Last night we witnessed a reminder that God is in charge and sometimes our faith needs to be tried before we can witness the miracle.
We both have teenage siblings living within the Payson Temple District who have worked very hard in preparation for the Payson Temple Cultural Celebration. We were very excited to go the Lavell Edwards Stadium at BYU and watch the performance. Neither of us had seen a temple celebration performed in person before. We arrived at 5:40 (the gates supposedly opened at 5:30) and already the stadium was filling up. Just as we found a seat it began to hail nickel-sized hailstones. Everyone quickly ran to cover. The hail stopped and a light rain began. With the rain came thunder and lightning, and with the lightning came an announcement, "Due to the weather, tonight's performance has been temporarily suspended. Please return to your cars or take shelter within the stadium. Updates will follow." The show was scheduled to start at 7 pm.
For the next two hours, we waited below the stadium with the rest of the crowd and watched as torrential rain poured over and through the portals. Waterfalls fell through the cracks creating rivers and small ponds where we waited, but everyone stayed relatively dry. Some of the 13,000 youth performers went and found their families, while others stayed with their ward groups and prayed that an umbrella would be put over the stadium so that they could perform. We eventually located Kevin's parents and joined them in the wait. There was a boy waiting with his family behind us, and around 8 pm said, "I just got a text saying to line up. We are back on." I watched as he hurried to get to the other end of the stadium where the youth were gathering. Not long after, the crowds were able to return to their sopping wet, but beautiful seats. The rain had stopped and the storm was heading north. An announcement came over the loud speaker that said, "The performance will begin in 10 minutes." A loud cheer went up from the youth that was quickly picked up by the spectators. Then the message on the monitor, which up 'till this point had been the warning about the temporary suspension, returned to the picture representing the program and an even bigger cheer went up. Then things began to move. Elders Eyring, Nelson, Oaks, Cook, and Anderson along with their wives and several members of the seventy and general auxiliaries rode in covered "golf buses" to a waiting pavilion. When Elder Eyring spoke his opening remarks he was wearing the biggest smile I think I have ever seen on him. It was clear, that they had been praying for this miracle, too.
The performance was spectacular. Each city in the temple district was represented through song and dance. It was fun to pick out our siblings who were performing and to get caught up in the magic of it all. At the end of the performance all of the youth returned to their seats on the east side of the stadium. They filled nearly every seat. They then began to sign the song "Fill the World With Love" and as they sang they began removing their white dress shirts to reveal a colored shirt beneath. The result was a beautiful rainbow represented by 13,000 youth. It was the perfect way to end the evening with that reminder of God's promises to his children. A miracle had truly taken place, and everyone there knew it.
I know that in life we have to face challenges and tests, and sometimes they can leave us unsure of which way to go or what to do. Like the torrential rains, thunder, and lightning it can seem overwhelming to face these challenges and we can feel like we are facing them alone. As we look around us we can see that others are also facing challenges, perhaps even a similar one to what we are going through, and we can stand together and pray for strength to make it through. God always keeps His promises (D&C 82:10) and if we do our part we will be blessed with the miracles. The rains will stop, the lightning will leave, and we will see the rainbows of God's love.
