Today's Devotional

Today I was in training for Seminary & Institute employees to learn about finances. We started with a devotional this morning. Bro. Bowman gave the devotional. He was an institute teacher when the shootings happened at Virginia Tech a few years ago. The gunman shot 32 students and then shot himself. Out of the horror he shared a few things that showed the Lord’s hand in the catastrophe. He said that the shootings happened on a Monday and the next weekend Elder Bednar was scheduled to go out and speak to the area. Before the shootings happened Elder Bednar questioned why the Lord was sending him out there since there wasn’t going to be a new stake presidency called. He knew that there must have been some reason for him to go so he waited to see what the Lord’s purpose was. After the shootings Elder Bednar had a meeting with the students and institute staff it was held in a fairly small space. He asked all those who were not students or staff of the institute to leave the meeting. Brother Bowman said that Elder Bednar shook the hand of everyone who attended that meeting.

He shared another story from the stake president who was a teacher in the same building where the shootings happened. The stake president heard the shootings as he was in his office two floors above them. He heard students screaming and decided that the best things to do was barricade himself in his office and get down under his desk. As the shootings happened, he received a call from the area authority who would also be visiting that weekend. He reached above his desk and answered the phone. He spoke with the area authority and seemed to forget what was happening at the school because he didn’t even mention it. After the shootings the area authority put together the fact that he called at the moment the shootings had happened.

The stake president later shared a scripture from D&C 9:9 that he saw with new eyes, “But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.”

In that moment of chaos, the stake president said that he forgot about the shootings because preparing for the Lord’s work was the most important thing for him to be focused on at that moment.

Brother Bowman said that he had many other stories to share but the time didn’t allow. He said that he would be happy to answer any questions we had and now I am kicking myself for not asking him more questions since this was the last day of training.