About 2 ½ years ago my Bishop at the time, Kevin Schlag, called me in to his office to let me know that I was going to be released from my calling as the Ward Relief Society president. Feeling that this would give me more time on my hands I prayed for guidance and to know what I should do with my life now. We were empty nesters and I needed to keep myself busy. I had had thoughts of pursuing a higher education. (Yes at my late age I could still go on for more). Well my answer came a few weeks later, but it was not what I expected. Brother Keith Lane, a stake high councilman, wanted to talk to me and called me to be our ward seminary teacher. I have had two dreads in my life and this was one of them. My other dread was speaking in Devotional and as you can see I couldn’t get out of that either. I had no problem being called to any other position in the ward but this was the one calling that I did not want. I wanted so badly to say no but the words that came out of my mouth were ‘yes I will do it’. All I could think about was how am I going to do this calling. My husband, who is a wonderful gospel teacher, wouldn’t be able to help me because he worked at Kaimuki High school and he left each morning at 5:00am. In my own understanding, I would be left to do this on my own. At least I didn’t have to start until after the Christmas break so I had a little time to prepare.
Elder Richard G. Scott said, “This life is an experience in profound trust – trust in Jesus Christ, trust in his teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning. To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience.” 1
I look back now on this calling and I can see now what a blessing it has been in my life.
The Lord has truly helped me to see the way I should teach my students, all 21 of them. My fellow seminary teachers who are here today know what I am saying. My prayers were answered, but not in the way that I understood it would. This experience has helped me to develop my trust and faith in the Lord. I know that after I read through the scripture passage for the day, I can ponder and think about what I have to teach and then pray to Heavenly Father for direction on how and what he wants me to teach so that my class will understand the principles that are going to be taught that day the way the Lord wants it to be done. I have woken up many nights with a clear vision on how I should present the lesson. That really helps when you only have a day to ponder and prepare. I even got help in choosing what type of scripture mastery activity we could do. As I turned to the Lord and exercised my faith in Him, I began to let Him help and guide me.
Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” 2
This year, our course of study has been the Old Testament. I have received an increased understanding of the temple endowment and other ordinances performed in the temple as we have studied the Old testament books. I have truly been blessed and had I leaned on my own understanding and not trusted in the Lord I would not have had this wonderful experience.
In 2 Kings Chapter 5 we read of Naaman who was a mighty man but he was a leper. He tried many ways to be healed of his sickness, but nothing worked. A young Israelite maid, who waited on his wife, told her mistress that there was a prophet who she knew could heal him. Naaman went to visit the prophet Elisha and fully expected Elisha to come out waving his hand and healing him of his infirmity but he didn’t. In fact, Elisha did not come at all but he sent his messenger to tell him that all he had to do was "wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean." 3 Naaman’s reply was, “Are not the Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them and be clean?...” 4 As I read this, I thought of the dirty lagoon water at the Polynesian Cultural Center and wonder how many of us would wash in that water seven times. In my younger years of dancing, I remember being in that water and once was enough for me. But here is Naaman having to do it seven times. How could washing in dirty water make him clean? In our understanding that does not seem possible. Naaman was ready to walk away from it all however, his servant, who probably had more faith in God than he, reminded him that “if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” 5 As we know he then goes and washes in the Jordan and after the seventh time his flesh was clean. Lean not unto thine own understanding.
Elder Scott tells us that “To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what he is doing with you and that he can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants in our understanding of eternal matters and their impact on us here in mortality. Yet at times, we act as if we know it all. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you.” 6
Our Heavenly Father knows us and loves us. He will not forget us. Some years ago my husband was the Athletic director at Kahuku High school and was put on paid leave due to an ineligible player on the Football team and so while they were investigating he had to stay off work. My children and I were very upset that he had to be the one to be punished and so we were very verbal to my husband telling him what he should do to get back at the school but in all this my husband continued to have faith in the Lord and told us that the Lord would take care. Our understanding was that we needed to do something to get Dad back to his job. During this time of being off the job, the Lord blessed my husband. The temple was reopening, after the extensive renovation and he was able to work as a temple worker and learn from Bro Ben Nihipali the correct way of running a shift, setting up for large sessions and just making it comfortable for the patrons who would come. He would not have been able to do this if he had still been working as AD because it is a very time consuming job.
For almost 1 ½ years that he was on leave, my husband was able to enjoy being in the temple and serving others. He did not waiver in his faith and knew the Lord would help him through this trial. He would always say the Lord will provide. We decided that he should just quit his job, since they were taking so long and not doing anything. My husband still wanted to work in the temple and we felt that if he went back to his AD job then he would have to give up being a temple worker. Besides he was getting older. So he put in his papers to return to teach with the DOE. We had decided that he should start subbing while we waited for a position to open up for him. To do this, he was going to go to the West side because they always have subbing jobs over there and this would help us maintain a steady income. His parents lived down that side so he was going to stay there during the week and return home on Fridays. In our understanding, he was going so he could continue to support our family. But while he was there, he was able to spend more time with his mother whom he had had a strained relationship with and also bond with a brother who had been adopted out to his father’s friend. This brother had come over to get some genealogy from his mother and continued to come over while my husband was there so they could bond as brothers do. They were able to have long gospel discussions as he wasn’t a member, although his wife was. My husband was able to baptize his brother’s son and we continued to work on him and be an example to him. As we looked back on this time we knew that although we had our plan, the Lord had something else in mind. We were so grateful to the Lord for giving my husband this time with his family because his mother passed away later that year and it made this time even more precious. Lean not unto thine own understanding.
When my husband started getting sick, he would never question the Lord as to why he could not get better and why this had to happen to him. He would never complain about his pain or discomfort but always tell me how grateful he was for his many blessings. One of those blessings was the opportunity to teach a few classes here at BYUH. I would be the one to complain and perhaps murmur. I petitioned to the Lord that if I served others more and if I did all that He asked of me and more, would He bless my husband and make him well again. I tried all that I could, working for others in the temple, serving those around me and always trying to help those in need. I even changed the attitude I had as I took care of my husband. I no longer looked at it as a burden or sacrifice but as though I was serving the Lord. The Lord did bless my husband but not in the way that I imagined.
The Lord decided it was time to take him to the other side. I know now that the Lord did hear my pleads and did answer my prayers but not in the way that I understood. In this trial I know that the Lord was with us. My faith and trust in the Lord had helped to strengthen me and I gained a stronger testimony of the Atonement in my life. It took on a new meaning to me as I had this experience. By trusting in the Lord I came to know that through the Atonement I could find peace and comfort. I know that the Lord will continue to bless me as I do what he wants me to do.
In Hel 5:12 it reads, “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fail.” 7
By having faith and trusting in the Lord daily we can be prepared for those times when big trials come. We can prepare and know that because of our experience that the Lord will be there for us. He knows our needs. He will not leave us alone. We just need to call on him, in faith and he will answer our prayers.
All of us, for some reason, have come to BYUH. We are not here by chance but there is a reason. Before graduation, I usually send out an email to the prospective graduates inviting them to share something unique about themselves. Usually the Commencement speakers want to know the graduates and perhaps what has brought them here to BYUH. Usually I get answers like, I have siblings who graduated from this school or I have this many kids and I am graduating, or my husband and I are graduating together. Occasionally I will get a reply that is so uplifting and so touching that it brings me to tears. One student told me that although his family were not members, his father had suggested that he come to BYUH. He had been online and came across our website and was impressed by what we offered. In his understanding he was coming to go to school and get an education but he said this experience here changed his life. Unlike many of you who have found your spouse here, he left single, but he left as a member of the church. He shared how the faculty and students and friends that he met here had helped him have an experience that he could not have had elsewhere. He left not only with a degree but with a testimony of the gospel and for that he was grateful. He knows that because he showed faith and came to BYUH that he was blessed.
When he came to the office one day, just after this, I recognized his name and talked to him more about his experience. He told me he still didn’t quite understand how or what made his father go online to check out schools, but it was a blessing in his life. Many of us do not understand why we have come here but if we trust in the Lord, keep his commandments and be obedient, the Lord will be able to guide us and direct us to do what he wants us to do.
I have been on a few road trips these past few months, visiting with my children in the mainland and visiting places that we were not too sure of. Something common in each of these trips has been the use of a little black box. The GPS. Some of you use your phones, we use the GPS, but in each case you put in your current location, then your desired address and off you go. A lot has changed since the old days when we used to use a road map. For those of you who are too young to know what a road map is….it is a piece of paper with all the highways, freeways, byways, streets and avenues listed on it. As a traveler, you would work out your route or root as you say in America, drawing lines all over this map deciding the best way to travel. A prayer for guidance and safety in your travels, and a plea that you would get to your destination would be offered and then you would go for it. Using the map you would sometimes miss the exit or take a wrong turn. An argument between driver and navigator would usually take place and then you are back on the road again. With the GPS, addresses are simply put in the device and off you go, with a little voice reminding you to …’in .2 miles take the exit on the right and stay left.” The GPS would get you to your destination. Sometimes, it will try to take you on a side route which means you go through toll roads where you need to pay to use the roads. (Those of you from California know what I am talking about). It may help you to get through with the least amount of traffic and will get you where you want to go with this toll that you have to pay. Sometimes you turn off your GPS because towards the end, you see your destination in the distance and say ‘I got it. We’re good.’ But no, perhaps you turn one street too soon and have to go back. You thought you have it but really you don’t.
I relate this experience to you because I was beginning to realize that we easily put all our trust in this GPS or these devices and we forget to trust in the Lord. We faithfully follow the GPS path, but we are not so fast in following the path that our Heavenly Father has prepared for us. When we have to pay the toll or go through trials, we hesitate and question why this or that but how many of us are willing and eager to follow the path he has given us. I know, that as we follow the path and go through these trials our Heavenly Father will be there to help us and guide us through. Let him be our GPS and allow the still small voice of the spirit guide us on our way. Lean not unto thine own understanding and He will direct our path. Always consult Him in all things and don’t turn Him off.
When Joshua led the Israelites to attack Jericho, the Lord gave him specific instructions. They were told to circle the city, once each day for six days but be quiet, don’t make any noise until Joshua told them to. On the seventh day, after walking around the city seven times and after the priests had blown their horns, the people were allowed to shout: for the Lord hath given them the city. The Israelites followed the Lord’s command with exactness and were able to take the city of Jericho. I wonder how many of us would question how it would have been possible to take the city by only doing these things. Perhaps the people did not understand the reason why the Lord wanted them to do this but they were willing to follow exactly what the Lord asked and they were able to witness the walls of Jericho fall. If only we could have this faith.
President James E. Faust tells a wonderful story in his message, The Shield of Faith, from the Liahona magazine July 2000. He tells of a heroic pioneer woman from Haun’s Mill, Amanda Smith and how she was able to do something beyond her abilities and the scientific knowledge of her time. It was in 1838 after the terrible attack on the mill, when she found her eldest son carrying her youngest son Alma and she believed that he was dead. He was not dead but had had his entire hipbone shot away. When she examined the wound she said it was a ghastly sight and she had no idea what to do so she prayed to Heavenly Father asking what she should do. These are her words ‘Oh my Heavenly Father; what shall I do? Thou seest my poor wounded boy and knowest my inexperience. Oh, Heavenly Father, direct me what to do! She said that she was directed by a voice telling her what to do. She was instructed to use the ashes of their smoldering fire and make a lye and put the cloth saturates with it right into the wound. She continued to saturate the cloth and put it into the hole and each time mashed flesh and splinters of bone came away with the cloth and the wound became as white as Chicken’s flesh. She then prayed again for direction and as she did she was instructed, as though a physician had been standing by her. This time she was told to make a poultice from a nearby slippery-elm tree and fill the wound with it. She dressed the wound as directed and added balsam to help soothe the pain. She asked her son if he believed that the Lord could make him a new hip. He asked her if she believed and she said yes because the Lord had shown her in a vision. So her son laid on his bed, flat on his face for five weeks until he was entirely healed, a flexible gristle having grown in place of the missing joint and socket. He was able to continue in his life and was never crippled, all because of the faith of his mother. 8
Elder Charles W. Penrose said, “Some people will not believe anything they cannot grasp with their human reason or cannot see with their natural eyes. But blessed is the man of faith, blessed is the woman of faith! For by faith they can see into things that cannot be discerned by the natural eyes. They can reach out to the regions of immortality, grasp eternal realities and lay hold upon things of God.”9
May we trust in God and lean not unto our own understanding. But exercise our faith and allow the Lord
to direct our path. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
[1]Elder Richard G. Scott, Trust in the Lord Nov 1995 Ensign
[2]Proverbs 3:5-6
[3]2 Kings 5:10
[4]2 Kings 5:12
[5]2 Kings 5:13
[6]Elder Richard G. Scott, Trust in the Lord Nov 1995 Ensign
[7]Helaman 5:12
[8]James E Faust, The Shield of Faith, Liahona July 2000
[9]Deseret News Semi-Weekly, 14 Sept.1880, 1