In the blog archives, I have laid out the case quite extensively that Jesus Christ had a posterity. It is my belief that most of them can be found in the Church in leadership roles or will be sought out by the 144K as we move towards the final events prior to the "burning" as the earth is cleansed and receives her paradisaical glory. These who will be gathered are called the "Holy Seed". Many would call them the elect. You will know many of them because they will have dark brown or black hair with blue eyes for their physical markers and other combinations of darker hair and eye color. Spiritual markers include the ability to assimilate the truth - and to hold to it. Apostasy is rare, once they take hold of the iron rod. This because they have a spark of the divine - and much more so than the average Jew or Gentile. Many of this class would be called "old souls" and are deep, thoughtful often feel "out of place" in this lowly world. Many feel as if they are just biding their time, awaiting greater things. In order to understand this subject best, you will have to read Vern Swanson's book "Holy Grail" that puts all the relevant quotes, etc from the "earlies" in one place. The source of most of those quotes was Joseph Smith. One of the best ways to understand the mind and will of the Lord, as given to His mouthpiece (and to which the early Saints could not assimilate), is to read Joseph's writings - and then those of the people he held closest to his bosom.
Many will exhibit gifts - most all of the gifts. Meaning, God gives several spiritual gifts to His children for their benefit and the benefit of others. Those who are of this "Holy Seed" will exhibit most, if not all, of those heavenly gifts - if they choose to pursue and exercise them. Gifts of charity, testimony of Christ, discernment, faith, tongues, HEALING (both to be healed and to heal). There are many others, but I have been given the previous gifts and seek to improve them. If we are given something - but do nothing with it - that talent which was given so freely, will so freely be taken if we are slothful.
The morning we found our Dallin dead, as my wife attempted CPR, the first thing I did was to call our Home Teacher. My impulse was to anoint and then to use my gift and power in my Priesthood to call our little guy back. At that point, I had not digested the meaning of all the stuff that had occurred leading up to his death - and did not know (fully) the mind and will of the Lord in the panic of that crisis. Thankfully, the 4 year old had picked up the phone and started babbling - to which I then hung up and called 911. It was not meant to be.
The impulse to call my HT and to raise this guy came from an article on Miracles that Dallin H. Oakes gave in the Ensign the month before our little guy was born (we had already decided to name him Dallin earlier). In this article, Dallin mentions the great faith of one Iohani Wolfgramm - which I later sought out and got a copy of his book - an amazing man. Not only did he raise his daughter - but he was instrumental in taking the gospel to every hamlet, village, town etc of Tonga - and also in the conversion of the King and Queen of that island-country.
Here is that article that had such an impact on me on that fateful morning - and since:
THIS ARTICLE GOT ME GOING ON IOHANI WOLFGRAMM AND CAUSED A SERIES OF
EVENTS IN MY LIFE THAT HELPED ME GET THE "RUBBER TO THE ROAD" - SO TO
SPEAK. GOTTA LOVE DALLIN OAKES - ENOUGH TO NAME A KID AFTER HIM:
Dallin H. Oaks, “Miracles,” Ensign, Jun 2001, 6
From a talk given at a Church Educational System fireside in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on 7 May 2000.
Miracles happen every day in the work of the Church and in the lives of its members.
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When
I was a college student, almost 50 years ago, Elder Matthew Cowley
(1897–1953) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to a BYU audience
about miracles. That devotional message had a great impact on me, and I
have felt to revisit its subject. Like Elder Cowley, I will seek to
provide an answer to the prophet Mormon’s question “Has the day of
miracles ceased?” (Moro. 7:35). In fact, many miracles happen every day
in the work of our Church and in the lives of our members. Many of you
have witnessed miracles, perhaps more than you realize.
A
miracle has been defined as “a beneficial event brought about through
divine power that mortals do not understand and of themselves cannot
duplicate.” 1 The idea that events are brought about through divine
power is rejected by most irreligious people and even by some who are
religious. All of us have known people who have what Elder Neal A.
Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once called “the
anti-miracle mind-set.” 2 This rejection of miracles in the last days
was prophesied. The prophet Nephi foretold that the Gentiles would “put
down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their
own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain” (2 Ne.
26:20). He also prophesied that churches would be built up in which
persons would teach with their learning, deny the power of God, and tell
the people that if someone should “say there is a miracle wrought by
the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of
miracles” (2 Ne. 28:6).
Some people reject the
possibility of miracles because they have not experienced them or cannot
understand them. In contrast, President Howard W. Hunter declared, “To
deny the reality of miracles on the ground that the results and
manifestations must be fictitious simply because we cannot comprehend
the means by which they have happened is arrogant on the face of it.” 3
Types of Miracles
The
word miracle is used in different ways. We sometimes say that any
happening we cannot explain is a “miracle.” To me, a computer is a
miracle. So are cell phones and space travel. But these wonders are
explainable by physical laws understood by some mortals. I call them
miracles because I do not personally understand them and therefore
cannot duplicate them at will.
Another category of
miracles, so-called, are the tricks that some magicians and religious
practitioners stage in order to produce astonishing events in aid of
their professions or ministries. You will remember that the magicians in
Pharaoh’s court duplicated some of the miracles Moses produced through
the power of God (see Ex. 7–8). Perhaps these magicians were servants of
the devil, using his power, but I think it more likely that they were
simply skilled practitioners of magic tricks that they used to reinforce
their position in Pharaoh’s court.
Religious
practitioners have employed similar deceptions in our own day. About 40
years ago a professional dramatic production planned for a midwestern
city had to be postponed because the producers could not find enough
professional actors to perform the required roles. A great religious
revival was under way in that city, and I was told the revivalists had
hired all of the available professional actors to portray miraculous
healings and conversions to enhance their position and goals with their
audiences. Before we are too critical of such techniques, we should
remember that we engage in similar deceptions whenever we exaggerate a
happening in order to dazzle an audience into thinking we have
experienced a miracle or to enhance our stature in other ways. Warning!
We
know from the scriptures that persons without authority will use the
name of Jesus Christ to work what seem to be miracles. The Savior taught
that as part of the Final Judgment many would say, “Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and
in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt. 7:22). You will remember
that these pretenders were rejected by the Lord (see Matt. 7:23).
Not
every manifestation or miracle comes from God or from mortal deception.
The adversary has great powers to deceive, and he will use these to
give his corrupted copy of the genuine miracles worked by the power of
God. I will say no more of this, since I believe it is not desirable to
say much about the powers of the evil one. It is sufficient for us to
know that his power exists and that we have been warned against it (see
Rev. 13:11–14; D&C 28:11; D&C 50:1–3). 4
I
will now describe two types of genuine miracles. These two fit all of
the elements of the definition: they are brought about by divine power,
mortals do not understand them, and mortals cannot duplicate them of
themselves.
First, miracles worked by the power of the
priesthood are always present in the true Church of Jesus Christ. 5 The
Book of Mormon teaches that “God has provided a means that man, through
faith, might work mighty miracles” (Mosiah 8:18). The “means” provided
is priesthood power (see James 5:14–15; D&C 42:43–48), and that
power works miracles through faith (see Ether 12:12; Moro. 7:37). The
scriptures contain many accounts of such miracles. Elijah’s raising the
widow’s son and Peter’s healing of the lame man are two familiar
examples from the Bible (see 1 Kgs. 17:8–24; Acts 3), and there are many
others. I will describe some modern examples later.
A
second type of genuine miracle is the miracle worked through the power
of faith, without specifically invoking the power of the priesthood.
Many of these miracles occur in our Church, such as by the prayers of
faithful women, and many occur outside it. As Nephi taught, God
“manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of
the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people,
working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men
according to their faith” (2 Ne. 26:13; see also 1 Ne. 7:12; James
5:15).
Macro-Miracles
Some miracles affect many
people. The ultimate such miracle is the Atonement of Jesus Christ—His
triumph over physical and spiritual death for all mankind. No miracle is
more far-reaching or more magnificent.
Other
far-reaching miracles—impossible to explain by rational means—occur as a
result of obedience to the commandments of God. Thus, there is
something miraculous about the way the members of our Church pay their
tithing so faithfully and are blessed for doing so.
To
cite another far-reaching miracle, there is no rational way to explain
why young men and women give a year and a half to two years of their
lives in the middle of their education and marriage eligibility to
suffer the hardships incident to an inconvenient and highly disciplined
pattern of missionary service to their fellowmen. Other miracles occur
in funding missions by missionaries or families too poor to do so but
who do so anyway.
Still another miracle is the way
missionaries are protected during their labors. Of course we have
fatalities among our young missionaries—about three to six per year over
the last decade—all of them tragic. But the official death rates for
comparable-age young men and women in the United States are eight times
higher than the death rates of our missionaries. In other words, our
young men and women are eight times safer in the mission field than the
general population of their peers at home. In view of the hazards of
missionary labor, this mortality record is nothing less than a miracle.
Other
large-scale miracles are occurring in the Church’s family history work.
The effect of our FamilySearch™ Internet Genealogy Service in the time
it has been available is truly miraculous. After one year our Internet
site averaged eight million hits per day, representing daily visits by
about 130,000 persons. In this same one-year period, the site registered
users from 117 countries who downloaded over 410,000 copies of our
Personal Ancestral File. This was an eight-fold increase in usage over
the prior technology. Family history work is exploding in a miraculous
way.
Micro-Miracles
In contrast to these
far-reaching miracles are the more familiar categories of miracles that
impact only a few individuals. The scriptures abound with such miracles,
and miracles as great as these still occur. I have seen them, and so
have you. Elder Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), then of the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles, said:
“We do have miracles today—beyond imagination! …
“What
kinds of miracles do we have? All kinds—revelations, visions, tongues,
healings, special guidance and direction, evil spirits cast out. Where
are they recorded? In the records of the Church, in journals, in news
and magazine articles and in the minds and memories of many people.” 6
Most
of us are acquainted with miracles that have occurred in our personal
lives and the lives of those we love, such as miracles involving births
and deaths and miraculous healings. All of these are fulfillments of the
Lord’s modern promise to “show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all
those who believe on my name” (D&C 35:8).
When Miracles Don’t Happen
I
have been speaking of miracles that happen. What about miracles that
don’t happen? Most of us have offered prayers that were not answered
with the miracle we requested at the time we desired. Miracles are not
available for the asking. We know this from the Lord’s revelation
directing that the elders should be called to lay hands on and bless the
sick: “It shall come to pass that he that hath faith in me to be
healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed” (D&C
42:48). The will of the Lord is always paramount. The priesthood of the
Lord cannot be used to work a miracle contrary to the will of the Lord.
We must also remember that even when a miracle is to occur, it will not
occur on our desired schedule. The revelations teach that miraculous
experiences occur “in his own time, and in his own way” (D&C
88:68).
Why Don’t We Hear More about Miracles?
Why
don’t our talks in general conference and local meetings say more about
the miracles we have seen? Most of the miracles we experience are not
to be shared. Consistent with the teachings of the scriptures, we hold
them sacred and share them only when the Spirit prompts us to do so.
The
revelation on priesthood affirms the biblical teaching in Mark 16:17
that “signs,” including miraculous healings and other wonderful works,
“follow them that believe” (see also D&C 84:65). Similarly,
modern revelation directs that “they shall not boast themselves of these
things, neither speak them before the world; for these things are given
unto you for your profit and for salvation” (D&C 84:73).
Another revelation declares, “Remember that that which cometh from above
is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the
Spirit” (D&C 63:64). President Brigham Young explained,
“Miracles, or these extraordinary manifestations of the power of God,
are not for the unbeliever; they are to console the Saints, and to
strengthen and confirm the faith of those who love, fear, and serve God,
and not for outsiders.” 7
Latter-day Saints generally
follow these directions. In bearing testimonies and in our public
addresses we rarely mention our most miraculous experiences, and we
rarely rely on signs that the gospel is true. We usually just affirm our
testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel and give few
details on how we obtained it. Why is this? Signs follow those that
believe. Seeking a miracle to convert someone is improper sign seeking.
By the same token, it is usually inappropriate to recite miraculous
circumstances to a general audience that includes people with very
different levels of spiritual maturity. To a general audience, miracles
will be faith-reinforcing for some but an inappropriate sign for others.
There
are good reasons why we do not seek conversions by exhibiting signs.
“The viewing of signs or miracles is not a secure foundation for
conversion. Scriptural history attests that people converted by signs
and wonders soon forget them and again become susceptible to the lies
and distortions of Satan and his servants (Hel. 16:23; 3 Ne. 1:22, 3 Ne.
2:1, 3 Ne. 8:4.). …
“In contrast to the witness of the
Spirit, which can be renewed from time to time as needed by a worthy
recipient, the viewing of a sign or the experiencing of a miracle is a
one-time event that will fade in the memory of its witness and can dim
in its impact upon him or her.” 8
President George Q.
Cannon (1827–1901), who served for more than a quarter century in the
First Presidency, observed: “It has been a matter of remark among those
who have had experience in this Church that where men have been brought
into the Church by such manifestations, it has required a constant
succession of them to keep them in the Church; their faith has had to be
constantly strengthened by witnessing some such manifestations; but
where they have been convinced by the outpouring of the spirit of God, …
they have been more likely to stand, more likely to endure persecution
and trial than those who have been convinced through some supernatural
manifestation.” 9
Sharing Miracles
Although we
are generally counseled not to speak of sacred things like the miracles
we have witnessed, there are times when the Spirit prompts us to share
these experiences, sometimes even in a setting where our account will be
published. The miracles written in the scriptures were obviously
intended to be shared, usually to strengthen the faith of those who
already believed. Modern servants of the Lord have also felt impressed
to describe miraculous events to strengthen the faith of believers. Many
of these have been published. I have chosen to share some of these
here.
A few years after the pioneers arrived in the
Salt Lake Valley, a young man took an ox team up Millcreek Canyon on a
cold winter day to get logs to build a house. It was extremely cold, and
the snow was deep. His sled held five large logs. After he loaded the
first one, he turned around to load another. In that instant, the log
already on the sled—22 feet long and about 10 inches in diameter—slipped
off the sled and rolled down on him, striking him in the hollow of his
legs. He was thrown face-forward across the four logs still on the
ground and pinned there, alone, with no way to extract himself. He knew
he would freeze to death and die alone in the mountains.
The
next thing this young pioneer remembered was waking up, sitting on a
load of five logs nicely bound on his sled with his oxen pulling the
load down the canyon. In his personal history he wrote, “Who it was that
extricated me from under the log, loaded my sled, hitched my oxen to
it, and placed me on it, I cannot say.” 10 Thirty-three years later,
that young pioneer, Marriner Wood Merrill, was ordained an Apostle.
Many
miracles happen to aid individuals in pursuing their personal family
histories. In an issue of the Church News, a woman told how she returned
to her ancestral home in Japan to seek information about her ancestors.
After finding nothing in official records, local libraries, and
cemeteries, she gave up and was driving away empty-handed when she
became lost and somehow drove past a cemetery she did not know existed.
From the car window she saw a familiar name on a tombstone, stopped, and
found many markers with the information she sought.” 11
Miraculous
healings through priesthood blessings and the prayer of faith are
familiar to most of us. An experience related in the Friend magazine is
typical. During his early childhood, Elder John M. Madsen was afflicted
with double pneumonia. After examining the little boy, a doctor told his
parents he could do nothing for him and offered no hope that he would
live through the night. Soon the child sank into unconsciousness. When
his mother felt for his pulse and could find none, she prayed fervently,
and the father gave the dying child a priesthood blessing. Immediately
he recovered consciousness and began to feel better. 12
In
his great talk on miracles, Elder Matthew Cowley tells of several
miraculous healings, including this one that occurred while he was
serving as a mission president among the Maori people of New Zealand.
One
Sunday a father brought a nine-month-old baby forward to Brother
Cowley, requesting that he give him a name and a blessing. Here I quote
Brother Cowley:
“I said, ‘All right, what’s the name?’
So he told me the name, and I was just going to start when he said, ‘By
the way, give him his vision when you give him a name. He was born
blind.’ It shocked me, but then I said to myself, why not? Christ said
to his disciples when he left them, ‘Greater things than I have done
shall you do.’ (See John 14:12.) I had faith in that father’s faith.
After I gave that child its name, I finally got around to giving it its
vision. That boy is about twelve years old now. The last time I was back
there I was afraid to inquire about him. I was sure he had gone blind
again. That’s the way my faith works sometimes. So I asked the branch
president about him. And he said, ‘Brother Cowley, the worst thing you
ever did was to bless that child to receive his vision. He’s the meanest
kid in the neighborhood; always getting into mischief.’ Boy, I was
thrilled about that kid getting into mischief!” 13
President
Gordon B. Hinckley shared another miracle in the restoration of sight:
“I recall once when I arrived in Hong Kong I was asked if I would visit a
woman in the hospital whose doctors had told her she was going blind
and would lose her sight within a week. She asked if we would administer
to her and we did so, and she states that she was miraculously healed. I
have a painting in my home that she gave me which says on the back of
it, ‘To Gordon B. Hinckley in grateful appreciation for the miracle of
saving my sight.’ I said to her, ‘I didn’t save your sight. Of course,
the Lord saved your sight. Thank Him and be grateful to Him.’ ” 14
As
I said earlier, the Lord works miracles in response to the faith of His
children. No denomination—not even the restored Church—has a monopoly
on the blessings of the Lord. He loves and blesses all of His children.
In
an airport one day I picked up a copy of the Dallas Morning News. My
eyes were drawn to a columnist’s report of a letter detailing a
remarkable miracle. The writer’s five-year-old granddaughter, Heather,
suddenly became feverish and lethargic. She breathed with difficulty,
and her lips turned blue. By the time she arrived at the hospital, her
kidneys and lungs had shut down, her fever was 107 degrees, and her body
was bright red and covered with purple lesions. The doctors said she
was dying of toxic shock syndrome, cause unknown. As word spread to
family and friends, God-fearing people from Florida to California began
praying for little Heather. At the grandfather’s request, a special
prayer service was held in their Church of Christ congregation in Waco,
Texas. Miraculously, Heather suddenly came back from the brink of death
and was released from the hospital in a little over a week. The
columnist concluded that Heather “is living proof that God does answer
prayers and work miracles.” 15
We do not usually speak
of spiritual gifts as a miracle, but sometimes the effect of a spiritual
gift is miraculous. For example, many missionaries who must learn a new
language are blessed with the gift of tongues. Most often this gift
merely accelerates the normal process of learning, but sometimes its
effect is so immediate that it can only be called a miracle. A young
mission president experienced this in the South Pacific in 1913. John
Alexander Nelson Jr. spoke Samoan but not Tongan. When he arrived for an
assignment in Tonga, he found that he had been scheduled to speak to a
congregation of 300 Wesleyan Methodists. He began in faith by speaking a
few sentences of greeting he knew in the Tongan language, and then
suddenly found himself continuing to speak in Tongan. He spoke without
hesitation for nearly an hour “as fluently as any native.” 16
Eric
B. Shumway’s book Tongan Saints: Legacy of Faith describes many other
miracles experienced in those islands of faith. For example, in the
midst of the furious hurricane that devastated Vava’u in 1961, a Tongan
father reasoned that he had priesthood power to heal a body and saw no
reason why he could not also “heal” the raging storm. Brother Shumway
writes, “His dramatic blessing at the peak of the hurricane saved his
home and the people who took refuge there.” 17
In
another experience, heavy ocean waves were crashing onto a beach at a
time when the missionaries had scheduled some baptisms. An elder
“stepped out and blessed the ocean, commanding it to be still so these
sacred ordinances could be accomplished.” Almost instantly the ocean
calmed down and five people were baptized. Then as the party started up
the path from the ocean, “the waves came crashing in again over the very
spot the sacred ordinances were held.” 18
One of the
greatest miracles we can imagine is for someone to be brought back to
life after being dead for a time. So it was with Lazarus, whom Jesus
raised (see John 11:17, 39–44). So it has been with others in our day.
The
miracle of raising someone from the dead is so exceptional and so
sacred that those who have been privileged to see it should never speak
of it publicly unless the Spirit specifically induces them to do so. Our
published literature contains two such examples I can share. The first
is from the Matthew Cowley talk that impressed me so deeply when I was a
student at BYU. I quote:
“I was called to a home in a
little village in New Zealand one day. There the Relief Society sisters
were preparing the body of one of our saints. They had placed his body
in front of the big house, as they call it, the house where the people
come to wail and weep and mourn over the dead, when in rushed the dead
man’s brother. He said, ‘Administer to him.’ And the young natives said,
‘Why, you shouldn’t do that; he’s dead.’ ‘You do it!’ …
“The
younger native got down on his knees and he anointed this man. Then
this great old sage got down and blessed him and commanded him to rise.
You should have seen the Relief Society sisters scatter. He sat up and
said, ‘Send for the elders; I don’t feel very well.’ … We told him he
had just been administered to, and he said, ‘Oh, that was it.’ He said,
‘I was dead. I could feel life coming back into me just like a blanket
unrolling.’ He outlived the brother that came in and told us to
administer to him.” 19
Another sacred experience is
related in the book Tongan Saints. It happened while Elder ‘Iohani
Wolfgramm and his wife were serving a mission in their native Tonga,
presiding over a branch on an outlying island. Their three-year-old
daughter was accidentally run over by a loaded taxi. Four of the
occupants of the taxi sorrowfully carried her lifeless body to her
parents. “Her head was crushed and her face was terribly disfigured.” 20
The sorrowing helpers offered to take the little girl’s body to the
hospital so the doctors could repair her severely damaged head and face
for the funeral. I now quote the words of her father, Elder Wolfgramm:
“I told them I did not want them to take her but that I would ask God
what I should do and, if it was possible, to give her life back.” 21
The
helpers took the little girl’s body into the chapel. Elder Wolfgramm
continued: “I asked them to hold her while I gave her a priesthood
blessing. By then the curious people of the village were flocking in to
see our stricken little daughter. As I was about to proceed with the
administration, I felt tongue-tied. Struggling to speak, I got the
distinct impression that I should not continue with the ordinance. It
was as if a voice were speaking to me saying: ‘This is not the right
time, for the place is full of mockers and unbelievers. Wait for a more
private moment.’
“My speech returned at that moment and
I addressed the group: ‘The Lord has restrained me from blessing this
little girl, because there are unbelievers among you who doubt this
sacred ordinance. Please help me by leaving so I can bless my child.’ ”
22
The people left without taking offense. The grieving
parents carried the little girl to their home, put her body on her own
bed, and covered her with a sheet. Three hours passed, and her body
began to show the effects of death. The mother pleaded with the father
to bless her, but he insisted that he still felt restrained. Finally,
the impression came that he should now proceed. I return to his words:
“All
present in the home at that moment were people with faith in priesthood
blessings. The feeling of what I should do and say was so strong within
me that I knew Tisina would recover completely after the blessing.
Thus, I anointed her head and blessed her in the name of Jesus Christ to
be well and normal. I blessed her head and all her wounds to heal
perfectly, thanking God for his goodness to me in allowing me to hold
his priesthood and bring life back to my daughter. I asked him to open
the doors of Paradise, so I could tell her to come back and receive her
body again and live. The Lord then spoke to my heart and said, ‘She will
return to you tomorrow. You will be reunited then.’ ” 23
The
parents spent an anxious night beside the body of the little girl, who
appeared to be lifeless. Then, suddenly, the little girl awoke, alive
and well. Her father’s account concludes: “I grabbed her and examined
her, her head and face. They were perfectly normal. All her wounds were
healed; and from that day to this, she has experienced no complications
from the accident. Her life was the miraculous gift from Heavenly Father
during our missionary labors in Fo’ui.” 24
Miracles I Have Experienced
I have seen quite a few miracles during my Church service. I feel I can share two of them at this time.
I
had an experience with the gift of tongues in the newly opened country
of Bulgaria. In November 1990 we sent missionaries into Bulgaria. A
handful of elders entered from Serbia, without any contacts or training
in the Bulgarian language. Through their labors and the blessings of the
Lord, we soon had 45 Bulgarian members.
In April 1991 I
went to Bulgaria with Area President Hans B. Ringger and mission
president Dennis B. Neuenschwander. There, most of our members and about
150 investigators assembled in an attractive civic building in Sofia
for a fireside at which I was to speak. My interpreter was Mirella
Lazarov, a newly baptized member in her 20s. The audience included many
professional people and some government officials. I had prayed
fervently for guidance in this talk but had little time for preparation.
I
began by telling the audience about The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and how we differed from other Christian churches. I
then felt impressed to speak about the Apostasy, which I did in some
detail. In doing so, I completely forgot that I was speaking through an
interpreter who had been a member only five months and had almost no
background in the subject of the Apostasy. Forgetful of this, I made no
attempt to speak in simple terms but made extensive use of the
unfamiliar English words involved in a detailed explanation of the
Apostasy and the Restoration.
After the crowd had
departed, Sister Lazarov tearfully told me of her unique experience in
translating my talk. Despite her fluency in English, she sometimes heard
me speak words or express thoughts she did not understand in English.
She said that whenever this happened, “another voice” spoke through her
so she found herself using words or explaining concepts in Bulgarian
that she did not understand in English. I told her to cherish this
experience and testify of it to others. She had experienced the gift of
tongues in a classic circumstance in which the Lord gives a spiritual
gift to one person so that others of His children can be edified and His
work can be forwarded (see D&C 46:9).
I
experienced another miracle during an attempted military coup to
overthrow the government of Philippine president Corazon Aquino in
December 1989. 25 Many persons were killed in nearly a week of heavy
fighting between rebel and loyal government troops. A principal site of
this fighting was Camp Aguinaldo, which adjoins our temple in Manila.
During
the first day of the attempted coup, gunfire and bombing could be heard
from our temple. That night the road in front of the temple was
occupied by rebel armored vehicles, trucks, and many soldiers. With the
coming of daylight on Saturday, these rebel forces exchanged gunfire
with the loyal government troops in Camp Aguinaldo. Opposing aircraft
fired rockets and dropped bombs.
At about 3:00 p.m.
Saturday afternoon, the rebel soldiers breached the gate of the temple
and occupied our temple grounds. At this time we had five Philippine
employees there: three security men and two custodians. Our temple
president, Floyd H. Hogan, instructed them by phone not to resist the
soldiers entering the temple grounds or the temple annex, which housed
auxiliary facilities like name processing, but to secure the temple and
take cover there. The man in charge, Brother Espi, later wrote that he
worked to develop a good relationship with the rebel soldiers to
convince them that even though they wanted to get access to the temple,
“because of the sacred nature of the temple, they should not try to
enter.”
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning there
were almost continuous exchanges of gunfire between the government
troops in Camp Aguinaldo and the rebels around the camp, including those
occupying our temple grounds. Brother Espi later wrote: “We all thought
that we are on our own but still asked our Heavenly Father to
strengthen each one of us and to spare the temple from being
desecrated.”
Others were praying too. In his later
report, Area President George I. Cannon wrote: “The Sunday when the
rebellion was going on was fast Sunday. Throughout the Philippines the
members were praying and fasting for the temple, for the members, and
for the missionaries.”
Sunday morning a government
helicopter gunship appeared and strafed the vicinity of the temple, but
retreated because of stiff resistance from the rebels’ 50-caliber
machine guns. About noon that day an air force plane dropped several
bombs that hit the residence house near the temple. Bomb fragments broke
windows in the temple annex.
Sunday evening Manila
radio reported that the Mormon temple was in rebel hands but that a
government force was moving in to drive them out. At that report,
President Hogan, the temple president and a retired colonel in the U.S.
military, went into action himself. He made the dangerous walk from the
temple president’s home to the assembling government troops. There he
found that their commander had given the rebels one hour to surrender
and planned to attack them at 11:00 p.m. His force included armored
personnel carriers, heavy mortars, and at least 150 soldiers, who
believed they outnumbered and could easily defeat the rebel force in the
temple annex. But their attack would obviously employ extensive heavy
weapons and rifle fire and would cause great damage to the temple
facilities. President Hogan argued with the commanding officer that if
he would only wait until daylight, the rebels might abandon the temple
grounds and no attack would be necessary. The commander insisted that he
had to follow his orders, and President Hogan was not able to contact
the general who had given the order to see if he would rescind it.
During
this time I was the member of the Quorum of the Twelve whom the
Philippines Area President contacted for help at headquarters. Thirty
minutes before the 11:00 p.m. Manila deadline, Area President George I.
Cannon phoned me to report that our temple annex and grounds were the
last remaining rebel stronghold in Manila and the army had massed
artillery and troops for an assault at any moment. He said he had done
all he could through the Philippine government and the American
ambassador to discourage the attack, but without success. It was then
7:30 a.m. Sunday in Salt Lake City.
By a remarkable
coincidence—one of those happenings that cannot be coincidental—the
First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had scheduled an
unusual meeting that Sunday morning. At 8:00 a.m., 3 December, just 30
minutes after I received that alarming report from Manila, the assembled
First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve bowed in prayer and pleaded
with the Lord to intervene to protect His house. Elder Marvin J. Ashton
led our prayer. As we prayed, it was 11:00 p.m. Sunday evening in
Manila, the exact hour appointed for the assault.
The
attack never came. Twenty minutes after our prayer, President Cannon
phoned Church headquarters to report that the military commander had
unexpectedly decided against a night assault. Early the next morning,
Philippine time, President Hogan phoned to say that the rebels had
melted away during the night. I recorded in my journal, “I consider this
a miracle of divine intervention no less impressive than many recorded
in holy writ.”
On Monday morning President Hogan
inspected the temple annex. It had shrapnel marks and many broken
windows on the north side, but inside, none of its locked rooms had been
entered. The temple itself had not been entered and was not damaged. A
total of six mortar or rocket shells had exploded inside the temple
grounds. From their trajectory, President Hogan concluded that some of
these shells had to have passed between the spires of the temple. The
patron housing building under construction nearby had been hit by four
or five rockets and had sustained extensive damage. The Manila temple
opened for normal sessions the next day.
A week later I
received a letter from the Philippine ambassador to the United States,
Emmanuel Pelaez, whom I had recently hosted at Church headquarters. His
letter explained how he had worked behind the scenes, as soon as he
learned that our temple was threatened, to urge the Philippine military
to “do everything possible” to spare this sacred building from damage.
After the fighting was over, they had reported to him that “they were
careful in their counter-shelling, so as not to cause damage” to the
temple. 26 I concluded that the Lord had worked behind the scenes
through these government servants to save His house.
When
I was in the Philippines a few months later, I personally inspected the
temple and grounds and found that despite all of the shelling and
exchanges of gunfire within a few feet of this sacred edifice, it was
completely unmarked by any shell fire except for one bullet hole,
apparently a single stray rifle shot, at the top of the highest steeple.
As President and Sister Donald L. Hilton of the Philippines Manila
Mission wrote in a letter sent to their missionaries, “an unseen army of
angels assisted faithful temple guards that the temple was not
desecrated.”
The Greatest Miracle of All
I have
spoken about miracles. I have given illustrations of miracles in the
Church as a whole and in many different circumstances involving a few
individuals or a crisis of weather or war. But the greatest miracle is
not in such things as restoring sight to the blind, healing an illness,
or even raising the dead, since all of these restorations will happen,
in any event, in the Resurrection.
Changing bodies or
protecting temples are miracles, but an even greater miracle is a mighty
change of heart by a son or daughter of God (see Mosiah 5:2). A change
of heart, including new attitudes, priorities, and desires, is greater
and more important than any miracle involving the body. I repeat, the
body will be resurrected in any event, but a change affecting what the
scripture calls the “heart” of a spirit son or daughter of God is a
change whose effect is eternal. If of the right kind, this change opens
the door to the process of repentance that cleanses us to dwell in the
presence of God. It introduces the perspective and priorities that lead
us to make the choices that qualify us for eternal life, “the greatest
of all the gifts of God” (D&C 14:7).
My dear
brothers and sisters, I pray that each one of us may experience and
persist in that miracle of the mighty change of heart, that we may
realize the destiny God has prescribed for all of His children and the
purpose of this Church to bring to pass the eternal lives of men and
women. This is the Church of Jesus Christ, and He is our Savior, our
Redeemer, and our Resurrector. We are His spiritual children,
spiritually begotten by His sacrifice in Gethsemane and on Calvary and
possessing the opportunity to qualify for eternal life. May God bless us
to do so.
Let’s Talk about It
Most Ensign
articles can be used for family home evening discussions. The following
questions are for that purpose or for personal reflection:
1. What is the purpose of miracles?
2. Why is it unwise to base our testimonies upon miracles?
3. When is it appropriate or inappropriate to discuss miracles we have witnessed?
4. Why is a “mighty change of heart” a great miracle?
[illustration] Jesus Healing the Blind, by Carl Heinrich Bloch, det Nationalhistoriske på Fredericksborg, Hillerød
[illustration] “Such As I Have, I Give Thee” by Walter Rane
[illustrations] Paintings by Amy Davis
Notes
1. In Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. (1992), 2:908.
2. See “Not My Will, But Thine” (1988), 25.
3. Ensign, May 1989, 16.
4. See also Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 202–15.
5. See George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth (1987), sel. Jerreld L. Newquist, 151–52.
6. “The Significance of Miracles in the Church Today,” Instructor, Dec. 1959, 396.
7. Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe (1998), 341.
8. Dallin H. Oaks, The Lord’s Way (1991), 87.
9. In Deseret News Semi-Weekly, 15 Feb. 1882, 1.
10. Marriner Wood Merrill, in Jeaneen Merrill Anderson, “Pinned to the Ground,” Church News, 6 Sept. 1997, 16.
11. See Keiko Teshima Fuller, “Treasure in Tombstones,” Church News, 18 Mar. 2000, 16.
12. See Rebecca Todd Archibald, “Friend to Friend,” Friend, Mar. 2000, 6.
13. Miracles, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year (5 Apr. 1966, rebroadcast from a speech delivered 18 Feb. 1953), 9.
14. Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley (1997), 343.
15. “Sometimes, ‘Miracles’ Are Just That,” Dallas Morning News, 30 Jan. 2000, p. 31A.
16. Eric B. Shumway, trans. and ed., Tongan Saints: Legacy of Faith (1991), 45.
17. Tongan Saints, 14.
18. Tongan Saints, 84.
19. Miracles, 9.
20. Tongan Saints, 88.
21. Tongan Saints, 88.
22. Tongan Saints, 88.
23. Tongan Saints, 89.
24. Tongan Saints, 89.
25.
The facts recited here are based on written reports in the Historical
Department Archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
and in the personal journal of Dallin H. Oaks.
26. Letter dated 11 Dec. 1989.
THIS BLOG ATTEMPTS TO SHOW HOW SCIENCE IS CATCHING UP WITH REVEALED RELIGION
THIS BLOG IS AN ATTEMPT TO PUT ALL THE COOL STUFF THAT I BUMP INTO ABOUT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST AND EVENTS THAT LEAD UP TO IT INTO ONE LOCATION.
THE CONTENTS WILL BE FROM AN LDS PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN HERE, I DO NOT PARTICULARLY CARE TO ARGUE, UNLESS YOU CAN ADD TO THIS BODY OF WORK. I HAVE AN OPEN MIND, THAT IS WHY I READ STUFF FROM ALL DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND SEEK LEARNING FROM THE BEST BOOKS. I JUST AM NOT HERE TO ARGUE ABOUT IT - BUT TO PUT IT OUT THERE WHERE OTHERS CAN PERUSE/PURSUE IT. I TAKE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HONEST SEEKERS OF TRUTH AND BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE IS REVEALED RELIGION'S BEST ALLY. YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF TOPICS IN THIS BLOG THAT SHOW SCIENCE BACKING - AND SLOWLY CATCHING UP WITH - REVEALED RELIGION.
ENJOY!!
THE CONTENTS WILL BE FROM AN LDS PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ANYTHING IN HERE, I DO NOT PARTICULARLY CARE TO ARGUE, UNLESS YOU CAN ADD TO THIS BODY OF WORK. I HAVE AN OPEN MIND, THAT IS WHY I READ STUFF FROM ALL DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND SEEK LEARNING FROM THE BEST BOOKS. I JUST AM NOT HERE TO ARGUE ABOUT IT - BUT TO PUT IT OUT THERE WHERE OTHERS CAN PERUSE/PURSUE IT. I TAKE PARTICULAR INTEREST IN HONEST SEEKERS OF TRUTH AND BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE IS REVEALED RELIGION'S BEST ALLY. YOU WILL SEE ALOT OF TOPICS IN THIS BLOG THAT SHOW SCIENCE BACKING - AND SLOWLY CATCHING UP WITH - REVEALED RELIGION.
ENJOY!!
Good stuff bro'. Fantastic faith promoting stories! A feast for the soul.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for yours and your wife's loss and heart wrenching experience. Would to God I could take away the pain and sorrow. I cannot. I mourn with you.
But on the flip side brother. Hold on. Little Dallin is surely a most powerful warrior who was taken back to become a protector for your family in the latter days. The day is coming when it will all be a distant memory never to be cried about again. God will see to that. Just hold on. All of this surely points to how special your entire family is and that God, who knows the end from the beginning is smiling knowing the outcome. Keep loving Him and praising Him and TRUSTING Him. HUGS!
Miracles are are still prevalent. The sick are still healed and the dead are still raised. Those who deny these things deny Christ.
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