The Miraculous Simplicity of Prayer

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.

The Warmth of His Love

5/02/13

The very moment I felt hands placed lightly upon my head earlier this evening, every feeling and memory of two very special days came rushing into full focus.

As a 19-year-old young man in February of 2010, I sat with my parents and my siblings in the front room of our home, listening to a profound message prepared for us by our humble stake president.  On that evening, I was set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I cannot think of another time in my life when I felt more excitement than I did on that occasion.  It had been my desire to serve a mission ever since I was old enough to know what a mission was.  My eyes welled with tears as my wonderful priesthood leader placed his hands on my head to pronounce a blessing and a setting apart that would forever change my life.  I eagerly looked forward to every moment and experience through which I would pass as an ambassador of the Lord, and solemnly promised to devote myself in every capacity to His work.  On that evening, I felt the presence of my Savior very near to me, and found myself encompassed in the warmth of His love.

Two years later, I sat in the office of that incredible stake president as my mission came to a close.  I have never felt more humbly grateful than I did as I looked around the room to meet the eyes of each of my family members present.  I wept openly as President Cook placed his hands on my head to release me as a missionary.  In that instant, I longingly reflected over 24 months through which I had had the wondrous blessing of testifying daily of a Savior and Redeemer, of a loving Heavenly Father, and of his plan for each and every one of his children.  On that day, I knew that my Redeemer was smiling down on me for my small sacrifice to build His kingdom, and found myself comforted in the warmth of His love.

Tonight, I experienced both of those unforgettable days once more in a very small, brief instant.  I felt in full all of the love and joy that accompanied me as I walked and taught during one mission served; in the same moment, I felt all of the anticipation and eagerness as I was looking ahead to my next big adventure: another mission that the Lord has granted me to serve.  The feelings that I have now are exactly as I remember them from so long ago.  I adored being a missionary before, and I can already feel of how much I shall love it again as I bring my testimony to Nauvoo.  Tonight, I have felt so strongly of Christ’s power, mercy and grace, and now find myself quietly grateful, surrounded in the warmth of His love.

I am a missionary once again!  In this moment, nothing could bring me more joy.

“Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.”

-3 Nephi 5:13

On Parley Street

Three months ago, I had never heard of Young Performing Missionaries.  I didn’t know that there was a performing mission centered in Nauvoo in which young adults participate every summer.  To me, Nauvoo was an incredible spiritual place that stands as a powerful testimony of the sacrifice of those that gave quite literally everything they had to further the Lord’s Kingdom on the earth in the last days.  The thought had never crossed my mind that I would ever do more than just visit the City Beautiful.  However, the Lord has long been preparing me for this journey he knew I would undertake, and I already have a deep and abiding love for the city.

I will never forget that day.  On Wednesday October 21, 2009, I slowly paced down the length of Parley Street, Nauvoo. With me were my father, mother and little sister.  We were nearing the end of a week my parents had long planned and looked forward to. They had wanted me to experience the spirit that is so abundant in Nauvoo before I set out to preach the gospel in whatever part of the world to which I would be called to serve my mission.  Just a week before we left home, I had sent in my mission papers.  The days we spent visiting the church history sites were very touching for me, as I was able to witness so many places in which so many sacrifices were made for the gospel’s sake.  I remember walking along the street, reading the plaques depicting those that had unshakeable testimonies of the true church of Jesus Christ and of the prophet Joseph Smith.  It was at that moment that my phone rang.  Answering it, I was greeted by the happy, yet emotional voice of my older brother.  “Remember today, David,” he counseled me.  He then told me of a letter he currently held in his hand.  A letter signed by a prophet of God.  A letter addressed to me.  The most calming and peaceful feeling I had ever experienced until that time washed over me; the Lord had called me to serve him, and I was only days away from finding out where.  That feeling and that day have since been burned into my memory, and I can’t wait to stand on Parley Street again.

I was called to serve in Brazil.  For two years I devoted myself to my Father’s service, teaching his people.  For two years I was taught what it truly means to love unconditionally, and to have charity for someone that I barely knew.  For two years I witnessed the joy that the gospel brings into the lives of those that have wandered for so long in darkness.  For two years I testified of the veracity of the Book of Mormon, and that there is a living prophet on the earth today, who guides the one and only true church of Jesus Christ.  For two years I learned lessons that I would carry with me for much, much longer than two years.  My mission meant everything to me, and I will never forget how special it was to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to bear his name on my chest.

I returned from my mission in February of 2012.  I had the next few years of my life all planned out in finite details.  But sometimes the Lord plans things a little bit differently for us than the way we see them for ourselves; and the influence of a friend that is living the way they should can and does make all the difference in the world.

I sing in a choir at the institute on the campus of Utah State University.  Every day, the music we sing has a perfect ability to bring the spirit sufficiently to flood my heart and make my days better.  One day before class, a friend and fellow choir member asked me if I wanted to audition for something that he was helping another student with that he thought I might be interested in.  I said no thank you, I didn’t want to.  Several more times he asked me, to all of which I responded that I wasn’t interested.  Over the course of the entire rehearsal period he told me that I needed to make an audition tape, and that he would help (make) me do it.  At the end of an hour of denying, I finally conceded.  He filmed as I completed the necessary steps to make an appropriate video.  After the video was complete and he explained how to send it in, I asked the simple question of what it was that I was auditioning for.  My friend’s jaw dropped slightly as he realized that he had neglected to tell me exactly what it was that he wanted me to participate in.  He quickly told me that I would be performing during the summer in Nauvoo.  He told me that I would have the opportunity to be a missionary again, if selected.

In that moment, all of the love, peace, and happiness that I had experienced as a missionary in Brazil flooded into my heart.  I recalled in that instant the day I had been standing on Parley Street over three years prior, and the elation that the simple knowledge of having a mission call had brought.  The Spirit whispered peace to my heart, and as my eyes brimmed with tears of joyful remembrance I knew that my plans didn’t matter, and that I was to set my sights on Nauvoo.

I look forward to serving my Master again as a full-time missionary.  I relish the thought of praising his name through music in such a special place as Nauvoo.  I am thrilled to stand again in the very spot that I first felt like a missionary on a crisp day in October, long ago.

I can’t wait to feel the Spirit that I know will accompany me as I walk Parley Street once more.