Leading up to this past weekend’s General Conference, I could feel my spiritual fluid levels decreasing to a certain extent. I am not totally sure why, but I knew that conference was coming at exactly the right time for me. I prayed many times leading up to Conference that my heart and mind would be open, that I would receive the spiritual impressions I needed for my family, the 5th Ward, and for me personally, and that I would be able to relax from the demands of life for just one weekend.
In short, I had a wonderful General Conference experience. But there is one particular situation that stands out, which reaffirmed why I believe in God, the Savior Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, modern-day revelation, and prophets and apostles.
On Sunday morning, I watched Conference at home with my family. I did something that I had rarely done in years past, which was actively take notes during Conference. I was taking notes at my kitchen table, and was particularly taken with President Henry B. Eyring’s talk.
A portion of my notes from his talk read like this:
- Act on the promptings you have felt today as you have listened to Conference. Whatever it is, do it. When you obey, the Spirit will send you more impressions regarding what you are to do. When you obey, your power to choose the right will increase.
As I listened to his words, I had a distinct impression that as soon as the session was over, my wife and I needed to go on a walk and try to visit a couple of people in the ward that live close by. Mind you, I had not planned on this at all. I woke up Sunday morning with the plan to study the scriptures for a while, check some things off my ”bishop to-do list,” make breakfast with the kids, watch Conference, and perhaps take a nap.
Amy had told me earlier in the day that she wanted to go on a walk to drop something at an associate’s house, and I knew that the associate lived nearby (somebody she serves with on the local PTSA board). I had initially declined to go on a walk, indicating that we were going to take Sunday off from walking, but with her request in the back of my mind, I quickly tried to come up with a plan of how we could accomplish what Amy needed to do, as well as visit these two people – all before the next session of conference started.
We headed off on our walk, deciding that we needed to make the delivery first. When we arrived at Amy’s associate’s house, we learned that he was not there. But his mom (in town to visit the grandkids) was there, and she pleasantly chatted for a minute at the doorstep while Amy wrote a note to her associate explaining what she was dropping off.
We then continued on down the street, towards the first family’s house. This is a relatively new family in the 5th Ward, a part-member family where the wife had come to church a couple of times (after years of inactivity) and the husband had come as well. I was originally supposed to visit them at night a couple of weeks ago but had to cancel due to personal illness – so I had wanted to meet up with them for some time.
When we walked up to the house, it looked quiet. However, I had the impression to look up the street, and when I did, I noticed a white Jeep driving down the hill. I said to Amy, “I’m not sure, but I think that might be their car.” Sure enough, literally as we stepped onto their portion of the sidewalk, the Jeep rolled up with both of the individuals in it. They waved enthusiastically, parked the car, and then both came out to visit with us on the driveway for about 20-30 minutes. We were able to discuss Conference (they had actually gone to the 16th Street building at 9:00 and found no one there [i.e. for regular church], and were confused, but then realized it was conference weekend), living prophets and apostles, families, work, and a number of other things. It was a remarkable experience, and we left on very good terms, inviting them to come to Fast and Testimony Meeting next week and them agreeing that they would see us there.
I looked at my watch and realized we had 40 minutes until the next session of Conference. I remarked to Amy that I still felt like we needed to try to visit this other person, even though it was a bit of a hike from where we were. She agreed, and we walked on. As we approached the home, I was pleading with the Lord to let the person be there. This is an individual that I had previously been unsuccessful in visiting, but I had really wanted to connect with her.
As we walked up to the house, the garage door was open – good sign! We also saw many cars parked on the street, so we thought that perhaps she was having a party (bad sign!). We knocked on the door anyway, and as she opened it, she said with a big smile on her face, “ I am busy right now!” While simultaneously confused by the resistant phrase and the welcoming smiley face, I looked inside the doorway and saw her faithful home teachers, John and Ann Eberhard. This individual was smiling because Ann had just said to her, “Oh, look, it’s the Bishop coming to see you!” Without Ann’s observation, this individual would have had no idea who I was, and may not have been as receptive to the visit. John and Ann were just leaving, which allowed Amy and I the perfect opportunity to ask to come in and visit for a while – which we did, and we had a great conversation. I was able to thank this individual for their financial contributions (even though she has been inactive for many years), and discussed an opportunity to visit with her at another time in the future.
I could say that I couldn’t believe what had happened, but that would be a cop-out. It did happen, and it was divinely inspired. It happened because a modern-day prophet had just taught about acting on the promptings of the Spirit. And because I was taking Conference more seriously, and really focusing on what I needed to know for the 5th Ward and myself, I was able to listen to President Eyring with spiritual ears and watch with spiritual eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to go visit these two people right at that moment, no matter how unplanned that it was.
I am really grateful for the teachings of the modern-day prophets and apostles. I know these are men of God, called by Him. I testify that the promptings of the Spirit are real, and that as we follow them, we are able to bless the lives of those around us – and ourselves and our families at the same time.