...A shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you..." (Alma 5:37)

Over the past several weeks I have spent a lot of time watching our children play water polo. It is an intense, fast-paced, and aggressive sport and a ton of fun to watch, especially if the teams are good at what they are doing. One weekend we were in Cedar City, Utah, watching 2 of our children  play with the High School team in the Summer Games tournament. It has 2 games going on at the same time, which means there are two sets of whistles, two sets of refs, 4 teams cheering, and tons of people, all inside. It is very loud.

Some of my responsibility during this weekend was to keep track of 6 teenage boys, one of which included my 14 year old son. At one point in time I needed to get the boys attention across the inside of the pool area. It is impossible to yell and try to have them hear me because there is so much noise. I needed to get them fed before their next games and I didn't want to walk all the way around the pools. So, I did what I do to get my children's attention. I whistled. I can whistle, without my fingers in my mouth, nice and deafening if you are too close. Remember, it is really loud and noisy in this place. The odds of them hearing me are pretty slim. I whistled once...and was hopeful that my son would hear our family sound that I use when I want to get our kids attention anywhere. He didn't notice. I tried again a second time. He immediately looked up in my direction and looked around for me. I moved around and waved for him to come to me. He waved back and I could see him tell the other boys they needed to come to me. It was awesome to watch this take place-the fact that my son had heard this "call" through the "wilderness" above all the noise was amazing. It was a bonus that I didn't have to walk all the way around the pool to get them.

As I have pondered this experience I have come to the conclusion that the Lord has a "whistle" or a "call" for us as well and we have to learn to discern it through all the noise that is around us. My children didn't just know this, I told them what to listen for over the years. We can be anywhere now and I can whistle and they will come to me. The Lord is the same way. He is calling us all of the time, He has said, "Come unto me" (see Matt. 11:28 , Alma 5:34.) How can we know what to listen for? How do we know it is His voice? He has said,

"Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—

in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—

my voice, because my voice is Spirit; 

my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; 

and if it be in you it shall abound." 

D&C 88:66

Practice listening. Everyone can learn to discern the voice of the Lord. Everyone can learn to discern truth. Just as my children have learned to hear my whistle through the noise of two water polo games, two sets of whistles, 4 refs, and 4 teams cheering, and follow me to where I can feed them, we too must learn to listen to the Voice of Truth, the voice of the Lord, which is the Spirit and He will feed us. (See John 21:16, D&C 112:14) We just have to practice listening. Sometimes it is harder to hear and pick out that "call", but it is there. "Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ..." (Alma 5:38) 


If there is one thing I have learned this polo season, it is to listen. There is a ton of noise out there. But there is really only one true Referee who can see all and knows all and in Whom I can totally trust. It is the best feeling ever to know that I don't have to rely on the other refs, who are so inconsistent, who make calls that are in favor for one team or against another. Every call from this Referee is fair, honest and truthful. I have to listen for His voice, the voice of Jesus Christ, because His "voice is truth" (D&C 88:66.) "Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning." (D&C 93:24-25) Now that is powerful. That is honest and an incredible definition of truth, and of what to listen for in the "wilderness". I am working on listening. It isn't easy, but it sure is worth it. It makes life much easier when there is so much noise going on in this crazy life of mine. And I promise you, He is calling to you, too. God loves you and is calling to you, always. And as you listen, you will hear, amidst all the whistles, other calls, and  distractions, and nonsense, because when you are ready to hear, it is a voice that is "of one crying in the wilderness" and can't be missed. This I testify.