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Showing posts with label David P. Homer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David P. Homer. Show all posts

Monday, May 5, 2025

she needed to attend church long enough to break the habit of not coming

 Several months ago, a stake president and I visited a sister in his stake and her young adult son. After years away from the Church, wandering difficult and unfriendly paths, she had returned. During our visit, we asked her why she had come back.

“I had made a mess of my life,” she said, “and I knew where I needed to be.”

I then asked her what she had learned in her journey.

With some emotion, she shared that she had learned that she needed to attend church long enough to break the habit of not coming and that she needed to stay until it was where she wanted to be. Her return was not easy, but as she exercised faith in the Father’s plan, she felt the Spirit return.

And then she added, “I have learned for myself that God is good and that His ways are better than mine.”

I bear witness of God, our Eternal Father, who loves us; of His Son, Jesus Christ, who saved us. They know our hurts and challenges. They will never forsake us and know perfectly how to succor us. We can be of good cheer as we trust Them more than anyone or anything else.

October 2024
General Conference
David P. Homer

Saturday, January 23, 2021

Many voices invited him into the cynical fringe, but he chose not to go.

 And so, we need to decide which among all the different voices we will obey. Will we follow the unreliable voices advocated by the world, or will we do the work required to allow our Father’s voice to guide us in our decisions and protect us from danger? The more diligently we seek His voice, the easier it becomes to hear. It is not that His voice gets louder but that our ability to hear it has increased. The Savior has promised that if we “hearken unto [His] precepts, and lend an ear unto [His] counsel,” He “will give [us] more.” I testify that this promise is true—for each of us.

Nearly a year ago, we lost my older brother in a tragic automobile accident. John’s early years were full of promise and accomplishment. But as he grew older, a broken body and uncooperative mind made life very difficult. While the healing he hoped for didn’t come in this life, John nonetheless held to his faith, determined to endure, as best he could, to the end.

Now, I know that John was not perfect, but I have wondered what it was that gave him such endurance. Many voices invited him into the cynical fringe, but he chose not to go. Instead, he did his best to anchor his life at the gospel center. He lived his life there because he knew he would find the voice of his Master there; he lived his life there because he knew it was there that he would be taught.

April 2019
2010–2019
David P. Homer

Learning [and experiencing] the Many ways the [The Spirit] Speaks to us is a lifelong quest.

 The Spirit speaks to different people in different ways, and He may speak to the same person in different ways at different times. As a result, learning the many ways He speaks to us is a lifelong quest. Sometimes, He speaks to our “mind and in [our] heart” in a voice that is small yet powerful, piercing “them that … hear to the center.” Other times His impressions “occupy [our] mind[s]” or “press … upon [our] feelings.” Other times our bosom will “burn within [us].” Still other times He fills our souls with joy, enlightens our minds, or speaks peace to our troubled hearts.

April 2019
2010–2019
David P. Homer

If we spend too much time in faithless places, seemingly well-intended voices deprive us of the spiritual oxygen we need.

 If we spend too much time in faithless places, seemingly well-intended voices deprive us of the spiritual oxygen we need.

April 2019
2010–2019
David P. Homer