Eight years ago, as part of my work responsibilities at the time, I was blessed to help produce a series of Face to Face events — live broadcasts that featured leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
One of those events included then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They were answering questions from young adults around the world in an event hosted at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.
One of the questions was asked by a sister in Peru. She asked the two Apostles how she could differentiate between her own thoughts and the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
Part of my role with this event was to review every question that was submitted. Over the course of the series of broadcasts, members and friends of the Church submitted tens of thousands of questions. This question was, by far, the most frequently submitted. Many individuals were searching for direction on this matter.
President Oaks — who now, eight years later, leads the Church — said it is among the most frequently asked questions he had heard during his ministry as well. In this event, he answered in a way that still stands out to me.
“This is a question we wrestle with all of our life,” President Oaks said. “It is well to remember that the scriptures teach us that inspiration comes in the still, small voice. It does not come in the urgent impulses of doing what we want to do and reaching out in bias for a confirmation to our personal opinion.”
He then said he still works to recognize any bias he may have on a topic before seeking direction from the Lord in prayer.
The moment stood out then and continues to be relevant to me today because I realized I had to change how I was seeking answers to my questions and my prayers. While I had learned to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost as a young boy in Primary, and again as a young Aaronic Priesthood holder, and again as a missionary, and so on, I kept feeling like the Holy Ghost was some frequency that I had to lock into that would eventually not require as much effort to identify and follow.
But listening to President Oaks that night helped me to know that following the guidance of the Spirit is a lifelong pursuit. Heavenly Father knows my biases better than I do. I had to ask myself, “Do I know what my biases are?” When I recognize them, the follow-up question is, “Am I willing to put those aside to genuinely receive His answers?”
When Joseph Smith entered the Sacred Grove seeking guidance from Heavenly Father, he knew he had some biases. He wrote that he felt he may be consigned to a life of “darkness and confusion” if he could not get an answer to his questions. He saw some good in many churches around him. He studied the scriptures and sought to follow what he learned. And in desperation, he prayed and pushed through the adversary’s efforts to keep him back from the answers he sought.
Joseph Smith persisted.
At the moment when he felt nearly ready to give up, his answer came in the form of what we know now as the First Vision. He saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. They answered his prayer.
Joseph wasn’t seeking to start a church. He wasn’t seeking attention from others in his family or community. He simply wanted to find peace by being where God wanted him to be.
Subsequently, Joseph became an example of President Oaks’ teaching in that Face to Face event. As he translated the Book of Mormon, Joseph didn’t assume to know what all of its teachings meant. His humility allowed the Lord to reveal many parts of His plan and the organization of His Church. And millions upon millions of God’s children have been blessed because of Joseph’s humble, courageous prayer.
I’m thankful for Joseph Smith’s example. And I’m thankful for the guidance of President Oaks as he now follows in Joseph’s footsteps as the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
— Jon Ryan Jensen is editor of the Church News.
