Inspiration

“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.”

(Doctrine and Covenants Section 8, Verse 2)

Inspiration is a form of communication that we receive from our Father in Heaven.  It often comes as sudden thoughts to our mind, and feelings in our heart, that there is something we either should do or not do.  I always believed that inspiration was real, and that people really did receive direction from God, but I never realized as a 12 year old girl that it would happen to me.

I lived in a somewhat tough area of Los Angeles County growing up, and gang life was evident all around—from the graffiti on the walls and sidewalks everywhere you went, to the crime and violence that often existed around us. I was fairly street-smart, though, and believed that if I just stayed away from certain areas or people that I would be OK.

One day I decided that I wanted to ride my bike over to my best friend's house so that we could “hang out”. In order to get from my home to her home, I had to ride through a park called Little Lake Park which was usually safe, but also had certain areas you didn't go to.  As I was getting my bike ready to go and was about to head out the door, I heard a voice say clearly to my mind, “Don't go yet.”  Why would I think that? There wasn't any reason, I thought, that I would feel the need to delay leaving, so I again started out the door when the thought came even more strongly to my mind, “Don't go yet!” I actually started to feel as if someone was holding me back and keeping me from leaving my apartment. I stood there for about a minute or two, and then suddenly felt the urgency to stay leave me, and I felt like I could go.  That was weird, I thought to myself, as I started riding toward the park.

As I began riding on the park's cement path that cut a diagonal through the green grass, I saw up ahead of me a low-rider car pass by on the street ahead, and several teenage boys who I could tell were gang members started shouting and throwing glass bottles at someone that I couldn't see.  I stopped where I was, and suddenly saw a gun come up and point through the window of the car, and then shoot.  They whooped and laughed, and then drove away.  Who had they shot at? Was someone hurt?  I saw people come running from either side of the bathrooms where the gunman had shot, and one of them shouted “Call 911! He's dying!”  I rode up gingerly to just beyond the brick bathroom building, and saw a teenage boy lying there, slumped against the bricks, bleeding.  The police soon came and the other bystanders told them what happened, but I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed.  Someone had been shot and killed simply because he was wearing a certain color, or because they just didn't like him.

Then the next realization that came to my mind was that I would have been right next to the shooters and the victim if I had left my apartment when I wanted to. I felt guilty on the one hand, that this young man had been killed, while I had been saved; but then I also felt so grateful that I had listened to that still small voice that had told me “Don't go yet.”  I didn't know what the Lord would save me for, or why he would protect me like he did, but I felt like I needed to be better after this experience, because there must be something that He wanted to me to do in the future. 

I believe that becoming a Mother was one of those things that he saved me for, and I am so grateful that I lived to see the day when I would hold four little babies in my arms and know that they were mine for eternity.  Even if that was the only thing for which I was saved, I believe it would be enough of a reason for me to say that my life was worth saving; and I have learned that if the Lord talks, LISTEN.

When have you felt the inspiration of the Lord come to you?  How has it influenced your life through listening to the promptings of the Still Small Voice?