Has The Day Of Miracles Ceased?

In the April 2022 General Conference, President Nelson gave a powerful talk, The Power of Spiritual Momentum. He taught of five specific actions we can take to help us ignite and maintain positive spiritual momentum to push forward through challenging times, and to have peace and harmony in our lives.

1. Get on the covenant path and stay there
2. Discover the joy of daily repentance (including teaching that "The Savior loves us always but especially when we repent".)
3. Learn about God and how He works - by having daily experiences worshipping Him and studying His gospel
4. End conflict in your personal life – forgive, and seek forgiveness
5. Seek and expect miracles

The Cambridge Dictionary definition of a miracle is “an unusual and mysterious event that is thought to have been caused by a god because it does not follow the usual laws of nature”.

However Daniel H. Ludlow in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism gives a far better perspective for Latter-day Saints.

“A miracle is a beneficial event brought about through divine power that mortals do not understand and of themselves cannot duplicate. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in the reality of miracles as a consequence of their belief in the existence of God and of his power and goodness.”

Bruce R. McConkie writes in Mormon Doctrine:

“In the broadest sense, miracles embrace all those events which are beyond the power of any presently known physical power to produce. They are occurrences which deviate from the known laws of nature and which transcend our knowledge of those laws.  In the gospel sense, miracles are wrought by the power of God which are wholly beyond the power of man to comprehend.”

For me, a miracle occurs when Heaven intervenes in our lives – to help us, to protect us, to guide or teach us.  I hope you all know this happens frequently.

The greatest miracle we know of is The Saviour’s atoning sacrifice, and how His sacrifice can redeem us from sin and return us to the presence of our Father in Heaven.

The Saviour performed many miracles during his ministry.  For example, in the New Testament, we read that He healed a blind man, cast out devils, fed the multitude, and by simply touching a man who had leprosy, healed him instantly, to name just a few.

In the Old Testament, he performed many miracles, like feeding the children of Israel with manna from heaven and opening of the Red Sea to allow Moses and the children of Israel to escape the Egyptian army sent to kill them. He also held up the waters of the Jordan River so that the Prophet Joshua and the Israelites could cross it, so they would be where the Lord needed them to be.

In The Book of Mormon, we read similar accounts of miracles. Nephi spoke of the Lord’s miraculous powers, when he said “…if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?" (1 Nephi 17:51) We subsequently learn that this instruction to build the ship was not after the manner of men, but in a way that would preserve Nephi and his family during a long and difficult journey across the ocean to the American continent.

In 4 Nephi 1:5 we read: “And there were great and marvellous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus.”

These are all historic accounts, so one might ask, has the day of miracles ceased? I suggest that the answer to this question is a categoric, NO!

In Mormon 9:9-11 Moroni says: “For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?”

“And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.”

“But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.”

Moroni continues in verse 15 “…and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.”

Faith and miracles are inseparable.

Miracles don’t need to be huge, historic events like the parting of the Red Sea, they are everyday incursions into our lives from a loving Heavenly Father who wants to guide, protect and help us.

• If you have ever felt the enlightening or calming influence and power of The Holy Ghost, you have experienced a miracle.
• If you have ever felt that your prayer has been answered, or even received, you have experienced a miracle.
• If you have ever felt the weight of a sin removed through The Saviour’s love for you, you have experienced a miracle.

The more you acknowledge the hand of the Lord in your life, the more you will see the influence of the Lord in your life. The more you are willing see the influence of the Lord in your life, the greater your faith becomes, and more miracles will come into your life. And that is a good thing!

Doctrine and Covenants 35:8 says “For I am God, and mine arm is not shortened; and I will show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name.”

In a revelation the Church members in 1831, known as Section 46 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we learn that there are many gifts of the Spirit, or in other words, many different ways we can see the workings of The Holy Ghost in our lives. One of those, in verse 21, is the ability to see when the Lord is in our lives, or in other words, “the working of miracles.”

I'd like to share two events that have occurred recently in my life. Are they a coincidence, or divine intervention? You be the judge. Coincidence, or miracle?

I was recently in Darwin for my church calling in Communications. I was with another leader and we had some time on Saturday morning before our first appointment, so we went into the city for a few hours. On the way back to our hotel in the taxi, we learnt that our driver was an immigrant from central Africa and that his wife and two sons were stuck in Thailand due to COVID travel restrictions. He was working hard and sending money back to them when he could and was hoping they would join him soon.

During that taxi ride, I received a phone call that our meeting later that morning had to be cancelled due to a serious health condition of a relative of the people we were to visit with. My travel companion decided to go back to the hotel to do some work, and I went back to the city in the taxi to be the tourist.

In the city at the end of the taxi ride, trouble struck when the credit card reader wouldn’t work. We tried many times but I couldn’t pay the driver. This concerned me because the fare was a lot of money for him and if I couldn’t pay then it would adversely affect him and his family. We swapped phone numbers in order to resolve it later when he wasn’t busy.

I stayed in the city for a few hours being a tourist, and just as I was walking back to taxi rank, he ‘coincidentally’ called me. So I asked him to take me back to the hotel again and earn another fare. He told me he was only taking cash customers all that morning because his credit card reader still wasn't working. We tried it again and again to pay the fares, but it didn't work. I was unable to pay him as I only had a credit card with me and no access to my bank account to pay by cash. I rang his company to arrange to pay by bank transfer, which was good for my conscience, but I was still concerned that the driver may not get the full fare that he had earned.  I said a silent prayer that the Lord would intervene.

When we got back to my hotel, the driver said, not to worry and that he would get his money from the company after his shift. But I suggested that we try one more time. The credit card reader made the sound of a transaction being completed. Coincidence, or miracle?

The driver may not have known that a miracle had just occurred, but I knew.  My prayer was answered, and a miracle had occurred.  He is not a member of the Church, but he is a son of God, and the Lord intervened.  We can all be the means to help another.  After all, this is the second great commandment.

A few months ago, I was walking home from work and was only about 300m from our house.  I saw a young girl walking on the footpath, so I social distanced and moved off the footpath and onto the grass.  She veered towards me, so I asked if I could help her.  She was a very small, young girl of Asian appearance and spoke very softly. I could barely hear her and she spoke little to no English. She was carrying a mobile phone but she showed me that the battery was dead. She mentioned a street name in our suburb, so I looked it up on my phone and saw that it was close by. I motioned for her to follow me and she did.

I walked the entire length of that street, with her about 5-10 metres behind me, waiting for her to walk into a house, presuming she would recognise her home. As I tried to explain to her that we were in the street she had mentioned, she said “bus stop”, so I walked her back to almost where we met each other, and said, "this is a bus stop."

I thought she may have been Chinese, so I rang my friend who served a mission in Taiwan and speaks Mandarin Chinese, but he wasn’t able to answer my call.  I asked if she was Chinese.  I received nothing back but a blank look.  I then started mentioning every Asian country I could think of – Korea, Thailand, Malaysia. Only more blank looks.  I then said “Japanese”, and I saw a different expression. I asked, "are you are Japanese?" and she nodded.  What a relief!!!  Our family is part Japanese on my wife’s side, and we have several fluent Japanese speakers in our home.

It was almost dark by now and I was worried about what I would do next. I rang my wife Judith, who came to us quickly, took the young lady in the car to try to get her to her home. Judith couldn’t get much more information from her about her address, but found out her name. She was studying at university and lived in our suburb and had been in Australia only a few days. This was only her second day at University.

Judith decided to take her to the police station, hoping that her host family had already rung the police.  Judith rang us as they were traveling to the police station and my daughter mentioned that her address details would be on her computer somewhere. Th young lady recognised the word computer and got her laptop out while they were in the car park of the police station and showed Judith her address. So Judith was now able to take her straight home, much to the relief of her host mother who had spent hours on the phone frantically trying to locate her.

We were able to deduce that she had got off at the wrong bus stop and was walking in the wrong direction to her home.  The street name she gave me was almost right, but not quite.

Coincidence, or miracle?  She needed to trust someone to help her find her home. What if it was someone who had less than good motives? The thought makes me tremble.  The Lord led her not only to people who had her best interests at heart, but who spoke her native language. What are the odds? It is entirely possible that we are the only home in our suburb which has fluent Japanese speakers living there.

Has the day of miracles ceased?  No, because He loves us the same as he loved the children of Israel, the Jews who lived in Jerusalem during His ministry and the people in America when He visited them there.  He loves us just the same, and He wants us to see His hand in our lives, every day.

The Saviour Jesus Christ says in Matthew 10:29-31: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Sparrows are the second most populous bird in the world. They are a common species, not very exciting and seen everywhere. But if the Lord knows if even one of them falls to the ground, what does that say about Heavenly Father’s omniscience? He knows us, and He knows what we need, and when.

President Nelson said: “Every book of scripture demonstrates how willing the Lord is to intervene in the lives of those who believe in Him. … Do the spiritual work to seek miracles.  Prayerfully ask God to help you exercise that kind of faith.  I promise that you can experience for yourself that Jesus Christ “giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”  Few things will accelerate your spiritual momentum more than realizing the Lord is helping you to move a mountain in your life.”

Mormon 9:9-11 says:

9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?

10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same bGod who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

In Mormon 9:15, 18-19 we read:

15 O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.

18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.

19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

I know this is true, because I have experienced it in my life. I pray that we will all see these divine interventions often.

Christmastime is a time to celebrate and remember in a different way the life and mission of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Light the World is a wonderful initiative to bring the spirit of love and service into our hearts and it’s not to late to begin. What can you do each day between now and December 25th to light the world for someone, to lighten their load, to help them? It might be as simple as a smile, or a handshake, or another gesture to show loving kindness to someone who is feeling lonely or uncared for. That’s doing what the Saviour does, and this lights up the World! When you do these things, and people feel the Saviour’s love, that is a miracle.

This morning I have read from The Book of Mormon – I testify that the coming forth of this book, its translation and its flooding of the world, is a miracle.

I have referenced the inspired words of our living Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. I testify of his prophetic ministry, and that of the first Prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith.

My ultimate purpose today is to testify of the miracle of Jesus Christ. His birth, His life, and His resurrection are the greatest miracles in the history of the world.

The blessing of being forgiven, of being relieved of the burden of sin, and having that weight lifted, is a miracle. Our beloved Prophet suggested we discover the joy of daily repentance, and he has also taught that repentance is a process, not an event. When repentance brings positive change, that is also a miracle.

The Saviour performed many, many miracles during his mortal ministry – every one of those was to bless, heal and build faith. None of the recipients of these miraculous events was perfect, and nor do we need to be to feel his influence in our lives.

I testify that Jesus Christ suffered and felt the weight of the sins of the world, so that means he has felt all of us. He overcame death for each of us. His miraculous resurrection and ongoing ministry bless each of us, every day. We can all be part of the wonderful work of His ongoing restoration of truth to the world.

From a Sacrament meeting talk given in Adelaide, South Australia.