The hardest part of trusting in the Lord, explained President Steven C. Wheelwright during BYU-Hawaii’s opening devotional of the Spring Term, is learning how to trust the Lord. President Wheelwright continued his tradition of speaking at the first devotional of the academic term on April 21 by sharing “one of the fundamental principles that will help prepare you for exaltation and godhood,” he said.
“Like many of you,” explained President Wheelwright, “I found myself in need of learning to trust in the Lord.” President Wheelwright explained his own experiences in college, especially his long road toward making the decision to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Wheelwright shared three important principles about trusting in the Lord:
1) Perspective
2) Gratitude
3) Engagement
He then explained how he has seen these principles in the lives of those he knows that trust in the Lord.
To help the students understand his point, President Wheelwright analyzed the story of Joseph of Egypt from the Book of Genesis. Joseph was betrayed by his eleven older brothers and sold into slavery, where, through the help of the Lord, Joseph became the head of Potiphar’s household and eventually the most trusted servant in the house of Pharaoh.
Before this happened, however, Joseph “was part of a covenant family, sealed to his parents and living the gospel, and he knew that he was the ‘favored son’,” explained President Wheelwright. “At the time, this was his perspective. And that perspective must have given him a certain level of confidence in his future and a clear sense of opportunity and destiny.”
When Joseph became a servant of Potiphar, the Lord blessed him for his gratitude. “Here is our second common element of learning to trust in the Lord: gratitude. Joseph had every right to resent his circumstances, and the Lord for allowing them, and yet he remained grateful, a clear sign of his humility and faith,” said President Wheelwright.
Joseph’s actions in making the best out of his situation and proving himself worthy of high positions in both Potiphar’s and Pharaoh’s houses show his ability to engage.
“Joseph’s humility and faith, shown in his perspective, gratitude and engagement, allowed the Lord to direct his paths in ways he could never have thought possible,” summarized President Wheelwright.
He then shared his own personal experiences with trusting in the Lord and the positive consequences that resulted. When called to serve as the mission president in the London England Mission, the Wheelwrights sold their home in Boston, because they would retire to their home in Utah after they returned from their three years of service. However, near the end of their mission they felt the Lord wanted them to return to Boston. They found a new home close to where they had previously lived in Boston and began renovating and improving it.
“Then, one Sunday afternoon, while waiting to meet with the stake president, I received a strong impression from the Spirit that we needed to move. I was shocked! Another move was not in our plans and it made absolutely no sense, given my limited perspective. Yet I knew I had been told that we needed to move.”
President Wheelwright then shared how he and Margaret found a new house across the street from their old house, and while there they rekindled a friendship with an elderly lady, Barbara, who was an inactive member of the LDS Church. In this sense, President Wheelwright explained that Sister Wheelwright engaged. Because they followed the Lord’s promptings and trusted Him, the Wheelwrights were able to befriend Barbara’s dying daughter, who was baptized as a result of their missionary service and then passed away just three months after her baptism from stomach cancer.
“We felt in a very small way like Joseph of Egypt,” explained President Wheelwright. “We didn’t know the Lord’s plan, but we trusted him. And with his guidance we were able to save a small family struggling with spiritual hunger at a critical time in their lives.”
President Wheelwright then explained that the students, in order to be able to trust in the Lord, need to develop a “spiritual perspective.” He said, “Humility and faith will be required as we pray frequently, study our scriptures daily, and participate in weekly church activities.”
He also quoted some advice from Elder Richard G. Scott on developing character, which we develop by our daily choices and patterns: “Faith will forge strength of character available to you in times of urgent need. Such character is not developed in moments of great challenge or temptation. That is when it is used. Character is woven patiently from threads of principle, doctrine, and obedience. ... Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to obediently respond to the direction of the Spirit. … It is more important than what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished. It allows you to be trusted.”
He then continued by applying these principles to a serious choice prevalent in the mind of college students: marriage. While the world’s advice is to wait, the Lord has a different timetable. President Wheelwright then quoted Elder Dallin H. Oaks to help prove his point: “Do not rely on planning every event of your life—even every important event. … Plan, of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you through no matter what happens. Anchor your life to eternal principles, and act upon those principles whatever the circumstances and whatever the actions of others. Then you can await the Lord’s timing and be sure of the outcome in eternity.”
President Wheelwright then said, “Learning to trust in the Lord–both regarding what to do and when to do it– is something you can make great progress on during your time here at school. Whether it is in connection with a life changing decision or whether it is simply one of those small, daily acts, His message is clear. If we will trust in Him with all out heart and acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths.”
“In these challenging and troubled times, we all need the guidance of our loving Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son. And they desire to provide that guidance, if we will but follow them and trust in them.”
“We have been warned and forewarned by God’s living prophets. And we have been blessed with the opportunity to be at this wonderful institution at this special time in each of our lives and to have a testimony of the Gospel and its restoration. His work and glory is indeed to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. May we each show our appreciation for all we’ve been given by diligently learning to trust in the Lord and follow His guidance in all of life’s paths is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
-Photo by Monique Saenz