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Relief Society/elders quorum lesson aid — Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante: ‘The Wind Did Never Cease To Blow’

Lesson resources on Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante’s October 2024 general conference message to prepare for elders quorum or Relief Society

Editor’s note: To support elders quorum and Relief Society classes, the Church News is publishing lesson resources on messages from October 2024 general conference. These are meant to be a starting point and not a lesson plan.

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About this talk

  • “The Wind Did Never Cease To Blow”
  • by Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante | General Authority Seventy
  • Saturday afternoon session of October 2024 general conference.
  • Theme: Like the Jaredites, individuals can be driven by “a furious wind” to promised blessings, and they can be that wind helping others, too.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Cavalcante’s message here.

Outline

  • In 2015, attorneys from a law society investigated crimes committed against elderly residents, functionally forgotten by society, of four nursing homes. The prosecutor successfully filed charges against those responsible, an example of King Benjamin’s teaching that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17).
  • The nursing home residents undoubtedly continued to experience hardship — like the Jaredites in their challenging journey to the promised land. However, they knew that despite earthly anonymity, a loving Heavenly Father personally knew them.
  • In Ether 6:5, God caused “a furious wind” to blow the Jaredites toward the promised land. “Similarly, we can decide to serve as a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands” by helping others in their journey to receive His blessings.
  • Several years ago, as bishop, Elder Cavalcante called a counselor who always wore sunglasses at church. Elder Cavalcante told him the members needed to see his eyes, and the brother never used the sunglasses at church again. Many misjudged brothers and sisters may also sit unknown and forgotten at church like he did.
  • By turning to the Savior, He can consecrate afflictions for gain. Saints can be “the wind [that] did never cease to blow” (Ether 6:8) by guiding others to the covenant path.
  • President Russell M. Nelson has invited every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission, as well as young and able sisters who desire to serve. Thousands answer this call, but missionaries don’t have to be perfect the moment they enter the missionary training center.
  • Missionaries may feel like Nephi, Jeremiah or Moses, who first felt incapable to serve. The Lord promises, though, that He will be with the missionaries as they move forward with faith.
  • Missionaries will transform from their natural to spiritual self as they earnestly strive to serve Christ and draw near to Him. Heavenly Father knows them personally, and they are never forgotten.
  • No one is ever forgotten by the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone faces their own storms of opposition, but “the wind [will not] cease to blow towards the promised land” (Ether 6:8).
  • Everyone can “be a part of this wind” to bless the unrecognized and forgotten to reach their own promised lands. Jesus Christ will always guide them along the covenant path.

Discussion questions

How can we “serve as a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands”?

When have you seen the Lord’s hand guide you toward your own “promised land”?

How does the promise that no one is forgotten by the Lord provide comfort during difficult times?

What does the Savior’s example teach us about seeking out those who may feel forgotten?

What’s the next step I can take or help someone else take on the covenant path?

Notable quotes

  • “I often wonder, ‘How many faithful brothers and sisters sit forgotten among us today?’”
  • “Sometimes you may feel unrecognized or forgotten. However, you must know that you have a perfect Heavenly Father, who knows you personally, and a Savior, who loves you.”
  • “Though some may wait ‘a long time’ for relief, for they ‘have no man’ that can yet help (John 5:6-7), the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us that no one is ever forgotten by Him. On the contrary, He was a perfect example of seeking out the one in every moment of His mortal ministry.”

Key scriptures

  • “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
  • “And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.”
  • “And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.”

Invitations and promises

  • “The Master of masters caused ‘a furious wind’ (Ether 6:5) to blow the Jaredites toward promised blessings. Similarly, we can decide to serve as a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands. Just as ‘the wind did never cease to blow’ the Jaredites toward the promised land (Ether 6:8), we can help others progress in their journey to receive God’s blessings.”
  • Whether we are well-known or forgotten, trials will inevitably come to each one of us. As we turn to the Savior, He can ‘consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain’ (2 Nephi 2:2) and help us respond to our trials in a way that facilitates our spiritual progression.
  • “Each of us can be a part of this wind — the same wind that blessed the Jaredites in their journey and the same wind that, with our help, will bless the unrecognized and forgotten to reach their own promised lands.”

Stories

  • In Pernambuco, Brazil, in 2015, attorneys from the J. Reuben Clark Law Society investigated crimes committed against elderly residents, functionally forgotten by society, of four nursing homes. The prosecutor successfully filed charges against those responsible. These nursing home residents may not have had all their problems solved that day, but they knew that despite earthly anonymity, a loving Heavenly Father personally knew them.
  • As the Jaredites journeyed across the sea in Ether 6, the Lord caused “a furious wind” to guide them toward the promised land. Similarly, disciples of Christ can serve as “a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands” to help others in their journey to receive God’s blessings.
  • When Elder Cavalcante was called as a bishop several years ago, he called a counselor who always wore sunglasses at church. Elder Cavalcante urged, “The members need to see your eyes, and you must be able to see them better too.” The counselor took off his sunglasses and never used them at church again. Elder Cavalcante recalled, “I often wonder, ‘How many faithful brothers and sisters sit forgotten among us today?’”

Notable footnotes

  • 27. President Dallin H. Oaks mentioned a painting by Maynard Dixon titled “Forgotten Man,” which hangs in his office in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City: “You see the sun shining on his head. His Heavenly Father knows he’s there. He is forgotten by the passing crowd, but in his struggles, his Heavenly Father knows he’s there. ... I have been with that painting for close to 40 years, and it speaks to me and reminds me of things that I need to remember” (in Sarah Jane Weaver, “What I Learned from President Oaks about the ‘Forgotten Man,’” Church News, Sept. 18, 2022).

Additional resources

Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante, General Authority Seventy. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Recent conference talks on service

Who is Elder Cavalcante?

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