“And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul” (Helaman 5:30)
When I was younger I remember feeling as though I didn’t really have a testimony. I believed what I had been taught, and I wanted to feel like I knew it was true, but I had never had that big moment. You know, that moment that you “always” heard about in testimony meetings or read about in the New Era or the friend magazine. That moment where the spirit hits you like a brick wall and all doubt is erased. I hadn’t had my “brick wall” moment and I was waiting for it to come, but wondered if it ever would. I still often feel like I am just stumbling through this life. I make plans and decisions and I pray about them, but rarely do I receive the kind of confirmation I want or expect. More often than not it is just a feeling that I need to keep moving forward. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t and usually I can see the Lord’s hand in it all from the other side.
But what I have learned is that those big momentous experiences with the Spirit are the exception, not the rule. Most of the time the whisperings of the spirit come in quiet moments answering one of the millions of questions my future lawyer children ask me every day. Or they float through in a moment of peace washing over me in my nightly prayers – releasing anxiety I didn’t even know I was holding inside. They nudge my thoughts gently toward a person I hadn’t thought of in a long time or a memory resurfaces out of the blue. Joy D. Jones said in our most recent General Women’s Conference, “We may seldom, if ever, receive huge spiritual manifestations in our lives; but we can frequently savor the sweet whisperings of the Holy Ghost verifying the truth of our spiritual worth.” (“Value Beyond Measure,” General Women’s Conference, October 2017)
Our Heavenly Father loves us unconditionally. We have worth simply because we are His. If we take the time to slow down and pay attention, we will recognize the gentle whisper of the Spirit confirming this to us every day.
Meditation/Journaling Prompt: Notice and take the time to write down the small whisperings of the Spirit today–moment of peace, joy and reassurance sent from your Father who loves you.
