Dear Dunk

Dear Dunk:                                                                                                                         November 6, 2011

This morning, I woke up and was kind of bored, so you and I went downstairs to watch some TV.  I put you in your ExerSaucer that has all sorts of toys and music and things to occupy you.  It lets you stand, jump around, spin, and have a good time.  As I was flipping through the channels, you paid no attention to what was on the TV because of all the fun toys you had at your reach.  I came upon the KBYU channel where a rebroadcast of President Thomas S. Monson was airing.  As soon as President Monson’s voice left the speakers of the television, it was as if a light bulb turned on inside your head.  You immediately recognized the voice as if it was your mother’s or my own.  You threw the rattle that was in your hand half-way across the room (which is pretty far for just a little guy…) and spun around 180 degrees toward the sound of the Prophet’s voice.  You gave President Monson the same excited face you give when your mother or I come into the room after you haven’t seen one of us for a while.  You immediately sat down in your ExerSaucer, tilted your head to the right, and watched intently as the Prophet spoke. 

                I had many thoughts running through my head as I saw this happening.  How could, simply, a voice draw the attention of you, a six-month-old baby, away from all the colors, toys, music, and fun right at your fingertips?  How could you have recognized a prophet’s voice as easily as one of your parents’ voices when you have only previously heard him speak once in your life?  Why don’t I pay the same notice whenever I hear the prophet’s voice? 

                I think the only way that the voice of the Prophet could draw your attention away from that toy of yours would be if you heard the Savior’s voice through him.  This reminded me that only six short months ago you were in His presence.  This serves as a testimony to me that we are all God’s children and that he has entrusted your care and spiritual well-being to your mom and I.  You didn’t turn toward the television when we were on any previous channel, listening to any other person; you turned only toward the Prophet. 

I have only really grown up with two prophets in my lifetime so far.  I remember the day when I received the testimony that President Gordon B. Hinckley was called of God to be His prophet.  I was in the Missionary Training Center and I was lucky enough to be there during General Conference.  Up until that point I had not ever received a personal testimony that he was, indeed, called of God.  The day I heard him speak while I was in the MTC, the Spirit testified to me that he was the Prophet through a feeling that I cannot describe in words.  A year and a half later, President Hinckley passed away and President Monson was called to be the Prophet in his stead.  That was almost four years ago.  I have always followed President Monson’s counsel, but ever since he was called, I have been looking for that same feeling to reaffirm my testimony.  Today you gave that to me. 

                I know, now, through your example that, while in heaven, there were only a handful of people you watched so you would recognize them here on earth—your mother and I, other family members, and the leaders of the church.   Today your future siblings saw your example, and I am sure they felt the same way I did when you showed your testimony of the Prophet of God.  I know that you are a child of God and that President Monson is the true Prophet of God called to lead and guide us back to Heavenly Father’s presence.  A modern day Moses, or Abraham, was on our television this morning, and you had the obedience that so many are lacking in our day to turn to the Prophet and heed his call.  I pray that you will always keep that obedience.

I love you,

Dad

The Prophet of Temples

The Prophet of Temples

All of my adolescent life was during the life and presidency of Gordon B. Hinckley. He became the president of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in March of 1995, when I was just 8 years old. I listened to his council all through my teen age years and while on my mission. I even saw him in real life once while my family lived in Riverton, Wyoming during the dedication of Martins Cove.

                Gordon B. Hinckley was known for many things, but more than anything he was to credit for his vision of the Temples. He dedicated 76 temples in just eleven years. Worldwide temples grew from just 46 to 124 in this short time. This changed the church forever in my eyes. Now members across the world had the opportunity to get their endowments without having to travel for days to find the nearest temple. Right before I left on my mission in 2006 I had the temple to do the same thing. The blessings that these ordinances offered to my life are something that I can’t begin to express. To keep it short, a life without these blessings would be tenfold more difficult. While on my mission for the church these blessings and the spiritual power that I received from these covenants made the difference for me.

                While in the MTC in Provo Utah I had a rare opportunity to be there during General Conference in the fall of 2006. I had always heard of people say how great it is to be in the MTC during conference weekend. To be honest I was pretty skeptical, but knew I needed to get the most out of it. During the first few weeks most missionaries including myself go through a real self-finding process. It is the longest stretch without seeing or talking with family, one is constantly surrounded by the gospel, and with the added pressure of trying to learn a new language in just 2 months led me to draw help from any angle I could. With this search comes doubts, and one of those doubts that I had was if this guy that I had been listening to and following all these years was really a Prophet of God. Did my Heavenly Father actually call him, Gordon B. Hinckley to be a prophet, seer, and revelator in my day, just like he did with Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Abraham, and all the others?

                Instead of just assuming that he was, I made a plan to find out for sure. The way I saw it, only one person actually knew the truth and that was God. Leading up to the conference I had fasted and prayed that he would help me know for sure if President Hinckley was his prophet. Conference day came and I had still not received an answer to my prayers. The doubt still lingered in my mind. As we started walking to the meeting hall to watch and listen to conference the thought came to my mind that maybe my prayers would be answered during the conference. I remembered the story of when Brigham Young was called to be the prophet following the death of Joseph Smith. As Brigham Young made his first speech those in attendance said the saw Joseph Smith, as if his voice was coming through Brigham Young. This experience gave most members the testimony that he as truly called of God to replace Joseph Smith as the current prophet of His Church.

                We walked in and sat down and listened to the prelude music. The very first speaker was non-other than President Hinckley. Immediately following his very first word, were tears that dripped across my face. Something overtook me to where I couldn’t hear what he was saying anymore, everything was tuned out expect for my thoughts telling me that this 96 year old man was called of God, the Eternal Father. Were they my thoughts or the words of the Lord in my heart it didn’t matter, I knew that my doubts were gone. He was a modern day Moses, Abraham, or Noah called of God to help me reach my full potential and led me and the other billions of people in the world back to God.

                I took that knowledge to El Salvador and spread it to everyone that I came in contact with. This knowledge and testimony that I had was a treasure and it needed to be shared with the world. About a year after that conference while I was in Provo, I was serving in the mission office as the Mission Presidents assistant. I got a call in the evening from President Call telling me the worst news I had heard in a long time. President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away and he needed me to call each zone to tell them the news. My heart sank as the only thought I had was regret that I didn’t seek out a personal testimony years before when I had the chance. I could have done more with this testimony if I had more time, but thankfully the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth. This means that a new prophet would be called. Not long after Thomas S. Monson was called to replace him did I earn a personal testimony that he too was called of God to serve as a Prophet and leader of the Church.

                I know that Jesus Christ has restored his gospel on the earth and with this restoration comes the blessing of prophets and the priesthood. Prayers are answered by our Heavenly Father, and more so he provides us answers through his servants.

Choose First the Kingdom of God

Choose first the kingdom of god

The summer of 2002, my Dad and I had the opportunity to build a house by ourselves. Growing up every house we had lived in was built by our family. Since I was the youngest of 4 boys I never contributed much to the houses we built, but now that I was 16 and my older brothers were either moved away or busy with another job it was up to my Dad and I to tackle this project.

The house was built at the top of the hill, overlooking most of Evanston. My Dad had saved up several days of paid time off; if I remember right it was about 2 months’ worth.  My Dad being the get it done and over with type, wanted to take advantage of every last minute that he had to finish this house. Our days started at 6:30 am. In the summer time the sun was just barley coming up. We would work hard all day building the house and would rarely come home before dark which came around 9:30 pm. Six days a week we worked. Being just old enough to date, having a good crew of friends that I loved hanging out with made this summer job especially tough. Looking back on it now I was grateful to have had spent those few months with my Dad, but at the time there were several days I wished I could be anywhere but there at that house. I remember being up on the roof and looking down the hill towards one of my best friend’s house and seeing the whole gang there having a great time playing games, barbequing,  and enjoying the warm weather that only lasted 3-4 months in Evanston. After a long school year everyone looks forward to a carefree summer full of fun memories, but at the time all I could do was look at the tiny paychecks that I would get from my Dad and sit back and watch my friends grow closer together without me.

As the summer came to an end so did the house. We did it! The house was finished and sold. My Dad paid me the remaining check and it all went to the bank, except for $500.00 of it that went to my new blue 1987 Honda CRX. As tradition in our home we were responsible for purchasing our own car if we wanted one, paying for the insurance and the gas along with anything else that would come with having a car. It was a great practice that my parents taught all of us boys to be responsible with our money, and I’m glad they did as it still serves me today when making purchases.

Several months pasted by and all the money I had made over the summer started to disappear in gas, insurance, and dates! I vividly remember seeing a bill from State Farm to pay my car insurance and knowing that it would be the last of my money I had saved up over the summer.  Nervous that no more money was coming in since I had not obtained another job since, I started to think about things to do. Ironically the very first thought that came to me was that of tithing. Looking back over the past few months it had hit me that I still had not paid my tithing on my summer earnings either! Now with two things needing money from me I stopped thinking of ways to rectify it afraid that I would think of more debts.

Faced with a decision, I remember hearing the voice of my parents, several Sunday school teachers, and the church leaders testify of the validity of tithing. If I would only trust the Lord, pay 1/10^th of all my earning that the Lord would open the windows of Heaven and so many blessing would come down on me that I would not even have enough room to receive them. I only had enough money to pay either the car insurance or the tithing. Because the Lord loves me and is always mindful of my spiritual wellbeing I was impulse to pay tithing, with the confidence and faith that the Lord would take care of the car insurance for me.

I wrote a check for ten percent of my summer earnings, leaving roughly just $3.00 in my bank account. Writing that check, thinking to myself of all the sacrifices that I made to get that money was almost more than I could bare to get my left hand to write the figure on the check. I handed the tithing envelope to Bishop Dennis and turned away leaving it all in the hands of the Lord. Church ended, my family and I headed towards the chapel door. I felt a tap on my shoulder and as I turned around I saw Brother Allred. He said “Scott, why don’t you stop by my office tomorrow after school? I want to run something by you.” I agreed, and as promised the next day I stopped by Castle Rock Chevrolet to pay him a visit. Without filling out an application, sending over my resume, or even asking for a job he offered me a position detailing cars, paying much more than my Father might I add! I could hardly believe my ears, I started that day. Heavenly Father really came through for me! He promised that if I would take a step of faith and pay my tithing, he would take care of me. I had this job all through high school, right up until the day I left on my mission to El Salvador. Because of the frugalness my parents taught me I was able to save up enough money to put me through most of college, pay for a wedding ring, a new car, and several other things that without it I have no idea how things would have gone.

I know that the principal of tithing is true. The prophets of old taught it, Jesus Christ taught it, and the prophets today continue to testify of its truthfulness. Along with their testimonies, I too testify by the power of the Holy Ghost that this principal is of God! As we live by it others are blessed and God takes care of those that care for others.

Humble Servants with the Lord’s Power

Humble Servants with the Lord’s Power

While serving in my second area on my mission in El Salvador, I had the opportunity to become a senior companion and a trainer. With this new responsibility came a lot of pressure and inner determination to be the best I could be. With this desire came countless prayers pleading for the Lord’s help in the matter. To my surprise the answer to those prayers came quicker than I expected.

It was early one morning when our phone rang at our place. It was our branch president. Immediately I knew something was wrong.  He asked that we come over as soon as possible. We ate lunch at their house every day and over the few months I had been in the area; I had grown a great love for their family. My new companion and I got dressed and headed over to their house. Once we got there, he sat with us in the front room and began to explain what was happening. They were a young family with two kids.  They were blessed with a boy that was 9 years old and a 6 year old daughter. For the past year, unbeknownst to us their daughter had been suffering with kidney problems. He explained that over the past 2 months the situation had grew worse. They went to several doctors in the area seeking different opinions, but to their discouragement each test result came back the same. I don’t remember what exactly the diagnosis was, but as he continued to explain the situation they were going to the hospital later that day for one final test before she was going to start dialysis and be placed on a list for a kidney transplant. He then looked up at me with tears in his eyes saying that in El Salvador kidneys don’t come, and without one she would be dead in a few years.

Spontaneously, I asked if he had given her a priesthood blessing knowing that the answer would be yes. He looked to the floor and shook his head as he said “Elder, I don’t think God can fix this. I need you to give her a blessing.” I agreed. I handed my oil vile to my trainee and asked him to do the anointing, as he grabbed it he looked at me and said “I have never given a priesthood blessing before Elder Fieber, what do I do?” I helped him with the words and he completed the anointing without a problem. I then laid my hands on his young daughters head to seal the anointing, but it was as if there was a force field over her head preventing me from touching her. I knew then that her Father had to do the blessing. He and his wife were praying in the adjacent room. I went over to him and told him he needed to do this. I bore my testimony of the power of the priesthood and gave him reassurance that he held that authority to heal his daughter. All that he lacked was the step of Faith! He agreed, and followed us into the room.

As he struggled to speak, the words of a loving earthly and heavenly father filled the room. After words the feeling in the room was such that no one had a doubt she would make a full recovery. We offered a prayer and left for the day. They followed us out the door in their way to an appointment they have dreaded for a week now, fearful for their daughters life.

As the day went on could help but think of them, my heart was drawn out in prayer for them. I knew in my mind that not only was their daughters’ physical life in stake but quite possibly their spiritual wellbeing as well. A struggling branch couldn’t afford for their leader to not believe in the priesthood power.

We got a call later that night once they got back in town. He began to explain that everyone was confused and baffled at the hospital. They went in for the first test and failed to find anything wrong with her kidneys. They ran another test, and yet another all coming back with results showing kidneys that were 100%. He then went on to tell me how the doctors began to pour through the other tests that were run on previous occasions trying to figure out how this incurable issue with her kidneys in now gone without any medical intervention. He then told me in a soft humble voice, “Elder Fieber, I knew how the tests were different, there wasn’t a medical intervention, but there indeed was a divine intervention that the doctors wouldn’t understand if I told them.” At that moment I felt as if I was in the scriptures with the prophets of old. I could hardly believe my ears either as he told me of the miracle. I had always believed the power of the priesthood was back on the earth, but when something like this happens to you first hand there is a different level of belief. I know now without doubt that through the prophet Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ restored his power on the earth. It was passed down to me today, and as long as I live my life as directed anything is possible. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Gods’ church in the latter days, restored so we can enjoy the blessings of his power in our lives just as those of old in the scriptures.

Blind Faith

Blind Faith

When I was fourteen years old, I had the opportunity to take care of my neighbor’s pet ducks while they were away in Alaska visiting family. They weren’t my immediate neighbors; they lived just 4 or 5 houses up the street from us, but since they were good family friends they were considered neighbors. I grew up in a Wyoming town called Evanston. Evanston sits at 6,800 feet above sea level, which makes for some harsh winter storms and weather.

For my age, I was very consistent and diligent in my new job. Without fail I was over to the house each and every day at the same time until Saturday came around. After a long week at school, I wanted to spend the day doing things for myself. Playing all day and not paying heed to my Dad’s warning to go take care of the ducks before dark fell, brewed the perfect storm for hardship. It became dark and, sure enough, a cold winter storm rolled in over the mountains. As I saw the snow fall, and it got later in the night, I somehow mustered up motivation and headed outside to take care of the ducks several hours after I should have. The wind must have been blowing over 30 mph. I remember looking back at my tracks in the snow and seeing them fill up with new snow almost immediately.

Once I got to the house I ran the routine checkups and finished changing the water and food for the ducks. I reached into my pocket after I was all done, looking for the house keys to lock up and go home for the day. To my dismay my pocket was empty! In a panic I started to retrace my steps, which worked until my steps lead me back outside where all my traces were covered up and nonexistent with the fresh snow. After all my efforts, I was led back to the garage next to the ducks. After one last look around for the keys, I sank to my knees in unbelief. Thoughts started to race through my mind like; “They will come home from Alaska and not be able to get inside because I lost their house keys.” I could see my Dad looking at me when I got home with a disappointed “I told you so” look. Humbled by my inability to change the circumstances I began to REMEMBER all those family home evenings and Sunday school lessons growing up, the recollection of which lead me to prayer in the garage. Surrounded by ducks, my heart cried out to the Lord for help. I knew that He knew where the keys were.

Immediately following the prayer I got up off my knees as if someone else was walking for me. My legs took me outside around the side of the house towards the side fence gate then all of the sudden my new legs stopped. I can still remember something telling me to look down and reach into the fresh snow. I had no reason to not reach into the snow, so with blind faith my hand plunged through the cold snow. As I pulled my hand out, the house keys were in hand!

At that moment I felt as though heaven and earth were the same place. I knew that my prayer was heard; my words made it to our Father’s ears. He loved me so much that he cared to take the time to help me, even considering all the other problems in world. This experience has stuck with me my whole life and served as a building block. I know God hears and answers prayers.  Never forget that he hears us no matter how insignificant the prayer.