Photo supplied, Intellectual Reserve

In a Brigham Young University devotional on Oct. 21, 1986, titled “Meek and Lowly,” Neal A. Maxwell, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, made the following comment:

“Astonishingly, to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, it is clear that the Father and the Son are giving away the secrets of the universe! If only you and I can avoid being offended by their generosity.”

This comment was referenced by Russell M. Nelson, current president of the church, during an address titled “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives” at the April 2018 general conference of the church. Prior to mentioning Elder Maxwell’s comment, President Nelson said, “I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that ‘if thou shalt (seek), thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things — that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.’ Oh, there is so much more that your Father in heaven wants you to know.”

I couldn’t help but think of Elder Maxwell’s teaching, and President Nelson’s reference of it, as I listened to and pondered the talk delivered by Elder David A. Bednar, current member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, at last month’s general conference.

In his talk, titled “‘Be Still, and Know That I Am God,'” Elder Bednar discussed what he called “a higher and holier dimension of stillness in our lives — an inner spiritual stillness of the soul that enables us to know and remember that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.” This stillness is not about simply being quiet or not moving.

Photo supplied

Such stillness is of tremendous value to us in an environment overwhelmed by commotion and turmoil. I consider the instruction on how to obtain that kind of stillness as one of those secrets of the universe Elder Maxwell mentioned.

If you hear the word “still,” you might think of a passage in the Old Testament. Psalm 46:10 reads, in part: “Be still, and know that I am God.” That counsel also was given to Joseph Smith, founder and first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as part of a revelation included in the 101st section of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Doctrine and Covenants is described by the church as “a book of scripture containing revelations from the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith and to a few other latter-day prophets.” The revelation came in 1833 at a time when Latter-day Saints were suffering tremendous persecution in Missouri.

The revelation, recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 101:16, reads:

“Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.”

Elder Bednar suggested that the intent behind the Lord’s admonition to “be still” is “for us to remember and rely upon him and his power ‘at all times and in all things, and in all places that (we) may be in.'” He continued, “Thus, ‘be still’ may be a way of reminding us to focus upon the savior unfailingly as the ultimate source of the spiritual stillness of the soul that strengthens us to do and overcome hard things.”

I want to go back to some words that were used by Elder Bednar earlier in his address, words he used as he explained what this stillness enables us to know. He said it “enables us to know and remember that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.” That specific knowledge was a critical component in Elder Bednar’s address because it was repeated multiple times. I consider Elder Bednar’s talk to be the perfect how-to guide on how to obtain that knowledge.

First, he talked about building the spiritual foundation of our lives on Jesus Christ.

“True faith is always focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ — in him as the divine and only begotten Son of the Eternal Father and on him and the redemptive mission he fulfilled,” Elder Bednar said.

He added:

“Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, our mediator and our advocate with the Eternal Father and the rock upon which we should build the spiritual foundation of our lives.”

When I was on my Latter-day Saint mission in Taiwan, it was not uncommon for me to hear people explain that Jesus was simply a good person and a good teacher, no different from any other historically revered person. To listen to some of the commentary, one would think Jesus did nothing truly special and was not worthy of any special gratitude and admiration.

When I think of all that Jesus is, as Elder Bednar taught, I know there is no person or no thing better to build the foundation of my life on.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

“But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world …” (1 Peter 1:18-20)

Jesus was perfect, which allows him to be the perfect support for us so “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 fall.” (Helaman 5:12)

Elder Bednar explained that our foundation is secured to Christ through covenants and ordinances.

“Every time we faithfully receive, review, remember and renew sacred covenants, our spiritual anchors are secured ever more firmly and steadfastly to the ‘rock’ of Jesus Christ,” he said.

Today, my 8-year-old son will be getting baptized and confirmed as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m excited for him because I know he will be blessed by anchoring himself to the “rock” of Jesus Christ. I don’t remember much about my own baptism, but I remember how I felt after it was over. It’s the first memory I have of feeling the Holy Ghost, which came in the feeling of peace. I just knew I had done the right thing.

“Incrementally and increasingly ‘in process of time,’ ‘virtue (garnishes our) thoughts unceasingly,’ our ‘confidence (waxes stronger and stronger) in the presence of God’ and ‘the Holy Ghost (is our) constant companion,'” Elder Bednar said. “We become more grounded, rooted, established and settled. As the foundation of our lives is built upon the savior, we are blessed to ‘be still’ — to have a spiritual assurance that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.”

To further help us understand how to “be still,” Elder Bednar discussed the Sabbath day, church meetings, temples and the home.

“Our ongoing Sabbath, temple and home experiences should fortify us with the power of the Holy Ghost, with an ongoing and stronger covenant connection to the Father and the Son, and with ‘a perfect brightness of hope’ in God’s eternal promises,” he said.

Regarding the Sabbath, he said, “(The) Sabbath is God’s day, a sacred time set apart to remember and worship the Father in the name of his Son, to participate in priesthood ordinances and to receive and renew sacred covenants. Each week, we worship the Lord during our home study and also as ‘fellowcitizens with the saints’ during sacrament and other meetings. On his holy day, our thoughts, actions and demeanor are signs we give to God and an indicator of our love for him. Every Sunday, if we will, we can be still and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.”

I was discussing the Sabbath day with one of my sons this week as we talked about the appropriateness of a specific activity on that day. I told him that the Sabbath was supposed to be a unique day where one refrained from leaving the home to seek entertainment like one would feel comfortable doing on any other day. I told him that it is for that reason that despite my intense football fandom, I had never once been to an NFL game. Since a vast majority of NFL games are played on Sundays, I have had little opportunity to attend. I told him that it’s not like going to an NFL game is inherently bad, but it’s simply not the environment I want to be in on a Sunday afternoon.

Where I want to be is related to Elder Bednar’s next point.

“A central feature of our Sabbath worship is to ‘go to the house of prayer and offer up (our) sacraments upon (the Lord’s) holy day,'” he said. “The ‘house(s) of prayer’ in which we gather on the Sabbath are meetinghouses and other approved facilities — holy places of reverence, worship, and learning. Each meetinghouse and facility is dedicated by priesthood authority as a place where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell and where God’s children may come ‘to the knowledge of their Redeemer.’ If we will, we can ‘be still’ in our holy places of worship and know ever more surely that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.”

I can always tell a difference when I go to church and when I don’t go to church. Even if my reasons for not going are justified because I’m sick, or because I have sick kids who I need to stay home with, I feel I missed something important and my spirit is not as uplifted as it otherwise would have been had I been at church. Every time I am at church, I am able to “know ever more surely that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.”

We continue to be blessed with more temples. The Layton Temple will be dedicated in June, and not too long thereafter, the Syracuse Temple will be dedicated as well.

“The temple is another holy place specifically set apart for worshipping and serving God and learning eternal truths,” Elder Bednar said. “We think, act and dress differently in the house of the Lord from any other places that we may frequent. In his holy house, if we will, we can be still and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.”

Without fail, every single time I am in the temple, I am able to “be still and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.”

Last, but definitely not least, there’s the home.

“Our homes should be the ultimate combination of both sacred time and holy place wherein individuals and families can ‘be still’ and know that God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior,” Elder Bednar said. “Leaving our homes to worship on the Sabbath and in the house of the Lord certainly is essential. But only as we return to our homes with the spiritual perspective and strength obtained in those holy places and activities can we then sustain our focus upon the primary purposes of mortal life and overcome the temptations so prevalent in our fallen world.”

Impactful words on the importance of our homes were spoken by President Nelson during an April 2021 general conference talk titled “What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget.”

“You may feel that there is still more you need to do to make your home truly a sanctuary of faith. If so, please do it!” President Nelson said. “If you are married, counsel with your wife as your equal partner in this crucial work. There are few pursuits more important than this. Between now and the time the Lord comes again, we all need our homes to be places of serenity and security.

“Attitudes and actions that invite the Spirit will increase the holiness of your home. Equally certain is the fact that holiness will vanish if there is anything in your behavior or environment that offends the Holy Spirit, for then ‘the heavens withdraw themselves.’

“Have you ever wondered why the Lord wants us to make our homes the center of gospel learning and gospel living? … As faith and holiness decrease in this fallen world, your need for holy places will increase. I urge you to continue to make your home a truly holy place ‘and be not moved‘ from that essential goal.”

Elder Bednar and President Nelson both used the words “fallen world.” Do we hear that and recognize even more clearly the importance of the home being a place where we can “be still”?

The struggles that come with life can be difficult to deal with. Sometimes, they seem impossible to overcome. But despite all that happens, there is a secret to being still and knowing that “God is our Heavenly Father, we are his children and Jesus Christ is our savior.” Elder Bednar let us all in on it.

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @rbcomer8388 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rbcomer8388.

Newsletter