Singing upwards of 5-8 hours a day, six days a week tends to be a little bit strenuous on vocal chords. So far this year, many of the Young Performing Missionaries have had the misfortune of losing their voices for a period of a few days. Unfortunately, I didn't end the summer unscathed as i had hoped. A few days ago, I woke up hardly being able to speak, let alone sing. So, all day long I had simply planned on having my companion, Elder Collier, take my role and sing my solos during our performance of "High Hopes and River Boats," our main production. The time came for the show, and I had already informed Elder Collier and our director of my decision to do a lesser role during both of the two performances that day. However, as i spoke with Elder Collier literally moments before the show began, we decided that having him take on the role for me didn't feel quite right, so we made the last minute change with a prayer that I would at least be able to find the right notes during my solos.
Well, the show passed by, and actually turned out to be a rather good performance from the entire cast overall. The show had a very good feel to it, and I was happy to have seen my prayer answered in a very real and specific way. I was even more grateful that we had listened to the spirit when I heard of the miracle that had taken place while we were onstage.
As i was in the lobby of the Visitor's Center after the show, greeting our guests, I was approached by a young man. He introduced himself to me, and thanked me for the spirit that he had felt during the performance. I asked him a few questions about himself, and quickly realized that this 14 year old young man had been going through many hard things at that particular stage of his life.
He told me of doubts that he had been experiencing, and the toll that they were taking on his personal testimony of the church. He had been attending a different church for quite some time, and told me that three weeks from now, he had planned on getting baptized into that particular congregation because of what he felt. However, watching "High Hopes" had caused him to rethink that decision.
As we conversed further, he informed me that the main reason he had felt the spirit so powerfully during the musical was because of the way that he personally identified with Chance, the character that I portray. He felt a personal connection to Chance because of his conversion process that the show depicts. In my new friend's words: "Chance had many of the same questions that I have. And when he started to feel the spirit, so did I."
As I looked that young man in the eyes, tears filled my own. I proceeded to tell him of a boy his exact same age, 14 years old, that had a question very similar to his. That young boy wondered which of all the churches he should join. Searching the bible for answer to his question, young Joseph found an admonition in the book of James, first chapter, fifth verse which reads: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Demonstrating immense faith, Joseph acted on that admonition and entered a grove of trees near his home and prayed to God for a knowledge of which of all the churches was right. In the form of a visit from Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ, the prayer of Joseph Smith was answered.
I shared with my young friend my own personal testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I also issued him two very specific challenges. I shared with him a general conference talk that changed the course of my mission in Brazil titled "Faith - The Choice is Yours" given by Bishop Richard C. Edgely in the October 2010 conference. I asked him to read it, because it helped me to understand as Bishop Edgely so eloquently stated: "While I don't know everything, I know what's important". I also told him of one of my favorite spots in Nauvoo- the grove of trees that lies at the end of Parley Street. I challenged him to go to the grove later that day, to kneel down, and to offer up his own prayer to Heavenly Father asking for a confirmation as the the things he had felt earlier during the show. I promised him that if he did, he would receive his answer. He promised me that he would.
Later that evening, as I was conversing with people before the Nauvoo Pageant began, I was approached by a man with whom I had never spoken before. He asked me if I was the Elder Thunell that had played in "High Hopes" earlier that day (and he pronounced my name correctly, which means he was definitely familiar with who I was). When I told him that I was, tears immediately filled his eyes, and he proceeded to thank me for a miracle that had happened that day in his family. It was then that I found out that he was the father of the young man I had met earlier in the day.
This family had come to Nauvoo with the prayer that their youngest son could have an experience that would reaffirm his forgotten faith and change his life. And, as this grateful man stated, "Our prayer was answered when a servant of the Lord acted on the spirit and invited a young man to pray." I was so grateful to find out that my friend had taken my challenge seriously, and acted on almost immediately upon leaving the Visitor's Center after our conversation. On a warm July afternoon that young man, searching for answers, entered a grove of trees at the end of Parley Street on the banks of the Mississippi River and offered a prayer to God...
...And received his answer.
I know for myself that our loving Father-in-Heaven is very mindful of his children. He knows us each by name, and He puts people and experiences in our path so that we might come to know Him. He truly does hear each and every one of our prayers, and he longs to answer them. He knows me. He loves me. And there isn't a more comforting thought in all the world.
