Chapter 32

Family Spiritual Journal as a Liahona

Following the example of the Book of Mormon, we should maintain a spiritual record separate
from our regular family journal—Revelation and miracles as multistep projects.

In a desk drawer, on a shelf in the living room, or hidden away in a box in a closet, rests
the family journal. The journal is a key tool for parents to manage and track events that occur in
the family. In many ways, the Book of Mormon was like a family journal passed down from
Lehi and Nephi to their posterity. In it, explicit instructions were given to separate out the
important spiritual events—teachings, prophecies, and miracles that were great—and to maintain
them in a book separate from the general history of the people. There is no reason to doubt that
we as members of the Church are under the same obligation as Nephi to create a spiritual record
of our lives, something we can both share within our family today and have polished and ready
to pass down to future generations.

So, we should keep two family journals, one as the spiritual record of the family, and a
second to record all the other experiences of our lives. The choice as to what merits being
recorded in one versus the other is something parents can determine over time as entries are
made and perspective gained. As the family historian (like Mormon in a sense), able to revise
and edit prior writings, and to add precious commentary, context, and gospel insight into family
events, the mother or father can decide which things will be of most value to their children and
posterity. The goal should be to create a spiritual record of the family experiences that is
priceless and meaningful, rather than occupy space with things of secondary importance. Nephi’s
commandment to his posterity about the rules to apply for each record is a good guideline for us
as well.

And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a
commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them,
should be written upon these plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for
the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for other wise purposes,
which purposes are known unto the Lord...

Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the
wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry;
and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions
of my people.

A family’s spiritual journal is also an important tool to use in the urgent things we have
need of right now. It can help us track progress, daily or weekly, on the projects we have open
with the Lord.

For example, a very urgent situation for a family is when the father needs help finding a
job. When the father is out of work, it can create a cascading effect that raises other important
questions for the family where guidance from the Lord is also needed:

Should the mother work outside the home?

Should the family relocate in search of, or in acceptance of, a new job?

Should the husband take a job at lower pay or wait for a better one to come along?

Should the husband retrain himself for a new vocation or go back to school?

Should the family buy a home or rent an apartment if the husband takes a job in a new
location?

Clearly, there are a whole series of interrelated issues to work through and decide upon in
situations like this. Guidance from the Lord becomes urgent to us from day one. The decision we
make will be critical to the long-term financial and physical security of the family, to the strength
of the marriage that underpins the family structure, and to the feelings of hope all have about the
family’s future. It’s one of the most important family-level projects we will ever have in life.

How do we go about a job search, a selection of career, and/or our financial planning
from a spiritual standpoint?

The first task on day one is family prayer.

The second task might be to do a few hours of initial brainstorming to discuss and list out
the best ideas we have on the table at the moment. Included in these discussions might be interim
measures that can help us get by in the short term.

Obviously, any past decisions we have made in life will have a bearing on the options we
have at this moment. On the temporal side, we must factor in things we have or have not done in
the past with respect to our schooling and employment history, as well as the opportunities (or
lack thereof) that life presented to us growing up. And the same is also true on the spiritual side.
We need to take into account our past level of faithfulness and obedience to the Lord in the
months and years leading up to this point.

On the other hand, the past is the past. Moments like these should be a time for
hopefulness and not a time to dwell too much on past mistakes, whether those mistakes are our
own or those of others who may have impacted us. This is a time for repentance, a time to
forgive others, and a great time to make amends for any past mistakes. Our minds should be free
of guilt so we can be ready for a fresh start.

So task three is to clear our consciences before God––to repent, to forgive others, and to
make restitution for past mistakes.

Task four is to ramp up our family spiritual journal.

The words pronounced in our family prayers of step one, the brainstorming ideas from
step two, and the admissions we have about past life decisions in step three should all be
recorded as a new chapter on the first blank page of our spiritual journal. It’s 1st Nephi, Chapter
1, and we are recording an emergency, sackcloth-and-ashes trial of faith. But the similarity
should not be limited only to the numbering sequence of chapters. We need to be just like Nephi
and demonstrate faith in our trials, having his same level of patience and long-suffering. We
should be humble, sober, and honest in our assessment of past mistakes, and full of love for God
and all mankind if our desire is to use this spiritual journal as a Liahona to lead the family
forward. Recording these things at this critical moment helps us to be obedient, to be disciplined
and better organized, and to prepare our minds for revelation.

With this completed, our first spiritual project is launched.

Task five is to end day one with another family prayer. We can then go to sleep that first
night feeling more at peace with ourselves, knowing we are on the right path, trusting in God,
and putting our lives in the hands of the Lord.

Day two, like day one, and like all the days that will soon follow, begins and ends with a
family prayer.

Task six is to create a spiritual to-do list to go hand in hand with the brainstorming of
temporal ideas done in step two.

Personal prayer, indeed, serious prayer, should be added as a task for each member of the
family to do every day—prayers on our knees and prayers in our hearts all day long. While the
father is out interviewing for a job or in the family room looking through the want ads, the
mother and children should be praying silently in their hearts. Remember, faith demonstrated at
the family level can move mountains. And how beautiful it is when it happens! It is not just a
means toward an important goal right now, but an end in itself that will benefit the family
forever.

There are plenty of other things that can be done for task six: a special fast might be held,
a trip to the nearest temple could be scheduled, and certainly, scripture study and family gospel
discussions are always good tasks to include on days like these. Pages and pages of descriptions
of these days––of our prayers, of our feelings, and of the uncertainties we face––should be
recorded as we pass through difficult times. These writings, and the uncertainties of the moment,
will be of great value to us later to reflect upon when better times come. Regular reading of past
entries in our family spiritual journals will be very inspiring and is an excellent family home
evening activity.

Developments on the job search front, both good and bad, should be recorded. While they
may not necessarily seem uplifting to us during the moment of trial, they are part of the spiritual
project’s important details and should be included and perhaps revised at a later date. The
information we will have on these early days is unsettled and much is still unknown, so the initial
recording of events may be still in raw form. With the advantage of hindsight later, we can add
comments and edit it into a final, more permanent form. Computer technology today makes
editing easier and faster than what Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni had to deal with centuries ago
when making edits on golden plates.

Beyond task six, what else can we do as we seek urgent help from the Lord?

Are there extra credit opportunities available to perhaps speed up the process and help us
improve our standing before the Lord?

The answer is a resounding "Yes!" There is certainly room to show forth additional faith,
to do extra credit work towards something we need from God. We can help our cause immensely
in the choices and new commitments we make in our lives by going about things proactively and
controlling our circumstances through faith rather than being left helpless in the world.

Every day, countless promises from God related to patriarchal blessings, Church callings,
and service to others go unfulfilled among the active and inactive members of the Church, and
even more so among the many souls in the world who have yet to seek out the truth of God in
their lives. The vast majority of these promises are on paper and not yet realized. So, in a sense,
there are a large number of unclaimed blessings sitting in “inventory” up in heaven, ready to be
“shipped” to us if we are willing. Some of these blessings, in fact, may even be unclaimed from
our own personal heavenly “pick list,” blessings promised to us in our own lives that we have
failed to live up to and claim for ourselves. Within these, we will find plenty of opportunities for
further blessings... more blessings, in fact, than we could ever dream of.

In order for us to make good management decisions at times like these, we also need to
be patient, wise, and learn how to control our feelings of urgency with the Lord. Impatience with
God creates a sandy foundation for our home. We need our home to be built upon something
solid. A vision of Zion in our hearts and minds will give us a higher purpose in our lives,
allowing us to subordinate our immediate needs to something greater and long-lasting. In this
way, we can remake the foundation of our home with rock, concrete, and steel.

Do we have a vision of Zion for ourselves, our families, and our ward?

That’s the question the Lord will be asking us. The answer we give in response will tell
us much about ourselves and what our plans are for the rest of our lives. A vision of Zion is the
ultimate extra credit opportunity. It brings calmness to us as we face difficult trials because we
know the Lord is with us. It may be, in fact, the decisive factor in shaping the decisions we make
during a crisis, and it will probably be decisive in the actions the Lord undertakes on His side to
shape our future.

Descriptions of the new feelings we have for Zion, and our desires to serve God and man,
will probably be among the most beautiful writings we will ever include in our spiritual journal.
A vision of Zion in one’s soul can lead to revelations and miracles of all kinds and can, most
assuredly, give us the help we need to provide food, housing, physical security, and financial
stability for our families.

Finding employment, however, is only one type of urgent need we may have in life.
Serious illnesses, physical handicaps, and emotional wounds will almost always be more urgent
and serious in nature to us than the search for a new job or the choice of a new career. But here
again, the family spiritual journal is a wonderful tool to help track progress and find solutions in
these critical need areas of our lives.

The words pronounced as we bless one who is sick ring powerfully in the ears of the
Lord when accompanied by strong and sincere desires for the establishment of Zion in our
homes and communities. Such desires increase our motivation to perform a priesthood blessing
in the first place; but they can also, in the blessing’s aftermath, help us to receive further light
and knowledge through family-level revelation so we can better understand the Lord’s will in the
matter and don't need to guess.

It is written: Lay hands suddenly upon no man.

This might be considered not only for the manner in which callings are given in the
Church, but also as a good precept to follow when we perform priesthood blessings and seek for
miracles. Successful priesthood blessings almost always involve a multistep process and a series
of events extending beyond the blessing itself. They will benefit when the person administering
the blessing (and the person being administered to) receives revelation days, weeks or even
months beforehand to prepare himself, and who may then receive revelation afterward to
understand the impact the blessing had where the outcome is still in doubt.

The peace and confidence that come to us by knowing the mind and will of God in a
matter may end up being more valuable to us than the miracle itself we are seeking. Revelation
from God is a miracle already. Empowered with this knowledge, we can more easily endure a
trial, and be able to endure it over a long period of time if necessary. We can sit back, watch
ourselves grow in faith, and have more certainty for a successful resolution, ultimately, in
whatever it is that ails us.

If we are privileged to know the Lord’s will through the Spirit, and realize that a miracle
large or small is possible for us, then our next task is to find out what the requirements are and
try to meet them prior to the blessing being performed. Revelation of this kind might often lead
us to a medical or technological solution that before was invisible to us, accomplishing much the
same result in the end as if it were a dramatic, instantaneous healing from a priesthood blessing.
It isn't always new technology that is needed to solve a medical problem; there may be
something helpful among the myriad of technologies and procedures already available and
existing in the world. Ad hoc priesthood blessings are certainly valuable if insufficient time is
available. But for great miracles, it would seem that significant preparation beforehand––days,
weeks, or months in advance––and lots of patience afterward, is what is needed. Instantaneous

miracles are possible, but even when they happen quickly, they're more likely to happen when
revelation from God comes in advance to prepare us, or afterward to guide us to a successful
outcome.

Consider the faith one will have administering a blessing if he already knows the will of
God! What we are basically doing is pushing the preparation backward in time, way before the
exact day and hour a blessing is to be performed. The question then becomes: Is the revelation
we received in advance of the blessing truly revelation at all? Excellent question! A question we
should take back to the Lord in prayer for confirmation again and again. This is how great things
come about in our lives and how we learn to do wondrous things in the priesthood.

At the same time, we should not be afraid to make mistakes. Making mistakes, finding
out why a mistake was made, and then tracking the mistake pattern in our family spiritual journal
is what the Book of Mormon is all about, and also what the Old Testament, New Testament,
Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants are all about. All mistakes––small ones or
large ones. Whole peoples and whole civilizations made mistakes and learned difficult lessons
from them: the lessons of Laman and Lemuel; the lessons of the Nephite nation; the lessons of
the Jaredites; the lessons of the Israelites, generation after generation; the lessons of early
converts and leaders of the restored Church in the 1830s and 1840s. All of these spiritual journal
entries we make will provide lessons for us to learn from so that we and our posterity can avoid
making the same mistakes all over again. But we will make mistakes, so we need to have a
process in place to correct them.

As we record the events surrounding a blessing, we might wonder if there is any benefit
of trying the same priesthood procedure again a week later; and if we do, is there anything that
can or should be done differently? What did we learn from the first blessing? Are we guessing,
or do we know what actually resulted from the first blessing that was performed? These are good
questions to pray about and find the answers to. The questions and answers in each case are part
of the normal learning process that goes on in spiritual matters and they provide great material to
record in our spiritual journal; for, sometimes, even in the act of writing, and as we better
organize the events and what has happened more clearly in our minds, revelation may come in
that very moment. Writing these things down and organizing them also shows our gratitude to
the Lord, demonstrating to Him that we are keenly interested in the fine details of His works.

Great spiritual events can happen in our lives. As we record them and study them closely,
even more will occur. Over time, we will see patterns develop, and our experiences, learned from
and written down in the past, can be applied to them. A dream, the hearing of the voice of the
Spirit, a special moment or even a beautiful vision that occurs in the temple, all of these things
should be written with humility and with sensitivity towards sacred things. Close, daily
supervision of all this via our spiritual journal will often lead us to the exact results we desire or,
as was stated previously, to something even better.

The family spiritual journal is like a bridge to take us from where we are today to where
we want to be in the future. It is, literally, a Liahona for our family.