{"chapter_no":"25","chapter_title":"Sister Audrey Stewart","book_id":"2","book_name":"The Story of James","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"297","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":6,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 25<\/p>

Sister Audrey Stewart<\/h1><\/p>

 <\/p>

Audrey Stewart of Millville is diagnosed with a serious disease at a young age—The attending
doctor discovers the illness and considers the practicality of a priesthood blessing—Somewhat inactive in <\/i>
the Church<\/i>, the illness of Audrey helps him find greater meaning in his own life.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

In the spring of 1970, Gary and Barbara Stewart relocated to the town of Millville, a
small and peaceful community in Cache Valley, Utah. At the time of the move, they had three
children: Lisa, age nineteen; Jonathon, age seventeen; and Beth, age eight. Lisa was married in
the following year, and subsequently moved to Phoenix, Arizona with her spouse. A year later,
Jonathon was called to serve a mission in Mexico, and upon his return, enlisted in the U.S. Air
Force and moved to Colorado.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Also in 1970, six months after moving in, and just a few days before Christmas, a
beautiful new baby girl was born to the family. Gary and other priesthood holders in the family
joined together in sacrament meeting to give her a name and a blessing. The name pronounced
was Audrey Olivia Stewart. <\/p>

 <\/p>

A treasure to the family for a host of reasons, Audrey had a special spirit about her from
the moment she arrived home. Beth took to her warmly, always happy to assist her mom in the
chores large or small associated with the baby. Once Audrey was old enough, a small bed was
added to Beth’s bedroom. Beth was immediately delighted with her new roommate. The two
sisters would share many wonderful times together over the next few years. <\/p>

 <\/p>

At the age of six, however, Audrey started to show slight changes in her behavior. She
became easily tired when playing outside, and wasn’t hungry at mealtimes like before. She came
down with fevers for no apparent reason and she would feel nauseated and not be able to hold
down food. The family doctor, Dr. Lawrence Wood of the nearby town of Nibley, was consulted,
and he initially recommended treatment for normal flu symptoms. As time passed, however, and
the symptoms lingered, he decided to run more extensive tests. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The tests were submitted on the second Wednesday of July in 1977, and the results were
received back two days later on Friday morning. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Dr. Wood was in great spirits on that day. The weekend was coming up and contractors
had just completed a new deck in the backyard of his picturesque Nibley home. He had only one <\/p>

appointment scheduled, a routine physical set for 11:15, so he brought breakfast along with him
to the office and ate casually while reading the local newspaper. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Off to one side of his desk he noticed a package marked “Audrey Stewart” that had been
placed there by his secretary.<\/p>

 <\/p>

“Very good,” he said quietly. “That’s what all of us have been waiting for! Let’s see what
we have here.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

Opening the report, he read to himself, browsing through the first few items on the page.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Looks fine, no issues.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

He continued reading, reaching the results of the blood test next. Instantly, his heart
leaped and he gasped.<\/p>

 <\/p>

What<\/i>?<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

He quickly scanned the page again in disbelief. <\/p>

 <\/p>

This<\/i> can’t be! There must be a mix-up here.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

Picking up the phone, he called the lab and talked with the technician on duty. The two of
them reviewed the report point by point, with Dr. Wood becoming unduly harsh, even angry,
with the lab technician at times, but the information all checked out.<\/p>

 <\/p>

“<\/i>Thanks,” said Dr. Wood. “I just wanted to be absolutely sure on something like this.
We’ll obviously need to run more tests.” <\/p>

 <\/p>

The conversation ended. He hung up the phone. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Laying the lab report aside, he took off his glasses and laid them down on top of his desk,
closing his eyes in anguish. A dark cloud hung over the room—Audrey had leukemia. <\/p>

 <\/p>

There had been episodes like this in the past—situations where he as the doctor had to
share tragic news with a patient. But those times had usually involved older people. Here, it was
just a little girl. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The Stewarts were out of town, but would be coming in Monday morning to review the
test results with him. He would have to hold the terrible news to himself until then. A long and
sad weekend lay ahead. <\/p>

 <\/p>

At noon, he locked up his office and headed home for the day. He had planned to leave
early so he could help get things ready for the evening’s party. A few friends and neighbors from
the ward were coming over to enjoy the first ever barbecue on his new deck out back.<\/p>

At 5:30, all the guests had arrived and the party began. The food and drink were
marvelous and the party was enjoyable for all those who had been able to attend. Lawrence also
enjoyed the party somewhat, it being a chance to escape the sadness for a little while.<\/p>

 <\/p>

By 8:30, the party had concluded, and the guests had departed for home. Norah,
Lawrence’s wife of twenty-eight years, went inside to wash the dishes and then moved on to the
family room to watch TV. Outside, Lawrence watched the sunset from a comfortable patio chair
he had purchased earlier in the week. His thoughts returned to Audrey; as her doctor he was
helpless to do anything. In fact, he expected other, more specialized doctors in Salt Lake City to
be taking over her care almost immediately. Nevertheless, as a high priest in his Nibley ward, he
felt a higher duty to Audrey and her family. Thus, many questions entered his mind.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Was there any way to shield Audrey from the tragedy that lay ahead?<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

He lifted his hands from the armrests of the chair and looked at them. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The laying on of hands—what could be done for Audrey through a priesthood blessing? <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

The harsh reality of the situation was apparent.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Countless children and adults within <\/i>the Church<\/i> and<\/i> throughout<\/i> the world suffer and die
every day from leukemia and other diseases, so what would uniquely justify a miracle from God
in this<\/i> <\/i>instance?<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

From his chair, he looked out at the immense power of the sun that was setting in a
distance and wondered....<\/p>

 <\/p>

On the other hand, why not? <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

Is there any reason in heaven or on earth why this child cannot be healed? What was
practical to do and what was possible to do in faith here? <\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

Other questions entered his mind.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Is there a Melchizedek Priest<\/i>hood holder in Cache Valley who<\/i> has the faith sufficient to
heal her?<\/i> For surely, sweet little Audrey will do her part and believe.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

And what about me? I’m directly familiar with Audrey’s case and her circumstances. Can
I make an impact here? Do I have the faith necessary to heal her?<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

The need for a priesthood blessing had caused him to start thinking about his personal
worthiness before God. It came upon him suddenly, like a thief in the night. Was he prepared?
The answer, unfortunately, was no. The newly constructed deck and his beautiful ranch home in
Nibley, these were all very nice to have—things he had worked hard for many years to secure for
his family. But there was little joy in these things today. The needs of someone else were
foremost on his mind.<\/p>

<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

The reader may recall similar circumstances in the life of Charles White. He had been
desirous to help James, hoping for a miracle of some kind. In the hours immediately following
the piano-moving accident, he found himself alone, looking up expressionless at God from
within his fine North Ogden home. Already in life, he had concluded that a large, luxurious
home was not a means toward salvation, thereby embracing the powerful teachings of his
grandmother Ellie, as well as those of his Father in Heaven. And from that time forward, he had
watched and waited for an opportunity to consecrate himself more fully before the Lord. The
tragedy of James became the moment for him to spring into action, and he had been ready with
both desire and the money to assist. But money by itself was not enough to heal James; so
Charles, physically and emotionally exhausted as he was from the day’s events, had cast himself
upon his bed in serious prayer, reaching with his heart towards heaven for a miracle. <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

In like manner, Lawrence had been touched by the Spirit over the preceding several
hours, filling him with the desire to heal Audrey through a priesthood blessing. A change in his
life had occurred; he now realized there was a greater joy to be obtained than that which came
from all the luxuries he had accumulated over the years. He had a vision of this little girl running
in full spirit through the grass outside her Millville home––happy, joyful, playing games with the
other children, and with the hope of a full life ahead of her still intact<\/span>. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Audrey became a turning point in his life, an opportunity to look at himself through a
spiritual mirror. Without her, he might have continued down the pathway he had chosen for
himself, unaltered by events. His status before God would have been unchanged, and the
opportunity to repent would have been missed. But now the time to repent had indeed come, and
in taking advantage of this opportunity, he would soon gain a more sure hope of obtaining
eternal life. Norah, beside him all these years, would surely listen to him, and would most likely
follow his lead as he shared his feelings with her. The two of them would start to become more
active in the Church and attend the temple more often. They would strive to fulfill their potential
in life, doing great things for themselves and others in the ward.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Audrey was the catalyst. As part of her mission in life, this wonderful little girl would
soon go among the people performing mighty works of faith as a young miracle worker sent
down from heaven. Lawrence and Norah were the first of many souls she would bless in her
abbreviated life. Only six years old, she was a young lady missionary serving in the Millville,
Utah mission. Hidden from everyone on earth, she had worn a small nametag from the day she
was born that read “Sister Stewart, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Filled with love, filled with the Spirit of God, and having the faith of a child, she easily
exceeded her mission president’s quota of teaching opportunities and convert baptisms. <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Her homecoming to heaven would be joyful, but there would be tears among those she
left behind on earth as she departed the mission field<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

In the case of Lawrence, we need only look at who he was before his encounter with
Audrey. <\/p>

It could be said of him that he was a good man, someone well-respected in the
community and a friend to many in his local Nibley ward. He had a good relationship with his
bishop and other leaders in the ward and had even served once for a few years as the second
counselor in his priesthood quorum. Yet he and Norah liked to travel and do fun things on the
weekends, and this often took them away from home on Sundays, making it difficult for them to
serve others and contribute much to the work of the Lord. And even on those Sundays when
Lawrence was actually there in church, he seldom volunteered or involved himself in the routine
priesthood assignments. He would help out if explicitly asked to do something, but his
preference was always to attend church from a distance and avoid the limelight of Church
service.<\/p>

 <\/p>

His testimony of the Church had also been in decline for many years. He always brought
his scriptures with him to meetings, but was generally unaware of much of what they contained.
Thumbing through the indexes to find a scripture in Sunday School class, he would take notice
of the various book titles––1 Kings, Isaiah, Daniel, Romans, 1 Nephi, Mosiah, Abraham––<\/i>all
seemed the same to him. One title, one book was like another. Using the table of contents and the
chapter and verse numbering system, he was smart enough and educated enough to find his way
to virtually any scripture when called upon. But otherwise, reading the scriptures for him was
akin to reading a maintenance manual... like the one that came with a new medical instrument he
had purchased years ago for his doctor’s office, a manual he had never got around to reading and
had ended up handing over finally to his secretary/nurse to figure out.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Norah, for her part, had a testimony of the Church that was only slightly better. Her
favorite pastime at church had always been watching people arrive and looking to see what the
other women of the ward were wearing, as well as to observe the comings and goings of visitors
for missionary farewells and other special programs. Attending church was certainly uplifting to
her—an opportunity to be among friends and feel good inside. And every so often a Sunday
School lesson, a Relief Society lesson, or a talk in sacrament meeting would increase her faith by
a small amount. But the spiritual aspect of church had been lost to her some time ago, and her
knowledge of the scriptures was only minimally better than that of Lawrence. Thus, the
opportunity to repent had now come for her as well.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Over the next hour, the light from the sun slowly dissipated on the horizon. Norah
entered the kitchen to pour herself a glass of milk, glanced outside, and turned on the patio lights.
Seeing her through the window, Lawrence smiled and beckoned her to come join him on the
patio.<\/p>

 <\/p>

“I was thinking about something just now,” said Lawrence. “Years ago, we used to have
family prayer every night before going to bed. What if we were to start doing that again?”<\/p>

 <\/p>

“Sure, honey, that sounds fine,” responded Norah, somewhat surprised. \"Is there
something wrong? I noticed you were a little quiet this evening.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

“No, everything's okay,” he responded back. “I was just thinking how nice it would be to
start doing that again.”<\/p>

Several seconds passed; his facial expression became more circumspective.<\/p>

 <\/p>

“You know, there are days where I just feel empty inside. Do you know what I mean? It’s
like there's something missing in our lives.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

“Yes,” said Norah, “I know what you mean. I sometimes feel that way, too. We’ve been
doing a lot of traveling recently with friends, and it seems that each new trip is not much
different from those we've taken in years past. We've got the routine down pretty well, but it's
not as exciting as it used to be in the old days.\"<\/p>

 <\/p>

“Yes, I agree,” said Lawrence, “but it’s more than that. The last several hours, I’ve felt
the Spirit inside me. It's been really nice.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

“It’s funny you should mention that,\" said Norah. \"I did notice something a little different
about you today, but I wasn't sure what it was.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

“Shall we go inside?” asked Lawrence. “I can’t remember a day like this when I've felt so
at peace inside. I think a family prayer would be a nice way to end the day.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

“Sure,” said Norah. “It reminds me of when Scott was still living at home. We used to
have family prayer all the time back then when he was younger and he went to church with us.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

The two arose from their patio chairs and retired for the evening. A wonderful new era in
their lives was beginning. <\/p>"}