April 2005 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

ILLUSTRATED BY STEVE KROPP
THE THE WINDS WINDS THAT THAT BLOW BLOW
BY JENNA L. STALEY
Lord their God”—an act of faith (v. 4). They prepared
Despite diligent efforts in my life and in my temple
marriage, I now find myself a single mother raising
three children in the gospel without a father and
themselves, they used the lights the Lord provided them,
and then they set off on their journey, exercising faith.
The following verses, however, affected me the most:
priesthood holder in our home. Sometimes the betrayal “The Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind
and hurt I feel are a tangible pain, as is the loneliness that blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised
often fills my heart. But a loving Heavenly
land” (v. 5). As I read this, the word towards
Father has compensated for my emptiness The Jaredites didn’t stood out to me. Although the Lord was carry-
and anguish with sweet assurances from the have a smoothing the Jaredites forth, I wondered whether
Holy Ghost. As I have pored over the scripsailing voyage.
they felt their progress or whether they were
tures searching for guidance, I have come
to know my Savior, and He has blessed my
mind with understanding and peace.
Recently I read Ether 6, where the
Jaredite barges cross the sea to the promised
land. Although I had read this
But I realized fierce
and steady winds
were blowing them—
and me—towards
the goal all along.
more aware of “a furious wind” and the “many
times [they were] buried in the depths of the
sea” (v. 6). Were they able to feel the Lord’s
guiding hand through the “mountain waves
which broke upon them,” the “great and terrible
tempests,” and “the fierceness of the
account many times before, I noticed
wind”? (v. 6). Verse 8 reads, “The wind did
something this time that had never stood out to me, and I never cease to blow towards the promised land.” It wasn’t
felt the Spirit whisper that it had application in my life. a smooth-sailing voyage for them, even though they were
I noticed that the Lord gave light to the Jaredites so chosen of the Lord, even though they were filled with faith,
“they might not cross the great waters in darkness” (v. 3). even though the brother of Jared had seen the Lord face-
I thought about the great waters I must cross and the to-face. But interestingly to me, the fierce and steady winds
lights Heavenly Father has given me that I may be spared were blowing them towards their goal all along.
darkness. Among them are access to Him through prayer, I was ashamed to think of the times I have focused on
the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, priesthood blessings, my the storms instead of the momentum they bring. Without
patriarchal blessing, and my testimony of the gospel. them, I’d just be floating aimlessly. I came to understand
I also noticed that the scriptures mention the prepara- that while trials are a natural part of mortality, the Lord can
tion Jared and his family had to make before this great jour- use the winds and waves of adversity to guide us, like the
ney. I thought about how doing our part is essential before Jaredites, towards our personal promised lands. ■
we can expect the Lord to do His. Then the record states
that they “set forth . . . commending themselves unto the
Jenna L. Staley is a member of the Show Low Fourth Ward,
Show Low Arizona Stake.
ENSIGN APRIL 2005 61