Hank Smith: 00:02 Hello, my friends. Welcome to followHIM Favorites. This is where John and I are sharing a single story to go with each week’s lesson. John, we are in 3 Nephi 20 through 26, and I have a story for you. Although you may remember it, it was given in General Conference 24 years ago, turn of the century, October 2000. If you go to 3 Nephi 20 verse 41, the Lord says, “Go ye out from the midst of her, meaning Babylon, wickedness, “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” Well, Elder Holland in this talk called Sanctify Yourselves tells this story about being clean.

  00:43 He says, “Let me share a story with you suggesting how soon and how unexpectedly these moments can come that you need to be clean.” He says, “On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 30th, 1998, a little league football team in Inkom, Idaho was out on the field for its midweek practice. They had completed their warmups and were starting to run a few plays from scrimmage. Dark clouds were gathering as they sometimes do in the fall, and it began to rain lightly, but that was of no concern to a group of boys who loved playing football. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, an absolutely deafening crack of thunder split the air inseparable from the flash of lightning that illuminated, literally electrified the entire scene. At that very moment, a young friend of mine, AJ Edwards, then a deacon in his ward of the McCammon, Idaho stake was ready for the ball on a handoff that was sure to be a touchdown, but the lightning that had illuminated earth and sky struck AJ Edwards from the crown of his football helmet to the soles of his shoes.”

  01:57 “The impact of the strike stunned everyone, knocking players to the ground, leaving one player temporarily without a sight, and virtually everyone else dazed and shaken. Instinctively, they started running for the pavilion next to the park. Some of the boys began to cry, some began to pray. Through it all, AJ Edwards lay motionless on the field. Brother David Johnson of the Rapid Creek Ward rushed to the player’s side. He shouted to coach and fellow ward member, Rex Schaefer, ‘I can’t get a pulse.’ These two men rather miraculously both trained as EMTs, started a life-against-death effort in CPR. Cradling AJ’s head as the men worked, was the young defensive coach of the team, 18-year-old Bryce Reynolds. As he watched Brother Johnson and Brother Schaefer urgently applying CPR, he had an impression, ‘I’m confident it was a revelation from Heaven in every sense of the word.’ He remembered vividly a priesthood blessing that the Bishop had once given his grandfather following an equally tragic and equally life-threatening accident years earlier.”

  03:05 “Now, as he held this young deacon in his arms, he realized for the first time in his life he needed to use his newly conferred Melchizedek Priesthood in a similar way. In a forthcoming call to serve a mission, young Bryce Reynolds had been ordained an Elder just 39 days earlier. Whether he audibly spoke the words or uttered them under his breath, Elder Reynolds said, ‘AJ Edwards, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the power and authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which I hold, I bless you that you’ll be okay. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.’ As Bryce Reynolds closed that brief, but fervent blessing offered in the language of an 18-year-old, AJ Edwards drew his first renewed breath.”

  03:53 Elder Holland goes on to say more prayers, more miracles, more priesthood blessings, an ambulance drive to Pocatello, a near-hopeless life flight to the University of Utah. He says, “It is sufficient to say that a very healthy and very robust AJ Edwards is in the audience tonight with his father as my special guests. I also recently talked on the telephone with Elder Bryce Reynolds, who has been serving faithfully in the Texas Dallas Mission. I love these two wonderful young men.”

  04:26 And then he talks about these moments when you got to be ready and clean to act. That is why the Lord repeatedly says in scriptures, back to 3 Nephi 20:41, “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” Great story, right, John?

John Bytheway: 04:45 Yeah. He had to be ready right then. Oh, goodness.

Hank Smith: 04:49 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 04:49 How do you predict a lightning strike? It’s not like, “Well, in a couple of weeks I got to get my act cleaned up or something.” It’s no, be ready right now. You never know when.

Hank Smith: 04:58 “Hang on, guys. Let me go read my scriptures and say my prayers and go to the Temple and go talk to the bishop before I can come back and bless you.” I don’t know if they’re still out there, AJ Edwards and Bryce Reynolds, but John Bytheway and Hank Smith say good work.

John Bytheway: 05:11 Good job.

Hank Smith: 05:13 Come join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. We’re in 3 Nephi 20 through 26 this week, and we have Ross Baron, Dr. Baron, John, who I think he knows everything.

John Bytheway: 05:26 So smart.

Hank Smith: 05:27 Yeah, so smart. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. And then come back next week. We’re going to do another followHIM Favorites.