Father Too
Busy President David O. McKay
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A
son of Bishop John Wells was killed in Emigration Canyon on a railroad
track ... Sister Wells was inconsolable. She mourned during the three
days prior to the funeral, received no comfort at the funeral, and was
in a rather serious state of mind. One day, soon after the funeral services,
while she was lying on her bed relaxed, still mourning, she says that
her son appeared to her and said, "Mother, do not mourn, do not
cry. I am all right." He told her that she did not understand how
the accident happened and explained that he had given the signal to
the engineer to move on, and then made the usual effort to catch the
railing on the freight train; but as he attempted to do so his foot
caught on a root and he failed to catch the hand rail and his body fell
under the train. It was clearly an accident. Now listen! He said that
as soon as he realized that he was in another environment he tried to
see his father but he couldn't reach him. His father was so busy with
the duties in his office that he could not respond to his call. Therefore,
he had come to his mother. He said to her, "You tell father that
all is well with me and I want you not to mourn any more." President
McKay made the statement that the point he had in mind was that when
we are relaxed -in a private room we are more susceptible to whisperings
of the Spirit and that so far as he was concerned, his best thoughts
come after he gets up in the morning and is relaxed and thinking about
the duties of the day; that impressions come more clearly, as if it
were to hear a voice. Those impressions are right. If we are worried
about something and upset in our feelings, the inspiration does not
come. If we so live that our minds are free from worry and our conscience
is clear and our feelings are right toward one another, the operation
of the Spirit of the Lord upon our spirit is as real as when we pick
up the telephone. ("Prayer" [address delivered to seminary and institute faculty], Brigham Young University [Provo, 6 July 1956], pp. 14-16) |
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