Lessons Learned

Don’t Live Your Life without Miracles

Elder Neil L. Andersen is a man who recognizes the miracles in his life and encourages us to do the same. The following experience was shared on the church’s website about Elder Andersen’s life which illustrates one of these miracles.

“In 1989, while serving in a stake presidency, Neil Andersen was called as president of the France Bordeaux Mission.  He owned a growing advertising agency in Tampa.  ‘It is not a business that is easily left to others.  We accepted the call not knowing how we would make the transition work,’ he said.”

“Speaking of this time of uncertainty, Kathy said, ‘Neil is a man of great faith.  It is one of the things I love the most about him.  He believes that if we trust in God and do our part, miracles will follow.’  Within weeks there was an unsolicited offer to buy the business. ‘It was clearly the Lord’s hand in a miraculous way,’ Elder Andersen said.  Neil and Kathy; Camey, age 13; Brandt, age 11; Kristen, age 9; and Derek, age 7, moved to Bordeaux, France, for the next three years.”

“It was a remarkable time.  President Andersen counseled the missionaries:  ‘Don’t live your life without miracles.’  He lovingly encouraged the members to strengthen the Church so that the District of Bordeaux could become a stake.  ‘We can do it now, or we can wait and let your children or your grandchildren do it,’ he said.  With the great faith and effort of members and missionaries the Bordeaux stake was created on May 24, 1992.” 

You Know Enough

Elder Andersen teaches a great lesson in his talk “You Know Enough”, which he gave in the October 2008 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

He says, “More than 40 years ago as I contemplated the challenge of a mission, I felt very inadequate and unprepared. I remember praying, ‘Heavenly Father, how can I serve a mission when I know so little?’ I believed in the Church, but I felt my spiritual knowledge was very limited. As I prayed, the feeling came: ‘You don’t know everything, but you know enough!’ That reassurance gave me the courage to take the next step into the mission field.” Elder Andersen’s lesson teaches us that we too “know enough”, even if we are new to the gospel or feel our testimony is not as strong as we want it to be. “We know enough” to be obedient to the Lord, and when we are, He will guide us and help us accomplish anything He will ask of us.  

A Life of Faith

Elder D. Todd Christofferson spoke of Elder Andersen’s life in an article in the Liahona magazine in August of 2009. One of the experiences he spoke of illustrates the faith Elder Andersen has seemed to always have through his life.

Elder Christofferson says, “One February evening in 1968, Neil Andersen found himself the center of attention. He had been selected as a high school junior to represent Idaho in the Student Burgesses, a gathering of students from 37 countries and each of the 50 states in the United States. Students came together in Williamsburg, Virginia, to discuss challenges facing democracy.

This was the first time 16-year-old Neil, raised on a small farm in Pocatello, Idaho, had ever flown on an airplane, traveled so far from home, or been among so many bright and sophisticated young people.

As evening discussions turned to subjects around the world, Neil’s membership in the Church became evident. Some of the delegates began to challenge his beliefs. Young Neil had never before been asked such pointed questions regarding his faith.

“I remember praying in my mind that I would say the words that needed to be spoken,” he recalls. “What followed was a little miracle for me. I told them more than I knew. I felt the power of the Lord as He guided me through sensitive explanations and the sharing of my deep convictions. I could feel the Spirit of the Lord as I spoke. At the conclusion they expressed their appreciation and quietly acknowledged their respect for what I believed.

“I learned that there is a power and influence in this sacred work beyond ourselves and that it is worth defending. I understood that as we are true and faithful, ‘ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh [us] a reason of the hope that is in [us]’ (1 Peter 3:15), the Lord will bless us beyond our own abilities.”

 This is how Elder Neil L. Andersen has lived his life—acting in faith.”