11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of

religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of aJames, first chapter and fifth verse, which
reads: If any of you lack bwisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
  12 Never did any passage of ascripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did
at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected
on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed bwisdom from God, I did; for how to act
I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know;

  14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the awoods to make
the attempt. It was on the morning of a bbeautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen
hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst
all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to cpray dvocally.
  15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around
me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to
God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was aseized upon by some power which
entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so
that I could not speak. Thick bdarkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I
were doomed to sudden destruction.
16 But, exerting all my powers to acall upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy
which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into bdespair and
abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being
from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—
just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of clight exactly over my head, above the
brightness of the dsun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
  17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself adelivered from the enemy which held me bound.
When the light rested upon me I bsaw two cPersonages, whose brightness and dglory defy all
description, estanding above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and
said, pointing to the other—This is My fBeloved gSon. Hear Him!
  18 My object in going to ainquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that
I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able
to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was
right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I
should join.
  19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all awrong;

Bro. Ellis had been trying to reach me for several weeks and I had been avoiding his calls and
emails to my husband. During this time of hiding, I was praying that he would stop calling me
and find someone else to speak on this topic.

My prayers were definitely answered but not exactly how I was hoping it to turn out because I’m
standing here this morning talking. None the less, they were answered and I have the Bishopric
and Coleman to thank for that, so THANK YOU!
Ironically enough, my topic today is on Learning to recognize answers to Prayers. The two
examples I just spoke of were obvious answers but not all answers are that easy to recognize.
Prayers are answered by what we are in need of at that moment in our lives. Our answers aren’t
always what we had hoped them to be but they are answers. Although I had prayed for my
answer to be, “NO you don’t have to talk!” Heavenly Father knew that that is not what I needed
at this time in my life. I needed more understanding and while preparing this talk I was able to
read several talks, quotes, scriptures, and some reflection on personal experiences that I did gain
a deeper understanding of what I should do in order to recognize and hear these answers.

Joseph had one question in mind. He prepared himself to receive this answer. He pondered the
question in his mind, searched the scriptures, inquired more knowledge and went to the grove to
pray with a humble heart. Joseph had great faith that his prayer would be answered. Faith is one
thing that we need to pray to our Heavenly Father. This faith will help us to hear the answers to
our prayers.

To receive answers we can’t just ask for something and expect answers right away. We need to
do our part. If we ask for help on a test – we must do our part by studying. If we ask for the Spirit
to be with us during an activity – we must do our part by setting the tone. We should be loving
and inviting to others. Help one another instead of having a bad attitude or whining and
complaining. If we ask for help with our finances – we must do our part. We don’t go on a
shopping spree and then wait until the next paycheck. We budget our money and plan ahead of
time and stick with it. Doing our part is essential to recognizing these answers. Studying the
scriptures helps to increase our knowledge of the gospel as well as help us to receive answers.

A quote by Elder Richard G Scott said, “We are here on earth to gain experience we can obtain
in no other way. We are given the opportunity to grow to develop, and to gain spiritual maturity.
To do that, we must learn to apply truth. How we face challenges and resolve difficult problems
is crucially important to our happiness.”

So, how do we know our prayers are answered? Bishop H. Burke Peterson gave some important
advice to some Young Men at conference saying, “Listening is an essential part of praying.
Answers from the Lord come quietly – ever so quietly. In fact, few hear his answers audibly with
their ears. We must be listening so carefully or we will never recognize them. Most answers from
the Lord are felt in our hearts as a warm comfortable expression, or they may come as thoughts
to our mind. They come to those who are prepared and who are patient.”

As we pray, we should be listening during and after our prayers, because not all answers come
immediately. Sometimes the answers will come a long while after the prayer had ever been said.
Some answers come through others who touch our lives in some way and we must remember to
make ourselves worthy to receive the answers from our Heavenly Father.

Several months ago an experience happened to my family that strengthened our faith and
testimony of prayers. I would find myself pleading to Heavenly Father to help our family. I think
there had ever been a time in my life when I had prayed all day and all night long. One of my
children needed those prayers. My heart was very heavy and broken. There was nothing within
my power that I could do to fix the problem, other than to pray for her and ask others to pray.
During this time, I had prepared myself for the worst. I began to ask Heavenly Father if he would
comfort me, IF the decision was to her back with Him. I had enough faith that she would be in
good hands if she went but to now give me the strength and courage to go on. I had accepted that
she was a blessing to us but maybe she was needed in Heaven more than she was needed on
earth. Miraculously, Heavenly Father answered our prayers and sent her back to us. For 3 weeks,
we prayed and left things in the hands of the Lord. We knew that He was in control of things but
we had to do our part and have faith in Him. This answer did not come quickly, but we are
thankful that it came.

Elder Richard G Scott said, “Should you ever feel distanced from our Father, it could be for
many reasons. Whatever the cause, as you continue to plead for help, He will guide you to do
that which will restore your confidence that He is near. Pray even when you have no desire to
pray. Sometimes, like a child, you may misbehave and feel like you can not approach your
father with a problem. That is when you MOST need to pray. Never feel you are to unworthy to
pray.”

Heavenly Father will help us if we seek him sincerely and learn to recognize his answers. In
 Doctrine and Covenants 9:7–9
7 Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you
took no thought save it was to ask me.
  8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must astudy it out in your bmind; then you must cask me
if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your dbosom shall eburn within you; therefore, you
shall ffeel that it is right.
  9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a astupor of thought
that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is
b
sacred save it be given you from me.
Stress that a “stupor of thought” is as much an answer to a prayerful request as a “burning in
the bosom” is

Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously. It may
seem paradoxical, but that is why recognizing answers to prayer can sometimes be very
difficult. Some face life with only their own experience and capacity to help them. Others
seek, through prayer, divine inspiration to know what to do. When required, they qualify
for power beyond their own capacity to do it.

Communication with our Father in Heaven is not a trivial matter. It is a sacred privilege.
It is based upon unchanging principles. When we receive help from our Father in
Heaven, it is in response to faith, obedience, and the proper use of agency.
“Should you ever feel distanced from our Father, it could be for many reasons.
Whatever the cause, as you continue to plead for help, He will guide you to do that
which will restore your confidence that He is near. Pray even when you have no desire
to pray. Sometimes, like a child, you may misbehave and feel you cannot approach your
Father with a problem. That is when you most need to pray. Never feel you are too
unworthy to pray. …

“He will always hear your prayers and will invariably answer them. However, His
answers will seldom come while you are on your knees praying, even when you may
plead for an immediate response. Rather, He will prompt you in quiet moments when
the Spirit can most effectively touch your mind and heart. Hence, you should find
periods of quiet time to recognize when you are being instructed and strengthened.”

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Using the
Supernal Gift of Prayer,” Ensign, May 2007, 8, 9.