Trust

A travel experience, but there’s a message in there somewhere…

Chrissie and I took an amazing trip to Scotland last month. We saw the sights, had new adventures, and revelled in the beauty there.

One of our experiences was unlike anything we’ve ever done before. While planning the trip, I stumbled across a restaurant in Glasgow that had a curious concept. I was able to book a table, but had to do it several months in advance, because it was new and abuzz.

The concept? Diners show up to the restaurant with no idea what they will be served. No menus, no ordering. You simply trust what the chef cooks for you that night in a five-course tasting menu. Yes, a picket-eater’s worst nightmare.

Does that sound scary? In all honesty, we were a little trepidatious – enough that I looked at my reservation email to see what it would take to cancel. ($40 same-day cancellation fee!) So we decided just to bite the bullet and go for it.

We arrived and a hostess showed us to our table. The waitress took drink orders and then explained how things would work. There was a menu on the table, but it was in a black envelope that was only to be opened after the meal. She asked us if we had any food allergies or if we had any strong aversions to any specific foods (like crazy people who won’t eat fish, etc.). We said “no” to both.

She gave us a pen and a form where we could jot down what we thought we were eating and compare it to the menu at the end. With that as the introduction, we sat back and waited to be served. We were nervous, wondering if it would be weird or yucky.

Turns out it was neither weird nor yucky. All five courses were creative, tricky to decipher, and delicious! It was a wonderful meal and a fun experience. After it was over, we compared our guesses to the menu. We were pleased to see that we got a lot of it right, but we were way off target on some of it.

It was a great experience for us. The reason? We made the conscious decision to trust the chef and just go with it. It paid off, and it is a great memory from our trip.

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Last weekend, we had the privilege of watching all 10 hours of General Conference (With no E.R. visits!). I say this almost every time, but it really was wonderful. I found it to be one of the best conferences in a long time. Could be the talks, could be the circumstances, could be me, but I really felt it in a very real, strong way.

General Conference is important to me. It is a priority. One reason is that I go into it expecting to hear truth from the Lord’s servants. I expect to hear what the Lord wants me to hear. How?

A long time ago, I made a conscious decision to trust that the Lord’s servants would teach me truth, truths that the Lord wants me to hear. I also chose to trust that the Spirit could and would confirm what I received. I have never been disappointed by that decision, and I was not disappointed this year.

It was a feast.

Just two years ago, President Nelson encouraged us to “Seek guidance from voices you can trust—from prophets, seers, and revelators and from the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, who ‘will show unto you all things what ye should do.” (link)

I memorized Proverbs 3:5-6 almost fifty years ago, and it still is one of the most significant scriptures I know. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

But it doesnt stop there.

Just last Saturday, Elder Rasband gave a masterful talk about the doctrinal nature of the Family Proclamation. In his talk, he reinforced D&C 1:38, “As the Lord has said, “Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (link)

It is no coincidence that this equivalence is introduced in the very first section of Doctrine & Covenants, because it impacts everything that follows – both in that tome of scripture and the words of the living prophets.

If we make the conscious decisions to trust the Lord’s servants and treat their words as we would the voice of the Savior, our quest for knowledge is so much easier. We can go into General Conference with a willing heart, ready to listen, learn, feel, and accept what is being taught.

If we don’t make that decision, suddenly everything is up for grabs, and has to be verified line-by-line, concept-by-concept. We “lean unto our own understanding,” and faith is not in play.

It boils down to two choices. Either:

1. We believe that the voice of the prophet(s) is the same as the Lord’s voice, and trust it, or,
2. The Brethren speaking to us are merely wise, elderly men, sharing their opinions with us and the world.

Elder Neil A. Anderson said this:

“In the commotion and confusion of our modern world, trusting and believing in the words of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve is vital to our spiritual growth and endurance. President Henry B. Eyring once said: “The choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future…Every time in my life when I have chosen to delay following inspired counsel or decided that I was an exception, I came to know that I had put myself in harm’s way. Every time that I have listened to the counsel of prophets, felt it confirmed in prayer, and then followed it, I have found that I moved toward safety.” (link) (Eyring)

Now it’s time to dig in and review the talks and teachings from last week’s General Conference. If you haven’t already, make the conscious decision to trust the words of the Lord’s servants, and you will find it to be a continuation of last week’s feast.

And it was a feast.