For the last month, my ward assistant executive secretary has called me and asked me and my wife to say the opening and closing prayer at sacrament meeting but something was always coming up, whether a family reunion or some other event. Finally after having a free Sunday to make it to church, my wife and I were asked today, after another call last night, to offer the invocation and benediction. It just so happened that my wife woke up with a terrible sore throat and couldn't make it to church so I made the call to let them know she couldn't come. I was still requested to offer the closing prayer so off I went.

It has been very easy lately to find excuses not to attend church or any of the block meetings with the struggles that I've been through in my life. The economy has hit me hard and with so much on my mind and on my plate, it would have been all to easy to sleep in. Had I backed out of my assignment I would have missed several very particularly poignant talks and testimonies.

At sacrament meeting, a return missionary share some experiences from his service in San Francisco. One particular experience is about an investigator of the church who never missed a meeting for as long as he was investigating the church, but missed one Sunday. The economy caused him to send whatever money he had home and try and live on what few dollars he had left and was left with a choice of either having some food for the day or paying for the bus fare to attend church. This investigator had decided to have some food and skip church. That day, the elder and his companion had been given an exceptional amount of food by ward members that left them stuffed with much more food than they knew what to do with. Had this investigator decided to sacrifice whatever meal he planned to have in order to attend church, he would have had food to last him the rest of the week. The way had been prepared and he missed it.

After Sunday school, despite having been uplifted somewhat, I had decided that I didn't really need to go to my last class, which being the 5th Sunday of the month, was probably going to be some fluffy piece about who knows what. I walked out the doors and headed to my truck, still not feeling particularly good about all the struggles in my life. Still, something inside prodded me to go back inside. Three times I distinctly felt the words inside me say, "Go back!". I tried ignoring the promptings but sat in my truck. I really just wanted to go home. But how often are such promptings so often repeated so strongly? I know I wasn't talking to myself. Reluctantly I set my scripture bag on the passenger seat, hopped out of my truck, locked the door behind me and walked back to the building and found my way to class. I sat down and listened to my stomach grumble incessantly.

After a small opening hym, my neighbor, who has a very strong testimony, is a very gifted speaker, rich with experiences and testimony was given the assignment to give the lesson. This is the kind of man who has such a deep love of the gospel and the Savior that it is impossible not to be edified by his words or touched by the Spirt. He talked to us about Joseph Smith and his struggles in life. Without going into all the details, I will only share one particular quote that hit me like a ton of bricks. It was his opening thought. He quoted Joseph Smith:

If I had not actually got into this work and been called of God, I would back out. But I cannot back out: I have no doubt of the truth.

We discussed how generous and kind Joseph Smith was to his fellow man regardless of his faith or creed and how strong he was in the service of the Lord. We also talked about how difficult the early saints had it and how much they struggled and still stood under condemnation by the Lord (D&C). It made me reflect on all the resources available to me as a latter day saint and still take for granted that I live within a short driving distance of multiple temples.

Finally the first councelor of the bishopric stood to close with his thougths and he shared about running late this morning, tripping over things and thinking how tough things are right now and the pain he was in and that he was too old to be getting up to get started. He shared with us about how he thought I can't do this! then he shared with us a voice that he felt inside tell him "Who told you you can't?" After the meeting he related to me another experience and I realized just how much there are strong forces at work to try to discourage us and bring us down to failure. I realized that I have been listening to the wrong voices for a small while now. I also realized that I am not the only one in my ward who is really struggling and facing all sorts of opposition. I am not alone.

This series of events begining with a small calling to say a prayer in sacrament meeting testifies to me that although there are unseen forces at work, determined to bring me down, there are also unseen forces just as hard at work trying to keep me on the straight and narrow. I know that God is trying to reclaim me just as he is trying to reclaim us all. His voice is still and soft, while the voice of opposition screams in my ear, constantly telling me it's not worth it, it's too hard, I can't do it, etc. It is so easy to listen to the voice of opposition and to yield to the unseen force that tries to tell me to take it easy and skip church or not be as valiant in anything so spiritually important. We sang "Praise to the man" at the end of class and the Spirit touched my heart to the point of tears.

Had I been like the investigator mentioned above who may never know how much food and nourishment he gave up, I would have given up very important spiritual nourishment of my own and never known it. It makes me wonder how many blessings I have given up because I listened to the wrong voices and took the easier path. I'm making it through this day a winner. The forces of the Lord have won a small battle today and have brought me just that much closer to the Lord. It is still a difficult war and my soul is at stake. But I know in whom I can trust. Like Joseph Smith, I once said to myself that there is no way I'd be doing all this if I knew the church wasn't true. There's just no way. But because I know it is true and I have no doubt, I know what is at stake. Like Joseph, I have no doubt of the truth and how important the Lord's work is and also my part in it. I will press on, inch by inch. I will never let the voice of opposition tell me that I can't or that it isn't worth it. I must persevere. I will persevere.

D&C 121:7-8

7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Tags: Opposition