Stillness & Knowing
It’s easy to gloss over a phrase like “Be still and know that I am God” without recognizing the generous gift inside. (Psalm 46:10 KJV, D&C 101:16)
At first blush, it sounds rather bossy — just another target to shoot and miss.
Yes, it’s a very straightforward phrase that can prick our pride. But what if this is an answer to a heart-felt, soul-deep question? Did we cry out begging for closeness and confirmation of His presence, that a loving Heavenly Father is interested in us and our lives? Did we plead, “How can I know Thee better?” The loving response, “To truly know me — invite more stillness into your heart and soul.” Can we receive this gift as the key to everything?
If stillness is the way to knowing God, what is it and how do we get more of it?
Do we even know what stillness is?
Stillness: devoid or abstaining from motion; uttering no sound; free from noise or turbulence. (Merriam-Webster)
My first thought of stillness is very much this definition: stop doing something. Stop moving. Lay down for a nap. Imagine a game of freeze-tag. Once caught, you stop moving immediately, no shifting to get more comfortable, no scratching, no sneezing… no blinking — if the game was unusually intense. Is this the kind of stillness we need? Putting a stop to things that are no longer serving us a good first step, but there must be more on our path to coming unto Christ and becoming like Him. If all we had to do was avoid doing bad things, we could isolate ourselves and wait for time to pass. Just like being stuck frozen in a game of tag, that sounds incredibly boring at best, and hopeless at worst. Luckily, God’s plan for us is not to halt our progress and leave us there. There must be more. He is a God of eternal progression, after all.
Eternal progression is a basic part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Marvin J. Ashton, April 1984)
God loves us as we are, but He also loves us too much to leave us this way… Change is what Christ’s Atonement is all about. (Elder Wilcox, October 2021)
How can we be still and continue to progress?
I believe the Lord’s admonition to ‘be still’ entails much more than simply not talking or not moving. Perhaps His intent is for us to remember and rely upon Him and His power ‘at all times and in all places that [we] may be in.’ Thus, ‘be still’ may be a way of reminding us to focus upon the Savior unfailingly as the ultimate source of the spiritual stillness of the soul that strengthens us to do and overcome hard things. One important aspect of stillness [is] overcoming and tuning out the commotion of our external environment. (Elder David A. Bednar, April 2024)
Elder Bednar suggests that the actions of stillness include remembering, relying, focusing on Christ, overcoming commotion, and when necessary — tuning out the world around us.
Why? How?
Commotion: steady or recurrent motion; mental excitement or confusion; an agitated disturbance; a noisy confusion. (Merriam-Webster)
Confusion and agitation are tools of the adversary, not our Heavenly Father. His tools bring calm, power, presence and joy. Isn’t that what we really want?
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:39 KJV)
Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side; With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide; In ev’ry change he faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end. (Be Still, My Soul. Hymn 124)
Commotion is also steady and recurrent motion. That definitely describes day-to-day life, doesn’t it? Our culture values busyness: sports, errands, shopping, travel, work, screentime, etc. It is easy to have so much going in our lives that we are never stop moving with little time to remember or focus on the Savior. What are some consequences, intended or not, that come from filling our lives with so many good things that we crowd out the important things?
We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives. (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 2007)
Stillness allows us time and space to prioritize God first and then intentionally decide what else enters our lives. Everyone’s priority list will look different. My questions would include:
Is there enough stillness in my life to eat dinner together as a family?
Is there enough stillness in my life to read out loud to my children?
Is there enough stillness in our lives to teach my kids the value of being home and helping care for it by working hard and doing chores?
Is there enough stillness in our lives to have regular scripture study and spiritual discussions with our children?
Is there enough stillness in my life to have a calling in the ward?
Is there enough stillness in my life to get enough sleep?
There are definitely things in my life that threaten my list of priorities. Temporary disruptions happen. We have to be flexible, right? If I don’t have time or energy for these priorities, I can reevaluate if it is still important. If the answer is yes, I will need to adjust things to make room for it. Stillness is a gift of calm space to intentionally choose what’s important. If we don’t know what our priorities should be, we can take those questions to God too. We don’t have to have all the answers. Maybe we know what we would like the spirit of our home to be, but don’t know how to get there. Our loving Heavenly Father does. Ask Him, then trust those precious answers and insights.
Sometimes I forget something important. I remember to seek guidance for what I should be doing… but it is easy for me to forget that Heavenly Father can and will also help me with how it is to be done. Sometimes the what and how of our lives will look the same as those around us, sometimes it will be very different. We can be distracted, concerned, or sometimes even judgmental about what we see around us. If we can keep our focus on Christ and His will for us, we will be in good hands and reap the benefits.
And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. (D&C 88:67)
If we focus on Christ, we will be filled with His light and all darkness in us will be chased away. Darkness cannot withstand or overpower light. Darkness only exists when light leaves. If we focus on Christ and allow ourselves to be filled with light, He can fill us with His truth and will for our lives.
For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. (D&C 84:45)
This is personal revelation! This is what we want. And our personal revelation is just that: personal. It can and will be unique to us because He knows us completely. He knows our strengths, weaknesses, and circumstances. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to involve such a qualified Being into the journey of our lives? Sign me up!
Nephi, the brother of Jared, and even Moses all had a large body of water to cross—and each did it differently. Nephi worked “timbers of curious workmanship.” The brother of Jared built barges that were “tight like unto a dish.” And Moses “walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea.”
They each received personalized direction, tailored to them, and each trusted and acted. The Lord is mindful of those who obey and, in the words of Nephi, will “prepare a way for [us to] accomplish the thing which he commandeth.” Note that Nephi says, “a way”—not “the way.” (Michelle D. Craig, October 2019)
There are so many blessings available to us from being still and coming to know God. And once we taste the sweetness of His presence and genuine interest in us and our lives, wouldn’t we want to share that with our loved ones?
And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. (1 Nephi 8: 11-12)
But if being still helps us know God, is the converse also true? If we are not still, we cannot know God. That is chilling, especially for anyone still forming a testimony. As adults, we may think we have enough wiggle room to survive periods of casual spirituality, but is that really true? What about those with young testimonies? Our prophet warns:
[It] will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost. (President Russell M. Nelson, April 2018)
This is more serious than we thought: it’s a matter of spiritual life or death.
Some young people are amusing themselves to death—spiritual death.
We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families. (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 2007)
We can see ourselves in those who are amusing themselves to death. Raising children has shown me that is natural for my kids to want to be entertained at all times — and that it’s my job to do it. But it’s not my job. And it’s not even ideal. Even as adults we fall very easily into this trap, I know I do. Satan doesn’t necessarily need to get us to sin because a distracted person is almost as unconnected to God as someone who consciously refuses Him. This is also a victory.
Maybe stillness invites reflection (some might call this boredom), which leads to curiosity, which leads to creativity, which leads to action. Stillness -> Reflection -> Curiosity -> Creativity -> Action
Stillness means so much more than restriction, it is the pathway to progress and testimony and Him. What a gift. And as with all gifts from God, will we open this one with a grateful heart? He hopes so. He wants to be known by us. What do we want?