God Watches Over Us

                We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father who loves us.  He protects and comforts us when we have problems.  He will help us with our problems if we but exercise faith in Him. 

                If you will remember, King Herod was a very jealous king.  When the wise men went to Herod asking for guidance to the new king, Herod told them to let him know when they found Jesus.  Herod told them that he wanted to worship the new king also, but he really wanted to harm the Baby.  Heavenly Father told the wise men in a dream that they should go home by another direction and not return to Herod.

                At the same time Heavenly Father sent an angel to tell Joseph to take Mary and the Child to Egypt.  Herod sent soldiers to kill all baby boys under the age of two years.   The angel returned to Joseph after Herod died to tell him it was safe to go home to Nazareth.

                Heavenly Father watched over Baby Jesus and kept Him safe.  He also watches over each of us.  When we obey His commandments and ask for His help, Heavenly Father is very willing to help us.  He will always help us, but He might not help us as we expect.

                When David O. McKay was a boy, he heard noises around the house and thought burglars were in the house.  His father was not at home, and David thought his mother would be as frightened as he was.  As he lay there in bed frightened, he remembered that his parents had taught him to pray.  Since he had been taught to pray on his knees beside his bed, he thought that he needed to get out of bed to pray.  This was a great test for him, but he climbed out of bed, knelt beside it, and offered his prayer. 

                “As he knelt down by the side of the bed, he prayed earnestly and with real faith.  Then, just as clearly as one person speaks aloud to another, he heard a voice say to him, `Don’t be afraid.  Nothing will hurt you.’  David then climbed back into bed and fell fast asleep.” (See Marie F. Felt, “David:  A Boy of Promise,” Instructor, September 1969, p. 330.)  David O. McKay became an Apostle and then President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

                I know that Heavenly Father watches over us because He has watched over and blessed me.  I have been in several situations where serious harm could have befallen me but did not.  One such time happened when I was driving up a mountain road just outside Anchorage and the Spirit whispered to me that I should slow down.  I was obedient and slowed down; just a moment or so later I saw a moose cross the highway right in front of me.  Because I had already slowed down, I avoided a collision with the moose.