Recognizing the voice of the Lord

"The Lord always answers the humble prayer of faith.  {The scriptures} and our personal experience teach us how to recognize those answers and accept them in faith, whether they be direction, confirmation of truth, or a warning. I pray that we always will listen for and recognize the loving voice of the Lord."  (President Henry B. Eyring "The Voice of the Lord.")

I want to write about this while it is fresh in my heart.  I have had some neat experiences this week, in listening to the voice of the Lord.  My mom gave Jeff and I a bunch of names to take to the temple for their endowments.  We have a hard time finding time to go to the temple, so I was a little nervous about this task she had given us.  However, it provided me with a sweet experience that I feel has opened my heart to the voice of the Spirit of the Lord.  The name that was at the top of my pile, Catherine, kept leaping out at me.  Every time I looked at it, I could feel her urgency and desire to have her temple work done.  Finally, I couldn't ignore it anymore.  Jeff and I went to the temple on Friday, and I took her name through the Endowment session.  I could feel her excitement the whole time, and I think I was more personally invested in the work than I ever have been.  When the ordinance was complete, I heard a voice say "We did it!" and I knew she was happy to finally have her work done.  

Today in Relief Society, I had this incredibly joyful feeling come over me.  I knew it was the Lord communicating a message to me.  The more I pondered His message, the more I felt He was directing me down a new path, and as I thought of accepting His will in this matter, I had a hard time containing the pure joy that I felt at being willing to accept His call.  

Then I came across this talk from Elder Eyring on recognizing the voice of the Lord in your life.  It was another confirmation that He had been speaking to me this past week, and what I had been experiencing was Divine.  I feel so blessed to have had these experiences.  It is moments like this that really help to life me up, and then to pick me up again when I have doubts.  I always think back to this scripture: “Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?” (D&C 6:23).  

We are so blessed to have open lines of communication with the Lord.  We need to be making good choices, that will allow us to remain close to Him.  We need to be doing our daily scripture study and having daily prayer.  These things seem so small, but in our busy lives, they are our anchor.  They allow the spirit to be in our lives.  They allow our hearts to be open to communication from above.  I know I could not have had these experiences without doing these things.  I have been on the other side, where I felt trapped behind a wall, afraid to let Him in.  To know that I have been able to overcome that at this time is such a blessing.  I am so grateful to the Lord for loving me and trusting me.  I am grateful for His counsel in my life and His reassurances that all things are possible through Him.