Profound Silence

"...and all those things were done in a profound silence." [Alma 57:17]

Profound silence. Those are some of the most beautiful words I think I've ever heard.

This verse is actually referring to a group of people arming their prisoners for war. The Nephites (the Book of Mormon good guys) snuck into the Lamanites' camp (the bad guys) and gave weapons of war to the Nephite men, women, and children who had been taken captive. The Nephites were fighting to defend their families, their liberty, and their religion against the spiteful attacks of the Lamanites. They took every precaution to defend their cities, even when those acts of defense put them in danger. In this particular passage, they came into the camp in the middle of the night--while the Lamanites were asleep--to help their people defend themselves.

And these defenses had to be made in a profound silence.

I think that's really significant; if they'd made any noise, they would have awoken their enemies, which would have invited their enemies to come and attack them. The silence helped them avoid danger. It saved their lives, and the lives of those whom they went to assist.

Thinking about my own life, a lot of important moments have involved silence.

The time I knew my best friend was really my best friend was this one time when we were driving around town, neither one of us speaking, and I was actually comfortable. I didn't feel awkwardly compelled to speak. I didn't feel the need to fill the silence with noise like I usually do around other people. The silence wasn't awkward or sad; it was an unspoken confirmation of our friendship. It had profound meaning to me.

A particular image of peace and joy comes to mind. I was sitting in my backyard on a summer day, enjoying the sunshine and solitude. A warm breeze rustled through the trees, making the only audible sound in that moment. I felt no worry, no trouble, no anxiety or sadness, even though I was headed off to another state for college in just a few days. I was just calm. In that moment of profound silence, the quiet trees seemed to whisper to me, "You can do this."

I typically like to listen to music while I study and work, but I've found that I need silence when I study the scriptures. With no distractions--no invitations extended to the influences of the world to occupy my mind--I can learn of deep truths and eternal matters. I can feel the Spirit teaching me the things I need to learn. It is only in silence that these things can be heard. The things I can learn in silence defend me against many of the negative influences of this world.

A companion and I taught a lesson to a young woman several months ago, and we showed her a piece of doctrine that she had never considered before. She sat in profound silence for a moment, pondering what we had said, feeling the Spirit teach her. And she said, "It's true. It must be. You're right." That was one of the most satisfying moments I've had on my mission--helping one of God's daughters to understand her purpose. It took that moment of profound silence for her to understand, and she is so much better off for it.

I'm a firm believer that silence--profound silence--is absolutely necessary for our mental, emotional, and spiritual well being. We need a moment of stillness now and then to breathe, to ponder, to remember the important things. In a world of noise and confusion, sometimes you just need to be calm.

Take a moment of silence today and tell me about it.