I recently moved to Boston. (Yay!) To start Occupational Therapy school. (Finally!) Which is why I have been radio silence for the past few weeks. This semester we only have a two classes. One of which is anatomy, including a cadaver lab.
This anatomy class was not the only one I have taken in my life. I took many classes while working towards my associate's degree where I had to know the muscle attachments and their actions, alongside the traditional anatomy classes. At BYU, I took an functional musculoskeletal anatomy class where we had to know anatomy inside and out. I thought I had all of the spiritual insight about the human body I could possibly get. I mean, I went to BYU, I learned from LDS professors about how amazing the human body is. They understand it is an amazing gift from Heavenly Father, so what more could I possibly learn? Welp, that's what I get for thinking.
In class the other day, my teacher was discussing the brachial plexus. Which is a nerve complex that comes from the lower neck out to innervate the muscles in the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hands. My teacher was trying to explain to us how the nerves come from the spinal cord, and she goes off on a slight tangent. She said that the spinal cord is really small and boring when you look at it on a cadaver. It's just this white thing that isn't very big. Same with the brain. When the class started to comment on how that is weird, she commented that she was expecting large flashing neon lights to point out the spinal cord, and was disappointed that it what just this tiny little cord. The class laughed and we moved on.
But then a scripture mastery verse came to mind. "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass... And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes... and bringeth about the salvation of many souls" (Alma 37:6-7).
Our body parts did not come with big, flashy, neon colors to say "Look at me! I'm a spinal cord!" or "Check out what I can do!" For one thing that would make anatomy class way too easy. Not to mention how uncomfortable would that be to have sticking out of our backs?
The jobs of the brain and spinal cord are incredible. They are what makes the whole rest of our body function properly. Our nerves are what makes our muscles move! But when you look at them inside the body, they are just these small, white pieces of tissue. They aren't that impressive to look at, but so incredible when we begin to understand all that they do.
This is just one example of small and simple things that Heavenly Father uses to accomplish his purposes. How many times do we pray for an answer or a testimony, demanding this big huge event to occur so that we can understand and believe? I mean it happened to Joseph Smith and other prophets. We've know that miracles happen. We hear those stories all the time in sacrament meeting, so isn't that supposed to happen when we ask for an answer?
The prophet Elijah, a prophet who did a great number of things in his life, had this experience:
"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the windL and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out" (1 Kings 19:11-13)
The end of this story is Elijah is told to call Elisha to be the next prophet. Not by an earth shattering voice was Elisha, another great prophet, called. Not an earth consuming fire. But by the still small voice.
Yes, there are times that the Lord uses big grand gestures. Those a big deal events for the world. Usually done to get the ignorant and prideful attention of the people who have blatantly turned away from him. But if you search the scriptures, it is not the big events that stick. Laman and Lemuel saw an angel. But they still feared Laban more than God. The Jews saw the miracle after miracle done by the Savior. Still the crucified Him. Huge events aren't what makes testimonies.
But what about Alma the Younger or Saul on the road to Damascus? Both made huge turn arounds after having an angel come to them and condemn their actions. This is what Alma said to his son how he gained a testimony:
"Do ye not suppose that I know of theses things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me" (Alma 5:45-46)
The angel didn't come to Alma, rack him with torment, and then when he finally turned to Christ, he suddenly have this huge testimony. Nope. He got it the same way that you and I receive our testimonies. By trying the word. Praying about principles. Fasting for answers. And acting on the knowledge that he received through the Holy Ghost. It is through doing the small things that we receive testimonies, make a huge difference in another person's life, and return back to live with the Father and Christ. As much as we want the big things to happen, how can they if we don't lay the foundation? How can we have a miraculous healing, if we first don't have the faith that it can happen? How can we run, if we don't first learn to sit up on our own?
Sure. It would be super cool if our spinal cords and brain were neon and stood out really well. It does some super cool things. But it is not necessary. What is necessary is to have a small control center so that we can do the big and little things while living comfortably. It is not necessary that God strikes every sinner down, or appear to every person wanting to know the truth. That does not build faith. Just as a neon spinal cord does not enhance our movements. It is when we are willing to take a step into the dark that we receive light. A small step may be what we need to start us down the path to eternal life.
