Are you listening?

We had the most amazing young women stake meeting last night!  My daughter is 13 now, and a beehive in the young women's program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We had a new beginnings meeting at the stake center for the girls and their parents.  Miracle and I went after Choir practice.   The meeting progressed as usual.  There were a couple of really beautiful solo's and there were several girls that each talked about personal progress and the values and the program.  Everything was going along fine, (i.e. normal meeting) until President Whipple stood to talk.  He is a counselor in the Stake Presidency.  He started to talk about something and then changed his talk.  He talked about the Stake young women's president.  It was a story that touched my heart.  So I wanted to share it with you.  I hope it gives you the same feeling of love and peace that it gave to me.  Heavenly Father really is speaking to you.  It is just a question of if you are listening.
In the ward that this sister lives in, the bishop has been very ill.  He has the advanced stages of kidney failure and could have died at anytime for the past year or so.  To make it even worse, he has one of the rarer types of blood and so there are not many matches for him to get a transplant.  He has been on the transplant list for awhile and was physically getting much worse.  So, the ward had a special fast for him.  As this young women's president participated in the fast, she was given a very strong impression that she was supposed to be the donor.
She fasted and prayed some more, she still felt the same way and no other donor had been found.  She was given the assurance that if she was willing, she would be a perfect match for her bishop.  The spirit bore witness to her that it was not his time to leave the earth yet and he still had more to do, but he needed her in order to be able to complete his mission.
She went and had the preliminary testing and was found to be a match.  The process to give a kidney to someone who is not a relative is quite long.  It took several months, and she said that the spirit of the devil worked on her the entire time to try and encourage her to change her mind.  But whenever she prayed, she was given the same assurance that it was the right thing to do.
Finally, four weeks ago, she went into surgery and gave her kidney to the Bishop of her ward.  He is doing so much better physically at this time.  She was at the meeting for all the young women and their parents.  After President Whipple spoke, she got up and bore her testimony of the love of our Father in Heaven and of the divine answer to prayer that she was privilaged to be a part of.  She talked about how, if you let Him, He will answer your prayers.  He does listen.  He is there.
I saw her speak, I heard her testimony, but I felt even more than that.  I saw an amazing woman who had the faith required to do her Heavenly Father's will.  I saw a daughter of God who saw a need, heard the answer to many prayers and was willing to walk the hard road and follow that inspiration and see it through.  Sometimes, Heavenly Father asks us to do hard things, but He is there for us if we will only trust Him.  So, where is your faith today?  If He asked you to do something hard, would you be ready and willing to do it? 

Ether 12:4, 6, 10-16

• 4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.
  
  
• 6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

• 10 Behold it was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God.
• 11 Wherefore, by faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled.
• 12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.
• 13 Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth.
• 14 Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
• 15 Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.
• 16 Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Could you possibly be the miracle that someone else is waiting for?  Only you will ever know.  Hear Him, trust Him, Love Him and serve Him.  May we stand strong and tall in the faith of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and may we not be moved by the stormy seas that beacon around us. And most of all, may we all be like this wonderful Young Women's President.  This is my prayer tonight.