[MUSIC PLAYING]

During the Korean War, Ensign Frank Blair served on a troop transport ship stationed in Japan. The ship wasn't large enough to have a formal chaplain, so the captain asked Brother Blair to be the ship's informal chaplain, having observed that the young man was a person of faith and principle, highly respected by the whole crew. I'd been serving with the captain for about a year on this LST. And he was aware that I had prayed and followed the Spirit, making some significant differences in terms of what happened to the ship and to the crew. These kinds of scenes had helped him to gain trust in me. And so this particular time, we were caught in this typhoon. The waves were over 40 feet high. I was on watch, during which time one of the three engines stopped working and a crack in the centerline of the ship was reported. We had two remaining engines, one of which was only functioning at half power. We were in serious trouble. I finished my watch and was getting into bed when the captain knocked at my door. As you were. Ensign Blair, would you please pray for this ship? Yes, sir.

[BOAT CREAKING]

Father in Heaven, what can I do to help?

[WIND HOWLING]

[WAVES CRASHING]

[THUNDER ROLLING]

Captain. Ensign. What do you need to know in order to best help the ship? First of all, how fast we can run the remaining engines. Second, at what angle to hit the waves. And third, how much water to keep in the ballast tanks. Yes, sir.

Father in Heaven, what can I do to help answer these questions?

The thought came to me, "You need to move around the ship and go to the areas that are of concern and get a feel from actually being right there." [MUSIC PLAYING] One of the things I decided I needed to do was go out on the fantail and see what was creating the vibrations that were damaging the engines. Permission to go on deck, sir. [THUNDER ROLLING]

Be careful out there, Ensign.

I connected a tie line around my waist and went out into the storm. [WIND HOWLING]

When I got out on the stern of the ship, I noticed when the ship went over a wave and the front of it fell down, the stern came out of the water and the propellers were speeding up very fast. So when they hit the water, that put a lot of pressure on the propellers. It created severe vibrations on the drive shaft that ran back to the engines. [MUSIC PLAYING]

[THUNDER ROLLING] Captain, we need to slow down the engines. The engineer just recommended the opposite. Ensign, we need to outrun this storm. Yes, sir. But the engines are under too much strain. Sir, I feel very strongly we have to slow them down.

Slow down the engines. Slow down the engines. Aye, sir.

[BELL RINGING] Only two hours later, the good engine stopped working altogether. With half power in the remaining engine, the ship was able to limp into port. [MUSIC PLAYING]

If we had not slowed that engine when we did, we would've lost it in the middle of the storm.

With no way to steer the ship, we'd be sitting at the bottom of the sea right now.

Ensign, thank you for your prayers. Your spiritual impressions, I believe, saved both the ship and this crew.

I learned from my experiences in the Navy that my Navy commander had some ideas that were important for me. But I also learned that my commanding officer was the Holy Ghost. You need to be involved in following the Spirit all the time and being used to understanding that the Spirit works through your mind and through your heart. And you need to be used to that so that when you get caught in a situation, that you can be blessed, and you will recognize the Spirit when that happens. Being spiritually self-reliant is to be able to hear the Lord's voice through His Spirit for one's own life. Ensign Blair's ability to receive revelation saved him and his shipmates from a raging storm. Other kinds of storms are raging today. We cannot just do and think what others are doing and thinking. We must live a guided life. We must each have our own hand on the iron rod. Then we may go to the Lord with humble confidence, knowing that He "shall lead [us] by the hand, and give [us] answer to [our] prayers." [MUSIC PLAYING]