Conversations with Heavenly Father - Understanding the Answers

Learning what to ask for, and how and when to ask our Heavenly Father are important lessons to learn.  But learning to understand the answers that we receive is another difficult lesson.

Dee Barrett is the Institute director at the USU Institute and taught at Education Week.  The things he taught about prayer have really given me cause for reflection.  Using the story of the brother of Jared as an example, he taught about three kinds of answers to prayers.  When the brother of Jared was instructed to build barges so that his people could cross the great ocean, he followed instructions and got them built, but came back to the Lord with 3 problems.  (Ether 2:19)

1. There is no light
2. We can't steer
3. We can't breathe.

The Lord answered each of these problems in a different way.

Pattern #1 - Behold thou shalt - In answer to "we can't breathe", the Lord instructed the brother of Jared in verse 20 to solve the problem by putting a hole in the top and the bottom and unstopping the hole if they ran out of air.  (Brother Barrett mentioned some different theories about how the barges were constructed which would explain how this solution might have worked.)  The Lord uses this pattern when we can't find an answer in any other way.  He just lays out the solution for us. His inspiration will "occupy [our] mind, and press itself upon [our] feelings . . .(D&C128:1)  We might be impressed to do something but not know exactly what.  If we're patient and keep listening, the answer will come.  Many times the answer will come a bit at a time.  When we have followed through on what we have been given, then we should return and report and ask for inspiration for the next step.

Pattern #2 - What will ye that I should do?  In Ether 2:22, the brother of Jared returned and reported on his progress with the barge problem.  He asked the Lord what to do about the lack of light in the barges.  He was willing to do whatever the Lord required, including making the trip in darkness, if that was what was necessary.  The Lord responded by asking, "What will ye that I should do . . .?"  The Lord explained the parameters of the problem, i.e. no fire, no windows, etc.  Then He turned the problem back over to B of J.

This answer is the hardest for us to discern and the hardest to work through, but we should be grateful when this is the answer that comes to us, because it shows the Lord's faith in us.  He expects us to use our creativity, to "study it out".  Elder Scott said: "What do you do when you have prepared carefully, have prayed fervently, waited a reasonable time for a response, and still do not feel an answer? You may want to express thanks when that occurs, for it is an evidence of His trust." (March 1997)  He also said:  "When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with His teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act."  (October 1989)
He's teaching us here that we need to move forward with our best plans, asking for direction as we move.  If we're going in the wrong direction, the Lord will prompt us to stop.  Here's what Elder Scott had to say about it.  "When you are living worthily and your choice is consistent with the Savior’s teachings and you need to act, proceed with trust. As you are sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought will come, indicating an improper choice, or the peace or the burning in the bosom will be felt, confirming that your choice was correct. When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision."  (Ensign May 07)

Elder Packer teaches something similar:  "We believe in continuing revelation, not continuous revelation. We are often left to work out problems without the dictation or specific direction of the Spirit. That is part of the experience we must have in mortality. Fortunately, we are never out of our Savior’s sight, and if our judgment leads us to actions beyond the limits of what is permissible and if we are listening to the still, small voice, the Lord will restrain us by the promptings of his Spirit."


Pattern #3 - He will handle it.  There are times when the Lord just tells to stand back and watch.  In this case, B of J was told that they wouldn't need to steer the barges.   "For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth. And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come." (Ether 2:24-25)   And in D&C 123:17, the Lord says: " . . . stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."  The Lord steered the barges.  Sometimes in our lives, the Lord steers and we walk in faith.