The Piercing yet Gentle Voice of Instruction – Melva A Cackler
About 25 years ago, I began studying the Book of Mormon specifically about the records that were yet to come forth. There are many records that have been written and preserved, waiting for their time to be revealed. During my study, I felt a great desire to assist with the preparation and publishing of the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon. At that time, we did not know that there were two separate parts to the sealed portion—but, of course, the Lord knew.
Over the following years I kept myself busy working on publications and other assignments in the Restoration church our family was active in at that time. However, over the years, I had completely forgotten about my desire to help with the sealed portion—until one Sunday in October 2017! During a church service, Brother Joseph F Smith spoke about his (and another man’s) visit to Brazil and gave his testimony about seeing the Plates of Mormon and the Sword of Laban.
While Joseph was sharing his testimony, I kept hearing the Spirit of the Lord telling me: “THIS is why you are here! … THIS is why you are here!” There have been many significant events in my life that made it possible for me to be in that place at that time; most notably, my decision to travel from Australia, my homeland, to USA in 1968, and the four or five times my life has been miraculously saved from death. Many other memories filled my thoughts—including my long-forgotten desire to assist with the preparation and publication of the sealed portion! I knew that my reason for “being here” included much more than being in attendance at that church service.
Early in March 2018, eight men travelled to Brazil to visit Brother Mauricio and the three witnesses, and to examine the Plates of Mormon—and to also witness the unsealing of the first part of the sealed plates! Then, on March 31, the eight original American witnesses presented their testimonies during a meeting at one of the Restoration branches near Independence, Missouri. It was a spiritually exhilarating time for many of us! During that time, my husband, Bob, and I were in Australia visiting my family and our friends. Because of the time differences, we were watching the live broadcast very early the following morning. Later that day, we were excited to share the presentation with some of the McClelland family.
In April, my husband and I travelled from Australia back to Missouri—and I was again reminded that my passport would expire in early September. It seemed that it should have been an easy thing to have taken care of while we were in Australia, but we didn’t take the time to try to do that. From where we live in the US, the closest Australian Consulate office is in Chicago, which would require a one-and-a-half-hour flight, plus all of the travel time to and from the airports.
Usually, during the summer months, the consulate office sets up satellite offices in cities such as St Louis, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska (being a three-hour drive to Omaha, it is the closest). But nowhere on the consulate’s website could I find any listings for these satellite offices! I continued delaying plans for arranging a flight to Chicago—mostly because I was suffering with back pain and did not feel like taking such a tiring and stressful trip by myself.
Then, sometime in June, something astounding happened! I heard the Spirit of the Lord speaking to my inner being in a very emphatic, piercing, but gentle voice: “You need to renew your passport—because you will be taking an unexpected trip to Brazil.” This was not the first time for an experience like this. In fact, I shared a similar experience earlier in my testimony (even although that voice was softer). But 18 years earlier, I had received very clear and emphatic instructions explaining to me how to avoid an extremely dangerous traffic accident—that was barely minutes away from happening—if I had not followed the Lord’s instructions that were being given to me!
And, now, in June 2018, I knew not to question the instructions that were being given to me—even although I could not imagine why I would be taking any trip to Brazil in the foreseeable future. My first action was to again look at the Consulate website. And, there, in plain sight, was an announcement about the delayed opening of the satellite offices! The earliest time I could make my appointment was on September 10! It was then near the end of the month before my renewed passport was mailed to me.
With my passport being taken care of, I still often heard this voice of instruction about being prepared for an unexpected trip to Brazil—even several times in the same day. A few weeks after receiving my new passport, I took a big step in faith and searched online for information about getting a visa for travel to Brazil. I could not have obtained a visa without a current passport—in June, the Lord knew how urgent it was for me to make that appointment for my passport interview!
Because I have only an Australian passport, getting a Brazilian visa in the USA would have very likely required travelling out of state—this would have required a huge step in faith! However, while looking online, I discovered that there were four countries for which people were permitted to apply online for an e-visa! To my astonishment and relief, I saw that Australia was one of those four countries! I continued to receive instruction from the Lord that I needed to prepare for an unexpected trip to Brazil. So, with great anticipation and stepping out in faith, on October 14, I applied for an e-visa—and received it several days later!
Just a few weeks later, during November, I had the privilege and responsibility of being involved with the first English Sealed Book Study Group. In preparation for its publication, we read and discussed The Sealed Book, using an electronic copy. And, I continued to receive instruction from the Lord that I needed to be prepared for an unexpected trip to Brazil, so from time to time I continued trying to prepare for this unforeseen trip.
On Saturday, December 1, 2018, we finished reading The Sealed Book. Another sister and I were keeping a record of the questions and possible corrections that had been considered during the meetings. But the challenge was to be able to discuss these issues with Brother Mauricio, because he spoke Portuguese and we spoke English. By this time, Brother Mauricio was working on a solution. And, I was still being instructed to be prepared for an unexpected trip to Brazil. And then, it happened!
On Saturday, December 8, just one week after the conclusion of our study meetings, the other sister and I were buying our tickets! Two days later, we began our journey, with return flights beginning on December 24. (I need to explain that in October, the other sister had taken a planned trip to Brazil with Brothers Smith and Crowell in order to bring a pendrive copy of the Sealed Book to the US so that we could use it for our Study Group, so she already had her passport and visa.)
Just a few days after our arrival in Brazil, our prophet, Mauricio, explained to the other sister and me that he had received instructions from Angel Moroni that we needed to view the Plates of Mormon. What an amazing and unexpected blessing! On Sunday morning, December 16, two women, one an American citizen and the other, an Australian citizen, were given the privilege and responsibility of viewing and holding the miraculous Interpreter Stones, also called Seer Stones, and the precious Plates of Mormon. There are no surprises for the Lord. Early in March 2019, it became necessary for the names of both of us to be included in The Sealed Book as witnesses who had seen and held the Interpreter Stones and the Plates of Mormon.
During our time with the Plates of Mormon, I had a very unique experience. While looking at the plates, I carefully and respectfully inspected the Interpreter Stones. I then chose the one that was most clear—and looked through it at the characters on one of the plates. Please understand that I had absolutely no desire to translate any characters that are on the plates; in addition, I was holding only one of the stones. I simply desired to look at the plate through the lens of the stone. To my amazement, one of the characters appeared to be lifted up off the plate. The characters on the plates are quite close together—and yet, all I could see was this one enlarged character that appeared to be suspended in the space between the plate and the interpreter stone. I am so very grateful for this unique and amazing experience!
In 2019, Sister Renee Whitefield (Crowell) and I were invited to give speeches at the November Conference. After the conference we, along with two of our brothers in the faith, were blessed with examining and holding the Seer Stones and the Plates of Mormon. A few days later, my husband arrived in Brazil, accompanied by our oldest grandson who was 15 years old at that time. During their visit, I was blessed with seeing both of them examine and hold the Seer Stones and the Plates of Mormon. So much has happened since preparing for that unexpected trip to Brazil.
With God, all things are possible! In my life, some things became possible because of taking giant steps in faith, listening to the “still small voice”, and following that “emphatic, piercing, yet gentle, voice of instruction”! Yes, with the Lord our God, all things are possible!