Counsel with him

I am grateful for the guidance and direction we receive from Heavenly Father, especially in the midst of challenges.

Do you remember the experience when Grandpa decided to approach the Lord regarding our decision to move from Salt Lake City to Castle Valley? It's one of my favorites:

Well, Grandpa had been selling ladies' clothing successfully for years. So when the company began to falter, he naturally thought he would continue doing that but under a different name for a different market. Granny and Grandpa started Group Apparel Specialists and sold uniforms to high schools and colleges. They also started an antique store. That's where the name Sunflowerhill came from. And he had other ideas. But when he retired to the basement and presented this option to the Lord, he couldn't even articulate his plan. He had been working on it for weeks and prepared for every possible eventuality. But when he tried to explain it in prayer, it was jumbled and incoherent. So he went and rested a bit, thinking he had been working too hard and was unable to think straight. Afterward, he returned to the basement closet and approached Heavenly Father in prayer once more. But he was again unable to articulate the plan. So he thought that perhaps that was his answer. Just like the Doctrine and Covenants states in section 9, verses 7-9:

 7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

 8 But, behold, 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.

 9 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.

After this experience, he returned to the basement closet and in prayer told Heavenly Father that he recognized that he had received an answer and had therefore decided to pursue other options. Instantly, his heart burned within him until his whole bosom was on fire. He knew that his choice was right.

It was shortly after that when Granny found a newspaper ad about Castle Valley, and as they say, the rest is history. The Gift of the Holy Ghost is a most treasured gift. If we will but seek and follow the promptings, it is our guide through life.

I love that story about Grandpa. He would tell it with humility and emotion. But it should be noted that though he received a witness to do something different and relocate the family to a new life in southern Utah, he did not have all the answers and still moved forward in faith. And so it is with us. We will receive direction but must continue with faith.

One of my favorite quotes follows (a link to the whole talk). Know that you can make all your concerns a matter of prayer. That means you aren't alone in making decisions. And because you listen and have the courage to follow the promptings from the Lord--He will guide you in your activities.

Nephi was successful. He sought the Lord's guidance in prayer, and did his very best--even when at first, the lot of them repeatedly failed to obtain the plates.

President Kimball captured this concept beautifully in the words below:

It is easy to get discouraged. It is easy to quit, but you mustn't fail. You remember how Nephi went into an impossible situation and couldn't get the plates. His brothers couldn't. They couldn’t buy them. They couldn’t bribe them out of the hands of Laban. They couldn't force their way in, and their lives were hanging on a thread. Inspite of all that, here comes one boy, unarmed, who walks into a city through a wall that was closed to him, through gates that couldn't be opened, into a garden that was impenetrable, into a vault that was locked, among soldiers that couldn't be bypassed, and comes out with his arms full of records to keep his posterity and others from perishing in unbelief. (See 1 Ne. 3–4.)

That's your promise, too. The Lord will guide you. Counsel with Him and recognize his hand in your life. Alma 37:37

That way you can't fail.