Up Into a Mountain to
Pray
Throughout history there have been times when, in order to
speak to God, holy men have gone into the mountains or into other secluded
places to pray. There seems to be
something special about finding a private spot to talk with Heavenly
Father. We know that we can pray
anytime, anywhere, but still there is something important about finding these
special places to pray from time to time.
Moses went into the mountains several times. Even with his first experience hearing God’s voice,
it wa on a mountain. “The words of God,
which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an
exceedingly high mountain…”[1]
Jesus Christ also often secluded him self to pray to his
father. Luke share with us a time just
as Christ was choosing the twelve apostles. “And it came to pass in those days,
that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to
God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he
chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;” [2]
Matthew records a time just after Christ had performed the
miracle of walking on the water. “And
when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray:
and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”[3]
And lastly, when Jesus had to face his most difficult
challenges, Luke records that he removed himself into a garden to pray. “And he
came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples
also followed him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: band his
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”[4]
Joseph Smith went across the fields from his home and into a
grove of trees to pray. Here we know,
that he had one of the most important experiences of this dispensation.
I had an experience that significantly changed my life and
reminded me of how thin the veil can be sometimes.
In 1980, I was serving my mission in Northern Italy, in a
city called Brescia. It is a small city, in the foothills of the Swiss Alps. At
this particular time on my mission I was very discouraged. It didn’t seem like the work was going well.
I was frustrated and very disheartened. I decided that I needed to do something
to help make a change. Then I was
reading in the New Testament in Luke chapter six verse twenty-one. Speaking
about Jesus it says:
“And it came to pass
in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all
night in prayer to God.”
I determined that I too, needed to go into a mountain to
pray. The next afternoon, I told my
companion that we were going just outside of the city to find a place where we
could pray. It was raining, so we took
our long coats and umbrellas. We took the bus to its last stop on the outskirts
of town and then we walked for a little while and found a path that led up a
good sized hill. We climbed on this path
for about an hour, and then we found ourselves alone on the top of this
mountain with a beautiful panoramic view of the city and the surrounding
hills. Even though it was raining, we
could still see everything, and it was quite a lovely spot. I told my companion where to stop and that I
would go up just a little farther so that we could pray alone. We could still see each other, but we were
far enough apart that we could pray aloud and not hear each other.
I went up the trail a little farther and found a spot where
I could kneel and pray. As I knelt down
and started to pray, the rain seemed to pick up, and it was very loud on my
umbrella. Then I started to feel uneasy. I started to feel darkness and
confusion. I felt scared and cold. For a moment I thought that perhaps I should
just go back down off the mountain. I am sure that one of Satan’s helpers was
sitting by me and trying to talk me out of staying on the mountain and
praying. I am sure that he was
whispering in my ear, “You don’t need to be here. What are you doing up her in the rain?” “Just turn around and go home.” I put the
umbrella down and looked up into the rain.
I prayed that I would feel better and that these feelings would go away.
As soon as I prayed, I immediately felt better, the bad feelings went away and
I felt warm and happy.
In retrospect, I am sure that someone from the other side
came and made this malevolent spirit leave. There is no doubt in my mind that
it was this helping spirit that brought warmth and peace to me in that brief
moment. I was then able to proceed with my prayer. I poured out my heart to Heavenly Father and
had a good talk with him about my feelings and my concerns.
By the time I finished, it was almost dark. As we walked down the mountain, we lost the
trail. We decided the best way down, was
just to walk straight down to the city.
So we hiked down through the bushes, trees, and over fences until we got
down. After we got down we were cold and
wet, but we had a feeling of calm and peacefulness.
The very next day, the feelings of discouragement and
frustration were no longer there. Even though the work didn’t necessarily
improve, I felt better. I knew that I was being supported that He loved me and
was with me. I thanked Heavenly Father for reminding me to seek him out in
prayer and then thanked him again for coming to my aid on the mountain.
The Book of Mormon records one of the most intense and
heartfelt prayers. Enos was in the
forest reflecting on the teachings of his Father when he decided to pray.
“Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often
heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk
deep into my heart. And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker,
and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and
all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still
raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.”[5]
There was another time in my life when I felt it important
to go out and find a solitary place to pray.
When I was a young boy living in Blackfoot Idaho, we had an
orchard with mostly apple trees. We use
to love to eat the green apples before they were ripe. Many times, we would take a salt shaker and a
knife outside and then pick and eat apples.
In my favorite tree, I even put a board up in the tree between two
branches, so I could sit comfortably and eat apples.
One day, I was up in the tree eating apples, when my friends
came over and wanted to play. Rather
than go all of the way back into the house, to return the salt shaker and the
paring knife I was using, I left the salt shaker in the tree, and put the
paring knife in my back pants pocket. We
got on our bikes and rode down the neighborhood.
We decided to jump on the new trampoline of one of our
neighbors. As we bounced and laughed, I
decided to do a “back drop” which is just dropping on your back with your legs
and feet in the air. When I did this, I
felt an odd pull. When I looked down,
there was a small hole in the trampoline from the knife in my back pocket. I wish I could say that I went straight in to
the neighbor and told him what I had done, but I didn’t. We all just left as quickly and quietly as we
could. Well, the neighbor had seen us
jumping and found out what had happened.
So, I had to go talk to him. I
told him that it was an accident and that I was sorry. He told me that
everything would be alright and that I should go talk to my parents and they
would work things out.
I was very nervous to talk to my parents. I even took my bike to the local pawn shop to
see if I could sell it to pay for the trampoline, but the store owner said I
was too young. I decide that I would pray for the courage to tell my parents
and that they would not be too upset with me.
So that evening, I took my dogs and went walking out into
the fields to pray. We walked for quite
a while until we came to a dry washed out gully. I knelt down next to an old log and
prayed. I told Heavenly Father that I
was sorry about what I had done, but that I needed his help. We had a good talk. I felt much better, and I knew that things
were going to be alright. I went
straight home and told my father what had happened. He was concerned, but wasn’t upset. He reassured me that he would take care of
the problem and that everything would be fine.
That night in my personal prayers, I thanked Heavenly Father
for helping me to be brave, and helping my Dad to not be upset with me.
In the Book of Mormon, the scriptures record about a great
leader who prayed constantly. The
brother of Jared, whom we know as Mahonri Moriancumer was a man of faith unlike
any other. He would faithfully pray and
was continually directed by Heavenly Father.
When he had his most glorious experience, he too was in the mountains
praying. “And it came to pass that the
brother of Jared, went forth unto the amount, which they called the mount
Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen
small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he
did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the
Lord…”[6]
I know that God hears and answers our prayers regardless of
the location of our prayers. As we make
an additional effort to find a special place for these important conversations,
perhaps it is the change that occurs in us, that enables us to have special experiences
with our Heavenly Father.
[1] Old
Testament, Moses 1:1
[2] New
Testament, Luke 6:12,13
[3] New
Testament, Matthew 14:23
[4] New
Testament, Luke 22:39,44
[5] Book of
Mormon, Enos 1:3,4
[6] Book of
Mormon, Either 3:1