Prayer: The Foundation of Spirituality©

PRAYER: THE FOUNDATION OF SPIRITUALITY©

REMARKS AT THE 2024 CRM REUNION

Danel W. Bachman

4 October 2024 

[Introduction: On 4 October 2024 the California Roseville Mission (2002-2005) held a reunion. The following is a copy of my remarks at that event. It is included here because I thought perhaps some would like to have a footnoted version for their files.  If you would like a PDF version of this talk, and an annotated list of about 150 talks and articles on prayer, send me an e-mail requesting it to: DanBachman@comcast.net]

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We have been home from the CRM for nineteen years, and we are beginning to see some of your sons, and perhaps daughters serve missions.  That really makes us feel old! And as you can see we are getting old.  We are hobbled with mobility and stability issues. But we fight back trying to stay physically active. It is an honor to speak to you tonight.  I will be fairly brief.(1) I’ve picked just one thing to share, which I hope will be enlightening, edifying, and motivating to you. 

Some of you have heard me quote the great football coach, Vince Lombardi who said, “Excellence is achieved by the mastery of fundamentals.”(2) I would like to address a fundamental of our religion with you.  As I’ve reflected back on the things I’ve learned that I could have done better as a mission president,  one stands out from the perspective of nearly 20 years. I wish I would have taught you more about spirituality and it’s very foundation--prayer. It was a serious omission, and I’m in repentance mode. Tonight is my attempt at rectifying a bit of that omission. 

First, and this is no surprise to anyone, but prayer is a commandment. Our Heavenly Father not only invites us to “come to him” and to call upon him, he actually commands it and many scriptures attest to this.(3) Some of our leaders have called attention to the likelihood that the commandment to pray may be the most frequently repeated commandment found in the scripture.(4) I emphasize, however, He doesn’t just command us to pray. All that God does for us is because he loves us, especially his commandments.(5) Our Savior atoned for us because he loves us.(6) As mediator and advocate, out of love he authorizes us to use his name to call upon our Father, and out of love he teaches us how to do it. When we exercise our agency to keep this commandment, it gives him the opportunity to guide, protect, deliver, strengthen, comfort, help, build, and lift us back into God’s presence.

I emphasize this point in order to ask you a rhetorical question. But first, some background. Lots of anecdotal evidence suggest the Latter-day Saints, including leaders, could be more dedicated to communing with our Father in Heaven. President Spencer W. Kimball was particularly concerned with this. As an apostle he interviewed hosts of prospective missionaries (in my day they did that), and many leaders in stakes and wards. He was “shocked”(7) by what he found when he inquired into their prayer habits, personal and family.  So, here is my question: If President Kimball was your bishop or stake president interviewing you for a temple recommend and he asked you if you strived to keep the commandments, you as most of us usually do, would say “Yes, I strive to keep them.” But, what if he then said, “Lets talk about one of those commandments which is vital to your spirituality.  How well do you keep the commandment to pray?” Would your answer add to President Kimball’s  shock? Or, would it bring a smile to his face? I must stress, when you really think about it, what an amazing privilege it is to be invited–nay, commanded–to stay in regular communion with Almighty God– as our Father.(8)

Improving our communication with God is my theme and second principle. I know of two talks about prayer which have the word “improve” in their title--one from a prophet, the other from an apostle.(9)  Moreover, Elder Neal A. Maxwell, wrote: “Yet, given the times in which we live, improving our prayers should be one of our deepest desires if we are genuinely serious about growing spiritually.”(10) President Ezra Taft Benson pled, to “conscientiously strive to improve our communication with Him is my earnest plea....”(11)

In the spirit of improving my prayers as I prepare for my final exam, I have prepared this collection.  (Show the binder.) It contains many of the approximately 150 talks and articles about prayer I have tracked down in the last few years. It also contains some of my outlines, notes, and especially collections of quotations–for my frequent review to refresh my ever weakening memory.

Beloved missionaries and families, I cannot tell you how spending ½ an hour a day over an extended time in studying scriptures and these talks and articles, has taught me about prayer. It is becoming one of the great intellectual and spiritual odysseys of my life. As I have exercised my agency to daily ask the Lord to teach me how to pray,(12) to help me improve my prayers, to teach me how to pray in faith(13) how to pray mightily,(14) fervently and efficaciously,(15) with all the energy of my heart,(16) and to guide me to sources and resources so I can do my part to educate myself, I have learned something I want to share with you about improving your prayers. 

If you will be humble enough to hear it, I will be courageous and bold enough to say it. Unless you have undertaken such a study of prayer and engaged in a sustained effort to improve your prayers, there is very likely much more you do not know about prayer than what you do know.  I do not say this in the spirit of talking down to you. I do it with the desire to motivate and uplift, because this statement grew out of my own experience. I have learned much more about prayer since beginning this project than I knew about prayer before starting it. And the process continues almost on a daily basis.  

In early September I came across two interesting examples of improving prayer. Some of you may know that B. H. Roberts is one of my Mormon heroes, so I was excited to learn that he once said that he considered it was his highest achievement, after a lifelong period of association with the Lord, that he had learned how to pray.(17) The same day I found this statement in the April 1974 General Conference, by Apostle Marvin J. Ashton about President Spencer W. Kimball.  

“Those of us who have the great blessing of daily, intimate association with President Kimball have heard him observe in the very recent past that with each passing day, prayer in his life has a new dimension. ... [T]hough he, Spencer W. Kimball, is a prophet of God, yet learns he to pray by praying.”(18)

We must be patient and persistent in improving our prayers. I have also learned this divinely important principle. The Lord teaches us–he gives to us– as Isaiah, Nephi, and  Joseph Smith each taught, “line upon line, precept, upon precept, here a little, and there a little....”(19) I believe the things which God has to teach us about prayer are inexhaustible from a mortal perspective!  

I invite you to take more seriously and be more intentional in improving your prayers. I commend the idea of preparing your own binder on prayer to help you improve them. One of my prized files of quotations is about what to pray for. It is not surprising that the living prophets and apostles are constantly teaching and giving directions about how to pray and what to pray for. Many of those are about ongoing issues and needs. May I suggest in all seriousness, that it is almost mandatory that we keep such a collection of quotations in order to remember it all, and to keep abreast of the latest directions about what to pray for!

For example, out of a 57-page file of quotations on the topic, I share just a few interesting things our leaders have taught and invited us to pray for or about:  Joseph Smith:  “... brethren seek to know God in your closets....”(20)  Sister Michelle Craig: “Open my eyes to see things I might not normally see.”(21)  Elder Klebingat: “Pray that you will never experience indifference or resignation regarding personal doctrinal blind spots....”(22)  Pres. John Taylor:  “Pray for the revelations of God, ... that we may ... understand the laws of life....”(23)  Psalm 119:18 contains this wonderfully eloquent one-line prayer: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”  

Who among us knows and understands, or ever will know and understand, the atoning mission of the Savior so well that we could not use His help to gain a more “enlightened understanding”?(24)  

President Nelson promised: “As you ponder and pray about doctrinal principles... new insights will come and principles relevant to your situation will distill upon your heart.”(25)   Pres. Eyring: “Tell [God] how much you want what it is that he wants so much to give you.”(26) And Elder Bruce McConkie taught “...James urges us to ask for wisdom which in principle means we should seek all of the attributes of godliness.”(27) In that spirit, Elder Christofferson said, “...ask Him to bestow upon you the pure love of Christ.”(28) He was repeating Mormon’s instructions in Moroni 7:48. Incidentally, in Moroni 8:26 Mormon adds, “which love endureth by diligence unto prayer....”(29)

Thirdly, and very briefly, I encourage and invite you to systematically study what the scriptures have to teach you about prayer. Here are just two of the many examples of principles and doctrines I cherish from my study. They highlight the importance and significance of prayer.  D&C 101:7-8:  They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble. 8) In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.” The principle is: “If we go before the Lord in prayer on a consistent basis, He will be there when we urgently need Him.”(30)  

If you want to have your socks knocked of about casual, perfunctory, mind-wandering, sleepy, inattentive prayer, read Moroni 7:6-10, particularly verse 9. Moroni is quoting his father Mormon:  “And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.” The book of Ether uses the same word evil in speaking of the Brother of Jared after the Lord chastised him for three hours for “remembering not to call upon God.” (Ether 2:14) Ether 2:15 reads in part: “And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord....” If it is a commandment to pray, and we don’t do it, our disobedience is a sin of some level of rebellion, and is therefore evil in the eyes of God.

One final example. One of the easiest ways to get an answer to prayer is to ask for the fulfillment of one of God’s numerous promises to you.  Here is a precious  promise from God about prayer found in  D&C 19:38: “Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing—yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth ....” [Emphasis added.]

I leave with you my testimony, humbly and sincerely. Through this experience in the last six months and more, like Enos, I have spent the whole day in prayer.  In my case not all at one time, but  at ½ hour, 3/4 hour or an hour at a time, sometimes more–for days and days upon end-for many months. I have repeatedly invited him to teach me how to pray and he has been doing so line upon line, and precept upon precept. I thank God for my closet–to me it is the forest wilderness of Enos and the mountain top of Moses and Nephi.  I thank him for these exhilarating and peak spiritual experiences.  

I pray I have enlightened you, edified you, challenged you, and most of all motivated you regarding your own spiritual quest and prayers, in the name of Jesus Christ.  

Notes:

1.  Brevity: In most cases I make a point and/or state a principle without further elaboration, trusting a RM from CRM can follow through with your own further elaboration!

2.  Vince Lombardi, in, Glenn Van Ekeren, Speaker's Sourcebook II, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1994, 142.

3.  Here are a representative few: Moses 5:1, 4-8, the first commandment of God to Adam  and Eve outside the Garden was to worship and pray.  It is still in effect.  Lk. 18:1; 1 Thess. 5:17-18; 2 Ne. 32:9; Mos. 18:23; 3 Ne. 18:15, 18-21; D&C 19:28.

4.  See: Marion G. Romney, “Maintaining Spirituality,” Ensign (November 1979):16;  Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Improving Our Prayers,” in Brigham Young University 2002-2003 Speeches, Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 2003, 159.

5.  The first overt statement about the command to pray to catch my attention comes from Sara Lee Gibb, “Prayer, the Divine Connection,” BYU-Idaho devotional, 1 November 2005, 5.

Available online at: 

https://video.byui.edu/media/Sara+Lee+Gibb+%22Prayer%2C+the+Divine+Connection%22/0_9h1l7mfw   Accessed 23 September 2024.

6.  D&C 34:3; 138:3-4; see also,  Rudger Clawson, Conference Report, October 1921, 36;  Hugh B. Brown, Conference Report, April 1962, 108, or “Are the Latter-day Saints Christian?” The Improvement Era (June 1962):409;  Ezra Taft Benson, Come Unto Christ, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983,76; Neal A. Maxwell, “‘O How Great the Plan of Our God!’ (2 Ne. 9:13),” address to CES Religious Educators, 3 February 1995; Jeffrey R. Holland, “‘Therefore, What?’” address to the CES New Testament conference at BYU, 8 August 2000, 9; Neal A. Maxwell, “Testifying of the Great and Glorious Atonement,” Ensign (October 2001):14, 15;  M. Russell Ballard, “The Atonement and the Value of One Soul,” Ensign (May 2004):84, 85; Merrill J. Bateman, “Lessons from the Atonement,” in Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Kent P. Jackson, eds., To Save the Lost: An Easter Celebration, Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2009, 5;  Jeffrey R. Holland,  “Leading as the Savior Would Lead,” interview as part of the Leadership Enrichment Series, conduced by the HR Department of the Church, Ralph Christensen interviewer, 9 November 2011, 10;  Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign or Liahona (May 2012):33;  Quentin L. Cook, “The Lord Is My Light,” Ensign (May 2015):66; M. Russell Ballard, “The Greatest Generation of Young Adults,” Ensign (May 2015):70; Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “The Gift of Grace,” Ensign (May 2015):107; Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Behold the Man!” Ensign (May 2018):107-108;  Russell M. Nelson, “Jesus Christ is Your Savior,” For the Strength of Youth, (April 2022), internet edition, no pagination; Alan T. Phillips, “God Knows and Loves You,” Liahona (November 2023):50; Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Garment of the Holy Priesthood,” Liahona (September 2024):7.

7.  Spencer W. Kimball, “Prayer,” The New Era (March 1978):14-15.

8.  Several leaders have remarked about this in their talks, but I particularly recommend the comments of F. Enzio Busche, in his 2 June 1981, devotional at BYU entitled, “‘This is Life Eternal.”  This is a great talk for several other reasons, particularly his elaboration on the title which comes from John 17:3.

9.  Ezra T. Benson, “Improving Communication with Our Heavenly Father,” in Prayer, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1977, 110-15, and Joseph B.  Wirthlin, “Improving Our Prayers,” in Brigham Young University 2002-2003 Speeches, Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 2003, 159-66. 

10.  Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1980, 91, emphasis added.

11.  Ezra T.  Benson, “Prayer,” Ensign (May 1977):34, emphasis added.

12.  Russell M. Nelson, “The Price of Priesthood Power,” Ensign (May 2016):68; Keith B. McMullin, “New Testament Words of Jesus: Prayer,” Ensign (January 2003):48.

13.  Jacob 3:1 as only one example.

14.  Enos 1:4, among others.

15.  James 5:16.

16.  Moroni 7:48.

17.  J. Richard Clarke, “The Gift that Matters Most,” in Brigham Young University 1981-82 Fireside and Devotional Speeches, Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 1982, 59.

18.  Marvin J. Ashton, “A Time of Urgency,” Ensign (May 1974):36-37, emphasis added.

19.  See, Isaiah 28:10, 13; 2 Nephi 28: 30; and D&C 98:12.  This version is from D&C 128: 21.

20.  Joseph Smith, “The Holy Ghost,” editorial in Times and Seasons 3, no. 16 (15 June 1842):825; also in HC 5:30-31.

21.  Michelle D. Craig, “Eyes to See,” Ensign (November 2020):16.

22.  Jorg Klebingat, “Defending the Faith,” Ensign (September 2017):53.

23.  John Taylor, cited in Neal A. Maxwell, Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1977, 122-23.

24.  The phrase comes from, George W. Pace, “Roadblocks to Prayer, The Instructor (September 1968):361.

25.  Russell M. Nelson, “Living by Scriptural Guidance,” Ensign (November 2000):17-18.

26.  Henry B. Eyring, “The Family,” Brigham Young University 1995-96 Speeches, Provo: BYU Publications & Graphics, 1996, 65.

27.  Bruce R. McConkie, “Why the Lord Ordained Prayer,” Ensign (January 1976):7-12.  Also in, Prayer, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1978, 10. I believe this is a most profound statement--connecting the development of the attributes of Christ with wisdom and one worth our serious study and contemplation!

28.  D. Todd Christofferson, “When Thou Art Converted,” Ensign (May 2004):12.

29.   Emphasis added.  This suggests to me that the gift of charity is not necessarily permanent, or at least not always evident in our lives, but it "endures" or remains with us "by diligence unto prayer"--constantly asking to keep it active and alive is us.  To me this is a wonderful and profound insight which must be connected to the exhortation to seek the gift of charity found in Moroni 7:48.

30.  Cheryl C. Lant,  “Prayer,” in Brigham Young University Speeches 2007-2008, Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 2008, 130-1.