He and his wife have actively served in high-responsibility callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and their children all seem to be wonderful disciples of Christ who have strong testimonies.

I remember asking this friend what his and his wife’s secret was. How did they manage to pull this off?

Of course, he spoke with humility, not wanting to take too much credit for it, but I already knew the answer just from my observations over time.

This is a family where everyone prioritizes living the gospel. They know what it means to stay close to the Lord, they earnestly strive to do that, and as they do, the Lord stays close to them.

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

One lesson that I took from that conversation was the importance of daily scripture reading as a family. But I wondered how that might be possible in my family given our unique circumstances.

Well, with the Lord’s help, I figured something out, and this week, we finished our first reading through the Book of Mormon as a family.

Of course, life hasn’t been perfect as we’ve made this a priority. Reading the Book of Mormon didn’t prevent one of my sons from crashing into a cement wall on the school playground and chipping one of his top front teeth. It didn’t prevent my other son from wiping out on his bicycle and chipping both of his top front teeth. (Thankfully, because of the wonders of dentistry, you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at them now)

Other trials and inconveniences have arisen throughout this journey. More will certainly come.

But I have felt greater peace. I have felt greater confidence in God’s promises. I have felt a greater ability to have perspective and to appreciate all that has gone right. I have felt the fulfillment of the scriptural promise that President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated in his general conference talk last month: “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

I’m confident the commitment has been a blessing to my children as well, and at the very least, I know that I’m helping them know what they can do to be close to the Lord.

Lessons from President Eyring’s life

In his talk, President Eyring discussed two situations, one from his childhood and one from later in his life, when he noticed that promise fulfilled.

“In my youth, I experienced the joy of coming closer to the Savior — and of His coming closer to me — through simple acts of obedience to the commandments,” he said. “When I was young, the sacrament was offered during an evening meeting. I can still remember one specific night, more than 75 years ago, when it was dark and cold outside. I remember a feeling of light and warmth as I realized that I had kept the commandment to gather with the Saints to partake of the sacrament, covenanting with our Heavenly Father to always remember His Son and keep His commandments.

“At the end of the meeting that night, we sang the hymn ‘Abide with Me; ‘Tis Eventide,’ with the memorable words ‘O Savior, stay this night with me.’

“These words brought an overwhelming sense of the Spirit to me, even as a young boy. I felt the Savior’s love and closeness that evening through the comfort of the Holy Ghost.”

President Eyring continued:

“Years later I wanted to rekindle the same feeling of the Savior’s love and the closeness I had felt to the Lord during that sacrament meeting in my youth. So I kept another simple commandment: I searched the scriptures.

“In the book of Luke, I read of the third day after His Crucifixion and burial, when faithful servants had come, out of love for the Savior, to anoint His body. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away from the tomb and saw that His body was not there.”

President Eyring went on to share the account from Luke of two disciples walking from Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus and the resurrected Lord appearing to and walking with them. The two disciples didn’t know at the time it was the Savior.

“They told Him of their sadness that Jesus had died when they had trusted He would be the Redeemer of Israel,” President Eyring said.

“There must have been affection in the risen Lord’s voice as He spoke to these two sorrowful and mourning disciples.

“As I continued to read, there came these words that warmed my heart, just as I had felt when I was a little boy:

“‘And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.

“‘But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.’

“The Savior accepted that night the invitation to enter the house of His disciples. He sat at meat with them. He took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. Their eyes were opened, and they knew Him. Then He vanished out of their sight.

“Luke recorded for us the feelings of those blessed disciples: ‘And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?’

“The two disciples then rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the 11 Apostles what had happened. As they were sharing their experience, the Savior appeared again.

“He stood in the midst of them and ‘saith unto them, Peace be unto you.’ He then reviewed the prophecies of His mission to atone for the sins of all His Father’s children and to break the bands of death.”

When we draw unto the Savior, as President Eyring and his disciples on the road to Emmaus did, he draws near unto us.

This is possible for everyone. All have the opportunity to draw near unto the Lord, and all have the promise that as they do so, he will draw near unto them.

How to draw near unto the Lord

The formula for how to draw near unto the Lord isn’t complicated.

“Draw near Him by always remembering Him,” President Eyring said. “Seek Him diligently through scripture study. Ask through heartfelt prayer to Heavenly Father to feel closer to His Beloved Son.

“There is a simple way to think about it. It is what you would do if you were separated for a time from dear friends. You would find a way to communicate with them, you would cherish any message you received from them, and you would do all you could to help them.

“The more that happened, the longer it lasted, the deeper the bond of affection would be strengthened, and you would feel yourself drawing ever nearer. If much time passed without the cherished communication and the opportunity to help one another, the bond would weaken.

“Jesus Christ loves each of us. He offers that opportunity to draw closer to Him. As with a loving friend, you will do it in much the same way, by communicating through prayer to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, listening for cherished guidance from the Holy Ghost and then serving others for the Savior cheerfully. Soon you would feel that blessing of drawing nearer to Him.”

Conclusion and testimony

Closing his talk on the theme of serving others, President Eyring said:

“As you bind up the wounds of those in need, the Lord’s power will sustain you. His arms will be outstretched with yours to succor and bless the children of our Heavenly Father.

“Every covenant servant of Jesus Christ will receive His direction from the Spirit as they bless and serve others for Him. Then they will feel the Savior’s love and find joy in being drawn closer to Him.

“I am a witness of the Resurrection of the Lord as surely as if I had been there with the two disciples in the house on Emmaus road. I know that He lives.

“This is His true Church — the Church of Jesus Christ. We will, on the Day of Judgment, stand before the Savior, face to face. It will be a time of great joy for those, in this life, who have drawn close to Him in His service and can eagerly anticipate to hear His words: ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.'”

Throughout my life, I have had instances of the variety that President Eyring shared when he spoke of drawing nearer to the Lord. Sometimes, I have simply done what I knew was right and I have felt the Lord drawing closer to me. Other times, I have deliberately done something for the purpose of feeling the Lord drawing closer to me, and it has happened. There are many examples I could share. But in all situations, it is an undeniable truth that when I draw near unto the Lord, he draws near unto me.

Every time.

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