Henry B. Eyring - To Draw Closer To God: A Collection Of Discourses

Part 1

Hearing

Chapter 1

Ears to Hear

On April 5, 1985, President Gordon B. Hinckley called me toserve as a counselor to Bishop Robert D. Hales in the Presiding Bishopric. Iwas grateful for the call and for the knowledge that it is the Savior who makessuch calls through his servants in his Church.

After I was sustained the next day in general conference, I wasoverwhelmed in two ways by the reaction of the General Authorities. First, theyexpressed love and confidence, which I deeply appreciated. But second, I feltan added expression of almost solicitude. I realized they knew what was aheadof me, and I sensed they might know the growing feeling in my heart that I wasoverwhelmed by the task ahead. As that feeling increased, I began to think moreand more of me. But then I remembered that all of us receive callings thatstretch our faith. For instance, in the past few weeks a deacon has come homewith the rolls to announce that he is the new quorum secretary; a teacher hasbeen called to preside in his quorum; a mother has been called to be acounselor in a Relief Society presidency; and a nineteen-year-old boy has beencalled to go to a new city with a new missionary companion. To each of them,and to each of you, fear of failure might try to poke its head in, as it hadwith me.

On the day I was sustained to serve in the Presiding Bishopric,something happened that was of great help to me, and it may be of help to you.At that moment, the fear left. It was when Bishop Hales was speaking inconference. He mentioned that we had known each other since boyhood, and as hedid a memory was replayed in my mind. It was of a hotel ballroom in NewBrunswick, New Jersey. Bishop Hales was likely not there, since he lived inwhat seemed to us the well-established stake in New York. We were in the NewJersey district, a single district that covered much of the state. ThePrinceton Branch met in my parents' dining room. Dad was the branch president.Mother was both the pianist and chorister (which is hard to do if you thinkabout it). There was not another family in the branch with children, so mybrother Ted was the Aaronic Priesthood, and my brother Harden and I were allthere were of Primary and junior Sunday School. The congregations were youngstudents who happened to be there and a few older convertsnone withspouses who were members.

There was no building, no gym, no stake center, and so wetraveled to a hotel ballroom for what must have been a district conference. Iwas sitting on a folding chair somewhere near the back, next to my mother. Imust have been very young because I can remember putting my legs through theback of the chair and sitting aft instead of forward. But then I rememberhearing somethinga man's voice from the pulpit. I turned around andlooked. I still remember that the speaker was at a rostrum set on wooden risers.There was a tall window behind him. He was the priesthood visitor. I don't knowwho he was, but he was tall and bald, and he seemed very old to me.

He must have been talking about the Savior or the ProphetJoseph, or both, because that was all I remember hearing much about in thosedays. But as he spoke, I knew that what he said came from God and that it wastrue, and it burned in my heart. That was before scholars told me how hard itwas to know. I just knew with certaintyI knew it was true.

You can have that same confidence, not of yourself but fromGod. He lives, and he communicates with his children. This is the Church ofJesus Christ, and he leads it. No assignment in it need ever overwhelm you ifyou know that and listen for the Master's voice.

Now, I can hear the young deacons saying, "Well, now, that maybe fine for you, but surely you don't think that's going to help me in myassignment down here in this deacons quorum." Oh yes, I do. Between being ahigh councilor and a member of the general board of the Sunday School, I was adeacons quorum adviser. A boy, the president, presided in the meetings, and Itaught the lessons out of the scriptures and out of the manual. I stayed veryclose to the lessons as they were outlined.

I remember one boy in the quorum had to miss a few meetings, sohe sent his brother to the class with a tape recorder. His brother recorded ourmeeting and took it home. It happened more than once. When the deacon cameback, I asked him why. I don't remember his words, but I remember that it wasclear he knew what I knew. God was trying to speak to that deacons quorum. Theboy wasn't anxious to have a tape recording to hear me; he was trying to hear God. He knew where to listenand how to hear.

He'd read the scriptures for us in class, and I knew he knewthem and loved them. And so, even when I wasn't teaching very well, by thepower of the Holy Ghost and from knowing the master's voice in the scriptures,he could hear what he needed to hear. The memory of that black recorder withits tape turning will always remind me of the scripture which says, "He thathath ears to hear, let him hear" ().

I spoke at his funeral just a few years later. He lived aboutas many years as the Prophet Joseph had lived when he saw God the Father andJesus Christ in the grove. My deacon hadn't seen a vision, but he had heard thevoice of God through his servants in a deacons quorum. He wanted to hear, heknew how, and he had the faith he could. Like the boy prophet Joseph, he knewthe heavens were open.

If you and I will study the scriptures and pray and tune ourhearts and ears, we will hear the voice of God in the voice of the people thathe has sent to teach and guide us and direct us. I hear it whenever I attendgeneral conference. You and I can take confidence in that assurance. Howeverlarge the kingdom will growand it will fill the earthyou will notever feel lost or forgotten, and you need never feel overwhelmed. God will callpeople to care about you and to teach you. And if you will listen and hear thevoice of God, the kingdom will roll forth to its appointed place, ready for thecoming of the Master.

None of us can see now all the wonders of technology andorganization and buildings that God may give us; but you, just you, hearing thevoice of God through your teacher and leader, will always be at its heart.

I'm grateful for the gift given to me of ears to hear. One ofmy great-grandfathers, John Bennion, walked or rode his horse from over Jordanto general conference to hear his name called out to go on a mission to Dixie.His journal doesn't say much, except just that he prepared to go, and he went.His assignment was to be a sheepherder. In his journal there is a record of anevening in which he met with Erastus Snow. He said another man was in the room;his name was Henry Eyring. And somewhere in St. George that night was BishopMiles Romney. They talked about sheep. And you might have thought they weretalking about something temporal. But not to those men, because they knew thesheep were for God's people. And they knew how to listen, and they knew how todo what they heard.