Hear Him Heal
Never Too LATE
Episode Title: “It’s Never Too Late to Turn to Christ”
Summary:
In this powerful and uplifting episode of “Hear Him Heal,” Kerrie and David delve into the profound truth that no matter the depth of one’s mistakes or the severity of past sins, it is never too late to turn to Jesus Christ for healing and redemption. They explore the boundless mercy and infinite love that the Saviour extends to all, regardless of their past.
Kerrie opens the episode by sharing heartfelt anecdotes from individuals who have experienced the transformative power of Christ’s love. These testimonies highlight the theme that every soul, no matter how lost they may feel, can find hope and renewal through the Saviour.
David complements these stories with insightful excerpts from the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and powerful LDS talks. He emphasises the importance of recognising that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is available to everyone. David shares specific scriptures, such as Alma 36:18-21, which recount Alma the Younger’s profound conversion and repentance, showcasing that even those who have strayed far from the path of righteousness can find their way back through sincere repentance and faith in Christ.
Kerrie and David discuss how societal and personal judgments can often lead individuals to believe they are beyond saving. They address these misconceptions by citing modern-day apostles and prophets who have spoken on the Saviour’s ability to heal even the most wounded hearts. They include a particularly moving quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who reassures that “however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made… it’s not too late for you because you are loved.”
The episode also features an inspiring interview with a guest who has experienced a profound personal transformation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The guest shares their journey from darkness to light, providing a tangible example of the hope and healing that the Saviour offers.
Throughout the episode, Kerrie and David reiterate the importance of coming unto Christ with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, trusting in His promises of forgiveness and renewal. They encourage listeners to never lose hope, no matter their circumstances, and to always remember that the Saviour’s arms are open wide, ready to embrace all who come unto Him.
The episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer, inviting the Spirit to touch the hearts of all listeners, reassuring them that it is never too late to turn to Christ and experience His healing power. Kerrie and David leave the audience with a challenge to seek out the Saviour daily and to trust in His infinite love and mercy.
Vist us for more at www.HearHimHeal.com
Episode Title: “It’s Never Too Late to Turn to Christ”
Summary:
In this powerful and uplifting episode of “Hear Him Heal,” Kerrie and David delve into the profound truth that no matter the depth of one’s mistakes or the severity of past sins, it is never too late to turn to Jesus Christ for healing and redemption. They explore the boundless mercy and infinite love that the Saviour extends to all, regardless of their past.
Kerrie opens the episode by sharing heartfelt anecdotes from individuals who have experienced the transformative power of Christ’s love. These testimonies highlight the theme that every soul, no matter how lost they may feel, can find hope and renewal through the Saviour.
David complements these stories with insightful excerpts from the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and powerful LDS talks. He emphasises the importance of recognising that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is available to everyone. David shares specific scriptures, such as Alma 36:18-21, which recount Alma the Younger’s profound conversion and repentance, showcasing that even those who have strayed far from the path of righteousness can find their way back through sincere repentance and faith in Christ.
Kerrie and David discuss how societal and personal judgments can often lead individuals to believe they are beyond saving. They address these misconceptions by citing modern-day apostles and prophets who have spoken on the Saviour’s ability to heal even the most wounded hearts. They include a particularly moving quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who reassures that “however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made… it’s not too late for you because you are loved.”
The episode also features an inspiring interview with a guest who has experienced a profound personal transformation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The guest shares their journey from darkness to light, providing a tangible example of the hope and healing that the Saviour offers.
Throughout the episode, Kerrie and David reiterate the importance of coming unto Christ with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, trusting in His promises of forgiveness and renewal. They encourage listeners to never lose hope, no matter their circumstances, and to always remember that the Saviour’s arms are open wide, ready to embrace all who come unto Him.
The episode concludes with a heartfelt prayer, inviting the Spirit to touch the hearts of all listeners, reassuring them that it is never too late to turn to Christ and experience His healing power. Kerrie and David leave the audience with a challenge to seek out the Saviour daily and to trust in His infinite love and mercy.
Vist us for more at www.HearHimHeal.com
Don't you quit, you keep walking.
Speaker 2:Last time on Hear Him Heal.
Speaker 3:To be a team, you need to have lots of different team players that bring different things to the occasion. There's no point in us all being the same, because it will be boring. We'll be strong in one area but we won't have everything covered. We kind of label everything, put things into boxes, but that labeling can divide us, can't it?
Speaker 2:because it can differentiate us and and make us feel only good enough for that specific area there's one lord, one faith, one baptism, only one god, and just like there's only one wife for one man or one husband for one woman, because if you had two husbands, that'd be probably That'd be a headache.
Speaker 3:Welcome to Hear Him Heal. Thank you.
Speaker 5:Welcome to Hear Him. Heal with Carrie and David Mills-O'Neill.
Speaker 3:So I chose the topic this week as we've been learning about Alma the Younger. In Mosiah, he, alongside the sons of Mosiah, were described as being the vilest sinners. That's not nice, is it? They must have been really, really bad. They were of the mindset of many today who believed the following scripture, which nephi described for us. And he said there shall be many of which shall say eat, drink and be merry. Nevertheless, fear god. He will justify in committing a little sin, yay, lie a little. Take the advantage of one because of his words dig a pit for thy neighbor. There is no harm in this. And do all these things for tomorrow we die and if it so be that we are guilty, god will beat us with a few stripes and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of god. What do you think about that?
Speaker 2:I think that's the um, the mantra of God. What do you think about that? I think that's the mantra of the great and spacious building, or the whore of the earth, of the adversary's church right which there is, either the church of Christ or there is the church of the adversary right. There is no other one.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Which is confusing, because some people think there's lots of churches, but there really is only two.
Speaker 5:That's it the Great and Spacious Building again from your friend Nephi.
Speaker 2:I've spent time on the Great and Spacious Building before. It wasn't very nice. How about you? They have bingo on Thursdays. Yeah, they don't. It's a great and spacious building, so they don't really keep the sabbath through they. I heard they order mickey mouse ears on that day too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they are. But repentance is the pathway back on the covenant path, which you put me back on all the time. I do have to publicly say to the listeners that I bought you a set of mickey mouse ears on the sab, the Sabbath, and it was a slippery slope. Do you know what I mean? Because I thought, like we're listening to scripture, getting ready to go to church, everything's really good. We're planning our trip to Disneyland, and then we're talking about Mickey Mouse ears. And then we're looking at them and next thing I know they're bought, not until the lightning bolt almost killed me out there on the track and then I was like baby we're off the covenant path.
Speaker 2:We need to get back on. We just lost the celestial kingdom. We need to go back on this again. But like it is that slippery slope where, like they're saying and what you just said in that passage, where you know what's the big deal, he's just going to give us a few stripes and we're going to be saved, like if I had that attitude I wouldn't be thinking it's such a big deal. But I was genuinely devastated because I don't even order my door dash on sunday. I wait until I do it saturday so that I have it on sunday when I get back from church, but I don't order it on Sunday when I get back from church. But I don't order it on Sunday and I'm really careful not to do that, even careful with, like, not even listening to any music other than church music or church talks. But then it was just that little slippery sub. Well, it's just Mickey Mouse here, so it's just, it's for this. But that's how that whole chapter goes in Nephi, right? So I'm trying to say I agree with what you're saying.
Speaker 3:Alma the elder was desperately seeking what to do. The younger generation didn't see the various groups who are now part of the church and what they went through. They did not listen to their elders and did not have testimonies of the church or of God. But they did worse than that. They went around trying to get the good people to commit sin. Um, and as Alma the younger was very good at convincing people, he definitely had the gift of speech um, he and the sons of Mosiah were going around causing torment all over the place and the people were getting really annoyed and kept going to Alma and Mosiah and saying come on, we need to do something about these now. Um. So Alma had decided, in his great wisdom, alma the elder, to pour out his heart in mighty prayer, and the Lord replied to him. What did he reply?
Speaker 2:David, yay, blessed is this people who are willing to bear my name, for in my name they shall be called and they are mine. And he also said in 22 through 24, for it is that I take upon it the sins of the world, for it is I that created them, and as I that granteth unto him, that believeth unto an end, a place at my right hand. So they talked a lot about being at the right hand yesterday, being at the right hand of god. What does that mean, baby?
Speaker 3:for me. So if you are the head of the table, the person that's most important to you will be at your right. So they're known as like people close to god. So it's my aspiration to be at god's right hand. I want to be, I want to be known to him, I want him to value me and love me because of what I do for him. Um, and so to be. Um. Look, he's created us and and he's granted unto us that if we believe in him, then in the end we will have a place at his right hand. I really want that.
Speaker 3:So they also go on to say in verse 28 of Mosiah 26. Therefore I say unto you that he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive into my church. For him I will not receive at the last day. So he's not going to receive us if we do not hear him and listen to him. So then Alma and the sons of Mosiah saw an angel of the Lord, which made them drop to the floor. Alma couldn't move for two days. His father made the people come and see what was happening and he also prayed for him. I love that. Alma the elder was just like come everybody, come and see what the lord has done to my son. He was the vilest of sinner and now look what's happening. The lord's really answering our prayers. He wanted the people to see. He wanted to be a good example, but this is his son like. He is the like chief judge at this point he alma the younger is his son.
Speaker 2:That must be quite embarrassing when you're preaching the word of god, faith and repentance and your son's here kind of preaching the opposite yeah, but he was so faithful that, you know, I feel like alma was alma the elder was so faithful that he was probably excited that the lord chastised his son because he was like, boom, that's what you get. I've been telling you, you know, and he hits him in the back of the head, you know, and like, wants people to see, because he's like this is literally what I've been talking about, and now my own son has been, you know, been been done. I mean it's a pivotal moment leading to profound conversion of Alma, the younger Right. I mean it's massive. Yeah, it's a massive deal.
Speaker 3:I think it's really poignant as well to notice that literally everything that Alma the elder preached was faith and repentance, you know, and now his son has going, is going through this whole experience of repentance, and then his faith starts to to improve and increase and he becomes this amazing missionary with the sons of Mosiah yeah, and, as Abinadi was before, he was pretty much telling King Noah the same thing he needs to to repent and and move on.
Speaker 2:And then alma, you know, alma did, alma took that, alma the elder, took that from abinadi and then went off in secret and, you know, created the church of christ right, which there were seven of right seven churches that's there were seven, seven churches, but one one church, ultimately.
Speaker 3:So when Alma regained his strength, the first thing that he did say was he? Well, he recognized the Lord, didn't he?
Speaker 4:he said to.
Speaker 3:He said to the people being redeemed of God becoming his sons and daughters wow, like we. We each have to undergo that change of heart, don't we?
Speaker 2:yeah, you do, because you go from the fallen state that Adam and Eve left us in right and that natural man state where it's just like everyone for themselves kind of thing, just survival kind of mode, not really loving anyone, to a state you know I've experienced where I went from wanting things of the world to now, sometimes, not all the time, sometimes I can see people as Christ does, which is a really cool gift, and I can see them as his sons and daughters.
Speaker 2:And I can see them even when they're not being nice or not being the way I want them to be. I can still see that they're afflicted in some way and that they're not being Christ-like. They're still in their fallen state, disobeying the Lord, right. And it's such a thing to be born again, again, which is to be born of water, through baptism, just like through the mother right, and then to be purified through the holy spirit, holy ghost, only through christ, because he's the redeemer. So then, like they said on that other podcast, christ becomes your spiritual father. You know, you have a regular father and then you've got a spiritual father.
Speaker 3:Well, that's your born again dad, right yeah, that's why he's the father and our brother yeah, which is crazy. Right it takes a while to get your head around that literally the father. Yeah um and 26 it goes on to say and thus they become new creatures, and unless they do this, they can in no wise inherit the kingdom of god. So do you, do you see that when, like some, new members, come into the church, they get baptized?
Speaker 3:they get so much enthusiasm and so much light that they're just like infectious, you just want to be around them. They just lift you so, so much and then on the flip reverse like they've obviously had a massive change. They've gone from this carnal state to this enlightened state. But on the flip reverse you get sometimes there are members that have been members because their generational families have been members, but they've not truly been converted. They're just kind of run of the mill, just attend on a sunday, but they don't really live the gospel covenants, they don't really consecrate themselves, they don't really get involved too much.
Speaker 3:they just kind of go on a sunday and I sometimes feel sorry for for members like this, because sometimes they haven't had that, that conversion, that multi-chain change of heart to lift that spirit. They've been going off their parents testimony or their grandparents testimony or just going because that's what they feel that they have to do. Um, and racking up the, the sins every day and not using the atonement, not repenting, and so not ever feeling. Like Alma the younger felt, and I know I felt when I first joined the church and I know you felt when you came back to the church. You know oh definitely.
Speaker 2:I think it's wonderful I think that's why they say, like you know, you have to. There's that talk where they talk about and they have all those graphics where you have to build your foundation on jesus christ. Like he's you know he has to be. You have to have a testimony, otherwise if you don't have a testimony of christ like the large and spacious building and their bingo night on sundays is going to look really attractive you know you're going to do a lot of mickey mouse ear shopping and not really care because there is no foundation.
Speaker 2:You know, when I talk later about what god taught me this week, um, like there's so many times where he'll just show up and he just, you know I can't deny him at this point in my life. And so like doing something which some people might think is silly is buying a mickey mouse ear on a sunday. Like that really makes me sad because I'm like I don't want that to become my normal. I want to be like repentful, like that was like a big deal because it's breaking a covenant to me. And so because I have that at the moment, I have this great testimony and obviously it needs to be shared, but I have this great testimony where I know that you know, jesus is our savior and our redeemer and I I can see that and I can see his hand because he's helping us so much right now.
Speaker 2:Like the things he's done in the past like just month for us like it's been crazy, and so I think that's why it's so important to look for that somewhere. But if you're just playing it safe and you're just like not swinging out and not doing anything, it's really hard for Jesus to show up and show you something. If you're just kind of sat on the couch complaining and not really trying to do anything, do you know what I mean? Like if you're just playing it safe, like what's he going to do? Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 3:He wants to bless us, but he's bound to his covenant that he's made with us. He can only bless us if we extend our faith, if we keep our covenants, if we abide by the commandments that he set out. He can't just bless us if we're not doing those things, but he wants out. He can't just bless us if we're not doing those things, but he wants to right. So we're limiting ourselves by not using the atonement when we do mess up and buy Mickey Mouse ears. Oh boy.
Speaker 2:I have repented.
Speaker 3:I know you have.
Speaker 2:But they're going to look really nice on you, especially with the veil Especially with the veil Miska Muska Mickey.
Speaker 3:Mouse. So the Lord saw fit to redeem Alma, the Younger, from and he quotes here in 28, from everlasting burning. He snatched him from everlasting burning and now he is born again of God. So do you think there?
Speaker 2:is hope for us when we fall short. Well, I mean, there's hope as long as you're willing to admit that there's been a sin. Some people think there's nothing wrong with the things they do and they're just self-directing their lives and they think, like king noah, that they're the, or like the adversary. He thinks he's the god of this world and he thinks he's just going to be able to just do as he wants and there's no retribution. And then, just like in that passage from nephi that you shared, like they're just going to get a few stripes on their back and it's no big deal. Like unless you are willing to take a look at the things that you're doing and see. You know, sometimes you don't know.
Speaker 2:That's why the Millennium people will be able to choose, because they haven't heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. But people that know it, that are in the church and don't follow it, those people will judge, be judged more harshly. But you have to be willing to look at your life and go yeah, that these things that I'm doing here are not in alignment with what the lord wants. You know, some people might have no idea that you should keep the sabbath day holy. It's one of the 10 commandments. But they don't think that shopping's a problem like in england. Stores close at like 4 30 in the afternoon, right oh, on a sunday, probably like four, yeah, four, five yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2:Like, on sundays, england closes things early because they still have a thing about the sabbath, but, like in america, everything's 24 hours. I think people don't know. But you just have to be willing to find out what the lord wants you to do and then look at your life and see what you're doing to match that. And it's a process. It's not going to be overnight but there is hope.
Speaker 3:I've got a quote here from jeffrey r holland. Do you know what? If you just listen to jeffrey r holland, any of his talks, he always gives you hope. There is always a way back, there is always a path. There is always a way back to Jesus Christ, of course. One of his quotes he said whether you are not yet of our faith or were once with us and have not remained, there is nothing in either case you have done. That cannot be undone. There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that, in the unfolding of time and eternity, cannot yet be realized. Even if you feel you are lost and last laborer of the 11th hour, the Lord of the vineyard still stands beckoning. Come boldly to the throne of grace and fall at the feet of the Holy One of Israel. Come and feast without money and without price at the table of the Lord. I love him so much.
Speaker 3:In another talk by Geoffrey R Holland, one called Good Things to Come, one called Good Things to Come he gives a quote that I just shared recently to somebody that was feeling a bit down, and the quote is don't you quit, you keep walking, you keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late and some don't come until heaven, but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.
Speaker 1:Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep walking, you keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. A lot of it, 30 years of it now and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.
Speaker 2:You know, however late you think you are, however many chances you think you missed, however many mistakes you felt that you don't have, or talents you don't have, or how far from home and family and god, you feel like you've traveled. He says I testify that you've not traveled beyond the reach of divine love and it's not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of christ's atonement shines. I think that's, uh, that's something you've told me a bunch of times, isn't it? I think you've told that to me before when I was kind of low and I was like it's never going to work.
Speaker 4:I don't know what's going to happen.
Speaker 2:I can't do it and you're just like. It's not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ Atonement shines. You've told me that many times. I remember that Because when I read this talk I was like whoa, that's what Carrie says.
Speaker 3:I love that quote. It just gives you so much hope, doesn't it? Definitely, you cannot sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's atonement shines. He's descended below everything, condescended, condescended. He's condescended below everything. He understands how we feel. He understands that, what sin and that heaviness and that guilt all feels like yeah he took it on for us so that we can be redeemed and we can move forward.
Speaker 2:I really like them. I really think that the atonement sometimes doesn't get used enough. You know, some people just still decide like they might be going to church, but they'll still be like, well, I got to handle this myself and I'm like, did he not pay the price for everything? Why don't you just use the atonement? Oh, you know, I just got to deal with this. You know, it's kind of a personal thing. I'm like just have christ take it, just give it to god right now and be done with it. Like it's right there, you can move on. He's died for us. Like let's go do you know?
Speaker 3:it's probably taken me about eight years to to really realize that yeah it's taking me being, like um, a proud, independent, perfectionist woman, right, okay, that is. It's hard to kind of accept that I don't have the power to do everything right when you're so used to being on your own, doing everything right, supporting everyone else you know being that cornerstone that holds everything together, to give that power to somebody else and to become meek and humble.
Speaker 3:It's not easy to do sometimes, and the lord will give us experiences so we can practice that, and he will humble our hearts so that we can become meek as a little child and really use the atonement and understand the power in it and what that actually means. Um so, it's probably taken me about eight years to really understand and and love it what was um?
Speaker 2:how did it come about that you started to use it?
Speaker 3:um from through making mistakes definitely through making mistakes in my callings or um in my home life or work life, or being a mum, um constantly making mistakes, being a mum and losing my temper and then just being so sorry. I remember there's one time um where I was like rushing out of the door and I was really stressed. I was really late with the kids, um, I can't remember where I was going. I think I was going to like a award activity or something and I think it was something that I had to set up, something I had to do, and I had to take the children with me um to do it and they were, um just like faltering, taking their time, and I was really stressed and I don't like being stressed with time. Time is one thing that that gets me really stressed right um.
Speaker 3:So I had to leave the house five minutes ago and I was kind of shouting up at the kids like come on, let's go, we need to just go right now. Um, completely lost the spirit that was with me and I went, put stuff in the car. I came back in the house looking for one of the children because she wasn't there, so I ran up the stairs stomping like shouting for her and she was on her bed praying.
Speaker 3:She was on her knees praying and in that moment, like everything just went, that that anger, that frustration, that like nothing mattered, my daughter was showing me that she could just be on her knees praying to God and that was all that mattered, that she could ignore me shouting at her and just praying to her heavenly father, because she had something that was troubling her and that always kind of stuck with me. She really showed me a lesson that day and, like nothing matters, nothing is worth getting frustrated and stressed about, you know. And so I just sat with her and prayed with her and then I cried and I had to repent and it really kind of made me understand it a bit more so good.
Speaker 2:I really like that story. It's so special to just be able to use. I feel like sometimes people put church in church and then they go out and they do their life and then they forget about the church. And there's that hymn did you think to pray? And it's like some people, you just you don't.
Speaker 2:You know, like I know you and I we've been inserting more prayers here and there and at first it was maybe a bit awkward but like even this morning, like there was not really a need for a prayer, but I just was like wow, you've got a lot to do today. Why don't we just have a quick prayer? And you're like okay, and like I felt like that was just nice, even though it was a short prayer, it was just and you were just going off to do mundane things like cutting the grass and stuff, but like it was still something that was positive. I thought like we should just insert a prayer in there and give a little bit of that stress to him, even though I'm sure you could handle all your tasks. It's going to be just that much easier with him yeah we're commanded to pray always, aren't we?
Speaker 2:yeah, I remember the stake president in England. He told me one time somebody asked him he's like how often you pray, like every hour. He's like I pray all the time. He's like he's like I'm, he's like my whole day might just be a constant prayer. He's like I might just be talking to him all day. And I thought, wow, that's really cool. He's just praying all day and like who was it? Alma?
Speaker 4:uh, no, it was enos how long did enos pray for? Like forever, right was Enos. How long did Enos pray for Enos? A long time, like forever.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, enos prayed forever. No one can pray as long as Enos, but he's probably the longest praying. That's why he's got a song which you can listen to on this podcast. If you go onto iTunes or Spotify, you can hear the Enos song. Nice plug, baby.
Speaker 2:Hey, I took a while to write that enos song yeah, baby, but yeah, I think inserting prayers into your life, you know, and even like with other people too, like sometimes I'll see somebody here at the halfway house and I'll just be like you know, why don't we just say a quick prayer, and I've never been turned down. No one's ever said no, no matter how big tattooed face they are, no matter what they were just complaining about. If I offer to pray with them, they like that. And then it could be like two weeks later and they'll come up and be like thanks for praying for me. Like they just think that's so cool.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't think people do that, and so just throwing out prayers like that is really cool, because he's there to listen and and to to help those people. And sometimes the act of prayer too, like kind of makes you think about it a little bit more and then makes you kind of go like yeah, you know, that's kind of what I was thinking. Oh, I, I got that. And even if you end up just doing whatever it was, your burden is lighter because you gave a bit of it to him.
Speaker 3:It's recognizing it, isn't it?
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like it's understanding and coming to the knowledge of it. Do you know in dentistry like a massive problem in the first world countries now is tooth wear? So that's like grinding of the teeth. Ok, and I see many, many patients and I say to them do you know that you're grinding your teeth? And they'll say no, I'm definitely not grinding my teeth, there's no way I'm grinding my teeth. Then they'll speak to their partners or whatever's in the room and I say do you ever hear them grinding their teeth at night time? And they say no, no, no, not at all. Um, and then I say okay, well, I can tell you that you are grinding your teeth and I show them the pattern of the grinding and they go, they go away and when they come back the next time they're like do you know what?
Speaker 3:you were right, I am grinding my teeth and I'm sometimes clenching during the day and I'm doing this, that and the other um, and they hadn't noticed it because it wasn't brought to their attention and just like, like repentance and buying things on a Sunday, like you notice it more and more when you start to recognize it, when you start to really use the atonement and repent of the little things that we do daily and not just wait for a Sunday morning before you take sacrament to repent, but doing it daily, the more you do it, the more you recognize the little things that you're doing that you know is is withholding blessings from yourself and preventing you from being clean and pure.
Speaker 2:So the more you recognize, the more you're able to have power and control over it remember in doctrine and covenants 18, 10, 11, remember, the worth of a soul is great in the sight of god, for behold the lord, your redeemer, suffered death in the flesh, wherefore he suffered all the pain of a soul.
Speaker 2:Is great in the sight of God, for behold the Lord, your Redeemer, suffered death in the flesh, wherefore he suffered all the pain of men. That men might repent and come unto him. So I mean that's a pretty powerful scripture, I think, from D&C 18, just reminding us that all he's asking us to do is to come unto him, which is really to repent and to bend our knees and proclaim him as our savior. In Alma 36.3, it says and now, o my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore I beseech thee that thou will hear my words and learn of me, for I do know that whoever so shall put their trust in God, shall be supported in their trials and their troubles and their afflictions, and shall you were stuck in the abyss like um, elma the younger was saying have you ever felt like you're just?
Speaker 3:there's no way that you can get out, there's no way that you can be loved, there's no way that you can ever be as anybody else in the church? Have you ever felt like that?
Speaker 2:oh yeah, lots of times I always felt like an outsider because I was not someone that came in through missionaries. I just found the church on my own. Nobody brought me in, I and I wasn't part of a family, I didn't know anybody, I didn't have anything. I wasn't part of a family, I didn't know anybody, I didn't have anything. I wasn't. I felt like I was coming from foster homes. I was coming from other places.
Speaker 2:Most people in the area of the church that I joined were coming from just what I considered normal families and they were, you know, loved and they weren't abused and they weren't anything like me. And I just felt, you know, just like an abomination in front of them, just kind of asking to join them. And I confused the church with the people in the church versus the leader of the church, which is christ, and had I just followed christ, I would have never left the church. But I got the church confused with people, which is sometimes an easy thing to do, because you see the church, you see the people that are there and then, if they somehow slight you in your mind, or you're not as good as them, or or I was comparing, I wasn't looking at Christ. You know, when we go to the temple, they tell us to look for Christ in the temple. That's what the temple president told me when I went through the first time, because my bishop told me, look for what the spirit's saying. And the temple president told me look at where christ is in the temple. And every time I go I remember what the temple president told me and I do. I look for him and sometimes it's obvious like, oh, they're talking about him right now and other other places. I see him in the actions of the sessions, or you know that I'm in, that I'm a part of, I'll see christ there and that that's so important because people are going to make mistakes.
Speaker 2:It says so at the title page of the book of mormon that there could be errors in this book. We are just prophets, we are men, we are not gods. We are called by god, but we are not gods and there might be a lot of errors. We are called by God, but we are not gods and there might be a lot of errors. But not to be caught up in that and I made the mistake early to get caught up in that instead of looking for Christ. And I just remember that, while we do have a living prophet, the one that directs our church is Christ, and that's all that matters. It doesn't matter what else happens. He's there and he never changes, and he never breaks his promise to us, not even once we break it to him, but he never breaks it to us yeah, I think sometimes we can feel that he's left us, but often it's us that's left him.
Speaker 3:He's still there, waiting and holding out his hand for us to come running into his arms. He wants us to. It's just us that make those decisions to turn our backs on him.
Speaker 6:May we ever remember that the mantle of leadership is not the cloak of comfort, but rather the robe of responsibility. May we reach out to rescue those who are in need of our help and our love. As we succeed, as we bring a girl back into activity, we will be answering a mother's fervent prayer, a father's greatest desire. Our names will forever be honored, desire. Our names will forever be honored by those whom we reach. With all my heart, I pray that our Heavenly Father will ever guide us as we strive to serve and to save His children.
Speaker 2:See, I remember I was felt it was May of 1987. And I walked back from Disneyland with my brother and we went back to this little hotel where we were living and mom wasn't there yet, and so we were hungry, we were waiting and an hour went by, she wasn't there. Two hours went by, she wasn't there. Three hours went by, she wasn't there. Knock at the door, my brother's dad was there. He pushed me against the wall, called me a bunch of names, punched me in the face, took my brother's things and left. And I was like wow. And he said you know? I said where are you going? He's like don't worry about it, you're not my son. And he left because it was my stepdad and so my mom wasn't there. This guy just beat me up.
Speaker 2:The guy that ran the hotel was like hey, you're late on this rent, you got to go. And so I was homeless and I was like OK, I'm like 16. I don't know where to go. I feel like my mom's left. She doesn't love me, nobody loves me. My brother, who was like everything to me, was gone and I didn't have anything. I didn't know what to do, and so I was like okay, well, I'm gonna work in tv. So I got on the bus and just pretended like I paid and I went to Hollywood and I was like, okay, I'm just gonna be in tv somehow. But I didn't know what to do and I was just on the street and like went to a homeless shelter and I'm like I'm like wow, like I'm just homeless now, like I have nothing, like no one's ever gonna love me, I'm never gonna have anything, I'll probably be killed here. And I just prayed and I was just like didn't know how to pray. I was just like I was angry at god. I was telling him why was he doing this to me? You know, I'm supposed to be, I'm only 16. This is really stupid. Why am I being punished like this? And I was really just thought like even he didn't care about me. And you know, a couple months later I was back in the house, I was in long beach, I was in a foster home, I had food, I had stuff, like I had my things. I was back going to disneyland on the bus and things got better.
Speaker 2:But there was that couple of moments, those couple nights, where I just thought like this is it? Nobody, like not even God, loves me at this point no one does like I'm just nothing, like why would this happen to me? I'm literally nothing. I didn't realize that it's a big lesson. I didn didn't realize it's a huge lesson in faith and we've had many of those, but I didn't realize that that was how it was and I just thought like I must not be good enough to even have a mother and I just felt so bad and I'm just thinking of every bad thing I've ever done in my life and I'm just saying, well, this is my punishment, I'm nothing, I'm just gonna die here.
Speaker 2:And it was really cold that night on the street, cold for California, not for English people, but I was cold, not used to sleeping on the road and like it was tough. It was really tough. But even my little weak prayer, or an angry prayer, was answered, because I was picked up, you know, like I said, a few days later and I was put into a like a big, almost like a halfway house for teenagers and then I got kind of adopted out by a foster parent and I was able to have a place to stay. But I really didn't think I was going to recover from that and that experience made it easier when I went to prison later or when other things happened, because I had kind of experienced that before and so I kind of knew like okay, this is just an experience, but I'm going to be fine, because I went through it. But the first time was really tough and I really just I blamed myself for everything and I was just thought like I'm just not loved. It was, it was tough, but I was redeemed by the redeemer because he loves me and because he paid the ultimate price for my soul.
Speaker 2:And now, like, when things happen, it's like okay, well, let's go pray. It's like okay, well, let's go pray, it's going to happen in its own time. God's going to do what he wants to do. He's going to teach us a lesson and keep us where we are until he feels like we've learned it and that's fine. And I don't feel that weakness or that loneliness anymore.
Speaker 2:I feel like I've got the faith of Nephi.
Speaker 2:Sometimes with that, even when things are really hard, I just know and I can even tell you, like you know what, like I told you this week, I'm like we're on the covenant path, like we're getting all these blessings because we're following the Lord and we're doing what he asked us to do, and as long as we're doing that and not buying Mickey Mouse ears on Sunday, like he's going to bless us.
Speaker 2:And I have that faith now like he's going to bless us. And I have that faith now and I only developed that through the trials and the adversity of being to a point where I thought I didn't matter anymore. But he did teach me that I do and I know that and now I can see others and I can bring them and tell them like you matter too, like you actually matter to god. He knows every hair on your head. He loves you. He knows everything about you. He knows every goose bump on your goose bump like he knows it all and he's, he loves you so much he died in the flesh for you. It's such a big deal and I have such a comfort now with that, even still in a really dark place that I'm at and with a lot of uncertainty, it still feels really great now because I know he's there and I've got you.
Speaker 4:So that's a very big benefit.
Speaker 2:How about you?
Speaker 3:um, well, I think, like from those experiences that you've had in your life, like it's enabled you to build that resilience, isn't it?
Speaker 3:But to the resilience to be able to deal with everything else that you've faced going from that moment, but also that you're able to be an inspiration to other people that are going through those kind of things. Now, I think the Lord gives us those challenges, um, and puts us in those positions. Some of it is our choice, some of it's the agency of other people, but some of it is for our own good and is for our own growth and development. If, if we were not um special to him, he wouldn't expand us, he wouldn't try and give us these extra skills and qualifications and charity and patience and love you know that we get from these lessons, um, he just wouldn't give us those at all. So I know that you've said to me before that you are grateful for all of those experiences that you've had as a child and with your difficult upbringing, that have led to you being the person that you are now, and you're happy with who you are now because you're a God-fearing man and you are on the covenant path, holding tight to that iron rod. And had you not had those experiences, you might not have been like that. I'm really similar with my experiences as well. I'm very grateful for everything that I've experienced that has enabled me to be who I am now, and a lot of those experiences are experiences feeling that you can't come back from them, feeling that you're the worst person in the world, feeling that there's nobody there to help you.
Speaker 3:I had an experience, like recently, a couple of years ago, where I did commit a big sin and that was the probably one of the lowest moments in my life, because not only did I commit that sin and had to have, um, like some of my um blessings taken away from me, I was restricted in church and with callings and being able to say prayers and being able to go to the temple and things. So, um, I was restricted, um in that aspect, which ultimately kind of drew me away from the church a little bit, because I'm not worthy enough to do these things. Though nobody wants me to do those things, I'm not loved enough to do those things. Um, and that was that was a really hard moment for me, because I felt like I was being judged. I felt like I was not worthy of anyone's time or attention, including heavenly fathers, including Jesus Christ. I felt shame and pain and just all of those dark feelings that sin can bring to you. Most people that knew of the situation went away from me. I was abandoned, and I felt abandoned by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ because I stopped praying, I stopped doing the things that draw me close to them, because I felt ashamed. And that's where Satan wanted me. He didn't want me doing those things and so I was in his grasp.
Speaker 3:But despite leaders of the church, despite my friends of the church, despite not being able to actively participate which is a massive thing for me, I love being an active member of the warden To suddenly not be able to was really really hard and my love of the temple is extreme as well. Love of the temple is extreme as well and to be taken away from that I just felt like I was just unlovable, unworthy, just horrible, um, and it was really really hard to come back from and I didn't really have great support to bring me back either. So I was literally on my own.
Speaker 3:But looking back now with hindsight, I needed that. I needed to be on my own so that I could turn to the Lord properly and that I could rely on him and let him carry me through and I could really start to build up my own faith and my own love and appreciation of myself. Because it made me realize that I didn't love myself and therefore, how can anybody love you if you don't love yourself? So I had to really build that foundation and understand that Jesus Christ loves me, that Heavenly Father loves me, that I am a daughter of God, that I have divine potential and infinite worth. But I had to build it up line upon line, precept upon precept, and those feelings that I had about myself had to change, and that was through therapy and andselling and prayer, so much prayer and fasting and just really just coming to know myself again, but the real me.
Speaker 3:So that took a long time. It took about eight months for me to come back from that and it was the darkest abyss. Like Alma the Younger said, it was horrendous and I never thought I would be able to come back from that. But I did and it's only through Christ's atonement and his love and his sacrifice that he did for me. I'm so grateful that he has done that. I'm so grateful that we have that opportunity to be able to be redeemed, to be able to go through the refiners fire and to change and grow and become who he wants us to be yeah, I.
Speaker 2:I mean, like they said, it's not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's atonement shines, right? I mean, it doesn't matter how low you felt, the atonement was always there for you. Even when we think it's not there for us, it is there, right? That's sometimes the trick too, I think. Sometimes people think, oh, you don't know what I did or you don't know how I feel, but by christ, taking on all the sins and all the pain, he does know how you feel, because he did take that on and he he did. He took on the everything you felt, everything I felt, and he atoned for those things, so that we may be free if we just call upon him. But sometimes we don't want to call upon him because the adversary's grip is so strong. He's like christ doesn't want you. Why? Why would he want someone like you? He wants someone that follows the path. You're not even on the path, you don't even know where the path is. Like you're in a fog. Like you're, you're off somewhere else. Like you might as well just stay here with me.
Speaker 2:Why don't we drink? Why don't we eat? Why don't we go do whatever we want to do? Go buy a bunch of stuff. Why don't we go over here? Who cares, you know? Why don't we send you know licenses to sea world? Why don't we just go have fun, like, do whatever you want to do? It's just crazy, but that's literally what the adversary wants. He wants us to go away from Christ. That's all he wants us to do and anything he can do to get us there. And all Christ wants us to do is come over and go and be with him and come and sit with him on the bench and let him put his arm around us. And yet we just don't want to go to our Father and do that.
Speaker 3:He says I testify of the renewing power of god's love and the miracle of his grace. His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there. So if you've made covenants, keep them. If you haven't made them, make them. If you've made them and broken them, repent and repair them. It's never too late, as long as the master of the vineyard says there is time. Get ready, get set, because it's time to learn about kerry mills. O'neill's practice of the week. My practice of the week kerry mills o'neill.
Speaker 2:Practice of the week. So my practice of the week, Carrie Melzone the practice of the week.
Speaker 3:So my practice of the week stems from something that happened on Sunday. So there's a woman in my ward whom I love very, very much. She's a woman that has always kind of been there for me. She is a presence, um, and whenever I'm not there at church, she will send me a text message to make sure I'm okay or just check in on me, um, and she wasn't there this Sunday, and so I messaged her, um to see how she is and see why she's not there. And she was actually sick, um, she's going through some health problems at the moment, um, but she didn't need any help. She's got a lot of family around her, which is great.
Speaker 3:But, um, I only did that because she did that to me, and she constantly does that to me, um, and it made me realize that, you know, I've gone the last few days, um, well, today really just in the house, not really talking to anyone outside. What if I were to message someone each day and just check in on them and see how they're doing? What if I was to be the one to reach out to, to other people? What kind of difference would that make in their lives? Maybe they need to hear from somebody. Um, like I do sometimes when I'm not at, so this week I'm going to contact somebody every day through a prayer and see how they are doing.
Speaker 1:And now, if you are ready, it is time for David Mills O'Neill to reveal what God taught me this week.
Speaker 2:David, what's up baby?
Speaker 6:Guess what.
Speaker 2:What.
Speaker 3:It's time to do something really special in the show.
Speaker 2:Oh that reminds me. I want to tell you what God taught me this week.
Speaker 4:Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2:So what God taught me this week was I can sometimes get overwhelmed really quickly when things seem to pile up and like I'm not going on my schedule because I have a pretty rigid schedule. Like I wake up, I work out, I do everything at a certain time, right, and that's how I like it. Everything at a certain time, right, and that's how I like it. And then today you asked me to help you order something, and I thought it was going to be quick, and then I gave you something like doesn't work. I gave you something else doesn't work. It gave you something else doesn't work. I'm like fine, I'll try to see if I can help.
Speaker 2:So I I sat down and then just getting into the account that I needed to get in with you was like such a pain and I could feel myself starting to get upset and I was like wait, the thing that we're doing here, the reason we're trying to get into this account, is for something really good. And so I just took a step back to try to figure out. Instead of focusing on what wasn't working, I focused on the wider picture of what are we trying to do? We're trying to get some things for a big party we're having right, and so I was like this is a really positive thing and however it takes to get there doesn't really matter, because it's going to be gone soon and the big thing that we're doing is going to be great for us, great for other people, and it's going to be massive. So like what am I worried about the next 20 minutes, for when this thing that we're trying to accomplish is so good? So I just took a step back, took a deep breath and I had basically, I don't know if it's an internal perspective, but maybe like a couple month perspective at least, and I was like this is okay, this is gonna be fine.
Speaker 2:It's a bit annoying, but I just took it in stride and you could probably tell that I was just kind of smiling and I was just like okay, it's fine and anything that popped up. I was just kind of laughing at it, going like well, it's not gonna stop what we're doing, it doesn't matter. And so my practice of the week was just to take a step back and try to have that God's eye you know where he can imagine him, up in heaven looking at the whole world, and he can see everything that's going on and he can see the future in the past at the same time, and then it's all going to be okay. And so that's what God taught me this week. Basically, I just do things that you teach me.
Speaker 5:Thank you for tuning in to Hear Him Heal with David and Carrie Mills O'Neill. We'd love to hear from you. Visit us at hearhimhealcom or drop us an email. Do you have a question? Record it and send it to our special hotline. Please keep your message under two minutes and mention your name so we can acknowledge you on the show. You'll also find plenty of information about our latest books and more from the Hear Him Heal podcast universe. Interested in being a guest or know someone who has a story to share, please reach out through our website, hearhimhealcom. Join us next week for more healing stories inspired by Jesus Christ. Until then, stay blessed.
Speaker 4:The night stories of faith, whispers of grace in his words. Find your place, join us each week. Let your heart sail On waves of tales when miracles prevail. Jesus' love so deep and real. Come and embrace, as you hear him heal, your man. Embrace as you hear him heal.