Gracenotes

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things

-Alma 26:12

Today I had one of those epiphany moments. One of those experiences that reminds us why we're here, reminds us just how lucky we are. It started with a story Brother Marsh told us today in Book of Mormon. The story went like this:

A patriarch was dying of a heart problem. All the doctors told him to get his affairs in order because no one had ever survived this condition. The patriarch was prompted to go talk to a certain young doctor about it. This doctor told the patriarch the same thing, but when he was told about the prompting, the young doctor agreed to perform the surgery if the patriarch would first get his affairs in order and say goodbye to his family. As the doctor began the surgery, he prayed for inspiration. As an answer to his prayer, he saw a diagram appear over the heart, detailing exactly how he should sew up the valve. That doctor was Russel M. Nelson, a current member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

I was really struck by this story. Elder Nelson was directly instructed, by the Holy Ghost, how to perform a new and life saving heart procedure. He didn't invent the surgery, Heavenly Father revealed it to him. I realized that we can't really attribute human brain power to any innovation. All knowledge comes from God, every discovery is inspired in some way. After all, we were created by our Heavenly Father, so even our capacity to think is a blessing from him.

But there is something Elder Nelson had to do to perform the new heart procedure; he had to be ready to receive the prompting. He had to have the faith to begin the surgery in the first place. He had to have the medical training necessary to understand the heart and how to operate on it. He had to be worthy and have the spiritual capacity necessary to receive the prompting when it came.

I realized that that is why I am here at BYU. It's not so I can single handedly solve all the world's problems. It's not so I can show everyone how smart I am. It is so I will have the tools necessary to be an instrument in God's hands. It is so when he calls on me to comfort a child, to be there for a student, to teach someone something that will change their life, I will be prepared. I will have the education and the spiritual discernment necessary to follow the promptings of him who is the source of all knowledge, him who knows how I can help others far better than I do. That Heavenly Father who has brought me to where I am and who will guide me to wherever I am going. I'm not here just to become an English teacher, I'm here to become a servant of God.

(FYI- I stole the title of this post from my friend Jason Ray's blog, and I think he stole it from Brian Doyle. Just giving credit where credit is due. :))