Hank Smith: 00:03 Hello, everyone. Welcome to followHIM favorites. John and I are sharing a single story to go with each week’s lesson. John, we’re in Alma five, six, and seven today. Talk to me about this story you had in mind.

John Bytheway: 00:15 We all remember that in Alma five, Alma gives this awesome sermon, a spiritual midterm with all the questions, are you stripped of pride, stripped of envy? And then he goes, in Alma seven, he goes to Gideon, gives a totally different talk.

00:28And I think it was Harold B. Lee that used to say, “Rather than preparing a speech, prepare yourself to speak,” right? So we treasure up in our minds. One of the things I’ve always wondered was were there people in those audiences that needed something different from Alma-

Hank Smith: 00:41 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 00:41 … and that he was inspired to do that?

00:43I have a dear friend who was a bishop doing his best in that calling and he just needed a fleece. Now that is a Michael Wilcox phrase.

John Bytheway: 00:52 He used the story from Judges 6. Gideon has got to go against the Midianites and he asked the Lord, “When I wake up, I want the fleece to be full of dew and the ground around it to be dry.” And the Lord does it and he rings out the fleece. And then he says, “Okay, this time I want the ground to have dew and the fleece not to have any,” and the Lord does it.

01:15And I loved what Michael Wilcox said. “There’s a difference between asking for a sign to create faith and then deciding to ask and asking for a sign to confirm faith.” And he said, “Sometimes we just need a fleece. Heavenly Father would you send me a fleece?”

01:32And so my friend was a bishop and doing okay, just needed a fleece. Just Heavenly Father, let me know you’re there. And he said, “I was with the stake president.” He was setting apart a couple of missionaries and he mentally said a prayer. “Heavenly Father, I just need a fleece.”

01:48And this is going to sound strange and he says it sounds strange too, “But could you have the stake president use the word embark somewhere in his blessing?”

Hank Smith: 01:57 Okay.

John Bytheway: 01:58 I’m going to read from his email to me. “As the blessing seemed to conclude, I listened for the word. In a final sentence, this president said, ‘I bless you with these things and all other things the Lord sees fit to bestow upon you to do his work.’ And then he paused for what seemed like 10 seconds. And then he resumed his sentence saying, ‘as you embark on your mission.'” And he closed the blessing.

02:25And my friend said, “I was so astonished that I immediately opened my eyes and looked up at him. I couldn’t believe it. This missionary rose from the chair. The stake president gave him a hug and as they were walking to the door, the stake president, he shared a sacred moment where he saw in his mind’s eye and his heart, this young man being a missionary out there.” Then he looked at my friend and said, “And I just have to say the word embark is not part of my regular vocabulary.”

Hank Smith: 02:54 Wow.

John Bytheway: 02:55 And my friend said, “What? I stood there frozen and more astonished. At this point I had to give clarification. I apologized and told him that word was actually for me. ‘I asked the Lord to impress you to say that word as a way to help me feel his guidance and direction over the work we do and for me as a bishop.'” And he said, “We laughed a little bit and the stake president said, ‘Okay, well there you go.'”

03:21He told me that story even being a little embarrassed. It wasn’t really asking for a sign to create faith, but it was just, I just need a fleece today. And boy, he got one. The Lord is aware of us and He knows what we’re doing. And He may, like Alma, inspire him to change what he’s going to say when He’s with you. And this is what happened to my friend. It gave me some faith just hearing that story.

Hank Smith: 03:45 The tender mercies of the Lord are real. And in no way, John, are we saying hey, the next time you get a blessing,-

John Bytheway: 03:53 I know.

Hank Smith: 03:54 … you should choose a word, all right? I think your friend’s even desire for this was likely an inspired desire. I think even the desire-

John Bytheway: 04:03 Yeah.

Hank Smith: 04:03 … to ask for that also came from the Lord.

John Bytheway: 04:06 Yeah. And he said that in his letter to me. He says, I just felt like, “Am I asking for a sign or what?” And I like the way Michael Wilcox put it. “I just need a fleece. Can you just give me something to let me know you’re aware of me,” and the Lord did.

Hank Smith: 04:21 Yeah. Give me something. I like that. That’s a better idea than, hey, I’m going to go and try to do this magic trick. It’s more what’s the inspired desire you’re having and Lord, please,-

John Bytheway: 04:34 Yeah.

Hank Smith: 04:35 … send me a tender mercy? Well, we hope you’ll join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. We’re with Dr. Frantz Belot in these chapters five, six, and seven. His humility and his brilliance just shine. So come join us over there and then come back here next week. We’ll do another followHIM favorites.