Episode 75

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Published on:

18th Aug 2025

A Prayer Journey

What's your story? Every traveler on this journey knows you have good days and bad days. How about the struggles that are you facing today? Do you ever feel like your prayers go unanswered? What if you could find a nugget of gold in your seeking for answers? Join me on the trail and we can tell each other our story.

Transcript
Speaker:

Sonny Bonani, creative, spiritual journey.

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Friends, thanks for joining me,

Judy, for episode 75, which I have

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decided to title a prayer journey.

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Now, we're all on a journey.

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We all walk this path together, a

journey home to our heavenly parents.

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Any experienced traveler knows that there

are days you laugh and days you cry.

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GH and I have created this podcast to

connect with you and to give expression to

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the things of our hearts, the joys and the

beauties we are discovering along the way.

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And all those bits of magic that

remind us that God is with us.

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He's in the details, he's aware of

us, and he has a perfect love for us.

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GH and I are just two sisters

who are in our wisdom years.

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That sounds better than old, huh?

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Who love the savior and are

dedicated to following him.

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Today is day 595.

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I have been numbering the day since

my husband and I embarked on our

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mission here in Durban, South Africa.

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Did you hear that?

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595.

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That's almost today.

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600.

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The end goal is 700, so Saturday, August

23rd leaves only 100 days remaining.

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I remember when we hit our day 100.

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It was April 11th, 2024, and I posted

a list of a hundred things I loved

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about serving in South Africa, which

to be honest, was kind of hard,

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but today I could well write over a

thousand things because it has been a

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journey of a thousand lessons, which

we will forever be grateful for.

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But this podcast, I don't want it to

be about me key and I desire for this

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to be a space that's uplifting and

encouraging for you so you can carry

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onward and forward in your journey.

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Just recently on August 9th, we celebrated

Women's Day here in South Africa.

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Wow.

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What a party.

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It was so much fun.

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We showed up in our pinafores.

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I even wore a head, duke.

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And these sisters sing and dance and

really know how to have a good time.

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My part in this was an activity.

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I was the spiritual side of

course, and we did an activity

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called Stand for Your Sister.

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We passed out three by five

cards and on this three by

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five card they were to write.

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Something they were facing in their

life now, a struggle, a challenge,

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something that if the savior stood right

beside them, they would love to hand

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over to him or at least understand.

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And so after they wrote this challenge

on their three by five card, we

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passed it to the center and shuffled

them up and passed them back out.

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And so you were to read

your sister's challenge.

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They were anonymous, of course.

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And then we asked questions like,

stand for your sister if she's

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struggling with mental health,

relationship problems, family problems,

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financial situations, depression,

loneliness, maybe a faith crisis.

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We just thought of all the different

things in life that a sister could

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be facing, and it was amazing how

many stood after we were finished.

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they wrote on the back of their three by

five card some words of encouragement for

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this sister, and then we passed them back

and set 'em on the display table for them

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to pick up and take if they would like.

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So what's your story?

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What would you write on

your three by five card?

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Let's talk about it and see if

we can find answers together.

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There is a Native American proverb.

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Tell me the facts and I'll learn.

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Tell me the truth, and I'll

believe, tell me a story and it

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will live in the heart forever.

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So I wanna tell you a story I've

seen how powerful stories are in

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helping us make sense of our lives,

and especially our own stories.

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Storytelling connects us.

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I think we are wired

for stories, don't you?

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Speaking, writing, reading stories.

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I remember hearing about a research

done on this, and I didn't take the

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time to look it up, I'm sorry, where

the participants, somehow their heads

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were wired to read the brainwaves.

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And when the, presenter presented

facts, dates, history, just facts, cold

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facts, the brain waves were disjointed.

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But when the presenter told a

story, there was this magic that

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happened that connected the flow

from one participant to the other.

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When we speak our truths,

especially in stories, we often

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help others discover the truth.

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Of their stories, I think about how

the savior used parables and stories to

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connect with his followers and how we

take those parables and those stories

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and we revisit them time and time again.

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Finding new layers and meaning,

finding the golden treasure in them.

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I wanna tell you a story that recently

happened that drove this truth home to me.

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And actually sparked this episode.

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So I brought with me from home,

these golden hoop earrings

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from my daughter Megan.

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They were made by Mary earrings, which if

any of you know how beautiful they are.

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And they were just my favorite to wear.

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And one day Eric and I were

headed out to Greygoose to

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walk on the trail and exercise.

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And it is winter here.

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We are not in the dog days.

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Of summer here.

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So I had eye coat and my beanie

and a scarf and we started walking.

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And of course my body heated up and

off came the scarf and the coat.

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And when I got back into the

car, I noticed one of my gold

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hoop earring was missing.

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Oh, I know I could buy another pair.

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But my sweet husband was kind enough

to walk and retrace our footsteps.

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Now, this trail we were on is also a 5K

run, and it's winter here, so the grass

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is gold, just like the gold hoop earring.

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This seemed like a task.

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Totally impossible.

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worse than a needle in a haystack.

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So we started walking and

we walked and we walked.

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And as we walked the

path, I had this thought.

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I knew that God could open my

eyes and see that gold airing.

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I knew it.

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I had enough faith that as

small as this miracle seems.

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Insignificant.

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Really in the scheme of things.

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He could show me the earring.

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I thought about the parable of the lost

coin, how the woman swept, swept, swept,

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swept her house and found the lost coin

and called her friends to come and rejoice

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with her because her lost coin was found.

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Then I thought about the lost

sheep, how this shepherd leaves

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his 90 and nine to go out and find

the one he leaves and travels.

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Far into the wilderness and he finds

his little sheep, puts him on his

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shoulders and returns rejoicing.

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Then I thought of the prodigal son.

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The story of the young man who leaves

his home, takes his inheritance and

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squanderers it, and finds himself in

a pigsty hungry, cold, and wanting

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more than anything to return home.

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And when he does, his father runs to

meet him, embraces him, puts on him the

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finest coat and the finest ring, and has

the fatted calf killed and a party of

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celebration for his son had returned.

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Now, the first two, there's a lot

of action in them sweeping, going

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out and searching in the wilderness,

and we hear time and time again

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how faith is an action word.

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But what about this father and

the mother of this prodigal son?

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They seem to be waiting at the window,

maybe with the coat and the ring and

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the fatted calf prepared for this

return, waiting on the Lord for a

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prayer that seemed unanswered or not.

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So, and come follow me.

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Back in July 25th, there is a

story from Virginia Pierce of a

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friend of hers who much like the

prodigal, son's her children, had

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grown up and left home, but also.

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The spiritual home that she had planted

within them, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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And this mother prayed to know what

to do, and she felt prompted to go

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and increase her temple attendance.

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And this is what she said, quote, after

10 years of increased temple attendance

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and constant prayer, I'm sorry to say that

my children's choices have not changed.

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But I have, I'm a different woman.

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I have a softer heart.

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I'm filled with compassion.

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I have given up my time limits

and am able to wait on the Lord.

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I experience frequent

manifestations of the Lord's power.

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He sends tenders, mercies, small

messages that acknowledge his

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love for me and our children.

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My expectations have changed instead

of expecting my children to change.

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My prayers have changed.

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I express more love and I'm more

thankful the Lord works in marvelous

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ways, and I truly am filled with the

peace that passes all understanding.

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When I read that, I

thought, wow, I relate.

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Her story is my story, and I

bet it's many of your stories.

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I know it was many of the

stories of the Women's three by

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five cards at Women's Day, but.

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So this week in the doctrine

covenants, and come follow me.

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We studied doctrine covenants 88.

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we read in 63 and 64.

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Draw near unto me and I

will draw near unto you.

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Seek me diligently and you shall find me.

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Ask and you shall receive.

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Knock and it shall be

opened unto you whatsoever.

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You ask the father in my name, it shall be

given unto you that is expedient for you.

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Expedient.

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What does this mean?

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You look down in the footnotes and

it says Doctrine covenants 18, 18.

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Which reads, ask the father

in my name and faith.

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Believing that you shall receive and

you shall have the Holy Ghost, which

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manifest as all things which are

expedient unto the children of man.

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And you look in the footnotes and it just

takes you back to doctor in covenants 88.

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So I went and looked up, what

does this word expedient mean?

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It means suitable for a purpose,

a way to achieve a goal quickly.

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And easily.

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Oh, okay.

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I also like looking up the root word,

whether it's Hebrew, Latin, Greek,

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Egyptian, this one happens to be Latin and

is Expedit free from feet out of a bind.

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So the ex.

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It means out of, and ped means

foot, like foot pedal, and so

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free from feet out of a bind.

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I don't know about you, but this

conjured up images of a snare.

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A snare that you catch an animal in.

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So in South Africa, we have some

beautiful wild game preserves and we've

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been on some amazing wild game drives.

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But There's a big problem here in

South Africa and that is poaching and

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the poachers of course use rifles, but

there's also a wire snare that is used.

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I started noticing that in

the gift shops there is this

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company called Down to the Wire.

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Where they take the snares that animals

have been caught in and create these

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handcrafted products from the snares,

bracelets, and earrings, and the

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proceeds go to help, with anti-poaching.

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So if we're to use this image

of being caught in a snare.

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As expedient for us to be freed from a

situation in doctrine covenants 88 64.

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Let's Reread it with this

image of a snare in mind.

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Whatsoever you ask the father in

my name, it shall be given unto

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you that is expedient for you.

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Now, I think we can all think of

situations that feel like a snare that

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It's important for us to get out of.

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Now, I don't have permission

to share this story.

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So I won't mention names.

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I'm gonna just generalize because right

now this family is in a snare or that

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are called the Valley of the Shadow of

Death with their child fighting cancer.

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This family has well over a hundred

thousand, I don't know how many

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followers praying for them when

their story went viral all over the

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world with daily Post it captured.

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So many people's heart, I think it's

impossible to calculate how their faith

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in the raw struggles in their being

vulnerable and sharing the courage and

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the battle, and sharing their light.

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I bet it has changed hearts and has

rippled out and helped lift others.

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I am sure one might wonder with as many

followers pleading and begging for a

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miracle, some might wonder if there

really is a God who hears prayers.

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Some might even be angry at him.

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And miss the miracles.

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I haven't walked this path of losing

a child, so I won't even begin to

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put a voice to the unthinkable.

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My point of mentioning this is

because this is so many people's

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story of a really big and important

prayer that seems unanswered.

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There is a woman that I adore.

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Her name's Chico Koski.

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She served as the first counselor in the

general presidency of the Church of Jesus

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Christ of Latter Day Saints back in 1990

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I remember loving her talks.

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In fact, I revisit them

every now and then.

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But I also had one of her books called

Lighten Up, and when I was thinking

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about creating this episode, one of

her stories came to my remembrance.

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And so I began searching for that story.

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See another example of

the power of a story.

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I.

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Quote, when we are in the valley

of the shadow, it is a time

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of questions without answers.

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We ask, how can I bear this?

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Why did such a good woman have to die?

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Why aren't my prayers being

answered in this life?

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We will not.

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Receive answers to many questions

of why, partly because the

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limitations of mortality prevent us

from understanding the full plan.

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But I testify to you that the answer

of faith is a powerful one, even in

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the most difficult of circumstances

because it does not depend on

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us, on our strength to endure.

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Or our willpower or our

intellectual understanding or on

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the resources we can accumulate.

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No, it depends on God.

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Whose strength is omnipotent?

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Whose understanding is that of

eternity and who has the will to walk

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beside us in love sharing our burden?

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He could.

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Yeah, he could part the Red Sea before us,

or calm the angry storm that besets us.

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But these would be small

miracles for a God of nature.

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Instead, he chooses to

do something harder.

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He wants to transform human

nature into divine nature.

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And thus, when our Red Sea blocks

our way and when the storms threaten

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to overwhelm us, he enters the water

with us, holding us in the hands

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of his love, supporting us with.

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His arms of mercy.

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When we merge from the valley

of shadow, we will see that he

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was there with us all the time.

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So lovely.

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Such imagery.

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I am confident saying that he is

always in our story and we don't have

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to overcome challenges on our own.

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We can rely on the strength that

comes through the Savior's atonement

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and his perfect love for us.

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We do not need to solve what is written on

our three by five cards because the Lord

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knows this challenge that you are facing

and waits to free us from that snare.

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There is this beautiful book, written

and illustrated by Charlie McKay titled

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The Boy The Mole, the Fox and the Horse,

these unusual friends are having a

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conversation about these hard things.

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Quote, what do we do when our hearts hurt?

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Ask the boy.

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We wrap them with friendship, share

tears and time till they wake.

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Hopeful and happy again.

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Set the horse.

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I invite you, my friends, to take a minute

to write some thoughts about your story.

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What are you struggling with?

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And in prayer, seek to be able to

find the gold, the golden gift, the

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gift that the struggle has to offer.

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'cause I promise you,

they are always there.

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No.

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I never found my gold earring,

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I guess it just wasn't expedient for

me, but I did find a little nugget

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of wisdom as the spirit taught me.

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Go and seek that golden nugget.

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And how going through this struggle has

changed your story, has changed your

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heart, your expectation, and your prayers.

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In other words, seek.

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And search your heart to see

your savior walking beside you,

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helping you out of that snare.

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My petal blessing ends with a blessing.

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Of course it does.

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That says quote.

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That I am blessed, that I may await

the direction of the Lord according to

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his spirit and influence in my life.

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And so I will,

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gh, and I know that your

time and attention is.

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A currency that everyone is bidding for.

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So thank you for spending this

precious moment with us on the

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Creative Spiritual Journey podcast.

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if you've enjoyed our time together and

know someone else who might benefit from

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this message, please share it with them.

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And if you will, give us a thumbs

up and even write a review.

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because even Gia and I need a thatta

boy to keep us motivated to keep going.

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Let me finish with some Zulu

wisdom, a Zulu proverb that says

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The path is made by walking.

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Of course it is.

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which means seekers.

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You must move forward even when the

destination is unseen, and remember

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that God is guiding you in your journey.

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Thanks friend.

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And Gia Kanda.

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I will see you on the trail.

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About the Podcast

Creative Spiritual Journey
one small, deliberate step at a time
We are all on a journey—a journey home to our heavenly parents. Any experienced traveler knows there are days you laugh and days you cry.

We aren’t here to tell you how to live—we are here to share how we live—how we survive, thrive, and even find joy!

The journey gets messy with rainstorms and sleepless flights but the hard times—the miserable times—those make the best stories.

And the vistas, the sunsets, the little birds outside the window—those are the reminders that God is in the details, he is aware of us, he has trod the path before.

The Creative Spiritual Journey Podcast is hosted by Judy and Ghia Cooley—two sisters in their wisdom years—who love the savior and are dedicated to making this journey one small, deliberate step at a time.

Join us!

About your host

Profile picture for Ghia Cooley

Ghia Cooley