Remember that important thing that happened to you that one time, and you swore that you would always remember it? Exactly.
This week’s Come Follow Me includes the Lord’s counsel to Oliver Cowdery as he and Joseph Smith were working on translating the Book of Mormon. The Lord suggested to Oliver in 6:22:
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.”
A few years ago, I wrote about an idea that fits nicely with this counsel to remember our spiritual experiences and to draw on them when needed – especially when times are stormy, or our faith is lacking.
I spent some time coming up with a list of my top spiritual experiences. Not only did I make the list, but I also wrote some details and context about each experience. I haven’t shared it with anyone yet, but I got a little encouragement when rereading Elder Neil Anderson’s talk, Spiritually Defining Memories. He counseled, “Embrace your sacred memories. Believe them. Write them down. Share them with your family…I promise you that as you willingly acknowledge and carefully treasure the spiritually defining events in your life, more and more will come to you.”
My Top Ten Spiritual Experiences.
I have been blessed so many times in my life with spiritual experiences. Some of them made a tremendous impact on my life, and some were minor gifts or even course corrections. The problem is that many of them went unrecorded because I either wasn’t journaling at the time, didn’t think about writing them down, or considered them too sacred to share.
President Marion G. Roney even said, “We’d have more spiritual experiences if we didn’t talk so much about them.”
When I think about my list, my heart is full. Each item on my list deserves to be recorded, but very few of them were. The “whys,” “the hows,” the circumstances, the impact – each experience deserves documentation. Some experiences have found their way into my blog; some are in journals; some have never been written down; some have never been shared with anyone.
Here are a few reasons why making a similar list might be of worth to us:
It can bless our posterity.
How I wish I could have a list of my parent’s top ten spiritual experiences! When you think about it, much of the Book of Mormon is simply a collection of spiritual experiences.
Back in 2007, President Eyring talked about documenting gratitude. I think the inspiration he received fits nicely here. “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.” (link)
I would like my children and grandchildren to be familiar with what are, inevitably, the most meaningful experiences of my life. Personally, I have done a poor job of that so far.
It can strengthen our faith.
Sometimes, when things get difficult and our faith starts to waiver, we turn to books, scriptures, and the experiences of others to help buoy us up. What about being strengthened by our own words – our own experiences? A lot of us are terrible at keeping a journal. A list with the spiritual “high points” might be more attainable and accessible than digging through a lifetime of journals.
As I mentioned earlier regarding Oliver Cowdery’s struggle, the Lord had him look to his own memory of a previous spiritual experience to serve as a witness for himself.
It can keep our memories honest.
Often, when experiencing a crisis of faith, there is a tendency to re-write our own histories. (It is really more of a requirement than a tendency.) We can forget and/or deny the reality of what we have experienced spiritually. Our memories can be fickle. I wrote about this idea in my post “A Quarter and Two Big Lies.”
This is a dangerous time, spiritually. As was prophesied, it is a time when “all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them.” (D&C 88:91)
Our own memories can serve as a bulwark to defend against forces that can tear down our faith.
It can bring the Spirit.
The Holy Ghost seems to love it when we focus our thoughts on things of God. He wants to help us remember.
“And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26)
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)
Here’s my challenge for you: Make a list of your Top Ten Spiritual Experiences.
***WARNING: This is not a cute, quick little list that you would post here or on social media. This is sacred stuff. Remember that whole pearls/swine thing? Exactly.***
Seriously. Take some time. Can you think of a better Sabbath day activity? Make it as detailed or as simple as you want. Don’t feel pressure to rank them #1-10 unless you feel like it.
I can promise you, from personal experience, that you will be filled with gratitude. The Spirit will fill your heart. You will feel strengthened – and that is just while you are making the list.
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Here are some thoughts about getting started:
You might not remember all the best stuff right off the bat. I’m sure there are memories deep in my brain that I vowed I would never forget that might yet take some coaxing. Thankfully, the Spirit can draw those memories out for us. President Eyring: “I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.”
Some things happen in our lives that draw the Spirit close naturally. Here are some examples to help memories flow…
- Baptisms, confirmations
- Your personal conversion process
- Temple endowment
- Marriage
- Temple attendance
- Family History work
- Being set apart for callings
- Health blessings
- Comfort blessings
- Patriarchal blessings
- Missionary experiences
- In prayer
- While fasting
- Seeking forgiveness. (See Enos)
- Grieving
- Dreams
- Seeking guidance
- Reading scriptures
- Witnessing miracles
- Hearing the testimony of others
- Bearing testimony
- In crisis
- When serving others
And there are so many more. Everyone is different, and there are no rules as to when or where a spiritual experience can happen. (One of the most significant spiritual experiences in my life happened while I was 40,000 ft. over the Atlantic in the middle of the night.)
There is a chance that you might struggle to find ten spiritual experiences that deserve to be on the list. That’s okay. Write what you can and then dig deeper. If you still come up short, well, then you have a great new goal to strive for!
My list is incomplete – I’m not sure it will ever be complete. I imagine it will go through many different iterations as long as I live.
I don’t intend to share my list with you, nor would I want you to show me yours, but I would be curious to know if you went through the process and how it impacted you.
Give it a try. I double-dog dare you.
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Thanks for the challenge! I can think of a number of sacred experiences, but I have not written about most of them. I guess it’s about time.
I have kept from writing a journal all my life because of remembering too many negative things. When my children were young, I felt that, as they grew, they would want to know about themselves as children and how I felt about them, so I started writing about them instead of me. Then the thought came to me that I would want them to be inspired by my spiritual experiences, corrections, and insights, so I wrote about those. I was led to include the recorded blessings I have been given. While in the mission field, I had some of those I taught write out their conversion stories. I included those and added my own writings of others I remembered, as well as other memorable experiences in the mission field. All of this made me a bit more comfortable writing some lists about myself, such as what I am grateful for in my life, countries I have visited, contests I have won, a spotlight on myself (there is nothing like writing one’s own obituary!), etc. One thing easily led to another once I got started. I now have a record that I am proud to pass down to my descendants, and I am not done yet since I keep being inspired to add more. It is easier to do now, and I am better able to remember the positive experiences I have had in my life. I may not have written about my life in its entirety, and still fill that I can’t do that, but I think what I have written fulfills the admonition we have been given to write a personal journal.