I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd continued down that course. Our lives would have been very different.

To hear the whispering of anyone--including the Spirit--the closer you are, the better. It's easier to hear. And I find that as I draw closer to Him, I have an ever-increasing desire to be like Him. And the more I am trying to become like Him, I think it is easier for Him to communicate with me. It's those personal, private acts of devotion and a willingness to do the things that the Spirit prompts us to do. I had always, as a young person, loved going to church, always. After medical school and as I began internship, it was very busy. What I found then is I was leaning away from the things that had always brought me peace and brought me closer to the Spirit. One Sunday, I remember it so well, late in my intern year, I knew that if I hurried on Sunday, I could go with Ruth and Ashley to church. And I decided to stall. So that I could have them go and then I'd just walk home, lay down and take a nap. And I did that. And when I got home and I laid down, I was so looking forward to a nap and I couldn't sleep because I realized that the testimony and the zeal that had always been part of me--I'd always loved going to church--it wasn't there anymore. That zeal wasn't there. And I remember getting off the couch and kneeling and pleading for forgiveness and pledging the things that I would do. And it's those personal, private acts of devotion of always praying every day, of always reading in the scriptures. The next day, I took a paperback Book of Mormon to the hospital so I could read in the scriptures every day, no matter what. I made a list of to-do things including praying at least twice a day, and I made sure that I made it to church if I had any chance. And then within just a couple of weeks, that zeal and that warmth of testimony was back. And I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd continued down that course, if I'd fallen asleep and found joy that I'd skip church. Our lives would have been very different.