A Child’s Prayer

Today was one of those family days, our newest granddaughter was blessed in my son’s sacrament meeting. My wife, my daughter and two grandsons made the trip from Logan to Salt Lake City and as we were approaching our son’s home we noticed a little girl dressed in a white dress on the side of the road struggling with her bike. It was one of our granddaughters. She wanted to ride her bike the few blocks to church so she had set out excited to go to church but her beautiful long white dress got tangled in the chain of her bike and she was trying to get it out. We stopped and I tried to help but it would not come out. We called her dad and asked him to bring some tools so we could take off the wheel and get her dress out of the chain. While we were waiting for him a neighbor drove into his drive way and and got some tools and we were able to get the wheel off and her dress out of the chain. The hem of her dress was greasy and her dad took her and the bike home so she could change. We made it to church on time and all was well – or so we thought.

For those who are not familiar with a baby blessing in the LDS church, the father brings the infant (usually 1 or 2 months old) to the front of the congregation along with other family members, friends, and the Bishop; there were seven or eight of us for this blessing. We all stand in a circle and with one hand under the baby and the other hand on the shoulder of the one standing next to us and the father pronounces the blessing. As soon as our son started the blessing our granddaughter, Mira Danielle, started crying. Not just a little whimper, a nice big howl. There was a bit of a pause while our son john tried to quite Mira and then he continued the blessing. It as a beautiful blessing and all was well.

Mira Daniell Potter

After church and while we were at John’s home for brunch he told us what happened during the blessing. He said when he started the blessing because Mira was crying he forgot what he was supposed to do, thus the pause. He was trying to quite Mira and standing next to him was his older brother and he was rubbing John’s back and whispering in John’s ear that it was going to be ok, to take a breath and go ahead. Also in the circle was John’s friend and co-worker, Steve. He was saying a silent prayer that Mira would stop crying and just then she did. Normally when we bless a baby they lay the child on its back with everyone’s hands underneath. John was trying to get Mira up in a seated position while everyone else was trying to keep her down, thinking John was about to drop her. All this time (just a few seconds) I was remembering what it was like for me to bless him as a baby and was thinking –pay back. Well not really I was just praying he would be able to continue in spite of the crying baby.

All of this was going on while everyone’s eyes were closed for prayer, except for John who was trying to help Mira. Finally, John was able to get Mira upright and she looked at John who was looking at her and she smiled and stopped crying. As they both continued looking into each other’s eyes John gave a beautiful and touching blessing telling Mira she was a special child of our Heavenly Father and that she had a beautiful voice. After the blessing we all went and sat down and the sacrament meeting went on as usual.

The first Sunday is a testimony meeting in the LDS Church where members come up to the podium and share their testimonies of faith, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, the restoration of the Church, etc. Nine-year-old Jordan, the granddaughter that had the problem with her bike, got up and told how she had set out on her bike for church but got her dress caught in the chain. She tried to get the dress out of the chain but couldn’t. She said she then said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help her. It was soon after that when we came around the corner and saw her and stopped to help. She said she knew that our help was an answer to her prayer and said she knew Heavenly Father loved her.

When we set out from Logan to go to the baby blessing we were just going to go straight to the church but we made such good time that we decided to go to our son’s home before going to church. There may be some that would say that it was a coincidence that we were there to help Jordan, but I don’t think so. I do believe that it was an answer to a child’s prayer. One of my favorite primary songs is called “A Child’s Prayer” and it goes:

1.     Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer ev'ry child's prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away,
But I feel it close around me as I pray.
Heavenly Father, I remember now
Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:
"Suffer the children to come to me."
Father, in prayer I'm coming now to thee.

2.     Pray, he is there;
Speak, he is list'ning.
You are his child;
His love now surrounds you.
He hears your prayer;
He loves the children.
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav'n.

(Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938)

Jessica, our daughter-in-law, told us that Mira is Latin for wonderful miracle and Danielle is Hebrew for God is my judge; so Mira Danielle means God has judged or created a wonderful miracle. Today Mira's name really was demonstrated in her blessing it was a wonderful miracle.

Today not only was a child’s prayer answered for our granddaughter, but many other prayers were answered today as well. It was one of those wonderful family days that I will always remember.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

A Change of Heart

Today (Sunday) was a difficult, yet rewarding, day. It happens frequently when you serve in a married student ward. We had several couples that today was their last Sunday in our ward. It is difficult to say goodbye knowing it may be the last time you see them. On the brighter side over the past few weeks we have had nine new couples move in. Most of the new couples when they introduce themselves say they have been married for two or three weeks, some less.

Many of the couples that are leaving have been married for two years or more and have one or two children. I know you will think I’m crazy, but one of the couples moving out of the ward have been married for four years, an eternity for a student ward! There is a definite difference in their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in their love for each other. They have grown from the honeymoon couple to a family committed to each other and the Gospel – They have experienced the “mighty change in your hearts” that Alma talked about, they have been “spiritually born of God” and “received his image in (their) countenances” (Alma 5:14).

The best part of serving in a married student ward is seeing them grow, not only in the gospel, but as couples. These couples grow in many ways; their priorities change as they focus on their spouses needs instead of their own. They are focused on getting through school and starting a new life with their eternal companion. They accept callings to serve in the ward and are dedicated to magnifying these callings. They really do experience an increase of the Savior’s image in their countenances when they lose themselves in the service of others.

I don’t want to paint some rosy picture perfect life that these couples are having because most couples go through some tough times because that is life. We have had couples that have dealt with cancer, miscarriages, unemployment, problems with school, and guess what they have even had problems getting along with their spouse! None of us are free from life’s challenges because that is the Lord’s plan to come here and experience life and learn how to cope. Most of the time these couples get through it, but sometimes they don’t and we help them the best we can.

Elder Mervyn B. Arnold in a BYU-Idaho devotional address spoke of how President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, got through his college years, he said:

But his career as an internationally renowned heart surgeon and medical researcher did not come easily. Because of advanced training and military service, the time between President Nelson getting his doctor’s degree and going into practice was 12½ years. During those long and lean years, the Nelsons welcomed their first five children.

Of his financial struggles as a newlywed, he remembers: “Finances eventually became so straitened that [my wife] Dantzel took a second job, working evenings as a clerk in a music store downtown. Once, when there was too much month at the end of [our] money, [we] found [our]selves in the hole by about forty-three dollars. On this occasion, [I] picked up Dantzel after school and took her to the LDS Hospital, where [we] each sold a pint of blood for twenty-five dollars. This gave [us] enough cash to retire [our] bills. As the needle was withdrawn from Dantzel’s arm, she said, … ‘Don’t forget to pay tithing on my blood money!’”²⁶

Sister Arnold and I started out in about the same financial condition as President and Sister Nelson. I met Sister Arnold at BYU. After dating for a few months, I decided I wanted to ask her to go steady, so I bought some Neil Diamond tickets and asked her to go to the concert with me. On the way from Provo to Salt Lake, I asked how she would feel about not dating other boys for a time. She thought for what I felt was eternity at the time and then replied, “I guess we can try it for a little while.” On the way home from the concert, I asked her to marry me.

When we got married a few months later, we had a mere $42 to buy all our furniture. My mother bought us a bed for our wedding present, and the rest of our furniture we purchased from an older woman who was moving into an assisted living center. She gladly sold us all of her very old furniture for the $42.

I must admit that most of it looked like Moses had drug it through the Red Sea. The table and chairs were badly worn. The washer and dryer looked as though they had not been used in years, but, to our surprise, they both worked. The couch had only three legs. This actually turned out to be a blessing because my brother Robert gave us an old TV, and when you turned it on, the picture on the screen was on exactly the same slant as the three-legged couch. (Increasing in Christ, Elder Mervyn B. Arnold, BYU-Idaho Devotional, November 10, 2015))

This is a familiar story for the couples in the married student stake I serve in. They are all going through similar experiences and most of them are handling it like President Nelson and Elder Arnold did.

I have told the members of our ward that there are four reasons why we have student wards and not just have them attend the regular family wards:

1. The members of our wards are all students and going through the same experiences.
2. Student wards have a responsibility to be a buffer between the philosophies of men that are taught at the University and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can focus on it because all of them are students, are about the same age, and they understand what is going on with each other.
3. We focus on the student’s situations and help them gain a foundation for their marriage and family life  so when the graduate and move on to other wards they will be contributing members.
4. We help the members go through the process of being spiritually born of God and being committed to the Gospel and service in the kingdom of God.

To the members who are leaving, we pray that the Lord will bless you in all things. I know he will if you put him first in all things. We are grateful you shared your first years of marriage with us, and know your lives together will be a great journey if you keep the covenants you made in the temple.

To the new couples that have begun their lives together we are grateful you have chosen to have us be a part of your journey and I can promise if you will strive to experience an increase of the Savior’s image in your countenances that you will have that rebirth and mighty change of heart the scriptures testify will come to those who seek it.

Your comments and questions are welcome.

The Mirror of Erised

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Harry finds the Mirror of Erised. When Harry looks into the mirror he sees himself with his parents. When Ron looks into it he sees himself as Head Boy and the Quidditch Captain holding the Quidditch Cup. Professor Dumbledore explains that “the mirror shows us the deepest desires of our hearts. It gives us neither knowledge or truth. We must not dwell on dreams and forget to live”.

 The Mirror of Erised from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

One of the greatest thing about reading books like the Harry Potter series is we get to witness the epic lives of the characters in the books. We laugh with Harry when he traps Dudley in the snake pen, or when Harry tries to ask Cho to the Yule Ball. We cry with him when Serius or Dobby die. We swell with pride when Harry conjures his patronus for the first time. The same is true about the characters in Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings. It doesn’t matter what the book or movie, we can lose ourselves in them just like the mirror of Erised. If we are not careful we can live our lives through the characters of a book instead of living our own lives. Saying that does not mean I don’t love to read, I do. I love the classics and other books. I really like to read the historical fiction where fictional characters are used to tell historical events.

When we look at our lives or our family and friends we don’t see the epic lives like we read in the books. But if we really look at our lives they are more epic than story book characters because they are real. When we read a biography or accounts from history, the people we read about probably did not think their lives were all that exciting or epic. There are some exceptions to this like the signers of the Declaration of Independence. I’m sure they knew that what they were doing would change history. But before that they probably thought their lives were mostly normal and not worthy of the history books.

When we take the time to write down events that happen in our lives, even ones that seem ordinary when we read them later you will see how epic our lives really are. Our family recently had a family reunion where we celebrated the 90^th birthday of my mother. All six children, five boys and one girl, of mom and  dad (my dad passed away in 2006) were there along with many grandchildren and great grandchildren. One of the fun things we did was show movies of past family reunions when many of our children where the age of the great grandchildren. The great grandchildren loved watching their parents doing silly things. Each evening we sat around a fire or in the pavilion telling stories of when we were young. Stories were told of playing hide and seek with our friends as we ran all over the neighborhood, stories were told of growing up working at Hal’s Drive Inn (like McDonalds), stories of our town cop that looked and acted like Barney from the TV Show Andy Griffith, stories of how we managed to stay out of Dad’s court (he was the Justice of the Peace for our town) when we got into mischief, and stories of meeting our wives and getting married.

4 Generation of Potters - My part of the family is in red!

Some of the stories I told were falling in love with Peggy Sue in the third grade. All the boys were in love with Peggy Sue. I even bought her a plastic diamond ring. The story of how I broke the school cross country record running bare foot was a favorite with the great grandchildren. The time in high school when I flunked speech class when I gave a speech about making chocolate chip cookies (you had to be there) was my favorite. I told stories of practical jokes played on teachers, going to prom, how I managed to get accepted to Brigham Young University, dancing with the BYU Folk Dancers, playing soccer for BYU and eventually deciding to serve an LDS Mission.

The third generation (our children) are now old enough that they have exciting stories to tell. My son, John, told a story of when he went to Florida one summer to sell animated stories from the scriptures. It was a disaster for him and one day he was in a car accident and totaled his VW Rabbit. The car was still able to drive and he had no other way to get home so he drove the car 3000 miles from Florida to Utah. The windows were all broken out and the sides all bashed in but he could drive it. On the way home it rained and even snowed, he almost froze to death but he managed to get home to Logan, Utah. When he tells the story it is a lot funnier.

I am in the process of writing down stories from my life. The book is called Stories of the Real Harry Potter. I have included stories of growing up in Argos, Indiana; stories from my elementary and high school years, my college years, my mission, marriage and family. I have included faith promoting stories like “The Ironic Priesthood”, my dream of becoming an airline pilot, deciding to serve a mission, how I met and married my wife, my call as a bishop, and many other times when the Lord had a hand in directing my life and protecting me or my family.

Our children, great grandchildren and beyond will read these stories and know how epic our lives really were. But it will only happen if we take the time to record them. The inscription on the mirror of Erised (which is desire spelled backards) says “Erised stra ehru oy tube cafru oyt on wohsi”. If you look at that statement in a mirror and changed the spacing it reads “I show not your face but your heart’s desire”. What is it that we desire most of all? I believe it is that our posterity will know that the lives we lived were epic and that we lived lives of faith and integrity.

Your comments and questions are welcome.