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English | French | Portuguese | SpanishMy brothers and sisters, I feel honored to address you. As I pondered what to share with you, I reminisced about my teenage years when I learned English from dedicated missionaries serving for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Every week, missionaries organized free English conversation classes in my hometown in Japan. These classes were divided into three sections: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. I started with the beginner class. At least, my ability to introduce myself improved because every week the missionaries assigned to teach the class would start by having everyone introduce themselves in English. When many new students joined, the self-introduction took more than half the class time. I don’t remember using any textbooks. The young missionaries improvised and taught with minimal guidance. Since then, the Church has made remarkable strides in providing access to learning, including through EnglishConnect and BYU-Pathway Worldwide.I was not a member of the Church when I first took English lessons. I must admit I enjoyed my time conversing in English with missionaries and playing some ping-pong with other young people gathered in the church. I found greater joy in discussing with missionaries about our beliefs and the purpose of life. Expressing my inner thoughts and desires with them filled my soul with much hope and joy.As I became acquainted with missionaries, I was intrigued by their unwavering faithfulness and love and commitment to God. They were very honest and chaste. And they never seemed to worry about their sacrifices of time and money. I aspired to have the same qualities. I wondered about the source of their virtue. Was it the teachings of their parents or some aspect of American culture? As a teenage boy, I yearned for something more than mere fluency in English, improving my school grades, or finding a desired occupation. I was searching deeply for answers to life’s profound questions because I did not know where to find them.i
For whatever reason, you’re enrolled in courses through BYU-Pathway. I encourage you to think deeply why a loving and merciful God has guided you to this unique institution, where you’re encouraged to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”ii
Somehow, your hope and faith has led you to this point. I assure you that God wants you to know that He is the loving Father of your spirit and He desires you to learn the teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ — in other words, the gospel of Jesus Christ. His gospel “is filled with His power” and virtue and is “available to every earnestly seeking daughter or son of God,”iii
including you and me.Despite my limited understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I resonated with the young Joseph Smith when the following verse in the book of James inspired him to inquire more from God: “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."iv
He repeatedly reflected on the verse, knowing that if anyone needed wisdom from God, he was the one who needed it. Eventually, he went to a grove of trees to pray, “offering up the desires of [his] heart” to God.vi
The words following, obeying, and living are often expressed when we adhere to God’s commandments. For example, Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” in John 14:15. We often change “keep” to “follow” or “obey.”
just as if obeying or living God’s commandments. You can try when you have “confidence”xiv
in something or someone, hoping for the best, even if it means risking failure. By acting in faith in these ways, you can experience the power of God for yourself.When Alma was preaching to people who had been humbled by afflictions, he explained that trying to follow God’s teachings was like “an experiment” on the words he taught. He said, “Even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you.”xv
x
Alma 32:28; I learned that this swelling motion has power or virtue, just as Joseph Smith felt power while reading James 1:5.
He then compared the teachings to a seed. He said if you “give place” for the seed to be planted in your heart, if the seed is “a true or good seed,” and if you continue to believe without casting it out, then the seed will begin to “swell within your breasts.” “[W]hen you feel these swelling motions,” you “will begin to say within yourselves — It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good,” because the seed will begin to enlarge your soul, enlighten your understanding, and become delicious to you. Alma then asked, “Would not this increase your faith?”xvi
Over the years, I have tried the scriptures’ teachings by letting them grow in my heart and acting on them. I felt the same growing in my heart as I felt the power or virtue of the Savior’s word. My understanding and love for the Savior grew. His word has stood the test of time for me.xvii
x
See also 1 Peter 1:24–25. Peter said, “The word of the Lord endureth forever,” contrasting with “all flesh is as grass, and … withereth.”
You can have complete trust in the word of Jesus Christ. He is “the rock”xviii
Why does His word have so much power? Chapter one of the Gospel of John begins by teaching that Jesus Christ is “the Word” himself. He was with God the Father from the beginning. He “created all things.” He has “all power, both in heaven and in earth.” He was “made flesh, and dwelt among us.”xx
He performed “mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.”xxi
and His blood paid for the sins of everyone on earth. So if we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent, we will be led to all that God has, which is eternal life.Enos felt the power of Christ and His Atonement and the blessings of forgiveness when he remembered his father speaking about eternal life and the joy of the Saints. He eventually tried the virtue of the word of God, kneeling before God, asking for forgiveness day and night until his voice “reached the heavens.” How joyful and comforted Enos must have felt when he heard the voice saying his “sins were forgiven.”xxiv
Jesus Christ not only took the sins of all mankind, but He also conquered death and endured your infirmities so He could understand how to provide succor to His people “according to their infirmities.”xxv
Just as Jesus Christ, who “descended below” all things, promised to never “leave you comfortless,” His words have the power to “heal the wounded soul.”xxvi
My dear brothers and sisters, as I reviewed with you the meaning of “trying the virtue of the word of God,” I would like to conclude my message by sharing what I learned from the brother of Jared, a prophet in the Book of Mormon who “tried the virtue of the word of God” and obeyed completely.Recall that the brother of Jared was commanded to construct barges “according to the instructions of the Lord.”xxvii
As he completed the barges and embarked on the sea toward the place God prepared for him and his family, “God caused “a furious wind blow upon the waters.”xxviii
I used to think this furious wind might be our oppositions and hinderance, which blow against the direction we are headed, like a head wind. However, as we paid careful attention, it was a tail wind. God caused the wind. The direction of the wind was toward the promised land. In essence, whatever trials, unfortunate events, or unexpected results come upon us, we must not lose the sight of which way the wind is blowing. God will carry us forward as we trust Him.xxix
Furthermore, please consider the origin of the wind. We learn that God had forewarned the brother of Jared that he and his family would journey “as a whale in the midst of the sea” due to the relentless mountain waves crashing upon them. Yet, the Lord reassured him, stating, “I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.”xxx
Brothers and sisters, as I pondered the words emanating from God’s mouth, I came to understand that what He speaks is His word, His will, His voice, and His covenants and ordinances. Those of us who have made covenants with God and strive to obey His commandments still face challenges in this mortal world. We will encounter trials, obstacles, and worldly influences that may stand in the way of God’s words and hinder us from where we have intended to go. Nevertheless, to maintain our covenants with God, we must not lose sight of this “furious” or “fierce” wind and its power and direction. It possesses positive spiritual momentum, as it “never ceased to blow toward the promised land.”xxxi
My dear brothers and sisters, may I invite you to study the journey of brother of Jared and his family in Ether chapters 1–6 in the Book of Mormon. They diligently followed God’s instructions as they constructed their barges “according to the instructions of the Lord.”xxxii
x
Ether 2:16; The brother of Jared was commanded to build barges “according to the instructions of the Lord. And they were small.” I would pay attention to the barges being small. I would equate it to our spiritual learning in secular learning. Sometimes, what God asks us to prepare may be insignificant in the eyes of the world, but it is so critical.
Their barges were “tight like unto a dish,” ensuring their unwavering stability and resilience in the face of life’s challenges. They also “put forth the stones” into the vessels which were prepared, which miraculously “did give light,” enabling them to “cross the great waters in darkness.” Once they had completed all they could with the divine guidance, they placed their trust in God, as they “were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind” God caused. Despite the many trials and tribulations they endured, including being repeatedly submerged in the depth of the sea, they maintained an unwavering gaze fixed on the land God had prepared for them. They did “sing praises” even in the darkest moments.xxxiii
“They were also taught from high.”As you progress in your learning journey with BYU-Pathway through study and prayer, you are preparing your own unique barges to navigate the vast ocean of life ahead. Once you set sailxxxiv
— even amidst the challenges and obstacles life throws your way, despite the ridicule and skepticism you may face from others who doubt your faith in Jesus Christ — remember that God lives. He will guide you on His path to eternal life. May you be able to perceive God’s influence and feel His love for you so immensely and deeply. Let us remain steadfast in our focus on His words, particularly the covenants and His ordinances, which will bind us to our living God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
