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Bill and Dianna Neal Devotional: Take the Next Step

Your being here required the Lord's hand, considerable effort, sacrifice, and a series of many steps on your part to prepare you for this experience, began Bill Neal, BYU–Hawaii Assistant to the President, in a devotional speech titled, "Take the Next Step," which was held at the Cannon Activities Center on May 5; he shared the podium with his wife Dianna Neal, BYU–Hawaii Adjunct Professor, and they took turns addressing two key points—examining where you are in your spiritual journey and taking the next step in that journey.

They shared several learning experiences they have had with students over the years. Sister Neal found her family history class memorable when a graduating student mentioned he was leaving this campus with a bachelor's degree, a stronger testimony, and a Book of Remembrance he could reflect on for years. Brother Neal saw his one-on-one student mentoring process help an at-first struggling student to confidently outline the course he would take, post-graduation. The key to success in each case was found in a progressive movement forward in a series of smaller, incremental "next steps."

Sister Neal then quoted Spencer W. Kimball: "Let us trust the Lord and take the next steps in our individual lives. He has promised us that He will be our tender tutor, measuring what we are ready for." That growth, she noted, paraphrasing Kimball, was the key to major growth in the church and the gospel; that growth gives purpose to our lives and ultimately leads to happiness.

They then compared the relatively obscure beginning the Church encountered to our own individual spiritual journeys that began for many at a very young age in the home.

Brother Neal noted that their grandson, Trevor, "is at an age where his parents don't encourage taking toys to church." On a Fast and Testimony Sunday, Trevor took paper and crayon and wrote his testimony out: "I know this church is true. I know to read and say my prayers." He summed, "[Trevor's] parents were helping him take his first step by writing his testimony, and then continuing forward and upward by sharing his testimony."

Although not everyone that comes into the gospel may have Trevor's budding experience, he noted that Gordon B. Hinckley's counsel addressed every facet of membership: "The challenge which faces every member of this Church is to take the next step, to accept that responsibility to which he is called even though he does not feel equal to it, and to do so in faith with the full expectation that the Lord will light the way before him."

Brother Neal then stated that he understood this challenge. He reflected on his and his wife's own conversion experiences—she was raised in a Catholic home, and he was raised a Methodist; his grandfather was a Methodist minister.

It was through small, but important, steps that they were led into the gospel of Jesus Christ: while working on his doctoral degree they sought for a church to attend together, met the Litchfords in graduate school, were given a Book of Mormon, met the missionaries, received blessings—pointedly Brother Neal after breaking bones in his hand in a car accident, chose baptism after diligently seeking the Lord through prayer and fasting, received patriarchal blessings, and then received their temple endowments and were sealed for time and eternity.

He noted, "You can see there were a series of many steps—some small ones, some giant leaps—that we needed to take and each occurred line upon line and each moved us forward and upward in our relationship with Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ." The climb, he stated, was not yet complete and they "still [had] a long way to go and a lot to learn."

Sister Neal found that over the years the Lord was ready for her to grow and take bigger steps. A calling that she felt least prepared for but grew to love was as a ward family history consultant. As a result, she began genealogical research, and, in 2006 they were in Croatia researching her family records. In quick succession, they found a translator, migrated up the winding mountain roads, and found a remote parish where her grandparents lived prior to emigrating to the U.S.

Brother Neal noted, "The priest there gladly shared with her the heavy, old books containing handwritten names and data of her Croatian ancestors. And with the aid of a state of the art copier in his office, the priest offered to make copies of these precious pages for her."

From her experience, Sister Neal has "learned that the Spirit of Elijah is real, and allows for the hallowed work of this dispensation to go forward, sometimes in leaps instead of just steps." The work has been a deep and fulfilling joy for her—in helping her Croatian ancestors vicariously in their next steps toward their own eternal progression.

Brother Neal summed, "It's been our intent today to reflect on our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ [in] ways in which we can draw even closer and to recognize His hand in our lives, in His desire to strengthen that relationship. During our busy lives as student, faculty, and staff, we often get so involved in the day-to-day distractions that we may forget the importance of our spiritual progress." To these thoughts, he added Marion G. Romney's: "While the Lord will magnify us in both subtle and dramatic ways, he can only guide our footsteps when we move our feet."

--Photo by Monique Saenz

Click here to see a copy of Bill & Dianna Neal's talk