7. Exercising Our Faith and Prayers

A bishopric message written on Tuesday afternoon, April 29, 1986, and published in the May 1986 issue of the Bountiful Twentieth Ward Newsette.

A few weeks ago we finished another glorious general conference. What a thrill it was to see the mantle fall on our new Prophet and to feel the spirit and power of his sacred calling. What a privilege it was to sustain President Benson and his two counselors as our new First Presidency.

President Benson’s comments in the opening moments of the conference set a mood and a theme for all that followed: “I earnestly seek an interest in your faith and prayers that what I say may bless and edify our souls. I realize my dependence upon the Lord, and I also know that Jesus Christ is the head of this church and that through Him we can do all things that are needful” (Ensign, May 1986, 4).

The Brethren do need our faith and prayers, and they—along with each of us—need to depend upon the Lord in all things.

Today is our normal fast Sunday, a day of fasting and prayer. In addition, President Ronald Reagan has proclaimed it a national day of prayer. In support of this proclamation, the First Presidency has said:

“In keeping with the annual tradition dating back to 1775, the President of the United States has again this year proclaimed a National Day of Prayer. The date of the observance will be Sunday, May 4, 1986. We endorse that proclamation and encourage our individual members and our congregations throughout the nation to join with the President that day in a prayerful petition to our Heavenly Father, giving thanks for all that He does for us, seeking His guidance and inspiration in the conduct of our lives, and asking for the blessing of peace in a troubled world.

“Also, while we enthusiastically support the proclamation, let us not limit our supplications to a designated observance. We commend the practice of daily prayer to people everywhere. May we all . . . express daily gratitude to the Father of us all. And, to paraphrase a familiar hymn, when sore trials come upon us, when our souls are full of sorrow, when our hearts are filled with anger, let us think to pray and, in so doing, seek guidance and comfort and forgiveness from Him who have us life” (Church News, Apr. 20, 1986, 3).

In addition, our county commissioners—along with commissioners from five other nearby counties—issued this joint statement on praying to avoid potential lake flooding:

“We are requesting that people of all faiths and religious persuasions begin immediately to exercise their faith and prayers and then unitedly join in a day of fasting and prayer on May 4 in a supplication to the Creator for the weather patterns to return to normal that the potential disaster might be averted” (Church News, Apr. 27, 1986, 3).

This is surely an appropriate subject for our prayers, as the Book of Mormon teaches us (see, for example, Amulek’s excellent instruction on prayer in Alma 34:17–28 and Alma’s counsel to his son Helaman in Alma 37:36–37).

As a bishopric, we commend this counsel to you and invite you to exercise your faith and prayers. Pray in your families. Pray as husbands and wives. Pray individually. And may the Lord reward your heartfelt, righteous prayers with blessings upon your heads.