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(MUSIC) NARRATOR: This Brigham Young University—

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Idaho devotional address by Sheri Dew,

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CEO of Deseret Book,

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was given May 17th, 2016.

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SHERI DEW: Brothers and sisters, it is such a privilege to be here today,

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and especially to be here with President and Sister Gilbert.

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They are dear and treasured friends and they're remarkable exemplars.

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Now, we're not here today to listen to me speak,

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we are here to receive revelation.

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So I invite you to invite the Holy Ghost to speak to

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you so that you will hear what you need to hear.

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A couple of years ago, a reporter from

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an international broadcasting network visited

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Salt Lake City researching a story on women in the church.

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She was intrigued that a female was leading

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a church owned media company and asked me for an interview.

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I liked this reporter.

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She had done her homework and she asked good questions,

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though one of them was very predictable.

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"How do you feel about not being eligible for priesthood ordination?" She asked.

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I outlined the extensive leadership opportunities that women have in the church,

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and then explained that as a woman endowed with power in the temple,

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I had complete access to God's power or priesthood power for my own life.

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And I explained that my focus had long

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been on learning how to gain full access to that power.

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She paused then and she asked,

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"Are you saying that you believe you have more access to God's power than I do?"

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Okay, that's a loaded question.

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(LAUGHTER) My brain began to spin in search of a truthful but politically correct answer.

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But that day, I could not bring myself to sell

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our doctrine or our privileges as women short,

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so finally I said,

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"Well, actually, yes."

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Now, do not misunderstand what I'm saying.

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I quickly added, "I am not saying the Lord loves me more than He loves you,

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and I'm not saying that I'm better than you.

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I'm not saying that He's more likely to bless me than you,

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but if you're asking,

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if I believe that I have greater access to God's power than you do,

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then the answer has to be yes.

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That's one of the blessings of joining this church.

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That's why we join the church.

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We believe that when we make promises to God to follow His son,

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He in turn makes promises to us.

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And one of those promises is that He will give us greater access to His power."

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As I spoke, the Spirit filled the room and it disarmed her.

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Her demeanor softened noticeably.

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And then she asked if I would tell her how the gospel has affected me personally.

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In other words, she basically opened the door for me to bear my testimony.

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I told her that Jesus Christ hasn't just made a difference in my life,

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He's made all the difference;

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that every good thing that has ever happened to me has come because of my membership in

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His church; and that I have experienced the Savior's healing,

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enabling, strengthening power again and again.

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At that point, the spirit flooded the room and we were both in tears.

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She finally could speak and she said,

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"That's beautiful, I wish I could say that about my church."

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And I said, "Well, we could help you with that."

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(LAUGHTER) That day I experienced

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the sublime beauty of standing as a witness and bearing witness of truth.

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Consider the miracle of it: through the power of the Holy Ghost,

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we can know what is true with enough confidence and enough surety to testify of truth.

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We can only bear witness of what we know.

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We can't testify of a wish or a hope or even a belief.

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We can express a hope, a wish,

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or a belief, but we cannot stand as witnesses of

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Jesus Christ unless we can bear witness of Him.

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We can defend the faith only if we have faith.

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Our society seems determined to set aside any semblance of faith or right and wrong.

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But the world's condition today is no surprise to the Lord

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who told the Prophet Joseph that we are living in the 11th hour,

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that this is the last time He will call laborers into His vineyard,

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and that His vineyard has become corrupted.

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But the Lord also declared that in the midst of all this moral and spiritual chaos,

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the fullness of His gospel would be proclaimed by the

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weak and the simple and to the ends of the world,

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and He promised that if we would open our mouths,

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they would be filled.

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You and I are the weak and the simple,

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but we're not here now by accident or without the Lord's endorsement.

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President George Q. Cannon,

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who served as a counselor to four Presidents of the Church, taught that

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"because of the magnitude of the work to be accomplished,

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it has required apparently the most valiant men and women to come forth now.

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God has reserved spirits for this dispensation

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who have the courage and determination to face the world

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and all the powers of the evil one and to build up the Zion of our God

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fearless of all consequences."

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Make no mistake about it.

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You're here now because in the beginning,

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our Father chose you to be here now, and He has hard work for you to do.

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How then do we strengthen our faith so that we can defend the faith?

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Four years ago, a marvelous young woman who had just graduated

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with honors from BYU called me, absolutely distraught.

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Through sobs, she blurted out,

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"I'm just not sure I believe the Church is true anymore, and I'm scared.

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What if my family really isn't going to be together forever?"

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I asked her, "Do you want to have a testimony?"

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"Yes." She said.

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"Are you willing to work for it?"

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Again, "yes." And she was.

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She went to work. She had a great bishop and an off-the-charts Relief Society president,

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both of whom worked with her.

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Friends and family came to her rescue, and

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she and I began to meet for gospel study sessions.

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I told her, bring your scriptures and every question you have.

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Questions are good. Let's see what the Lord will teach us together.

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She took me at my word and brought one thorny question after another.

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Honestly, she brought questions I'd never thought of in my life.

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We searched the scriptures and the teachings of prophets for answers.

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Little by little, she began to realize that just

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because she had questions didn't mean she didn't have a testimony—

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the scriptures are filled with accounts of prophets who had questions—

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and she began to recognize when the Spirit was bearing witness to her,

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including and especially, bearing witness that prophets,

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seers, and revelators are truly prophets.

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Her testimony began to grow, and over time the crisis passed.

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Then about a year ago, she called again. "Sister Dew,

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I wanted you to be one of the first to know that

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I'm holding in my hand a temple recommend.

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Will you come when I received my endowment?"

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Then she added, "Do you know what you said,

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that helped me the most?"

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Well, I had absolutely no clue.

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She said, "You told me that questions are good, and that

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allowed me to see myself as a seeker rather than a doubter."

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I was just overjoyed with that conversation.

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But then two days later,

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I received a much different call from another BYU graduate.

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"Sister Dew, " she said.

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"Before you hear it from someone else,

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I want you to hear it from me and to know that I am pregnant."

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She was not married.

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She said that for several years she had doubted

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the truthfulness of the gospel and had finally

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decided there was no reason to keep living the law of chastity.

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I told her that I was not her judge, and that I loved her.

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Then I asked her if she would like to have a testimony.

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"No, I don't think so, "

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she said. The contrast was stunning.

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At about the same time,

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these two young women had questions that threatened their testimonies.

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One of them sent out a cry for help, and

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family, friends and leaders followed President Monson's counsel and went to her rescue.

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The other girl nursed her doubt and convinced

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herself that her immoral choices were acceptable.

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I love and deeply care about this girl,

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but for now, she has chosen a spiritually perilous path.

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One girl's questions propelled her to become a seeker of truth.

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The other girl used her questions to justify her immorality.

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My dear friends, my message today is simply, questions are good.

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Questions are good if they are inspired questions,

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asked in faith, and asked of credible sources where

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the Spirit will direct and confirm the answer.

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Nephi asked an inspired question in faith

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when he asked the Lord if he could see what his father saw.

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The Lord responded by showing Nephi the tree of life,

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the iron rod, the great and spacious building and

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mists of darkness, and the fruit of the tree,

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which is sweet above all that is sweet.

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And then the vision didn't stop there.

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Nephi saw the birth, ministry, and crucifixion of the Savior.

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He saw the coming forth of Latter-day scripture,

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the Restoration, and the building of Latter-day Zion.

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Nephi saw all this and much more,

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only to return to his father's tent and find Laman and

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Lemuel arguing about the meaning of their father's vision.

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When Nephi ask them,

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"Have ye inquired of the Lord, "

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they gave the classic response of doubters:

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"We have not, for the Lord maketh no such thing known

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unto us" as though nothing was required of them.

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None of us are entitled to revelation without effort on our part.

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Answers from God don't just magically appear.

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If we want to grow spiritually,

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the Lord expects us to ask questions and seek answers.

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"If thou shalt ask," he promised,

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"thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge."

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How much clearer can it be?

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The Lord loves inspired questions asked in faith because they lead to knowledge,

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to revelation, and to greater faith.

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We all have questions.

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Some are doctrinal, historical, or procedural.

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Some are simply intensely personal.

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Here are just a few questions that men and women your age have asked me recently.

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Why am I the only one in my family who struggles to believe?

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Should I serve a mission if my parents don't want me to?

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Why did I spend all that time on a mission and not convert anyone?

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Why can't I find the one? Yeah, tell me about it. (LAUGHTER)

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We don't have time to go into that one.

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(LAUGHTER) If I go

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to graduate school, will the Lord think that means I don't want to get married?

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Will I be able to provide for a family today?

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Will the Lord ever forgive me for breaking my covenants?

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I came home early from my mission, what do I do now?

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How does the Lord feel about me?

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Is a prophet infallible?

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Did Joseph Smith really have more than one wife?

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How do I know if I'm receiving revelation?

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Do I dare get serious with a guy who has struggled with pornography?

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Why can't women be ordained to the priesthood?

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What's that about?

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What if the Church's position on gay marriage bothers me?

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How do I understand the temple when I can't even ask questions about it?

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May I answer these questions and

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frankly any questions you may have by posing a question?

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Are you willing to engage in the wrestle—

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in an ongoing spiritual wrestle?

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Enos described the wrestle that he had before God to obtain a remission of his sins,

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and Alma wrestled with God in mighty prayer.

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Now, champion wrestlers tell me that it isn't

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necessarily the strongest wrestler with the biggest muscles who wins.

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It's the wrestler who knows how to leverage his strength to overpower his opponent.

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Spiritual wrestling leverages the strength of true doctrine to overpower our weaknesses,

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our wavering faith and our lack of knowledge.

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Spiritual wrestlers are seekers.

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They are men and women of faith who want to understand more than they presently do,

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and who are serious about increasing the light and knowledge in their lives.

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I recently engaged in a wrestle. When the policy was announced that the children of

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gay parents might not be eligible for baptism at age eight, I was confused.

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I did not question the brethren or doubt their inspiration,

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but neither did I understand the doctrinal basis for the policy.

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So I asked the Lord to teach me.

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I prayed, searched the scriptures,

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studied the teachings of prophets,

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and pondered my question in the temple.

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This went on for several months.

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Then one day, a colleague made a statement that sparked a new thought for me.

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And in that moment, the Spirit illuminated the doctrine in my heart and mind.

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Now, I consider that answer that day,

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personal revelation and not something I shouldn't necessarily teach.

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I'll admit that I have wept with friends to whom this policy directly applies.

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But understanding the doctrine gave me peace.

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When we have unresolved questions,

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our challenge doesn't lie in what we think we know.

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It lies in what we don't yet know.

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The Lord has promised to open the eyes of our understandings and to reveal all mysteries,

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but he isn't likely to do any of these things unless we seek to know.

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Dr. Truman Madsen taught that he could find

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"nothing in the scriptures to excuse anyone from brain sweat,

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and from the arduous lifetime burden of seeking

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'revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge'."

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He was describing an ongoing spiritual wrestle.

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The Lord wants us to ask every probing question we can muster,

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because not asking questions can be far more dangerous than asking them.

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In other words, sin makes you stupid,

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and so does refusing to seek after truth.

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Remember my friend who thought she'd lost her testimony?

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Her doubt was triggered by

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a television drama featuring a scientist who didn't believe in God.

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I said, "Wait,

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are you telling me that a fictional character fabricated by

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a Hollywood writer has obliterated 24 years of gospel teaching?"

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"But that woman is so smart," my friend said.

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There have always been and will always be charismatic men and

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women who can launch what sound like on the surface

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reasoned arguments against the Father and the Son,

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the Restoration, the Prophet Joseph,

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the Book of Mormon, and living prophets.

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But doubters and pundits never tell

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the whole story because they don't know the whole story, and they don't want to know.

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They opt for clever soundbites,

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hoping no one digs deeper than they have.

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Soundbites will never lead to a testimony.

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As seekers of truth, our safety lies in asking

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the right questions in faith and of the right sources,

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meaning asking those who only speak truth,

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such as the scriptures,

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prophets, and the Lord through the Holy Ghost.

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President Spencer W. Kimball declared this:

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"Why. oh, why do people think they can fathom

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the most complex spiritual depths without

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the necessary work accompanied by compliance with the laws that govern it?

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Absurd it is, but you will find popular personalities, who seem never to

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have lived a single law of God, discoursing about religion.

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How ridiculous for such persons to attempt to outline for the world a way of life.

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One cannot know God nor understand his works or

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plans unless he follows the laws which govern."

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Questions are not just good,

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they are vital because the ensuing spiritual wrestle leads to answers,

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to knowledge, and to revelation,

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and it also leads to greater faith.

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That's important because men and women of faith are expected to have faith.

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While the Lord will reveal many things to us,

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He's never told His covenant people everything about everything.

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We're admonished to doubt not, but be believing.

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But doubting not does not mean understanding everything.

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Doubting is not synonymous with having questions,

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to doubt is to reject truth and faith.

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As covenant sons and daughters,

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we are required to have faith,

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to live by faith, to ask in faith,

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nothing wavering, and to overcome by faith.

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Learning by faith is as crucial as learning by study,

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because there are some things we simply cannot learn from a book.

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Elder Dallin H. Oaks underscored this truth in the recent general conference:

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"After all we can publish,

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our members are sometimes left with basic questions that cannot be resolved by study.

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Some things can be learned only by faith.

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Our ultimate reliance must be on faith in

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the witness we have received from the Holy Ghost."

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Thus, once the Spirit has borne witness to you

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that God is our Father and Jesus is the Christ,

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that Joseph Smith was a prophet called to restore

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the gospel, and that we are led by a prophet today,

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then you know the gospel is true because

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the Spirit has borne witness of the foundational truths that comprise a testimony.

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You have a testimony.

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At that point, when questions arise or when

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blessings you've been pleading for remain unfulfilled,

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they are not an indication that you don't have a testimony or that the gospel isn't true.

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They are an invitation for you to grow spiritually.

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I repeat, once you have received

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a spiritual witness of the truths that form a testimony,

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even your thorniest questions about our doctrine, history,

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positions on sensitive issues,

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or the aching desires of your hearts are about personal growth.

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They are opportunities for you to receive personal revelation and to increase your faith.

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We don't have to have answers to every question in order to receive a witness,

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bear witness, and stand as a witness.

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But questions, especially the tough ones,

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will propel us to engage in

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a spiritual wrestle so that the Lord can continue to lead us along.

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Without plain old spiritual work,

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even God can't make us grow,

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or at least He won't.

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My life has been filled with spiritual wrestling.

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Not because of any great valor on my part,

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but because I have yearned to understand why

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certain things were happening to me and why others were not.

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For decades, I have fasted,

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prayed, and pleaded for a husband.

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I've asked who he is,

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where he is, and when he's coming.

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As of this very moment,

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I still don't know the answer to any of those questions.

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But, the ongoing spiritual wrestle has

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blessed me with the knowledge that Jesus Christ is my Savior,

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that His gospel is filled with power,

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and that God will talk to me and direct me.

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Growing spiritually and receiving answers to

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our questions depends upon our ability to feel,

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hear, and understand the whisperings of the Spirit.

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It is worth engaging in

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an ongoing spiritual wrestle to learn to receive personal revelation.

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Because we can only know what is true when the Spirit bears witness

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to our hearts and our minds as only the Holy Ghost can.

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Revelation must include both

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because intellect alone cannot produce a testimony.

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You cannot think your way to conversion

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because you cannot convince your mind of something your heart does not feel.

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The Prophet Joseph declared that "The Holy Ghost comprehends more than all the world."

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And then he said that we must all grow into the principle of revelation.

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And President Henry B. Eyring added this:

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"We all know that human judgment and logical thinking will not be

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enough to get answers to the questions that matter most in life.

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We need revelation from God.

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We need not just one flash of light and comfort,

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but we need the continuing blessing of communication with God."

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Every truth-seeking member of the Church can and

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should be receiving revelation for his or her life.

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In my early 20s, I faced

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a difficult decision and asked a friend for a priesthood blessing.

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He asked what the Lord had already told me,

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and I admitted that I could feel the presence of the Spirit,

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but I couldn't discern specific revelation.

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He then asked if I had ever asked the Lord to teach me

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what it felt like when He was speaking to me.

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Well, I hadn't.

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But that night, I began to ask the Lord to teach me the language of revelation.

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That was 40 years ago.

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And over time, I have come to know that what President Boyd K. Packer taught is true.

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That ''if all you know is what you can see with

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your natural eyes and hear with your natural ears,

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then you will not know very much."

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Seekers have certain habits that are key to learning to communicate with God.

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For starters, they engage in the wrestle,

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meaning they work at it.

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They immerse themselves regularly in the scriptures

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because the scriptures are the textbook for the Lord's language.

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They also work to be increasingly pure—

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pure in their heart and thoughts;

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pure in what they say,

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watch, read, and listen to.

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Purity invites the Spirit.

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And then, pure seekers listen.

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One of my former institute students periodically turns off everything electronic.

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TV off, music off,

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phone off, computer off, iPad off.

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She says, "I like to let the Lord know, I'm listening."

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As you cultivate these spiritual habits,

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there are two questions—actually more than that—

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but there are at least two questions that will help open the heavens.

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First, ask the Lord to teach you what it feels and sounds like for

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you when He is speaking to you via the Holy Ghost, and then watch how He tutors you.

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And second, if you've never asked the Lord how He feels about you,

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that is a great question to ask.

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In time and over time,

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He will tell you.

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And as He does, you'll learn more and more about speaking His language.

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When the Lord sees that you want to communicate with Him,

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He will teach you how.

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Recently, a friend working on her PhD received an impression

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during a Relief Society Conference to shift the focus of her dissertation.

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She also felt prompted during that conference to go

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directly to the temple to ask the Lord further questions.

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She said, "While there,

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I was told how to make this new focus work and how I

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could be both academically unbiased and spiritually honest.

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I occasionally receive clear words from the Spirit," she said,

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"but never have I been given such clear instructions.

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The task ahead feels incredibly difficult,

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but I know what direction to go and that the Lord expects it of me,

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and that makes all the difference."

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Receiving revelation is the key to receiving answers to our questions.

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Joseph Smith promised that "even the least Saint may

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know all things as fast as he is able to bear them."

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My dear friends, make no mistake about it.

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We are here now because we're supposed to be here now,

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and we each have a mission to fulfill.

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Part of that mission

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—a really important part of that mission—is to stand as witnesses of truth.

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And that means we must receive a witness that Jesus is

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the Christ and that His gospel has been restored.

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I invite you to decide

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today that you will pay the price to wrestle with difficult questions,

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to become lifetime seekers of truth,

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to learn to speak the Lord's language,

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and to receive a witness of Jesus Christ and the restoration of His gospel.

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If you will,

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you will have the privilege of helping prepare the Earth for His return.

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You'll be able to defend the faith because of your ever increasing faith.

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The Savior is going to come again.

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May we stand for Him and with Him.

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I testify that God is our Father,

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that Jesus is the Christ.

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This is His church,

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it has been restored, and it is filled with His power,

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and if we want to communicate with heaven and receive answers to our questions,

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I testify the heavens will open, and we can learn

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and stand as witnesses in the name of Jesus Christ,

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amen. (MUSIC)

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NARRATOR: For more information about this program,

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please visit the BYU-Idaho website at www.byui.edu/devotionalsandspeeches.

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(MUSIC)