The Guidance and Influence of the Holy Ghost
In September 1981, I was attending Brigham Young University and was starting my senior year. During spring term I discontinued a serious relationship and was questioning many things about life and myself. I went to the Lord in fasting, prayer, and supplication to learn from Him how to proceed. I poured my heart out expressing my desires and asked, if He approved, for certain blessings.
I was desirous to meet a young woman, virtuous, lovely, and with a good report card to befriend, experience emotional intimacy with, and pursue a lasting relationship that would ultimately lead to a Ketubah (marriage contract) in the Temple of God of my choosing.
I presented to the Lord my Conditions of Satisfaction for said female companion and agreed that I must also be worthy of each condition and asked for strength to be worthy of His spirit that I may be prepared to experience a deep friendship with a beautiful daughter of God and enjoy the emotional and intellectual companionship of someone who makes me better by her very presence.
On Friday, September 25, 1981 I attended the Temple and spent the evening conversing with Deity about my situation, making sure my requests were in line with His will.
On Saturday, the 26th, I said a prayer at around 7:30 PM fully dressed to attend a Stake dance in the Russell Building with the ending line, “if I’m to meet someone tonight, please wake me up in time” and fell asleep on the concrete floor covered with a thin layer of dirty carpet in my apartment. I had worked a 12-hour day in the hot Utah sun landscaping and was exhausted.
Other notable events on September 26th are:
- 46 BC, Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to his mythical ancestor Venus Genetrix.
- 1580, Sir Francis Drake finishes circumnavigating the Earth.
- 1777, British troops occupy Philadelphia.
- 1789, Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first United States Secretary of State and John Jay is appointed the first Chief Justice.
- 1914, Jack LaLanne, an American fitness expert is born.
- 1960, the first televised Presidential debate took place between JFK and Richard Nixon.
- 1973, the Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.
- 1981, Nolan Ryan sets a Major League record by throwing his 5th no-hitter.
- 1981, Serena Williams, an American tennis star is born.
- 1981, I met Cheri Lynn Seal at the dance at approximately 10:15 PM after waking up around 9:30 PM.
At the conclusion of the dance, I drove Cheri and her roommate Florence home. Florence had a broken toe and it provided a convenient way for me to discover the home base of my future wife.
On Monday, September 28th after pacing outside her apartment for 20 minutes, I asked Cheri to attend the BYU devotional featuring President Spencer W. Kimball as the keynote speaker.
The Lord answered my prayer because I was guided by the spirit and prepared myself. My life has never been the same and the experience of meeting my future wife continues to be indelibly marked in my mind as a spiritual experience.
The Lord answered my prayers with almost everything on my wish list. The Temple was not of my choosing (wife gets to choose) and Cheri met every Condition of Satisfaction except #17. She was not as fortunate, but she is blessed with tremendous patience, one of my conditions.
I think the planets were aligned on that fateful September night.
I’m amazed by the historical factoids: Venus, I’m related to sir Francis drake, my ancestors were pennsylvania Dutch and I worship jack lalanne. It was a good night!