3 Nephi 14 - ASK

Jesus is still speaking to the people and teaching them. He teaches them not to judge and to ask God who will not deny them. Salvation is promised to those who do the will of the Father.

In verse 7 it says “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.”

This verse has personal significance to me. My life was pretty messed up and I was miserable. I had been taught by my parents and teachers all my life. I knew how to pray. I had not prayed for years – nine in fact! I don't remember exactly what it was that took me to my knees, but I remember kneeling at the side of my bed in total desperation – very broken. My prayer was not as I was taught as a child, however. I pleaded with the Lord: “Heavenly Father, whatever it is my parents are praying for, I'm ready to do to have it happen.” I cannot even begin to count the miracles that happened from that point on. It was so amazing and life changing.

The Lord has ever been mindful of my righteous prayers. There have been many times since that I have seen immediate results from pleading for help. One in particular was a day I was stewing over the possibility that a sibling was going to hurt my Dad terribly. I was distraught and finally went to my Heavenly Father. I was told to call my older and wiser brother who put me totally at ease. He said, “Connie, every experience we have is for our good and for our experience. Dad is a strong person and he will be fine.” I hung up from that conversation with a song in my heart the rest of the day. It was a real lesson to me that the Lord does answer our prayers. By the way, all was well on the day I feared for my Dad.

How does this apply to me today. Of course, I continue to have faith that the Lord hears and answers my prayers. He will not take the agency of others away from them, and they will make mistakes. However, I know that all things that happen are for our good and our experience – them as well as me. And like Pres. Hinckley so aptly said, “It will be okay.”