President Emerson Carnavale
Washington Stake President
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
During my last message, I touched on applying and strengthening the safe-guards in our spiritual life, so today, I would like to expound on this counsel.
Our lives are busy. Technology has improved the way we communicate, and how we get things done. I believe technology has made our lives better, but it has also consumed our attention. Today, it is common to see someone sitting in doctor’s waiting room with their phones in hand scrolling through thousands of images. Even when we are waiting for a green light in traffic, we have our phones at close distance, so that we can quick check for any notifications. Any quiet moment we have today, we are urged to fill it with the endless content found in the readily accessible technology.
Brothers and Sisters, we need quiet time. We must practice being able to just think. We must set aside time each day to ponder. It revitalizes and refocus our brains. It is also in these quiet times that we are taught by our Heavenly Father. The primary hymn “If I Listen with My Heart” teach us this wonderful principle in these words “…And if I listen with my heart, I hear the Savior's voice.” We can learn much from this primary hymn regarding listening and learning. If you like to hear the whole song, here is a link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aotsgBhwVTc.
In fact, we can learn much from our primary children regarding listening. Because of their innocence and purity, children are more in tune with the Spirit’s way of communicating. Even physically, they are better at hearing than adults.
A couple of months ago, we were visiting with some good friends here in town, and they were telling us that they had bought this device that made a high pitch sound that scared animals away from doing their “business” in their front yard. We were inspecting this device by turning it on and off unbeknown to us of the sound it was emitting. We couldn’t hear anything. Then, one of the children came down and said, there was this really annoying high pitch sound and asked if we knew where it was coming from. We realized then that the adults in the house were not able to hear that sound, only the children could hear it. With what we learn from this primary song, I wonder how much more our children listen to the whisperings of the Spirit in their hearts?
In our Come, Follow Me lesson for this week, we were reminded of a talk given by Elder Durant where he taught one of his family’s tradition to “ponderize” a scripture for a week. In this tradition, his family would focus on memorizing and pondering about that scripture daily—individually and as a family. Print outs of this scripture would be placed in visible parts of the home and even in Brother Durant’s car. This was a reminder for them to think about what they are learning that week. It was also a way to add positivity to their daily busy lives.
Brothers and Sisters, I would like to invite you and your family to join my family in selecting a scripture per week that we can study and ponder about. There are many wonderful scriptures in our weekly come follow me lessons—an option would be to pick that scripture right from that week’s lesson. Especially nowadays, we need a quiet time to ponder these sacred words and allow our Heavenly Father to teach us and answer our prayers.
Reading and pondering the scriptures can be a resource to protect our families. It is a safe-guard that has been prepared for us. As you study it daily, it will bring you peace and hope even in troubled times. I love this video from President Nelson reminding us that if we are focused and prepared, we can find joy even in hard times.
Brothers and Sisters, we love you and pray for you. We pray that our Heavenly Father will pour his choicest blessings upon you and your family. Be faithful and full of hope. Our Father in Heaven is aware of everything that happens in our lives and “He will direct our paths.”
Love,
Pres. Carnavale
Washington Utah Stake
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