So there has been a very interesting turn in events. One of a joyous nature and the other that makes me want to have the same joy, but with a hint of worry as well. I'll talk about the first situation, well, first.
One of my sister's friends started dating a guy she met in one of her classes. He wasn't a member, much to the dismay of her family, but they still welcomed him in. She invited him to come to Church the week after they started dating and he's been coming ever since. That was about 3 months ago, and since he and I became pretty good friends. I guess also during that time, he was taking the lessons. When he told his family about this, he found out that a few months earlier that his brother has joined. He has since set a date to be baptized this weekend.
Now the other situation: I have another friend who has been coming to Church since November with someone who was reluctant to come to the YSA Ward to begin with. Since then, she was meeting with the missionaries, of which I had the pleasure of being at a few of them. She's come a long way and is definitely ready to be baptized and has a date set for later this month. Except for a few things…
She doesn't think that she has received a confirmation on everything yet.
This is troubling to me, even though I know that she has had many. I'm not going to go into detail about what she has experienced (that's not something that I think she would want me blabbing about on the blog-o-sphere), but sometimes when it comes to confirmations about Gospel principles, I have the feeling that we expect to have this grand revelation comparable to Joseph Smith's First Vision. This isn't how it works at all. What happened to Joseph was a rare occurrence. It doesn't happen that often. The scriptures teach that the voice of the Spirit is "a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper" not a "voice of thunder [or] great tumultuous noise" (see 3 Nephi 11:3).
You all know how long I've been looking for a new councilor to be a part of the Elder's Quorum Presidency as well as teachers. I had been searching and praying, asking for the guidance on who I should recommend to the Stake President to replace the one who left. A good six weeks, at least. It wasn't until last night at 2 in the morning that I got the confirmation that I was looking for. SIX WEEKS LATER! All in the Lord's time.
President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said this: "Occasionally [the Spirit] will press firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening and say in our manner and expression, like Samuel of ancient times, 'Speak [Lord], for they servant heareth' (1 Sam. 3:10)."
This is not saying that we will receive the confirmation right away. Like I said, it took 6 weeks before I knew who to call. Sometimes, when an important decision comes, it is important to exercise faith. This is putting our trust completely in the Lord. In the case of not getting baptized because you haven't received a confirmation, think about this: perhaps it's because the Lord expects you to act without Him having to tell you and then telling you if it's right or not after you have done it, or are about to do it. Sometimes, we just have to make up our mind and do it. We can't be expected to be guided by the hand the entire time.
So what now? Well, now is the time to act. We will know if what we are doing is right or wrong based on what Mormon wrote to his son Moroni toward the end of the Book of Mormon: "…the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil;…for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore you may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God." (Moroni 7:16)
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