True and Faithful Friends

I read a quote last Sunday by Elder Neil L. Andersen that gave me pause to think. The quote was in a Church News article report about a recent Single Adult Face to Face event. He said "We really do have to find other people of faith, don't we? In this world [in which] we live, [we need] other people of faith, who we can connect with at a very deep level, and talk openly about how our prayers are answered, [and] how we feel about the Holy Ghost." That support is "one of the beauties of gathering together as Saints in the gospel" added Sister Jean B. Bingham.

This idea really struck me and I was reminded of it again as I studied D&C 69 this week. In this revelation Oliver Cowdery is called to "carry the manuscript of the compiled revelations and commandments to Independence, Missouri, for printing. He was also to take with him money that had been contributed for the building up of the Church." (see Section 69 heading) But the Lord also instructs in this revelation that Oliver be given a companion to go with him on his journey.

The personal application for me was seeing that the Lord puts "true and faithful" (v. 1) people in our lives that help us on our journey here in mortality. Some of these people are with us for only a short amount of time (think of childhood friends, missionary companions or people we’re called to serve with in the church). Other people will be more long term (like parents, siblings and spouses). The companion that was assigned to go with Oliver was John Whitmer (v. 2) and not only was John to help Oliver but Oliver was supposed to "counsel and [give] assistance" (v. 4) to John with his responsibility to be writing church history. So not only does the Lord put people in our lives to help us, but the Lord also puts us in other peoples lives to help them too. There’s a Quaker proverb that describes this kind of symbiotic relationship: "Thee lift me and I'll lift thee and we'll ascend together."

The Lord will put people in our paths to help us on our journey, but we also should choose to surround ourselves with others that are "true and faithful." These people can help shield us from temptation and outside influences. They can help us stay safe on our journey. At my son's recent High School graduation one of the speakers quoted a famous study by a businessman named Jim Rohn. The study concluded that "you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."  My take away from that quote is that we are greatly influenced by those we surround ourselves with.

Think about who your greatest influencers are? Who do you spend the most time with? Thinking of these questions brought me back to Elder Andersen's quote and the idea that we need other people of faith that we can connect with at a deep level. These are true and faithful friends and family members that can influence us in a deeply spiritual way, and that we can also share our feelings with. As I continued to think about who my greatest influencers were, the Spirit whispered to me "is Jesus Christ one of your greatest influences? Is He someone you spend a lot of time with?" 

As we think about the true and faithful people that the Lord has placed in our lives, hopefully we realize that the greatest person we can choose to have influence in our lives is our Savior, Jesus Christ.