Stop and Listen to the Spirit

By Cindy Knippenberg

Based on a True Incident

Listen to the counsel which I shall give unto you (D&C 100:2).

Kristy had just arrived home from school. She was excited because the missionaries were coming over for dinner. When she walked in the door, her mother called out, “Kristy, I have to run to the store. Your brother is in charge while I’m gone. I love you! I’ll be back soon.”

Kristy didn’t want her older brother watching her. She was ten years old—old enough to watch herself.

She went to her room and did her homework. When she finished, she found her brother. “Can I go ride my bike?”

Her brother looked outside. “No, Kristy, it looks like it’s going to rain.”

Disappointed, she went to her room to read a book. Before long, she heard the phone ring. Her brother called to her, “Kristy, Melissa’s on the phone for you.”

She hurried and picked up the phone. “Hi, Melissa, what are you doing?”

“I just got a new bike. Do you want to go riding with me?”

Kristy was quiet for a moment and then said, “OK. I’ll meet you at the corner.” She sneaked out the back door and rolled her bicycle off the porch and down the driveway.

When she got to the corner, Melissa said, “Let’s play follow the leader!”

They jumped on their bikes and took off. Melissa took the lead, and Kristy followed.

At first, the wind was blowing in their faces, and they were having a great time taking turns being the leader.

Then Kristy started to worry. Melissa was getting farther and farther ahead, and Kristy couldn’t keep up. They were also quite a long way from home, and there was lightning and thunder in the distance. Soon it started to rain. Kristy was getting cold and wet. She called out, “Melissa, stop!”

Melissa crossed an intersection, then stopped and waited for Kristy to catch up. When Kristy was near enough, Melissa yelled to her, “Come on!”

Kristy slowed down. She had a bad feeling inside—sort of a heaviness in her chest. She remembered a family home evening lesson on being obedient to Heavenly Father and to our parents. She knew she should have listened to her brother, like her mother had told her to.

But Kristy also wanted to please her friend. As she approached the busy street, she heard a still, small voice in her mind telling her to stop. She looked at her friend. Again she heard the voice telling her to not cross the street.

As she came to the curb, she pulled on her brakes and skidded to a stop. As soon as she did, a car raced past her.

Kristy started to cry. She knew that if she hadn’t listened to that still, small voice, she would have been hit by that car. She was frightened, and she felt bad. She shouted across the street, “Melissa, we need to get home.”

“I guess you’re right,” Melissa said. When it was safe, she crossed the street. As they turned their bikes around, they were starting to shiver. They rode home as fast as they could. When the two friends reached their street, they said good-bye and rode to their homes.

When Kristy walked in the door, she was soaking wet. Before she changed into dry clothes, she knew she had to apologize to her brother.

Her brother said, “I was worried when I saw that you weren’t here and that your bike was gone. I’m grateful that you listened to the Spirit. And I hope next time you’ll listen to Mom or Dad, or me. We only ask you not to do things because we love you!” He gave her a hug.

“I really am sorry,” Kristy said softly.

“I know, and I forgive you. Now go get cleaned up for dinner.”

After changing her clothes, Kristy knelt by her bed and let Heavenly Father know how thankful she was for Him, for the Holy Ghost, and for saving her life that day. She told Him how sorry she was for not being obedient, and she promised to do better.

She hurried and set the table for her mother. While she was finishing, her parents came home. Kristy sat down with them and told them what had happened.

They each hugged her, thankful that she was safe and that she understood the importance of listening to them and to the Holy Ghost.

The doorbell rang. “The missionaries are here!” her brother called out.

When they were all around the dinner table, Kristy asked if she could say the blessing. As she did, she felt great love for the Savior, and the peace of repentance and of being forgiven filled her heart.

Illustrated by Dilleen Marsh