‘Have Your Own Sacred Grove Experience,’ Says Ensign College President

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By Rachel Sterzer Gibson, Church News

Ensign College President Bruce C. Kusch began the first campus devotional of the new year by inviting students to “have your very own, very personal Sacred Grove experience.”

Young Joseph Smith’s experience in the Sacred Grove provides a pattern and principles for others to observe, follow and apply, said President Kusch during his remarks to students gathered at the Triad Center campus on Tuesday, January 7. “We can do the things [Joseph Smith] did, and we can come to learn and know the things he learned and knew.”

President Kusch explained, “Now, let me be very clear: in describing a Sacred Grove experience, I am not suggesting it will include a personal visit from the Father and the Son. But by the power of the Holy Ghost, we may know that they truly are, and we can know with certainty that ‘The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also’ (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22). Just like Joseph, we can know that we are God’s beloved sons and daughters and that He has a work for each of us to perform during our time in mortality. This is essential knowledge for every one of us.”

Learning from Joseph Smith’s Experience

In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith, then a young teenager, read the passage of scripture found in James 1:5-6 and determined to “ask of God” the question that was weighing on his heart. He went to a grove of trees near his family farm to seek God in prayer.

President Kusch shared four principles related to Joseph’s experience for individuals to remember as they seek their own Sacred Grove experience:

1. “Approaching God with a sincere heart, with real intent, and asking inspired questions are prerequisites for receiving revelation.
2. “Satan is real, and he will exert all of his power to divert us, distract us and discourage us from seeking God and Jesus Christ.
3. “God’s power is greater than Satan’s power, and God will always rescue us when we do not give up.
4. “When revelation comes, we follow it with our whole heart and soul.”

Before Joseph’s answer came, he had to wrestle and struggle to overcome the darkness, but then the light came, and with it, relief from the darkness, President Kusch observed.

In the pillar of light were two personages: God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Among other truths, Joseph learned from this experience that the heavens are open, the true nature of God and Jesus Christ, that the true church of Jesus Christ was lost to apostasy and that he had a role to play in God’s plan for His children, President Kusch said.

In his first general conference address as Prophet in April 2018, President Russell M. Nelson spoke of “Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove.”

President Nelson taught: “The Prophet Joseph Smith set a pattern for us to follow in resolving our questions. Drawn to the promise of James that if we lack wisdom, we may ask of God, the boy Joseph took his question directly to Heavenly Father. He sought personal revelation, and his seeking opened this last dispensation. …

“Follow the example of the Prophet Joseph,” President Nelson encouraged. “Find a quiet place where you can regularly go. Humble yourself before God. Pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father. Turn to Him for answers and for comfort.

“Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses — yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen. Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will ‘grow into the principle of revelation.’ … I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation” (“Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” April 2018 general conference).

President Kusch assured listeners that “there are no limits to the truths that can be revealed to us by the power of the Holy Ghost. There is no limit to the amount of personal revelation that can come to guide us in our lives, perfectly customized for our individual needs and circumstances.”

In conclusion, President Kusch testified of Joseph Smith’s Sacred Grove experience. “I testify of Joseph’s prophetic mission as an instrument in God’s hands for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for the establishment in these latter days of the Savior’s only true and living church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

As individuals seek to have their own Sacred Grove experience, they can know the truth of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost, he promised.

Changed and Softened From the Inside Out

In her remarks to students, Sister Alynda Kusch described dismissing a box of bruised and discolored peaches only to be told that this particular type of peaches — known as Angela peaches — is unique in that they ripen from the inside out. Their sweetness and flavor cannot be judged from the blemishes on their skin.

“Angela peaches become delightful and delicious despite outward imperfections by being nourished from a true source, changed and softened from the inside out. Trusted disciples of Christ, regardless of outward imperfections, can likewise be changed and softened also from the inside out. If it is your desire, the Lord can help you have a kind heart, a better heart, a faithful heart,” Sister Kusch taught.

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