On Friday 10th February 2017, I was travelling on an early morning train to a work assignment in Nottingham. During the journey a man entered the busy and noisy train carriage and sat down opposite me; he immediately took out a book and placed it on the table. Written on the embossed leather cover of the book were words from Psalm 46 verse 10: “Be Still and Know that I am God”.
Being still is extremely challenging in our media rich, always-on, over-communicated society. Noise and busyness erupt relentlessly into every empty space, often leaving us spiritually, mentally, emotionally and even physically exhausted; in such circumstances, we run the risk of becoming human ‘doings’ rather than human ‘beings’. In times of increasing commotion and uncertainty, the admonition and invitation to ‘be still and know that He is God’ is vitally important to our overall well-being and ongoing spiritual development.
Mother Teresa, the Roman Catholic saint and Nobel Peace Laureate, expressed stillness this way:
“We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grow in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence?... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” (1)
Dr. Dana M. Pike, a professor of religious education at Brigham Young University, suggests that the Hebrew base that is translated as still in the text of Psalm 46 means “stop, cease your own human striving and watch the Lord do His work.” (2) Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, also teaches us that, “The Lord’s admonition to “be still” entails much more than simply not talking or not moving.” To be still, he suggests, “may be a way of reminding us to focus upon the Saviour unfailingly.” (3)
Every Sunday throughout my childhood and early teenage years, and also on many occasions after my baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whenever I attended Brynhyfryd Welsh Baptist Chapel in Swansea with my mother and father, I noticed that my father in particular, sat down in the old wooden pew, bowed his head and became both silent and still as he, and others in the congregation, waited ‘reverently and quietly’ for the worship service to begin. I have tried to follow my father’s example, although congregational reverence and quiet in the time before and after our weekly sacrament services is often a rarity! Can you and I imagine the difference we might experience if the stillness and reverence demonstrated during the ordinance of the sacrament, began when we first entered the chapel?
I especially recall a learning moment in the Cardiff chapel several years ago when I was invited to sit on the stand with the stake president. I turned to whisper something to him and, with gentle and kind intent, he placed his hand on my arm and touched his lips with his finger; the lesson was both instructional and memorable.
Making quality time for the Lord is one of the major challenges in a fast-paced world filled with distractions and commotion. God yearns for us to be still and commune with Him, but He will not force us. Thankfully, the gospel of Jesus Christ provides opportunities to be still and return to Him often; these include our daily prayers, scripture study, meditation, the sacrament ordinance, keeping the Sabbath day holy and worshipping in the temple, even the House of the Lord. I have discovered that each of these connecting and worshipful activities can be greatly enhanced by being still. When our focus is less on doing and more on strengthening our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I believe that each of these sacred moments will be enriched, and we will receive much needed and inspired guidance in our personal lives.
President Russell M. Nelson, once reminded us that “quiet time is sacred time – time that will facilitate personal revelation and instil peace.” But to hear the still voice of the Lord, he counselled, “you too must be still.” (4)
Indeed, President Nelson’s wise counsel takes me back to my early morning train journey to Nottingham. The person who sat down in front of me on the train that day was a man of a different Christian denomination to mine; I’ll refer to him as John. In the noise and commotion created by hundreds of travellers that day, John and I became still as we gladly engaged in a conversation regarding our own experiences of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Before I left the carriage to connect to another train, we shared email addresses and I later sent John the following email:
Hi John,
Great to meet you on the train last Friday and I was disappointed our conversation didn't last a little longer. I felt the strength of your faith, conviction and testimony and it was good to speak with you before we went our separate ways.
When you sat on the seat opposite me, I recall seeing your copy of the Bible with an inscription on the leather cover that I believe was ‘Be Still and Know that I am God’. I hope your faith is still strong and that you are happy and continuing to feel the peace that ‘passeth all understanding’. I consider that encounters with others on my travels, especially people of faith, are tender mercies that remind me that life really is about relationships and that we are all connected in so many ways.
Please feel free to access any helpful ‘LDS’ church-related materials in the line of your personal and professional role and please accept my best wishes as you continue to assist others in finding meaning and purpose in their lives and relationships.
Take care and may all God’s choicest blessings be upon you and your family.
You may be surprised, or not, to know that John wrote back to let me know that after he left my company, he joined another train where two missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entered the carriage, sat down next to him and initiated a faith-based conversation. Imagine John’s surprise when the third and final part of his journey involved getting into a taxi driven by a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who also engaged in a similar faith-based conversation. John felt that the Lord was telling him something that day and nine months later, I was privileged to travel some distance to a chapel where I witnessed the baptism of John and his wife into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I still occasionally wonder what would have resulted that commotion-filled and noisy morning on my train journey to Nottingham, if John and I had not taken time to interrupt our busy and pressing schedules and follow the Lord’s admonition and invitation to “be still and know that I am God”.
1. Legacy of the Heart by Wayne Muller
2. BYU Speeches, 'Be Still, and Know God', Erin D. Maughan, 4 August 2009
3. David A. Bednar, “Be Still, and Know That I Am God”, Liahona, May 2024, p28
4. Russell M. Nelson, “What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget”, Liahona, May 2021, p78