•Kerrie briefly recaps the previous episode with a highlight clip.
•Introduction to the topic of the day: the power of speech and its positive or negative influence on us.
•Scripture reference: James 3:10 – “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
•Main Discussion:
•The importance of kind communication and its eternal consequences.
•Examples from scriptures:
•King Benjamin’s influence for good (Mosiah 2-5).
•Abinadi’s mission to preach repentance to King Noah and his people (Mosiah 12-17).
•Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah’s transformation and missionary work (Mosiah 27, Alma 17-26).
•The Anti-Nephi-Lehies’ commitment to peace and burying their weapons (Alma 24).
•Insights from James about speaking: “Be swift to hear, [but] slow to speak” (James 1:19) and the importance of not taking offense.
•Psychological Insights:
•Why People Struggle with Kind Words:
•Negativity Bias: Humans tend to focus more on negative experiences and emotions, which can make it easier to speak unkindly.
•Stress and Frustration: High stress levels can impair self-control, leading to harsh words.
•Social and Environmental Factors: Growing up in environments where negative communication is the norm can influence one’s own speech patterns.
•Lack of Awareness: Sometimes, people are unaware of the impact their words have on others.
•Personal Experiences:
•David shares a personal story highlighting the impact of words.
•Kerrie shares her experience of how words have affected her.
•Teachings from Modern Prophets and Apostles:
•Elder L. Lionel Kendrick on Christlike communication.
•Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on the power of speech and avoiding harmful words.
•Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s counsel to “Stop it!” when it comes to negative speech.
•Scripture Insights:
•Proverbs 15:1 – “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
•Ephesians 4:29 – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
•Proverbs 18:13 – “To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.”
•Luke 23:43 – Jesus’ kind words to the thief on the cross: “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
•Luke 9:41 – Jesus expressing frustration and then teaching about faith.
•Special Segments:
•David’s “What God Taught Me This Week”: Seeking scriptures first.
•Kerrie’s Practice of the Week: Embracing the hymn “Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words” (Hymn 232).
Final Reminders:
•Encouragement to rate, review, subscribe, and share the podcast.
•Closing with outro music.
Tune in to “Hear Him Heal” to discover how the words we choose can transform lives and bring us closer to the teachings of Christ, while understanding the psychological reasons behind our speech patterns.
•Kerrie briefly recaps the previous episode with a highlight clip.
•Introduction to the topic of the day: the power of speech and its positive or negative influence on us.
•Scripture reference: James 3:10 – “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”
•Main Discussion:
•The importance of kind communication and its eternal consequences.
•Examples from scriptures:
•King Benjamin’s influence for good (Mosiah 2-5).
•Abinadi’s mission to preach repentance to King Noah and his people (Mosiah 12-17).
•Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah’s transformation and missionary work (Mosiah 27, Alma 17-26).
•The Anti-Nephi-Lehies’ commitment to peace and burying their weapons (Alma 24).
•Insights from James about speaking: “Be swift to hear, [but] slow to speak” (James 1:19) and the importance of not taking offense.
•Psychological Insights:
•Why People Struggle with Kind Words:
•Negativity Bias: Humans tend to focus more on negative experiences and emotions, which can make it easier to speak unkindly.
•Stress and Frustration: High stress levels can impair self-control, leading to harsh words.
•Social and Environmental Factors: Growing up in environments where negative communication is the norm can influence one’s own speech patterns.
•Lack of Awareness: Sometimes, people are unaware of the impact their words have on others.
•Personal Experiences:
•David shares a personal story highlighting the impact of words.
•Kerrie shares her experience of how words have affected her.
•Teachings from Modern Prophets and Apostles:
•Elder L. Lionel Kendrick on Christlike communication.
•Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on the power of speech and avoiding harmful words.
•Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s counsel to “Stop it!” when it comes to negative speech.
•Scripture Insights:
•Proverbs 15:1 – “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.”
•Ephesians 4:29 – “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
•Proverbs 18:13 – “To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.”
•Luke 23:43 – Jesus’ kind words to the thief on the cross: “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
•Luke 9:41 – Jesus expressing frustration and then teaching about faith.
•Special Segments:
•David’s “What God Taught Me This Week”: Seeking scriptures first.
•Kerrie’s Practice of the Week: Embracing the hymn “Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words” (Hymn 232).
Final Reminders:
•Encouragement to rate, review, subscribe, and share the podcast.
•Closing with outro music.
Tune in to “Hear Him Heal” to discover how the words we choose can transform lives and bring us closer to the teachings of Christ, while understanding the psychological reasons behind our speech patterns.
The Prophet Joseph deepened our understanding of the power of speech when he taught it is by words that every being works, when he works by faith.
Speaker 2:
Last time on Hear Him Hear, 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.
Speaker 1:
It will be all right in the end.
Speaker 3:
Welcome to Hear Him. Heal with Carrie and David Mills O'Neill.
Speaker 2:
Welcome to Hear Him Heal, where today we are going to talk about the power of speech and how we are influenced positively or negatively by the way people speak to us.
Speaker 4:
You know, the scriptures tell us in James 3.10, that out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursings. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Speaker 2:
We will be sharing some personal experiences that are close to our hearts.
Speaker 4:
And, of course, we're going to be delving into the scriptures to see how speech influenced people and what the current prophet and apostles are advising us to do now Plus.
Speaker 2:
David will discuss his latest experience in what God taught me this week.
Speaker 4:
And my lovely soon-to-be wife, carrie, will be walking us through her brand new. It's even better than last week. I can't even believe it.
Speaker 5:
Practice of the week Carrie Mills O'Neill's practice of the week.
Speaker 2:
Now, if you are ready, it is time to hear him heal.
Speaker 6:
Oh boy, Hear him heal, feel the light With Kerry and David Guiding through the night. Stories of faith, whispers of grace In his words. Find your place.
Speaker 4:
We have all been blessed with many ways to communicate to others Body language, facial expressions and we can even use our senses to receive warnings, like if there's a fire or a delicious treat cooking in the oven. We can even use touch to communicate our feelings, but nothing on the earth is as powerful as the spoken word. We can literally make or break people with how we talk to them and, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a responsibility to speak kindly to each other, as we know, there are eternal consequences. In D&C 108, verse 7, we learn therefore, strengthen your brethren in all conversation, in all prayers, in all exhortations, in all your doings.
Speaker 2:
I love it. It just follows the first two commandments, doesn't it? Especially the second one.
Speaker 4:
What are the first two commandments?
Speaker 2:
To love thy God and then to love our neighbors like unto ourselves. Loving everybody means treating them with kindness, especially in the way we speak.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, some people always say use the golden rule. But the golden rule is kind of crap sometimes because we speak so negatively to ourselves, you know, and if you're going to speak to other people like you speak to you, that's probably not right because I mean, I know I beat myself up all the time and I have very high standards for myself and if I don't achieve just, you know, if I wake up 10 minutes late, I'm just going to go off on myself. I would never do that to somebody else. So sometimes the golden rule really isn't, you know, something to follow. It's kind of an old misnomer, I think. I don't think that that's really the thing.
Speaker 2:
It's because we were made individually right. We've got all our own strengths and our own talents. We're not all the same. We needed to be treated differently, but always with kindness. So into the scriptures a little bit. King Benjamin is a wonderful example of how influence can be used for good. I often say if you ever want to come close to Jesus Christ, just listen and abide by the sermon that King Benjamin gives and eternal glory will be yours. He's positive, but his straight-talking ways lead a whole generation of Nephites being blessed of the Lord and having peace in all the land. While King Benjamin's in that part of the land, in the other part of the land, under the reign of wicked King Noah, the prophet Abinadi was being prepared to preach to the people, teaching faith and repentance. Now, obviously we've just read about abinadi and he's. He was such a wonderful man, wasn't?
Speaker 4:
he.
Speaker 2:
He was a very powerful prophet yeah, but he knew that it was his job to share this with king noah and his people and that the lord would not let him pass through the veil until he had succeeded in his mission. Now he didn't go in there and go. You know, king Noah, you are terrible, you should do this. In fact, he kind of led everything towards Jesus Christ. He told them frankly what they were doing was wrong, but he always used, like a loving, kind way, to show them the way, instead of like forcing them. Like forcing them. Um. This was, of course, to turn Alma the elder from wickedness as the priest of Noah to reform the church of Jesus Christ into the structure we know it to be today. So Abinadi's words had a massive impact on the whole of the generation of the church. It actually set up the church as Jesus Christ wanted it to be. So back in Azar, ahimla, two generations after King Benjamin, we see his grandsons. Now, what are the sons of Mosiah like at first?
Speaker 4:
The sons of Mosiah are like the popular kids, right, because they've grown up in a world of peace and prosperity and they didn't hear the words of King Mosiah, right? They didn't hear any of that. Their fathers did and their parents did, and they grew up kind of spoiled and they don't really find the need for the word of the Lord because they've got everything they want and they kind of rely on themselves and not the Lord. So they kind of speak out against the church because they think it's stupid. They're like what do we need this for? We've got everything we need. We're not struggling, we haven't experienced any problems, everything's fine the way it is and we are the ones that control everything. So they're the popular people. While they don't have Instagram or X or anything like that or Facebook pages, they still are popular. They're still brazen in the way they speak.
Speaker 2:
They were leading other people away as well. They were leading the saints away and encouraging them to sin. And because Alma the Younger was such a really good public speaker, people believed him and people followed him and they were led into sin. So Alma the Younger and the Sons of Messiah were amongst the vilest of sinners and they were persecuting the church and everybody that believed. They really did a lot of damage to the church until they saw an angel.
Speaker 4:
It's just like today's influencers, exactly like the world is today People don't think that they need the Lord.
Speaker 2:
But when their hearts were changed, when they repented and when they put their talents to good use, they eventually did something that was nigh on impossible and they converted the hearts of the lamanites to god. So we've got those boys making a massive influence. And do you remember the lamanites Samuel?
Speaker 4:
Yes.
Speaker 2:
He too. When the Nephites turned bad, he too used his voice to go and convert them. To stand on that wall and be shot at by arrows and try and convert the Nephites from their wicked ways to turn towards God.
Speaker 4:
He prophesied about Christ's birth, including the day of night and a day of darkness, and he told about Christ's death and resurrection, including earthquakes, storms and darkness. Like Samuel, the Lamanite was pretty prophetic right.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely, but no one wanted to believe him at first. These people all used the power of tongue to convert people, so they were given a gift. But not all prophets were given that gift of the tongue. Can you think of anyone that that wasn't very good at public speaking, but the lord still used him so it was moses it was moses.
Speaker 2:
So moses had a stutter. And because he had a stutter he didn't think anyone would listen to him. But the lord saw fit and he wanted to increase his confidence so that Moses believed in himself and he was able to give the Ten Commandments and be an amazing prophet in his time as well.
Speaker 4:
Exodus 4.10, right Moses talking about his insecurities, about his ability to speak, and God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. And Moses responded, saying pardon your servant, lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and of tongue.
Speaker 2:
Yes, Poor man, but yet he was still an instrument in the Lord's hands.
Speaker 4:
Well, that's what the Lord does, right? He was like you know. You said you had that conversation in the garage with the person that was asking you about the Lord, and he was asking about why the Lord gives us hard things. And what did you tell him?
Speaker 2:
I told him that it's because he loves us. He gives us challenges. Because he loves us, he wants us to improve, he wants us to learn and to grow. Without those challenges, we'd be stagnant, we be staying still, we wouldn't improve. And if Moses had not taken up that challenge to be a prophet, despite his speech impediment, then we wouldn't have been led out from the Egyptians.
Speaker 4:
he wouldn't have, he wouldn't have saved all those people and we probably wouldn't be here so, James, he had a lot to say about speaking right Back in James 1.19, he said I love that Swift to hear, but slow to speak.
Speaker 2:
Do you know, when I was studying dentistry and we would, we had a whole module on communication and I said communication should be. I think it was like 70% listening and 30% talking. Um. Do you know any relationship or any kind of situation, apart from a therapist or a counsellor, where there's that much listening going on?
Speaker 4:
Like a bishop has to listen a lot and the Lord listens a lot to our prayers. But it'd be probably the best in a marriage, I would think.
Speaker 2:
I like in James, where he added to what you shared earlier and he said If any man offend, not in word, the same is a perfect man and be and able also to bridle the whole body. Like he's saying, it's not only important just to speak kind words, but it's important not to get offended when other people doesn't speak as kind as we would like, because offense is of the devil, isn't it's contention? We've spoken about that before and there is a lot of power. You can bridle your whole body if you take that, that power, and not be offended by other people. That's hard, isn't it? Are you offended by me?
Speaker 4:
never am I offended by you? No, I'm not offended by you, but it is taking more of a christ-like view. When people because I'm, because I'm sure all day long they're praying and yelling at him and saying things about him, right, not to mention when they crucify him and he's still loving them anyway and saying forgive them. They know not what they do and so when someone's really nasty to us, we can just go. Okay, they're having some things to deal with and the only way they can express it is by being horrible. But really, if you just love them anyway, that's what Christ would do. He would just kind of listen. He'd probably do that 70% listening. Then he'd come up with some really amazing parable and then astound everybody and walk off and drop the mic, like he does.
Speaker 2:
So how do you respond then if people speak kindly to you?
Speaker 4:
Usually like one of my love languages is words of affirmation, so I feel I put a lot of importance on that and I feel like I'm doing something right if someone's speaking nice to me.
Speaker 2:
I think we're born to be good and pure and I think our experiences shape us. So we have got all of our anxieties and fears by the time we're about seven, eight years old from our experiences. So say, if we're young and we've got a mother say it's her first baby and she's really over cautious and she tries to wrap this baby in cotton wool no, dear, don't do that. Don't do that, you're going to hurt yourself. That's dangerous. If that child constantly hears those warnings, he's not really learning for himself and he becomes anxious about the world because everything's scary, everything's a danger, because his mum told him so when? On the complete flip side, if you get a parent that really doesn't care about the child and just lets them get into danger because they don't have an innate like innate mode in them to protect themselves from danger, they will go touch that fire. They will go touch that sharp stick with blood on it or something you know they don't have that in them, it has to be learned on it. Or something you know they don't have that. That in them it's, it has to be learned and it's not innate for them. So if you get a mother that's really lackadaisical and just lets the child get into to harm and stuff. The child will learn what's good and bad, but obviously there'll be negative consequences for that. So like it's really really hard to be a parent in this day and try and steer your children in the right direction, because if you don't influence them in the right way then they can become too anxious, they can become too uncaring about themselves. You know, if you're constantly giving them negative things, um constantly saying no to them, that child will not be able to learn and develop.
Speaker 2:
There are, you know there are studies on plants and they did them in like a test situation where they had the same plant growing in different pots and one of the plants somebody like, spoke to them every, spoke to the plants every day with really kind words, and one of the plants was spoken to with really harsh words and there was obviously a control plant that had no words. The plant that grew the highest was the one that was spoken to with kind words. So even plants will grow and flourish if they are spoken to kindly. So imagine what humans can be. You know, I hear the way some people speak to their children and they're shouting at them and they're they're ridiculing them and they're putting them down and it's really hard to hear, because we're living in a society where a lot of adults are unable to communicate effectively because that's what they've learned from their parents, you know.
Speaker 2:
Um, I think I think whatever however we are as adults is is learned behavior, especially with communication. I don't think we're. We start with a, a pretense to be angry and negative about things. But even the most negative person, the pessimist, they can become an optimist if they work on their gratitudes, if they try and turn things around in their mind and say okay, what am I grateful for today? We do that every day, don't we? Three things that we're grateful for with our friend Mary Ellen. But that teaches you to have a positive mind. And even though there are many, many negative things going on in our lives right now, if we focus on that negative, we're only going to see the negative. But if we try and focus on our gratitude, that's where we can turn our minds around and be more positive.
Speaker 4:
And therefore, if we start thinking positively in ourselves, then we will start acting more kindly and speaking kindly to others as well as ourselves in mosiah 319 it says for the natural man is an enemy of god and has been from the fall of adam and will be forever and ever unless he yields to the enticings of the holy spirit and put it off the natural man and become a saint through the. That is a good scripture. Also in Alma 34, 9,. Atonement made, or else all mankind will unavoidably perish, all be hardened, all are fallen and lost and must perish, except for it be through the atonement, which is expedient, that it should be made. So what does that say to you?
Speaker 2:
that the atonement of jesus christ is everything, and it can change your heart, can't it? It can change your whole outlook. You realize what you are compared to him. We are but dust, but he loves us so dearly. He loves us so dearly that he died for us. He took on our sins and he died for us.
Speaker 4:
I mean without it, like you said, we're just going to be nothing. So it's the best to use the atonement, and using the atonement actively means to repent, because that natural man is always going to be there. I'm going to always want to be defensive, I'm always going to want to try to get ahead of somebody else, unless I am using that atonement to repent and to be saved. Otherwise, I'm just really garbage. I think there's really no point of me. I'm just. What am I going to do? Go and get a bunch of money and some status and win some awards and do something that the world thinks is great, and then I'm just dead. So what does it matter?
Speaker 2:
I kind of had a little, a little thought do you know, um, about the people of Ammon, the anti-Lehi, nephites, anti-nephi-lehi, so I always get that the wrong way around. So they, um, they were in a lot of bother and they, they were fighting with the lame knights and they killed some of the lame knights and a lot of their people got killed, and they made a promise to God that they don't want to have any more bloodshed, that they want to bury their weapons of war. And the Lamanites are still coming upon them and still killing them. But they made that promise to God so that they didn't want to shed any more blood. Now I was thinking you know, weapons are dangerous, but our tongues are a weapon, our words are a weapon. So what if we buried our weapon of war and made a promise to God that we would speak kindly to people and not let Satan rule our tongues? What would happen to the world if we all spoke kindly?
Speaker 4:
I think it would be a lot more lifted up, and the words are often a precursor to a fight. I can just think of the Prophet Joseph Smith when there was a newspaper in Nauvoo and they would just constantly flame the Prophet and tell him you know, it basically had this social media war through newspapers, and then one of the Prophet's brothers got a newspaper as well and then they both started just attacking each other and eventually the guy said you know, we're going to kill Joseph Smith, and even though the guy that said it didn't do it, he organized the group that actually did and caused all that. So just the words alone killed him. And so much of that is attuned to pride. But also just not only that, those words, but also toning down the pride, because so many people are walking around with their chest puffed up, thinking they're so great, when really they don't understand that they're just dirt, they're just nothing. They're just, there's nothing that they are without Christ.
Speaker 4:
Just like King Noah, you know he thought he was everything. He burns Abinadi, and then what happens to him? He burns by fire too. The prophet Joseph Smith told that about the people that were going to kill him. He gave them a warning that their bones would be bleached upon the plains of the American continent and, within 15 years, almost all the people that killed him were killed themselves, and their bones were spread upon the plains of America and are still laying there today with buzzards and vultures eating out their eyes. And that's what happened, and that was his prophecy.
Speaker 2:
There was a talk by Elder Holland called the Tongue of Angels. I really love that talk.
Speaker 1:
God said let there be light. And there was light I really love that talk so that it did not rain. All this was done by faith, said the prophet Joseph Smith. Faith, then, works by words.
Speaker 2:
And he said. The prophet Joseph Smith deepened our understanding of the power of speech when he taught it is by words that every being works, when he works by faith. God said let there be light, and there was light. Joshua spake and the great lights which God had created stood still. Elijah commanded and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months, so that it did not words.
Speaker 1:
And with words its mightiest works have been and will be performed. Like all gifts which cometh from above, words are sacred and must be spoken with care and by constraint of the Spirit. It is with this realization of the power and sanctity of words that I wish to caution us, if caution is needed, regarding how we speak to each other.
Speaker 4:
I like the bit about the husbands. It says Husbands, you've been entrusted with the most sacred gift God can give you A wife, a daughter of God, the mother of your children, has voluntarily given herself to you for love and companionship. Think of the kind things you said when you were courting. Remember when I told you we were courting and you said we're not courting? Because I said I'm courting with you right now and you're like no, you're not, that's some old word. And I said no, right now. And you're like no, you're not, that's some old word. And I said no, it's a courtship. And you said no, and you got so offended, why did you not?
Speaker 2:
like that.
Speaker 4:
I think it reminded me of, like my granddad or something, something he would say okay but jeffrey r holland says it and you love it because you love everything jeffrey r holland says. He can say courting and it's okay and you actually like find it for me to read. I think that's funny. I think think you love Jeffrey R Holland above me. I really think you do. I only hope I can do a speech as good as him one day. Think of the words you said when you were recording. Think of the blessings you were given and the hands placed lovingly upon her head. Think of yourself and ask her as the god and goddess you both inherently are, and then reflect on other moments characterized by cold, caustic, unbridled words. Given the damage can be done with. It's a very true statement, right.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, absolutely is, and it also shows your character, doesn't it? You know, a lot of people say unkind things to other people to put them down, to make themselves feel better, but actually it's their insecurity that's doing that, isn't it?
Speaker 4:
I see that all the time. Yes, usually they. We usually say in psychology hurt, hurt people, hurt people. So if somebody's hurting themselves, they like to hurt other people, because misery loves company and the adversary loves to make people as miserable as him.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I'm a bit of a people watcher. I love to watch people, I love to observe and see how they work. I think I really like the psychology of people actually. Um, and I do see there's a few people at church that do take the negative way. They will look for the negative and they they do kind of want attention from that negativity.
Speaker 2:
And it can be quite draining sometimes when they're trying to get you to help them or something and you want to help them but you know that that's not really going to do them any good because they're not going to kind of help themselves. But it can be really tiring to be around people that just want to see the negative. But the power and the light of positivity can like lighten anybody's darkness and with that spirit riding in you you can even touch those people that are just absolutely set on seeing the worst case scenario. You know, the holy spirit can touch anyone's heart and I think if we constantly try and strive to carry that with us, then we can really help and have an effect on people in the world.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, I think so. Everybody's got a bright light inside them, but some people have constructed the story and their identity from whatever bad thing happened to them and, instead of growing from that, they've internalized that and they think that the bad thing is them now and they literally will tell you all the bad things that happened to them as if it's happening now, even though it might have happened 20 or 30 years ago or when they were a kid. They still act like that. Whatever happened is happening now and they keep hurting themselves by constantly bringing that back up to light instead of going yep, this happened back. Then.
Speaker 4:
The Lord taught me a bunch of stuff, I learned some things and now I'm doing this. No, they just tell you that story and that's why I'm like this and that's why I can't do anything, and that's why people like me or this, I'm like no, it's just your story. Like that's what happened to you. Like so what? Like move on, it's over. Like you don't drive with the rearview mirror, you can't get in the car. And just like stick your face in the rearview mirror and start driving, you're gonna crash. It doesn't work like that. Life moves forward, you know, and that's.
Speaker 2:
That's the way it is um elder gave us some wise counsel. He said when we feel hurt or angry or envious, it's quite easy to judge people. This topic could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ridiculing, holding grudges or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following stop it, he said. Is it difficult to do? Yes, how is it done? Through the love of God, let us be kind, let us forgive, let us talk peacefully with each other. Let us love of God fill our hearts. Let the love of God fill our hearts. Let love of god fill our hearts. Let us do good unto all men.
Speaker 4:
And in matthew we read love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them, which despitefully, use you and persecute you yeah, it's always nice to put people that are not our friends at the moment on the temple roll right and we're like, well, why am I going to put this person's name on there? They've said this, this and that about me this week. I'm just going to put their names on anyway. Right, and we keep doing that, we keep praying for them, and it felt so awkward at first, but now it seems like second nature. It's like, of course, these are the people that need to to have prayers done.
Speaker 2:
Exactly, they need it the most, don't they?
Speaker 3:
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, it's time for your session of what God taught me this week.
Speaker 4:
What God taught me this week, all right. So I think it's been a crazy week. Like we've been really setting things to focus right. Like we have our getting married and soon and we've got these lists going right now and we have a focus every single week right. And so on top of the focus, we like we've been focusing on those, you know, one or two things, things. Even though I have a list of probably 96 things to do, I probably have like two main things to focus on right, and so I've been doing that and focusing on those things and making lists about that.
Speaker 4:
But really what's been working for me is to focus on the scriptures first before I do anything else. So a lot of times what I'll do now is I'll go okay, like I like I was trying to do a couple of challenging things last week and I was like, okay, I'm going to get started, but why don't I just crack open my scriptures and I'm going to say a quick prayer before I look about what I'm trying to do, and then I'm just going to look at a scripture any of them and then see how that can permeate me, right, and so I did that like two or three times and I would be like oh, that one's good. And I flipped a couple more pages and look oh, that one's pretty good. It works better with a physical book, not the app, but I guess you could use an app if you wanted to and just kind of close your eyes and pick one. But I think seeking the scriptures first is nice because it puts into perspective who's in charge, that the Lord's in charge and that he's above us. And no matter what thing I do, like I figure out a password or I figure out how to get something in or whatever I'm figuring out, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme, but as long as it's doing something for the Lord is a good thing. But if it's just me trying to find something, it's not really the best thing.
Speaker 4:
But if I seek the Scripture first, it kind of keeps in perspective what I'm doing. Do you know what I mean? Like I think two weeks ago you asked me to help you with this app because you were ordering some wedding supplies and it was messing up my schedule. I thought in my head and I'm like oh, why is she doing this right now? Like this is my time. To like do this, I'm going to go downstairs and run and I have to do my. Is she asking? She's asking for party supplies for a wedding where she wants to marry me. So that gave me a perspective, right?
Speaker 4:
Perhaps my thing that God taught me this week was keeping a perspective and seeking scriptures first, because that helped me to know what you were asking of me and I didn't get so wound up because sometimes I can get really wound up if I stay really micro focused but if I know, like, what I'm doing, because I thought, like the missionaries were here a couple days to teach another guy here and I thought you know, they're just on a mission from God and like, whatever we're asking them to do, they're happy to do because they're on a mission from God and they're very clear into what they're doing right now.
Speaker 4:
They might not know what they're going to do with the rest of their life, but right now, these two years that they're on their mission, they know they're on a mission from God. So it's like, if I can know, like why I'm doing something and put the scriptures first, that makes a difference in how I approach it and my stress level that makes amazing sense get ready, get set, because it's time to learn about Kerry Mills O'Neill's practice of the week.
Speaker 2:
Dun dun dun. This week my practice. So yesterday on the Sabbath, there was a lady that needed my help. She had a tooth abscess and a swollen face and a swollen eye and I can help her. Obviously I'm a dentist, I know what to do in that situation. I can um, lance it and give her some antibiotics to help her. My instant thought when I saw her was hmm, it's the Sabbath, it's Sunday, I'm at church and then I'm going home and I need to do Sunday stuff. So that was my first thought. It wasn't to just go and help her. But then my second thought was Jesus healed on the Sabbath. I can go and heal this woman. I've been given this gift so I can go and help this woman.
Speaker 2:
So I kind of was reflecting on that and I thought why was it my first response to not want to help this woman? Was it just like a natural man thing? Was it just like kind of like out of my plans? Because I don't like my plans changing? I think maybe I'm a little autistic in that way. I don't like changing things once I know what's going on. And then I thought, well, if I don't like change, I need to kind of be with that a little while and see why that is the case.
Speaker 2:
And I was exploring it and I think it is just because it wasn't in my plans. So this week think it is just because it wasn't in my plans so this week my practice of the week is going to be, um, going out of my comfort zone. So if there's an opportunity to serve, I'm going to go do it and in fact I'm going to pray to see what I can do and ask for opportunities to serve and help people, because I don't want to be so stuck in my routine that I don't see the promptings that are needed around me. I want to open my eyes and my heart and explore what the Lord wants me to do and put him first. So my practice of the week this week is just going to be praying for more opportunities to help people and getting out of my comfort zone. Kerry Mills O'Neill's practice of the week. I like that.
Speaker 4:
That's really cool. I think our marriage counselor invited me to do that too, with my schedule right, because I like to be really rigid. Well, that's it for this episode of.
Speaker 2:
Hear Him Heal.
Speaker 3:
Thank you for tuning in to Hear Him Heal with David and Keri 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.
Speaker 6:
Until then, stay blessed David, guiding through 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 where miracles prevail. Jesus' love so deep and real. Come and embrace as you hear Him heal. Come and embrace as you hear Him heal. Come and embrace as you hear Him heal.
