God Is a God of Miracles
I just spent May, June, July, and half August in Chicago. So much has changed in the ward in that time. We have many new families and it is clear that time has passed. Since driving my pregnant self and four kids across the country I have gone through a lot. Gentry needed to stay behind and finish up his work for two more weeks while the boys started school. Then after just over a week of him being home we decided that it would be best for us if he went to Washington DC for the month to take advantage of a work opportunity. Leaving me home to take care of all that needed to be done here. During this time I started a spiral progression down, suffering from depression. I prayed for a miracle.
Today I am going to talk about miracles. What is a miracle? Raising the dead? Walking on water? Man flying? The birth of a baby? Flowers in the spring? A loaf of bread?
The Bible Dictionary defines Miracles in part like this: “Miracles are a response to faith, and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith.”
Joseph Smith experienced a truly great miracle. At fourteen he was visited by God the father and his son Jesus Christ. As he shared this and other miracles with others he was met with skeptics and many “non-believers”. He responded as he was instructed in the scriptures. “He that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation,” (D & C 63:7) “Faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe. … Wherefore, I, the Lord, am not pleased with those among you who have sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of men unto my glory.” (D&C 63:9–12.) Faith must proceed the miracle, not be the result of it. To some it may seem preposterous that we must believe first and then ask God if it be true.
The bible dictionary concludes its definition of Miracles like this: “Miracles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If miracles cease it is because faith has ceased.”
Since faith plays such a big part of this I turned to Alma 32 to help me define Faith: “Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; Ye cannot know of their surety at first… But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.”
As I prayed for a miracle of my own only a few months ago, I knew that my Heavenly Father was aware of me and I hoped that He would answer my prayer. Now that I am through it, I can look back and see that even while asking I was in the mist of just such a miracle. I was able to talk about my struggles. I had great support from many of you. Calls checking up on me, words of encouragement and advice, opportunities of service, dinner brought to me, a loaf of bread to lift my spirits. I took action and called my doctor, and was able to quickly find relief. In my own little world I experience a great miracle.
President Spencer W. Kimball taught us with a book by the title Faith Precedes the Miracle. But there is, of course, an increase of faith that should follow the miracle as well. As a result of the many miracles in our lives, we should be more humble and more grateful, more kind and more believing. When we are personal witnesses to these wonders which God performs, it should increase our respect and love for him; it should improve the way we behave. We will live better and love more if we will remember that. We are miracles in our own right, every one of us, and the resurrected Son of God is the greatest miracle of all. He is, indeed, the miracle of miracles, and every day of his life he gave evidence of it. We should try to follow after him in that example.
Moroni quotes his father in the Book of Mormon:
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven? … Has the day of miracles ceased?” (Moro. 7:27, 35)
“I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. … [nor will they], so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved.” (Moro 7:29, 36)
God is a God of Miracles. They happen every single day. It is my prayer that we go to Him in times of need and then recognize Him in our lives. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I just spent May, June, July, and half August in Chicago. So much has changed in the ward in that time. We have many new families and it is clear that time has passed. Since driving my pregnant self and four kids across the country I have gone through a lot. Gentry needed to stay behind and finish up his work for two more weeks while the boys started school. Then after just over a week of him being home we decided that it would be best for us if he went to Washington DC for the month to take advantage of a work opportunity. Leaving me home to take care of all that needed to be done here. During this time I started a spiral progression down, suffering from depression. I prayed for a miracle.
Today I am going to talk about miracles. What is a miracle? Raising the dead? Walking on water? Man flying? The birth of a baby? Flowers in the spring? A loaf of bread?
The Bible Dictionary defines Miracles in part like this: “Miracles are a response to faith, and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith.”
Joseph Smith experienced a truly great miracle. At fourteen he was visited by God the father and his son Jesus Christ. As he shared this and other miracles with others he was met with skeptics and many “non-believers”. He responded as he was instructed in the scriptures. “He that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation,” (D & C 63:7) “Faith cometh not by signs, but signs follow those that believe. … Wherefore, I, the Lord, am not pleased with those among you who have sought after signs and wonders for faith, and not for the good of men unto my glory.” (D&C 63:9–12.) Faith must proceed the miracle, not be the result of it. To some it may seem preposterous that we must believe first and then ask God if it be true.
The bible dictionary concludes its definition of Miracles like this: “Miracles are a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If miracles cease it is because faith has ceased.”
Since faith plays such a big part of this I turned to Alma 32 to help me define Faith: “Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; Ye cannot know of their surety at first… But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.”
As I prayed for a miracle of my own only a few months ago, I knew that my Heavenly Father was aware of me and I hoped that He would answer my prayer. Now that I am through it, I can look back and see that even while asking I was in the mist of just such a miracle. I was able to talk about my struggles. I had great support from many of you. Calls checking up on me, words of encouragement and advice, opportunities of service, dinner brought to me, a loaf of bread to lift my spirits. I took action and called my doctor, and was able to quickly find relief. In my own little world I experience a great miracle.
President Spencer W. Kimball taught us with a book by the title Faith Precedes the Miracle. But there is, of course, an increase of faith that should follow the miracle as well. As a result of the many miracles in our lives, we should be more humble and more grateful, more kind and more believing. When we are personal witnesses to these wonders which God performs, it should increase our respect and love for him; it should improve the way we behave. We will live better and love more if we will remember that. We are miracles in our own right, every one of us, and the resurrected Son of God is the greatest miracle of all. He is, indeed, the miracle of miracles, and every day of his life he gave evidence of it. We should try to follow after him in that example.
Moroni quotes his father in the Book of Mormon:
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven? … Has the day of miracles ceased?” (Moro. 7:27, 35)
“I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. … [nor will they], so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved.” (Moro 7:29, 36)
2 comments:
wonderful talk April. definitely a very good reminder for me. Thanks for posting this.
Beautifully said and testified!
Mary P.
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