{"chapter_no":"3","chapter_title":"A Powerful Storm of Love and Faith","book_id":"3","book_name":"Springville","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"405","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":2,"page_content":"

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Chapter 3<\/p>

A Powerful Storm of Love and Faith<\/h1><\/p>

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Great miracles and showers of blessings occur in <\/i>a ward as momentum builds in the gospel<\/i>. <\/i><\/p>

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We have just witnessed a pivotal moment in the life of a great woman. She had been a
wonderful person already—active in the Church, righteous, worthy, and growing in the gospel––
but through this trial, she had been blessed by a manifestation of the Spirit and raised to a higher
level of faith. <\/p>

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Kneeling by the sofa in serious prayer, she had bathed the Savior’s feet with her tears and
then wiped them away with her hair. Her capacity to love others was increased as she repented.
Her heartfelt repentance, however, was only for the most modest of sins. <\/p>

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This woman, and her purity before God, should be closely noted. She has the capacity to
launch a perfect storm of faith and miracles in a ward, if not in the entire Church itself. <\/p>

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As we look to ourselves and seek after the motivation needed to go beyond the routine
callings and assignments we receive in the Church, we need only consider those pure and
innocent souls among us who stand in need, whether they are young or old, male or female, rich
or poor, single or married. The plight and suffering of just one person should be enough to
motivate us to act. And there is no reason why the compassion we feel today towards someone in
need has to diminish over time. We can make that person (or group of persons) the cause of our
life and save our own souls in the process. Sacrificing ourselves in the hope for others is where
our own salvation is found.<\/p>

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The needs of just one individual can motivate thousands or even millions of people to
want to reach out and help. Feelings of charity towards those in need also provide us the strength
to hold fast to the iron rod even as great disturbances and mists of darkness gather around us.<\/p>

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When there is a great storm, we are all thrown together into difficult circumstances and
placed on a more equal footing. The wind blows violently, there are strong rains and floods, the
power is knocked out, and normal life comes to a halt. We are reminded that we are all the same
before God, like the equality among us we experience inside the temple. Often in those trying
moments, we come together to help one another as we wait for normalcy to return. We share a
common purpose and make an effort to build bridges between us that normally don’t exist.
People appreciate each other more and new friendships develop almost overnight. <\/p>

A state of normalcy is what we experience every Sunday in our regular Church meetings.
What is lacking in normalcy, in calm waters, without a great storm occurring, is a lot. To achieve
Zion, we need a powerful storm of love and faith in the gospel to flood our homes, our ward
meetinghouses, and our stake centers with lots of pure, cleansing water.<\/p>

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Great miracles and showers of blessings occur in a ward as storm clouds gather and
momentum builds toward perfection. The windows of heaven open and great blessings rain down
upon us; for surely, the windows of heaven are not geographically limited to the St. George area,
nor are they unique to the law of tithing alone. This shower of blessings is also particularly good
for the needy––those who stand off alone in the shadows of the ward. They, as wonderfully
dramatized in the final scenes of Ben Hur with Miriam and Tirzah coming out of the cave, thirst
the most and enjoy the taste of the refreshing rain water as it pours down upon them<\/span>.<\/p>

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Initiating a powerful storm of good works is a key early step in the building of Zion. As
we start this process, the Spirit will respond by quickening desire within us, raising our energy
level, and brightening our countenances with a radiant smile. <\/p>

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On this point, we might note the change that occurred to the young Cosette in Les
Miserables<\/i> after she had escaped the clutches of Thenardiers and was no longer afraid of life:<\/p>

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The joy which we inspire has this charming property, that, far from growing meagre, like
all reflections, it returns to us more radiant than ever. <\/i><\/p>

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Cosette's face had even undergone a change, to a certain extent. The gloom had
disappeared from it. A smile is the same as sunshine; it banishes winter from the human
countenance.<\/i><\/p>

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The Spirit can quicken an individual, a family, a ward, a stake, or even the entire Church. <\/p>

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If our ward is quickened in this manner, this is what will become of us:<\/p>

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Many more who are not married today will enjoy the blessings of marriage. <\/p>

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Those who are already married will be happier than ever before and receive greater
fulfillment in their marriage relationship. <\/p>

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Those unable to marry in this life through no fault of their own will be immensely
blessed, even to an overflowing of blessings in their lives now and forever. And they will receive
all of the very same blessings of celestial marriage and exaltation in the eternities. <\/p>

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And finally, all of us in the Church will be more tightly bound together as one, having
close-knit families and close-knit wards. We will experience lives enriched by the Spirit beyond
anything we have ever imagined.<\/p>"}