be thy name:
32 And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.
33 And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four abarrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the aevening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know athat thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their bheart back again.
38 Then the afire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.

1 Kings 19:11-13 . . . Elijah and the “still small voice”

11 And he [the word of the Lord] said [to Elijah], Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a astill small bvoice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. . . .

2 Kings 6:8-17 . . . Elisha - “they that be with us are more than they that be with them”

8 ¶ Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
13 ¶ And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his aeyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and bchariots of fire round about Elisha.

We’ve been taught that “faith precedes the miracle;” that miracles are not so much for the benefit of unbelievers, but to strengthen the faith and testimony of believers. The teaching that came clearly from Elijah’s miracle - calling down the fire from heaven that consumed his drenched sacrifice - was the reality and power of the God of Israel.

The power of God doesn’t require large ostentatious displays such as earthquakes or fires. The power of God can be as effectively displayed and comprehended “in a still small voice.” In the case of Laman and Lemuel, they had seen many of the same miraculous manifestations as Nephi but their faith, testimonies and hearts remained untouched because they “were past feeling” (1 Ne 17:45). In the days of Mormon, as he looked upon the destruction of his people, he told his son, Moroni, their destruction was assured because they were “without principle and past feeling” (Mormon 9:20).

The simple yet profound truths sung by Primary children, encouraging faithful saints to search, ponder and pray leads to the thought . . . “Make time for quiet moments, because God whispers and the world is loud.”

Finally, Bri, regardless of the apparent odds stacked against us, as Elisha taught his servant, if the eyes of our understanding were opened and we could see and comprehend the vast number of loving family and friends, on both sides of the veil, who petition Heaven in fasting, prayer and temple worship on our behalf we would more fully appreciate “they that be with us are greater than they that be with them [the enemy or those things that would cause us harm].”

God remains a God of miracles.

Morm. 9: 10-11, 15, 19
10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.
11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of amiracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same bGod who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.
• • •
15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do ano miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
• • •
19 And if there were amiracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he bchangeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

Priesthood holders aren’t fortune tellers. Their responsibility is to know and pronounce the mind and will of the Lord as Christ would do if he were personally administering to those in need. On various occasions, worthy priesthood holders have pronounced solemn blessings of cleansing, healing, recovery and health. Those blessings are yours.

As you know from your Patriarchal Blessing, Heavenly Father has a special relationship with you. He’s made special, solemn promises to you. He will not fail you.

Mom and I are so blessed to have you as ours. Your experiences over the past month with radiation treatments and the halo have brought vividly powerful, yet poignant reminders and insight into the Atonement. It has been heart-wrenchingly difficult to be unable to do much to help. Just as the Father wasn’t with His Son and sent ministering angels to support him in Gethsemane, Mom and I continually invoke the blessings of heaven on your behalf as we attend the temple and pray for ministering and attending angels to be with and support you in your many difficult moments. We feel the Spirit and blessings of the temple have allowed us to be close to you as possible, even though we’re still hundreds of miles away.

Hold to your faith, Sweetheart. May your eyes be opened and your understanding illuminated with divine, celestial power emanating from loving, heavenly parents. May the spiritual gift . . . faith to be healed (as noted below in D&C 46) . . . be yours in abundance. You will be healed.

We love you,
Dad

“Just because it is . . . doesn’t mean it should be.”
(quote from the 2008 movie, “Australia”)