Elder Holland in the House

I had the awesome opportunity last night to be in the presence of an apostle of the Lord, and I feel so grateful.  It’s been a long time since I’ve felt the Spirit so strongly.  I didn’t even know how much I was missing it; I guess I’d forgotten what an amazing feeling it is.  I think that recently I’ve gotten lackadaisical about my scripture reading, prayers, church, etc. - doing it all, but kinda just going through the motions.  I’m so grateful to Elder Holland for living in such a way that the presence of the Spirit is so strong with him that I could feel it that powerfully just by being in the same room as him and listening to him speak.  I’m also grateful to a loving Heavenly Father, that through repentance and obedience and diligence, I’m capable of always having the companionship of the Spirit in my life.

Elder Holland told a story from the book of Acts.  Jesus Christ had just been crucified.  The apostles of the church had only been called months before.  Christ’s church was brand new (at least in that time), and now they didn’t have Christ to walk and talk with them, and lead them.  As an apostle, he spoke about how difficult that would be, especially for Peter, to have to be the mortal leader of this church that was facing so much persecution, when he himself was just a recent convert.  So, he did what we should all do when we don’t know what to do (didja follow that? ; ) - he went to the temple.  On the way there, he and John passed by a beggar who had been “lame from his mother’s womb” who was “carried [and] laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Bountiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.  Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.  And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us,” at which point the lame man probably got really excited because it’s always a good sign to a beggar when someone stops.  “And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.  And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up; and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.  And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.  And all the people saw him walking and praising God.”

Elder Holland went on to narrate the rest of the chapter.  It was so interesting to have the Bible brought to life like that, but I’d like to focus on the lessons he said we could learn from this story.  First, you can’t argue with evidence.  The Pharisees and Sadducees were upset by this miracle because it caused so much wonder and amazement among the people.  So they actually arrested Peter and John, but “beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it…So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.”  They couldn’t don anything because all of the people had witnessed this miracle.  They knew the lame man.  He had been begging on the steps for forty years.  And now he could walk.  There was no refuting it.  Elder Holland said that there is so much evidence that witnesses the truth of the Gospel.  Take the Book of Mormon.  Millions of people have testified that it has transformed their lives as they’ve come to learn that it is truly an ancient record written by prophets of old and translated by Joseph Smith.  Elder Holland said a book might be able to fool a handful people, but not millions!  And that’s just one piece of evidence.

The second lesson was that, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we always get more than we bargain for.  The begging man was hoping for a couple of coins, and ended up being able to walk and leap for the first time in his entire forty year life!  We, too, will always be blessed more than we can even imagine as we keep the commandments of God and stay close to Him and His Spirit.

The third lesson is that nothing will stop the work of the Lord from spreading throughout the entire world.  These are the last days.  The Gospel has been restored, and Christ will be coming again.  Like the Pharisees and Sadducees of old, there are men and women who will try to stop the spread of the Gospel.  They thought they had accomplished it when they killed Joseph Smith.  But the truth will roll forward.
Elder Holland then left the most amazing blessing on all of us, as if he had his hands on each of our individual heads, even a blessing of healing and comfort.

Agghhh…this so doesn’t do his message justice - but you can at least catch a glimpse.  The closing hymn was “How Firm a Foundation,” and when we got to the words, “At home or abroad…as thy days may demand so thy succor shall be” I just lost it.  I couldn’t sing anymore because I was so overcome with emotion.  I felt like everything that night was Heavenly Father saying, “I know you, I love you, I hear you, and I am here for you.”  The fact that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to go made it all that much sweeter.  Afterwards we got to walk around the temple grounds…and I got to put my feet in grass for the first time in months!…it was all just so wonderful!