10. Waiting for Promised Blessings with Morgan Jones Pearson
We all have moments when we feel stuck. When we feel like we are not getting the answers, blessings, and direction we desire from heaven. In these moments or even seasons of longing, relying on the Lord for peace and patience while drawing strength from our covenants can help us through. Waiting on the Lord is always worth His promised blessings, so how do we find strength through seasons of waiting?
“Waiting is not a result of anything you've done wrong” — Morgan Jones Pearson
About Morgan Jones Pearson
Morgan Pearson is the host of the All In podcast, an interview-style podcast that has been downloaded over 13 million times. She previously wrote for the Deseret News where she published more than 480 stories. Her new book, All In: Exploring What It Means to Be All In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shares what she has learned from interviewing over 130 people about their faith in Jesus Christ. Morgan is happiest when wearing sweatpants and will never get enough dark chocolate. She and her husband, Benjamin, currently reside in California's Bay Area.
LINKS
Blessings: A Law of Increasing Returns by Henry B. Eyring
Our covenants and promises we make to God will strengthen us, especially in times of waiting for answers to our prayers.
Everyone is waiting on some promised blessing from the Lord, and in our waiting, we can learn how to draw closer to heaven.
A waiting period can become a sacred, sweet, and tender moment when the Lord is brought into that season.
There is no timeline or restraint for us to receive blessings. God will always follow through with his promises.
While we are waiting for promised blessings, we should focus on actively exercising our faith to get through the difficult times.
Something to Think About
It can be easy to get down on yourself and think that you have done something wrong if you're not seeing an answer to your prayers. God never wants you to feel like you are doing something wrong, and if you've felt like an outsider to God's blessings, you are not alone. Take the time to look around at the "early harvests" or blessings that are more immediate around you.
Small & Simple Challenge
Turn to the scriptures with a sincere question in your heart and pray for divine inspiration. It's important to really get into the scriptures when you're in your waiting period.
Transcipt
Kathryn Davis 0:00
Sometimes waiting on promised blessings from the Lord takes the most faith. Hi, and welcome to magnify and LDS Living podcast where we talk about using our influence as followers of Jesus Christ to make a difference in the world. I'm your host, Catherine Davis, a mom, a seminary teacher, and a trigger enthusiast who loves God. Have you ever felt stuck? Or like you aren't getting the answers, direction and blessings you desire? We all have felt those moments or even seasons of waiting and longing in these times, relying on the Lord for peace and patience, while drawing strength from our covenants can help us through waiting on the Lord is always worth his promised blessings. But how do we find strength through seasons of weight? Morgan Jones Pearson was inspired by that very idea and took to Instagram to share her thoughts. She says I know what waiting for God feels like. I'm a believer that we're all waiting for something. But I'm also a believer that God's promises are always fulfilled and always worth the weight. Today, we would love to discuss how we can be strengthened in those waiting periods, and see the blessings that are immediately surrounding us. Morgan, I'm so glad that you are here today.
Morgan Jones Pearson 1:14
Thank you. I'm so glad to be with you. This will be fun.
Kathryn Davis 1:17
I know we have had a chance to talk and get to know each other a little bit on your podcast. And so for the listeners of magnify, I want to throw a couple of rapid fire questions at you to get to know you a little bit better. Perfect. You're ready. Number one, you are a woman of many talents. And one of those is singing, which I did not know. But as we are starting to approach the holidays, is there a favorite Christmas song that you can think of? What's your favorite Christmas song?
Morgan Jones Pearson 1:47
Okay, so I feel like you have to separate favorite Christmas songs between like hymns, and then secular Christmas.
Kathryn Davis 1:56
Let's go secular.
Morgan Jones Pearson 1:57
Okay, so when I I'll tell you a funny story. So when I was on my mission, I was a brand new missionary in the field. First month was December was when I was out in the field. And I said to my companion, I was like we have heard every Christmas song like in the grocery store or you know, wherever you were as like we've heard every Christmas song except for my favorite, which is all i want for Christmas is you. And like how have we not heard that song? And so then Christmas morning, we went to our branch president's house to zoom our families. And we got there and the branch President opened the door and his family was blasting All I Want For Christmas Is You and my companion looked at me and said Merry Christmas, Ariana. Oh, so I that's that's my favorite secular Christmas song.
Kathryn Davis 2:45
What's your favorite Christmas hymn?
Morgan Jones Pearson 2:47
I think Oh, holy night, I think Oh, holy night. It's a tough one to beat.
Kathryn Davis 2:51
That's true. So have you already started listening to Christmas music? Or when is it appropriate for you to start listening to Christmas music?
Morgan Jones Pearson 2:58
Do you want to know something really weird about me? I have Kelly Clarkson's Christmas CD in my car. And I listened to it like year round. Do you really not like I? Yeah, if it comes on, I don't skip it. I just listened to it. But I would say like other Christmas music, I probably am totally good to start after Halloween, because there's just not a lot of Thanksgiving music. Not that I want to skip Thanksgiving, right? There's just not a lot of music for it.
Kathryn Davis 3:26
That's what I think. And I love to listen to Christmas music but I'm kind of vetoed in my house that in my house. I'm not allowed to tell after Thanksgiving. But in my car, here's hear I can hear.
Morgan Jones Pearson 3:38
Here's my issue with that. That's such a short window of time between the end of Thanksgiving and Christmas. And that's the only time that you like really can feel good about listening to that music. So that's kind of a bummer.
Kathryn Davis 3:49
It is. So in my car. I have Christmas music. Yeah. Okay, good. Also, you are from the south. I love Southern food. Is there a dish you make or that you miss when you're not living in the South that you would love right now?
Morgan Jones Pearson 4:08
Okay, you should know that I do not like Southern food very much. Which is like a weird thing about me. I am a pretty healthy eater. So a lot of southern food just doesn't go super well. Yeah. But I've always loved Have you ever had collard greens, Katherine? Yes. I love collard greens, and you can't get good ones when you're not in the south. So that's my favorite.
Kathryn Davis 4:31
Awesome. Uh, one thing that we have in common that I know you do, which I love, and I have done it for a long time is that we each choose a word of the year. So what has been your word for this year?
Morgan Jones Pearson 4:45
You know what, I don't know that I picked a word for this year, which is weird because I think the last few years I had picked one every year but I think last year's may carry in to this year. Last year. I think my word was rest or stillness, still something like that because I was struggling with some like health problems. And I felt like I needed to like slow down. And I feel like that kind of carried into this year because beginning of this year, I was still trying to figure out that like health stuff. And so anyway, I guess like that idea of rest, which ironically goes along perfectly with President Nelson's recent talk, I think that would kind of still be my word for the year.
Kathryn Davis 5:29
I like that. I'm gonna maybe look into that for next year.
Morgan Jones Pearson 5:33
We all need it.
Kathryn Davis 5:35
We do. We do. Okay, here is my last question for you. What is your favorite part of hosting all in? Oof,
Morgan Jones Pearson 5:43
I love talking to people. I love meeting people. And so that part of it never ever gets old. To me, there are a lot of other parts that I'm like, we've been doing this for a long time, you know, but the actual talking to people and getting to hear their story never ever gets old. And so I think that's my favorite part is just the people that I meet and the stories that I get to hear and not only hear, but like actually dig into because I think when we meet people in a normal day to day situation, you don't dig super deep, typically on like your first encounter with somebody. But because you're hosting a podcast, you have full permission to dig as deep as you want to like that's what the people are there for. And so being able to do that, with so many different people, I think it's really a privilege and a blessing.
Kathryn Davis 6:32
Well, I'm kind of excited to dig deeper into your story. And to learn more about you.
Morgan Jones Pearson 6:39
Well, I'm definitely more comfortable on the other end. So we'll see how this goes.
Kathryn Davis 6:43
Okay. Well, I want to talk about a post that you recently posted on Instagram, where you wrote this, you wrote, certainly when we see promises fulfilled, it gives us greater confidence in our covenants. But what about when we don't? What about when it feels like we've been keeping our end of the deal waiting for God to keep His I've been there. I know what that feels like. I'm a believer that we're all waiting for something. But I'm also a believer that God's promises are always fulfilled and always worth the weight. And I noticed in that post that you said, I've been there. Can you tell me about your experience on what prompted you to write this post and how you've been there when you've been waiting?
Morgan Jones Pearson 7:26
Yeah, I think like I said, in the post, like we all are waiting for something. And so for me, that looks a couple of different ways. Probably first top of mine waiting in my life has been, I got married this year at 32, which isn't ancient, but it also is a lot older than I ever imagined that I would get married and, and so there was a lot of waiting in that. Like I just was talking to my parents this week. And my dad said to me, do you ever think about how a few years ago you had convinced yourself, you were never going to get married. And you were never going to have like, all of these things that are now happening in your life. And it's true. Like I genuinely had convinced myself to the point that I think I was almost living in a place of despair rather than hope. I think that it's so important when we have things that we want, and we desire in our lives to maintain hope, because the opposite of hope is despair. And so when you give up on a dream that you have, or something that you want to see happen in your life, you're living in a pretty dark space. And I definitely felt that at times. So I think that's one I think, also, I've had people that I care about in my life that have kind of walked away from faith, whether you know, our church or just faith in general. And I think waiting and hoping that those people will come back, I think is another form of waiting. It looks different ways at different times in my life. And those are the most recent examples.
Kathryn Davis 9:07
So what kept you going? You said you felt a lot of despair. Yes. So what did you hold on to in those moments of despair?
Morgan Jones Pearson 9:15
Well, honestly, and I think that's the message that I was hoping to communicate in that post is that it was like covenants that kept me going. And so for example, when I was probably 28, I worked in the Salt Lake Temple and I only worked there for about 10 months. But I can point back to that period of time as like a time where I just clung to my covenants like never before. And I can I can distinctly remember like a couple of moments that happened to me when I was there working in the temple that kept me holding on and kept me waiting and gave me that hope. And then priesthood blessings were another A big thing. So I mentioned that there was like a period of time where I had convinced myself wholeheartedly that I was not going to get married. And it was like this thing where I had talked myself into it to the point that I thought that's what God wanted for me. And my sister had just had a baby. And so I flew across the country to Charleston, South Carolina for her baby's blessing. And that weekend, I was just miserable. Like, so sad. I was so happy for the baby, you know, but I remember she was in a ward with a bunch of young couples. And I remember sitting there and like, looking around and just thinking like, man, like, how is this my life? Like, how am I the only one that hasn't found somebody, that's how it feels, you know, and you feel like, the biggest thing to me is I felt like I was on the outside looking in, at a life that everybody else was getting to have, and I wasn't getting to have it. And that's hard. Like, I remember walking through my neighborhood. And, you know, people would have like big windows, and I would look in and see families like having dinner or, you know, watching TV together and just thinking like, I'm on the outside of that. And so anyway, I fly across country for this baby blessing, I'm there. And right after the blessing, I remember I had to like go back to a bedroom and just sobbed. And that night, I asked my dad if he would give me a president blessing. And I had not said anything to him about this thing that I had talked myself into, I hadn't said anything to anybody. And in the blessing, he promised that I would get married. And I would have kids and he specifically said he said in a coming day, have sleepless nights and dirty diapers, you will long for the life you have now. And so for me like that was one thing that kept me hanging on I think I mentioned the temple, I had an experience where I was sitting in the temple. And when you're working in the Salt Lake Temple, you have all of these like spots that are pretty pointless. But your job your only job is if somebody walks past you in not very highly trafficked areas, your job is to stand up and smile. And so I was sitting in one of those spots for 30 minutes by myself. And this has never happened to me before. I'm not somebody that like communicates with the dead. But I had this distinct feeling that my grandparents were trying to talk to me and I was really close to my grandma before she passed away. And I had been feeling like there had to be something I was doing wrong. And very distinctly in my mind, I heard the words, you're not doing anything wrong, you're doing everything right, just keep doing what you're doing. And so I think like, clinging to the gospel of Jesus Christ is the thing that got me through that waiting period. And so when I see people that I love and care about feeling like they have to walk away from their covenants, because those are the things that are in some way holding them back. I think that that is heartbreaking for me, because I recognize that for me, it was my covenants that got me through that time.
Kathryn Davis 13:21
Well, Morgan, I think there's a couple of things that you just talked about that I want to dig deeper on a little bit. And the first that you said, which I think is so profound that you felt like you were on the outside looking in, and that a lot was because you were single and you wanted that family, but don't you think there are so many people who feel that same way that they're on the Towson ride? For a lot of different reasons. I think we all have periods of waiting, and wondering, and hope and desire and where we feel like the Lord is not answering our prayers.
Morgan Jones Pearson 13:57
I think it like stretches across so many different things. But we all to your point can feel that feeling.
Kathryn Davis 14:04
Yeah, with whatever that is that I think sometimes we so often feel like we are on the outside looking in that life has not turned out how we thought it should. That we are praying for specific blessings. We have righteous desires, and we are wanting good things and it's not happening in our lives. So in that waiting period, I love a couple of things that you held on to your covenants, instead of walking away from those cabinets that those brought you strength. And so what in that waiting period priesthood blessings and the temple covenants, what did you learn about the Lord in that waiting period?
Morgan Jones Pearson 14:42
I think more than anything else, and I always say that being single was like, one of the like most formative things in my life and something that I wouldn't go back and change even when I was single. I said that like I wouldn't change it. But the reason for that is I think you come to know God in a very intimate way, when he is your person, you know, once that shifts to somebody here on Earth and and that's wonderful and great, and I'm super grateful for that. But when it was just me and God, like that relationship shifted a lot, and I started to feel like he knew me in a way that nobody else did. And I depended on him more than I ever would otherwise. So I think and I think that that, you know, it doesn't matter if you have a kid going through a medical issue, and you're waiting to see how that's going to turn out, it doesn't matter. If you are hoping that somebody is going to have a change of heart, whatever it is, when there's a dependence on God like never before it changes that relationship. And so for me, I look at it as my relationship with God will never ever be the same because of that period of waiting and leaning on him. I recently told this story in a talk that I was giving about expecting miracles. But my husband and I broke up for a period of time when we were dating for three weeks. And we didn't talk to each other at all during those three weeks. And I during that time, like turned to God in a way that like I hadn't before. And so it's stuff like reading my scriptures and looking for answers to the questions that I had, and writing down the answer and praying and asking for a miracle. And then another thing that I did during that period of time as I felt like I needed to get my mind off of that situation. And so I decided that I was going to memorize the living Christ. And I would go for like these long walks, and just like work on the living Christ over and over and over again. And it made it so like that period of time, that would have been like, a bad memory, you know, like, is actually it's such a sweet memory for me, because I feel like I got to know him better, and his love for me. And so I think the waiting periods have the ability to be this very sweet thing, if we turn to him rather than turn away from Him. And if we turn away from Him, we'll never know what would have happened if we had turned to him.
Kathryn Davis 17:38
Right. And I think they're sacred and those waiting periods that those are the times where we turn to God. And if we do that, that time becomes sacred and holy and sanctified. 100%. And I love what you said about relying on your covenants that it also tied you to your ancestors. And I believe that I believe that when we rely on our covenants that elder Holland said that there are legions of angels traveling at lightning speed to help us and I wonder what that looks like lightning speed for an angel. Yeah, but I am clinging to that promise, especially with the loss of both of my parents recently that they are traveling at lightning speed to bless me and to bless my children. And that they will be there in moments where we need them.
Morgan Jones Pearson 18:30
I think to Catherine sometimes I think we don't appreciate we talk about the temple being like the space between heaven and earth and that we like literally have the opportunity, I think it was elder Bednar, in the Washington DC temple open house like media stuff. He said, we're literally leaving this world and going to a place closer to Heaven. And sometimes I think we don't take that as literally as we should, in that we can act like we go to the temple to find that strength. And that strength isn't just coming from God. Right, which godly strength is wonderful, right? Yeah, it's also coming from people that care, like to your point about your parents, who aside from God cares about you more than your parents do and who wants the very best for you more than they do. And so you're drawing upon the people that have gone before you and care about you more than anything. And you also are drawn upon the people that will come after you and are pulling for every decision that you're making. And so going to the temple to get that strength I think is huge.
Kathryn Davis 19:43
And I love how it was your grandparents who told you that there was nothing wrong with you. I think in the waiting period is where we get extremely vulnerable to the adversary and temptation and the adversary telling us that there's something wrong with us. Don't you think and I love that your grandparents were telling you that there's nothing wrong with you.
Morgan Jones Pearson 20:06
It was it was cool to like, that was just like a little snippet of what I felt that day. But I think looking back, it's like I trusted them to, I think there's a level of trust with those people that we know, know us. And so anyway, I think there's nobody, like there would be nobody that could deliver that message to me better than my dad's mom. And Heavenly Father knew that. And that's why she was the one that I felt like was saying it to me,
Kathryn Davis 20:38
I think that's so important. Because I think in the waiting, we often think that we don't have enough faith, or that there's something wrong with us. And that is never God's message to us. We don't have to earn his love. And that we are enough as we are. And we just have to trust and wait in those moments. And I think it's super easy to kind of walk away. And and I love how you mentioned that we don't know what's right around the corner, cuz it was yours where you felt you were waiting right there. It was a long period of time.
Morgan Jones Pearson 21:14
Yeah, yeah. And I think you know, going back to your point about we are our own worst critic. So there was this one time I was in the wias, a state Relief Society presidency. And so during World conferences, we would go around, and we would do like a question and answer session with the different words. And I remember one day there was this boy, and he just expressed that, like, some things weren't working out for him. As I recall, he was like a cute, you know, cute guy, and said, like, these things weren't working out the way that he thought that they would, and what advice did they have about what they should be doing that they weren't doing? And this lady who I'm sure met very well, she was like, one of the bishopric members, wives, she like took it upon herself to answer the question. And she just went off on this rant about dating, like, they need to, like be asking people on more dates. And I was sitting there and I was still single. And so I'm sitting here, My blood is boiling, because I'm like, I know how many dates like these people are going on and how hard they're trying. And so I was like, Can I say something? And I you said, if I'm hearing you right, in the question that you're asking, what you're actually asking is, what am I doing wrong? And I think that that tends to be our question, you know, we can mask it in a way of it's like, well, what else? What else do I need to be doing? And certainly there's a place for that like the story in the Scripture. So what what lack I yet, you know, but it's important that the question that we recognize that a lot of times the waiting is not the result of anything that we've done wrong, just like the story in the Scriptures where the person says, you know, who sinned, this man or his parents, that's not the situation. And so that's why for me, that experience in the temple was so poignant, because I felt like it's given me a chance to share with other people, like, you're not doing anything wrong, you're doing everything, right. Just keep doing what you're doing. And those blessings will come. I've been working this week on a cover story for LDS Living with Tara bench who is a cookbook, Chef. And she's 45 and single. And so in the story, we kind of dug into her experience with that. And she said something that I thought was so profound, she said this, I think the gospel is for everyone, old, young, single, married, rich, poor. And yes, family is important in the gospel. That's the truth. Marriage is important to our eternal progression. That's the truth. church culture often tells us there's a timeline or steps that we must take at certain times. There is no timeline. That's the truth. There's no right or wrong way to move through our progression as members of the church. And I think sometimes like that's what we forget, is that there isn't a timeline and that those truths can still be true. And I loved when I was talking to her for this story. She said that with like, such conviction, like each one of those lines, and she'd say, That's the truth. And so we cling to those truths, but we recognize that there is no timeline and like you said, the thing about the quote by Elder Holland, which actually she quoted in that story, as well, did she, yeah, which I and I love that quote, but at lightning speed, speed in God's time, I think looks different than it does in our time. And so we just trust that his time and his understanding Hang on time is better than ours.
Kathryn Davis 25:03
Yeah. And that we're all going to have periods of waiting. Right? We all are. In fact, in a talk given by President Henry B. Irene called blessings, a Law of Increasing Returns. Elder Irene says this, he says all of us make decisions every day, almost every hour about whether it's worth it to wait. The hardest ones are where the waiting includes working. Does it make sense to keep working to keep sacrificing when nothing seems to be coming from the effort. All of us are always waiting on something. Perhaps a single adult is waiting on the blessing of marriage, a young couple might be waiting for the blessing of children in their life. A mother to a teenager is dealing with the with a child losing their faith, the list goes on and on of those who are waiting. And I even look at some of my favorite, to me most impactful scripture stories are of people who are waiting for years, sometimes years for blessings, I think of the woman with the issue of blood. How long had she been waiting and cast to the side? And the small action that she take? What if she would have given up and thought, you know, it's been years and I'm not being healed? But she waits and when the Savior walks by she reaches out and does a small action of faith and he stops and bends down and calls her daughter and she is healed. But what if she would have stopped the day before he came?
Morgan Jones Pearson 26:36
What and I think the thing that's interesting about the stories in the scriptures like like the story of the woman with the issue of blood? Yes, we don't we don't actually know what they did in the waiting. And I think that's a big key is, what do we do with our waiting is waiting just you know, sitting around twiddling our thumbs or is it very active? So I just this week, I mentioned that I had this conversation with my parents. And it was interesting, because my mom was talking about the story of the brother of Jared, and how you know, they were in those barges. And she's like, we know that the barges didn't have any windows. And so they're just being like tossed around in the ocean, hoping that they're headed toward the promised land and hoping like maybe the Promised Land is within sight, but they have no idea. And my mom said that in the scriptures. It says that they praised the Lord all day and all night. So my mom was like, we don't know where we are in relation to our promised land. And the question is, are we praising God in that waiting, they didn't know like, the day before the barge like landed on dry ground, they would have had no idea that they were almost there. And just like that, like we don't know, the blessing that we're waiting for could be right around the corner, or it could be a lot longer, you know, you never know. But in the waiting, what are we doing. And to me, the best way to wait is to praise God in whatever way that looks like for you. And there, there are a lot of different ways that we show that we praise Him and love Him. But doing that I think makes the waiting to turns it into, like you said like a sacred experience rather than just passive.
Kathryn Davis 28:26
I truly believe that. Sometimes I wonder in the waiting, how we can rely and trust that those blessings are right around the corner, whether that's in the next life or literally right around the corner, that it is our relationship with God and our past experiences that sometimes we rely on you were telling that story of the brother of Jared and they were praising God because I think they were remembering what led them to that point.
Morgan Jones Pearson 28:56
They they knew him they knew him. Then that reminds me I've been obsessed recently with this story that sister Mariette told in her BYU devotional, this is like probably six months ago now. But she told this story. And it's silly, because it's silly how much the story has impacted me but she taught talked about how she and her siblings in Louisiana, they would wait for their dad to get home from work because he had promised them that if they would be waiting with their swimsuits on ready to go to the swimming pool, he would take them to the community pool after work. And so she's like we would stand on the hot Louisiana Summit. And she's like we seminars would have to jump back onto the grass just to cool our feet off but we'd have our towels and our swimsuits and we'd be waiting on the curb watching for my dad to turn the corner and said he always he would pull into the driveway and he would say I'll be right back and he would run into the house and change into his swimsuit and he would come come back out and take them to the pool. She's like, Why did three kids wait in the hot summer sun, looking so intently at that corner. And then she says, because we knew our father. And I think in order for us to be able to have that trust that Heavenly Father is going to round the corner every time in our lives and do what He said He was going to do, we have to know Him. And we have to know that he's somebody that always keeps His promises. And I think that's hard for some people. Because not everybody has a good example of a father, that always keeps their promises, I feel so lucky, because my dad is somebody, he's never told me he was going to do something that he didn't then do. But I recognize that that is not true of everyone. And I always wish like that I loaned you, my dad so that you could get a little taste of like what this is like. But I think if we set out to develop that relationship with God, and to come to know Him, then, as we, to your point, like the brother of Jared, the Jaredites, they looked back at their experiences that they had already had with God, and we have to have experiences with him to then be able to draw upon those in the future. And that's why like, the word remember is in the Scripture, so many times because we have to look back in order to have hope for the
Kathryn Davis 31:23
future. And that is one of my favorite titles of God is promise keeper, that we can trust His promises. And to understand that whether we've experienced that with our own fathers or not that God is a promise keeper, like going back to Scripture stories. My favorite is I love Peter. And I love when Peter walks, don't you love him. And I love when Peter walks on the water. And sometimes people are like, all but he sank, he took his eyes off Jesus. And I just am amazed that he had the courage to get out of the boat in the first place. And I thought so much about that, like what gave him courage to step out of the boat. He's the only one who did and he jumps out and is walking to the Savior. And, and I just think it's his experiences with him. That gave him that courage. He knew who Christ was. And he had faith in that to step out of the boat. And I think of that in my own life. Have I had experiences with who Christ is that I have faith to take that next step? Even if I don't know how it's going to end? Can I take that next step? Because I know who he is. And I know he's a promise keeper.
Morgan Jones Pearson 32:44
Right? Right. I completely agree with that I love like I said, I love Peter, too. He's one of my favorites.
Kathryn Davis 32:50
And I think you're right, that it's our covenants that give us that strength to take that next step. It's the covenants we made at baptism. It's the covenants we make in the temple. It's our covenants with each other, to mourn with those that mourn, to lift and to help the weary and those who are tired. And so how do you think your own experiences with waiting, have brought you closer to others?
Morgan Jones Pearson 33:17
I think that it doesn't matter what kind of waiting you're doing. If you've waited for something, then you have greater empathy for others that are waiting for something to actually tear a bench. I have this very fresh in my mind, because I've been working on it for weeks. But in that same story, she says like pain doesn't have to be specific. And it's true like, and I think waiting doesn't have to be so specific. We need to recognize that if we have had an experience, and this is something that I've learned from hosting all into is that oftentimes the experience may be different, we may be going through something very different than somebody else. But the lesson that we're learning from that experience, we're all learning the same things. And so if we can connect with other people, and it's actually been interesting, I told Sarah, as we were talking about doing this episode, I told her that I hesitate now to even talk about being single, even though it was like such a big period of my life. Because I never want to seem like oh, here I am like I made it out on the other side. Here's what you need to do, because I wouldn't respond well to people like that myself. But I think it's been interesting because there have been a few times since I got married that I've had like a distinct feeling. And I'm one of those that I don't post on Instagram unless I feel like I really have something to say. And there's been a couple of times where I've had like this strong feeling like you need to just say this, and I'll feel scared because of that feeling of like, oh, I don't want to I don't want to seem like I think I'm some kind of authority on the subject. Because I definitely don't. But in posting those things, it's always been interesting to me to get messages from friends who are single, or people that I don't know that are single that will say, thank you so much for posting that thing. And so, because we experience things, it gives us an ability to speak to that thing in a way that we might not be able to otherwise. And like I said earlier, like, I will always be grateful for that period of my life, we've released like an all in book last year, and there's a chapter all about being single, and at the time I was single. And so it's interesting to look back at that time and think about, you know, I learned how much other people are able to minister to us and be aware of the things that we're going through, I learned about how good the people in the single adult community within the church are, I think they get we, we and I'll still say we, because I feel like that that's my people, but I feel like single adults get a bad rap like that, like the, they aren't dating enough. You know, I know so many single adults who are so so, so good, and good friends, and good ministers and good people, and I am grateful to have been able to be town and one of them.
Kathryn Davis 36:33
I appreciate how you are so willing to share that story. And also, that you've had an ending that you've prayed for, so to speak, that you are married, that you had two years of waiting, and then that was right around the corner for you. But for a lot of people, maybe it's not right now. Like they're still in the waiting. And, and I know that you know, there are things in my life that I have been praying years for. And I don't know what the ending will be. I don't I don't know if it's going to be ending how I thought or what I what I want and what I hope for. But I know in the waiting, that's where I can come to know who Jesus Christ is that that's that sacred time and I trust him. And for all those who maybe they haven't received the answer that they want. What would you say to those that are still right now waiting?
Morgan Jones Pearson 37:36
Well, I think, again, like I am one of those that like really hesitates to give any kind of advice, because I know myself and it's like, don't tell me what to do, you know. So I guess the first thing I would say is like, let God tell you what to do. And you're waiting, like not me. But turning to him, I think makes all the difference. And, and again, like you never know when the thing that you're waiting for could be right around the corner. And if it's not recognizing like in that talk that you mentioned, and I quoted from in the Instagram post President iring it the law of increasing returns, I cannot tell you how many times I referred to that talk when I was single, I read that talk again and again and again. And in that talk, he talks about how there are what he calls early harvest, that there are blessings even in your waiting. Yeah, and so I think a huge part of you know, being able to find joy in that waiting is just recognizing the blessings that are coming in the middle of it. And they may not be the blessing that you're hoping and praying and you know, living for. But there are little blessings along the way. And it's those little things that keep you going and so whether it's friendships that you're being able to have or lessons that you're learning, or opportunities that you're having, like I mean I look back at, at all in and it came along at a point when I really needed it. And that to me is like one of those early harvest where God was like, I'm not going to give you the blessing that you're waiting for and hoping for right now. But I am going to give you this thing that will give you fulfillment and purpose and make you feel like you're able to do something that matters in the world and you may feel like you're on the outside looking in. But you will look back and realize that because you were on the outside you were able to help a lot of other people who felt like they were on the outside
Kathryn Davis 39:55
too beautiful. I think The present Irene has done an amazing job of noticing early harvests and challenging us to notice those as well like with gratitude journals, and I pray, especially since I am in the middle of a waiting period, I pray daily for eyes to see the early harvests, that I can see those blessings and notice them and, and that continues me on my path of trusting God. Absolutely. And taking that step out of the boat. Morgan, we love to leave our listeners with a small and simple challenge or invitation that they can take and implement throughout the rest of the week. So what would be your small and simple challenge today to have faith in our waiting periods?
Morgan Jones Pearson 40:49
So I mentioned earlier that like period, that three week period where I was wondering if my now husband would come back around, and during that period, I sent a text to Emily Belle Freeman. And I was like, I feel like I am struggling because I read the scriptures. And I will have an idea popped into my head. But I don't know if it's me, or what the Lord is trying to tell me, which I think is like the biggest question we all have when it comes to receiving personal revelation like, is it me? Or is it the spirit? And Emily said, Well, you've got to get in the Scriptures. And she was like, open your scriptures, read both sides of the page, and then pray with a question in mind. Or actually, I think it was reverse pray with a question in mind, open your scriptures, read both sides of the page and write down anything that stands out to you. And I would do that over and over and over again. And I started to see those answers come I could see like God's awareness of me and even in scriptures that you don't imagine or anticipate finding answers. Emily says that she thinks it works best with the Old Testament and the Doctrine and Covenants, because it's talking to a lot of people in those scriptures. But anyway, I guess that would be one challenge in order to be able to know that God is aware of you and you're waiting is to maybe try that to pray with a question in mind and then open your scriptures and read both sides of the page. I think sometimes I feel like right now. And it's funny because I feel like I contribute to this problem. But I think we think oh, well I can just listen to a podcast and get my spiritual upliftment, right. And I think we have to, we have to get in the Scriptures. And we have to say our prayers like those two things matter a great deal and having a relationship with God. You're not going to get it from a podcast. And so that would be my challenge. Get
Kathryn Davis 42:54
in the scriptures. Find your answers for yourself. No, that's how I've found so many of money. So thank you so much for being here. Morgan. You can hear more of Morgan on her podcast all in and we will link President irons talk blessings, a law of increasing returns in our show notes. Don't forget to join us over on Instagram at magnify community. And of course, subscribe and listen to the Magnify podcast wherever you get your shows. Let's meet up again next week.