Tastes of Heaven

Florence May Chadwick

Yesterday I was teaching a Relief Society class on the Holy Ghost and how the Spirit operates in our lives. During the discussion I mentioned how every once in a while the Spirit gives us experiences that allow us a glimpse of heaven. We get a taste of what it will be like for eternity if we endure to the end. This is what C. S. Lewis referred to as Joy—a feeling of the infinite with all its accompanying goodness.

When I made this comment a woman in the class explained that usually the Spirit speaks to her in her mind, but she had also experienced these moments of extreme happiness and because the Spirit usually speaks to her mind she didn’t realize those feelings were coming from the Spirit. Then she asked why God gives us these moments. I didn’t answer the question well and while she won’t see this I feel compelled to answer it now.

My Father raised me on stories and one of those stories was about a woman named Florence May Chadwick. She was a swimmer (like I was—only she was a LOT better!) In 1950, Florence swam the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes which was a world record. The next year she swam it in the other direction also breaking the record with a time of 16 hours and 22 minutes. Then in 1952 Florence attempted to swim the 21 miles from Catalina Island to Palos Verde, California.

That day a thick fog made it difficult to see even the boats that accompanied her. After a little more than 15 hours of swimming, tired and unable to see, she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it, but she swam for another hour before finally asking to be pulled out. As the boat continued on she discovered that she had stopped swimming about one-half mile from her destination. She later told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I know I could have made it." Because she couldn’t see, she lost hope. Two months later Florence tried again. The same fog set in, but this time she continued on despite the fact she couldn’t see and achieved her goal in 13 hours, 47 minutes, and 55 seconds.

I think the Lord knows that you and I need a taste of what is to come in order to keep us “swimming.” When we see and know what is waiting for us, it is easier to hang in there when the “fog” of life is trying to blind us and keep us from our destination. Therefore, he gives us tastes of Heaven while we are still on earth. So look for those moments, recognize them for what they are, and cling to the memory of them.

Heaven and Hell

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about heaven and hell and I've realized that we don’t have to die to find ourselves in either state. Today I spent the day in heaven. Mr. J and I went to the Manti Temple to attend two weddings and do a session. It really was heaven and on the drive home through the snow covered fields of central Utah we saw some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. But as we traveled the thoughts I’ve been having about heaven and hell returned. Some people would look at the huge stretches of barren snow covered fields and think more of hell than heaven. How we see things is really a choice, and heaven and hell are states of being we create right here and now. But we have to live in the one we have created.

The most interesting thing about hell is that the door doesn’t lock from the outside. Hell isn’t a place where you are sent by someone else to suffer your punishment like a jail or prison. Hell is a place you create and then lock the door so no one can enter and disturb your notions of your victimhood or your reality. A person in hell is free to unlock the door and walk out anytime they want. Most people who have locked themselves inside hell don’t believe they can get out that easily, but there are those who have discovered the secret and left! It is possible.

Close to Heaven

Today was our Primary Children's program at church. Then we went to our daughter's ward and watched our grandson, Eli, in his Primary program. Two Primary programs in one day! It is always my favorite church meeting--to watch all those little children sing and give talks about their Savior touches something deep within me. It was all I could do to keep from weeping.

In addition to that, during Relief Society in my ward, a little boy and a little girl, both about a year old, were playing together. The little boy was standing and the girl sitting on the floor. Gently he reached over and carefully patted her head, then he gave her his toy, and she reached up to touch his tummy and they went on conveying love and delight without any words. It was so tender to watch. I couldn't help but feel like I was witnessing a bit of heaven.

I have decided that there are two things I can always do that will help me feel the Spirit in my life. First, I can offer a prayer of thanks for some blessing in my life and the Spirit comes. Second, I can watch small children. Their innocence and love are contagious! Doing both things always draws me closer to God.