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While sitting in a sacrament meeting a few months ago, Sister Kathy Christofferson had an experience many members of the Church can relate to. It was fast and testimony meeting, and while many stood to share remarkable miracles and observations at the pulpit, Sister Christofferson racked her brain for something extraordinary to share—but nothing came to mind.
"The irony is I do have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and the restoration of His true Church in these latter days," Sister Christofferson said during a keynote address at BYU Women's Conference. "But, in reflecting on the past, I realized that my testimony didn’t come with one stunning event or miracle. It came by small whisperings of the Spirit. . . . I haven’t been perfect in these endeavors, but I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life and count that a great blessing. And parenthetically, I’d like to say that this is by itself ample reason to stand up and bear testimony at any time."
Sister Christofferson compared these whisperings of the Spirit to the minuscule raindrops that fall in Panama but that eventually combine and become a reservoir of water large enough to move enormous ships through the Panama Canal.
She shared, "While it is incredible that small drops of rain can move gigantic ships through the Panama Canal, it is even more incredible that we can receive a constant flow of spiritual impressions, even outpourings, from a Heavenly Father who is ever mindful of us. I have found that it isn’t in great miracles that a testimony is kept vibrant but in the small day-to-day affirmations and directions we receive from Heaven as we strive to come unto our Savior, keep His commandments, and be about our Father’s business."
When Prayers Are Answered with a "No"
Instead of detailing marvelous wonders, Sister Christofferson focused her remarks on the small and simple—those moments when grandiose miracles do not occur or when we do not receive answers to prayers in our lives. "When we pray, can we accept 'no' as an answer?" Sister Christofferson asked. "Usually, we will find out in time that the Lord had helped us grow more with that 'no' than the 'yes' we sought."
Sister Christofferson shared one example of how "changing one’s prayers brings a needed breakthrough." She shared an experience from Elder Robert D. Hales, when he served as mission president in the England London Mission. One French sister missionary came to Elder Hales requesting a blessing to help her learn the English language. She had been doing everything she could think of to grow close to the Lord and learn the language, but her progress had unexpectedly plateaued. Elder Hales "laid his hands on her head to give her a blessing but then stopped," Sister Christofferson said. "He received this revelation. He removed his hands and told her, 'If you will thank the Lord for what you have already received, you will be able to progress further.' She humbly followed this counsel and was able to progress rapidly in her fluency in English and became a wonderful missionary. "
In addition to verbally or mentally thanking our Heavenly Father for our blessings, Sister Christofferson suggested that we write out our gratitude and recognition of His hand in our lives.
In addition, she added, "Now another thought on prayer: when we pray, do we have the courage to ask the Lord, 'What lack I yet?' We may think the Savior would be rolling His eyes and saying, 'Oh, where do I begin? The list is so long!' But that is not how the Lord responds to our heartfelt questions. Instead, He will open our eyes and lead us to what we most need, even if we don't realize it."
Much like prayer, scripture study, obedience, attending the temple, and all the other small but significant steps on our eternal path will bring us closer to heaven. Sister Christofferson concluded, "My dear sisters, I know that as we strive to stay consistently faithful even in small things, they will flow together to strengthen us spiritually in remarkable ways. As we look back, we will indeed see the hand of the Lord reaching down to bless us in a constant and marvelous manner."
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