Cradle of the Restoration Part 1 - The Sacred Grove

As a missionary serving in Western New York, those I have the amazing opportunity to teach and serve have something special just around the corner.  Very few people in the world actually get to set foot in the places where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints first began.  The towns of Palmyra, Fayette, and the nearby surround areas are commonly known among Church members as The Cradle of the Restoration.  Amazing stuff happened in these places.  This is where it all began, where the Lord's true Church and Gospel where restored to the earth by living prophets.  Those living and serving in Western New York have such a unique opportunity to actually visit these places and feel how sacred they really are.  I would like to share with you brief descriptions of these places and what happened there.  This is how it all transpired.

The Sacred Grove

The Sacred Grove

While growing up, young Joseph Smith was very concerned about which church he should join.  He had been taught to love God and Jesus Christ all his life by his parents and wanted to do what was right.  But so many different religions where out there, preaching many different things.  Some said they were right, some said others weren't right.  Joseph was very confused at what he should do.  Then he stumbled upon a verse in the Bible that touched him in such a way that he had never felt before.  It read "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, which giveth to all men liberally and upradeith not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)

The Sacred Grove

So one day in the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith at the age of 14 decided to do just what he felt he should do, go and ask God personally.  So one morning he went into a grove of trees next to his father's farm and his family's cabin to do this.  In Joseph Smith's own words, this is what happened.

After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.

 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”

 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself - Joseph Smith History verses 15-20

Picture I took in the Sacred Grove

I've had the special chance to be in the Sacred Grove, on more than one occasion.  I've seen it in the middle of summer, the days of fall, the end of winter, and now the middle of spring.  Each and every time I feel something special and powerful.  I feel the Spirit witnessing to me that what Joseph Smith said happened in these woods is true, that the Father and His Son appeared to a simple fourteen year old farm boy.  I know that this is all true.  I hope everybody gets a chance to come here and feel for themselves how sacred the Sacred Grove really is.

Here's the address for the historical site and phone number:

843 Stafford Road
Palmyra, New York 14522
315-597-4383 (Main)

Schedule:

Summer: 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. Winter: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Pray, He can Hear You!

So things don't look so good.  Life's throwing you a curve ball.  It's hard right now.  Whenever I struggle with things I usually go to somebody for help.  That person is usually either one of my parents.  I love my dad and my mom.  They know me better than anybody else.  They have been through things like this before..  They love me more than I can imagine.  When I need help I always try and seek their aid.  But as a missionary right now, I can't always just call them up and tell them what's up.  As missionaries we live by very specific rules and guidelines to help us focus on the work we perform.  And one of those rules is we can't can only call and talk to our families twice a year, Mother's day and Christmas.  But there is somebody always there, someone who always listens, someone who always answers the phone, somebody who always loves you.

In the Bible Dictionary of the LDS version of the King James Bible, it says under the entry for prayer "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is Our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7: 7-11).  Many of the so called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship.  Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other." (Bible Dictionary pg 752.)

God is literally our Father, I know this to be true.  Our physical lineage goes back all the way to Adam down many generations, our spiritual lineage only goes back one, and that's to our Heavenly Father.  And just as our earthly parents have that love for us, He loves us even more.  "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matt. 7:11). 

Some people worry and wonder what they should say when they pray.  Remember this, He is your Father, talk to Him like you would your own Father.  If your relationship with your earthly father isn't the greatest, that doesn't mean you can't develop a strong relationship with your Heavenly Father.  Talk to Him, He loves you, pour your heart out to Him.

When you need some help or you need some answers, be humble enough to get on your knees and come before Him in prayer.  I say this all the time to people, there is never such a thing as a bad prayer. 

I wish I could express this these thoughts better in words, but I will give it a try.  I know the power of prayer is real.  It's helped me through the hardest times of my life.  Sometimes, I struggle and I feel so alone.  I have received some of the greatest comfort to my soul by simply telling Him all that I feel.  He never wants you to think that he is tired of listening to you.  He has all the time in the world and would gladly spend all that time with you.  I know He is there, I know His son Jesus Christ lives and is the one who carries my prayers to my Father in Heaven.  I know that He hears and answers our prayers.  Answers may come in a variety of different ways and may take some time to receive, but He does answer.  This I know and of this I so testify.

3 Steps to an Answered Prayer

I love formulas, or step by step equations that can be used to solve every kind of problem. It's how my mind works I guess. So for me it's so cool to see God give us these kinds of equations or formulas to help us in every day life.

I was reading in 1st Nephi of the Book of Mormon and I found this simple yet powerful formula for receiving an answer to your prayer. In 1st Nephi 11 verse 1 we read

"For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot."

Nephi wanted to see the things his father saw in visions. So he asks God in prayer if he can have this desire. And as a result his prayer was answered, through the use of this formula.

Step 1: Have a desire to receive an answer. Nephi had a desire to see the things his father saw. Simple enough but important enough.

Step 2: Believe and have faith God will answer your prayer. As it says in that verse, you need to have faith, God can't answer you if you believe He can't.

Step 3: Ponder, or put forth the effort to study things out. Nephi pondered what his dad said about his visions. He tried to make sense of them in his mind and probably did some study to help him understand.

Desire + Faith + Effort (pondering, study) = Answered Prayer

Nephi applied this principle and received a glorious answer (read 1st Nephi 11 to find out). We can all find answers to our prayers. God is willing to bless us and communicate with us, we just need to talk to Him. If we really have a desire to know something, develop faith in His ability to answer us, and put forth all the effort we can into our answer, God will answer you. I know this to be true. I know God loves each and everyone one of us and we all can receive answers to our prayers.

It Will Get Better Once it Stops Hurting

That statement always makes me laugh. It's one of my Grandpaisms my Grandpa Hess always likes to say. He always says funny things like "Kill to stones with one bird", or if you fall down "Come over here and I'll help you up". But the saying "It will get better once it stops hurting" really has some truth if you think about it.

Life's tough sometimes. There's nothing really around that fact. Sometimes during life we experience some pretty hard times. Trials and tribulations are to be expected, but that doesn't make them anymore less painful. We face so many different kinds of trials like sickness, death, depression, loneliness, guilt, family issues, finance problems, learning problems, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. At times we seem to be thrown a never ending string of them that doesn't look like it will let up. Each of us individually face our own personal demons that turn life into this gauntlet of pain. Life isn't fair; it's not a cake walk; life is hard. In Matthew 5:45, the Savior says "he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Good things happen to bad and good people, bad things happen to bad and good people. Life is hard. But there is hope.

We have a loving Heavenly Father and we are His children. He loves each and every one of his children. That is why we are here on earth. He wants for us to receive all that He has. His purpose is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." He has provided us this opportunity to learn and progress so we can be more like him. We are here on earth to be tried and tested, and that means sometimes things aren't going to be very pleasant.

Life is a refiners fire. Trials are those hot flames that lick and scourge us. But through those flames we melt off the imperfections we possess. We burn off the portions of our lives that need to be removed. It's not fun, it's not pleasant, and it hurts at times. But the end result is something pure and sweet, beautiful and incorruptible. Orson F. Whitney said "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility....It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we came here to acquire." And we aren't suppose to go through them alone.

2nd Corinthians 1:3-5 says "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ."

God is there and so is His Son Jesus Christ. Just like any parent or sibling, they want to help their sons and daughters, brothers and sister get through anything that they are struggling with. We can find hope and comfort in our afflictions in our Savior. I know this to be true. Through them we can get through anything.

So what do we need to do to receive this help? First we need to ask for it. Prayer is essential for help during trials. I remember one experience in my life that really helped me out. I was on a scout river kanoing trip in Wyoming. All of our equipment was stored in these five gallon buckets and tied down in the middle of the kanoe. Due to bad planning on my part the sleeping bag I chose wasn't quite the right size for the bucket so the lid didn't close all the way. Despite my most desperate attempts, our kanoe got swamped as our leaders and fellow scouts had fun trying to sink everybody else while going down the river. When we finally got to shore to camp the night I inevitably found my sleeping bag soaked with water. I tried to let it dry out before the sun set but still it was pretty damp by the time night came. A cold Wyoming night in the wilderness in a wet sleeping bag didn't exactly add up to a good nights sleep. I crawled into my bag and immediately the cold sapped the heat from my body. I shivered and shivered and things got colder and colder. I was out of options that night, I had no where else to turn. "I could potentially die tonight" was what I was thinking. I needed help. In my cold, damp sleeping bag I rolled over and offered a silent prayer to my Father in Heaven. I asked Him so desperately that this would seem so insignificant to everything else that was going on in the world but I really needed to be warm so I could sleep. After I ended my prayer immediately warmth ran throughout my body. The shivering stopped and I relaxed. I was able to sleep that night so peacefully and warmly than I ever thought possible. I know God answers prayers. During our times of affliction, I promise that if you call upon God for aide He will answer.

Along with prayer, your scripture study can be such a source of inspiration and strength to you. Christ when he was on the earth was always healing those who were in needed. Any sort of affliction or sickness he healed. He could heal people miles away, just by His words. Christ's words have the power to heal. So why should the scriptures be any different? Scriptures have the power to heal and strengthen us. There are so many good things hidden in the scriptures that will speak just to you for exactly what you might be going through. So when in doubt, scripture it out!!

As I've said before, trials are tough, but they are necessary. The Lord hasn't designed these trials for you to go through alone. Christ gave up His life to give us the greatest gift of the Atonement. He has gone through all our pains, sorrows, afflictions, and sins. He knows what you are going through more than we can imagine. That makes Him the only one who can really comfort us in times like trials. When we need Him most, He will come and bear us up. Push forward through whatever life throws at you. Doctrine and Covenants 122 is so famous for whatever we face in life. Remember whatever we face is for our own good and will give us experience.

I hope that this will help anyone who is going through anything hard in life. Remember prayer and scripture study. By small and simple things are great things come to pass. And remember, it will feel better once it stops hurting.

President Uchtdorf said "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience. Often we can't see the Lord's Hand in our lives until long after trails have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to future opportunity, understand, and happiness."

Here are some tips from Elder Wirthlin that will help through trials.

3 Things to Help Conference be Not So Boring

I had this problem as a kid, and I still do have this problem today.  General Conference is great but I've always noticed something that's made it hard to listen all the time.  A bunch of old guys standing at a pulpit, speaking in very monotone voices without nothing to look at but their faces from different angles isn't exactly Hollywood cinematics.  Let's face it, sometimes conference is boring.  It's hard to stay awake at times and understand what the speakers are talking about.  I missed most of April 2011 because I fell asleep for most of it.  I know many others suffer with this same problem as well.  However I found a story in a talk from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf that really put things into perspective for me about conference. 

The story goes:

A fine member of the Church was talking with a neighbor who was not of our faith. When the topic of discussion turned to general conference, the neighbor asked, “You say you have prophets and apostles? And twice a year in a worldwide conference they reveal the word of God?”

“Absolutely,” the member replied with confidence.

The neighbor thought about that for a moment. He seemed genuinely interested and then asked, “What did they say in the last general conference?”

At this point the good member of the Church went from feeling excited about sharing the gospel to feeling embarrassed. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of the details of a single talk.

His friend found this troubling and said, “You mean to tell me that God speaks to man in our day and you can’t remember what He said?”

The brother felt humbled by this exchange. He vowed that he would do better to remember the words spoken by the Lord’s servants in general conference.

Here are 3 things that I learned that I'm going to try to help me stay awake and learn at this conference.

1.  Take Notes - I know it doesn't sound fun but I've never done it before and I've heard a lot of people say it helps you stay focused and really allows you to grasp the message of what they are saying.  Don't just write down what they said.  You will get a copy in the Ensign a month from now.  Instead write down what you feel.  Write down any personal thoughts or spiritual promptings so that you can remember them later on.  This will make the talks really personal and dear to you, I promise.

2.  Take a Friend - If you are watching it at home via whatever means, invite someone, member or non-member, to come join you.  Having someone there will really keep you awake and focused.  You will be there to answer questions and you will have someone there to ask questions to.  Also, it would be really embarrassing to fall asleep during conference if your friend is there.

3.  Pray - Prayer always works.  God cares about you, even the very simplest of things.  God has helped me through personal trials that to others might seem small but meant a lot to me.  Pray to first stay awake and then ask to have the Spirit to be receptive to the messages that will be presented.  I promise you if you ask with sincere faith and real intent, God will make this conference one of the best you've ever experienced.

Remember the story President Uchtdorf told in his talk.  People might ask you about what you learned in conference and what the Prophet has said.  You want to be able to answer boldly and truthfully right?  You want to give an answer with conviction, power, and excitement right?  Then let's all make this conference the best one yet and we will all stay awake.  I promise you that you will learn so much.  You will learn things that will help you in your own unique life.  You will feel so much better, you will be inspired.  You won't ever regret what you experienced.  I know this Church is true and that we do have a living prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.

Elder Uchtdorf's Talk