Where My Shepherds Are, There am I Also

 Sister Jones is an assistant Matron in our temple. She had a dream the other night where she saw the words, "Where my shepherds are, there am I also," and then it was gone. She didn't know what it meant, but she pondered about those words as she went on her vacation to Vegas and Utah to visit family.

Her vacation ended in Missouri...in prison. She sat in a line of chairs with her husband, waiting to be called to visit her brother. Every so often, she would hear a loud buzz, then a door would open and a prisoner would come out, look around to see who had come to visit them, till he saw a brother, sister, parent, spouse, or church visitor he knew, then the joy on his face would be so palpable, anyone seeing it could feel it, too. Then they would run to each other and hug. 

As sister Jones watched this happen over and over, waiting for her turn to hug her brother she thought of the spirits in spirit prison, and the joy they feel when they are set free. The joy they feel when their work is done.

Then she realized, "I have seen that joy before. Where have I seen it?"

She knew. She sees it whenever temple workers meet each other or someone they haven't seen a long time in the temple...and hug. And the words, "Where my shepherds are, there am I also, came back to her mind." We are shepherds when we do the work to save others. 

There is a God

 Our Sunday School topic was on Trials and Tribulation. The teacher opened the class by asking, "Why do some people not believe there is a God? Among the answers was the question: "Why do bad things happen to good people if there is a God?"

While we discussed the answers to that question, I recalled the time I was in the hospital for 5+ weeks and nothing was working, so I was sent to a nursing home to die. Everyone thought I would die. My family came to visit because I was going to die.

I even believed I would die, but BECAUSE I BELIEVED IN GOD, I DID NOT FEAR DEATH. In fact, I believed my life to be in His hands, and regardless of what happened, it would be all right. That belief, that hope, brought me peace and calm. The Spirit of God was with me.

I cannot even imagine what life's trials would be like if I did not have a belief and hope that there is indeed a loving God, and that He is aware of me and all I endure (regardless of tribulation), that He loves me unconditionally, and that I will be with Him again.

Because I have that hope and belief, I act on that belief. That is why I pray to God...and interestingly enough, those answers, feelings and directions have been manifested in miraculous ways in my life. So yes, the evidence comes AFTER a trial of your faith. Don't ever give up. There is a God. Have hope and faith to believe in Him.