Competing Voices

Near the beginning of Elder David P. Homer's talk, he shared an example that, given its subject matter, could just as well have come from President Uchtdorf:

Many years ago, I traveled on a small plane with a newly certified pilot at the controls. At the end of our flight, we were cleared to land. But as we neared the ground, I heard an alarm in the cockpit warn the pilot to “pull up.” The pilot looked to the more experienced copilot, who pointed in a downward direction, away from the runway, and said, “Now!”

Our plane rapidly moved to the left and down, then climbed back to an appropriate altitude, reentered the landing pattern, and arrived safely at our destination. We later learned that another aircraft had been cleared for takeoff. Had we followed the instructions of the alarm, we would have veered into, rather than away from, the oncoming plane. This experience taught me two important lessons: First, at critical moments in our lives, we will hear multiple voices competing for our attention. And second, it is vital that we listen to the right ones.

I can personally confirm the first of these two lessons. It seems that, almost every time I have to make a decision, multiple thoughts spring to my mind, telling me which choice I should make and why. These voices often come in conflict with one another, and it can be difficult to tell which thoughts are from my own head and which thoughts are inspired by the Spirit or by the adversary. Determining which voice is the right one can be nigh impossible.

Yet, through careful observation and some trial and error, we can come to recognize the voice of the Spirit and discern it from others, even in the midst of other, competing voices. The voice of the Spirit is often quiet, and can easily be drowned out, even by our own thoughts, but if we learn to recognize His voice, we can then learn to listen carefully enough to pick it out of a crowd.

However, there's one more catch. Even if we can hear and recognize the voice of the Spirit, that won't do us any good unless we also trust it, despite the fact that our own voice sometimes seems more logical and the adversary's suggestions often seem more tempting. We have to learn to trust that God and His Spirit want what's best for us, and if we listen to them, things will work out better for us than if we had followed our own advice or anyone else's.

So, the voice of the Spirit has to compete to be heard, recognized, and trusted, but if we manage to hear, recognize, and trust the voice of the Spirit, His promptings can save our lives, both physical and spiritual. The Spirit frequently offers people life-saving warnings and life-improving advice. The problem is that His voice is too often too quiet, so we must make special efforts to make sure that, out of all the competing voices, His is the one we listen to and follow. As with the situation with the pilots and the warning alarm, listening to the right voice is absolutely vital.