"And he left...and took nothing with him." -1 Nephi 2:4

What would you do if the Lord told you to leave your house, that you weren't safe, and you might not come back? What would you take with you?

My lovely companion and I had an experience like this earlier this week. Thursday night we stayed up talking past curfew, and finally decided to wind down and prepare for bed at around midnight. I said prayers and brushed my teeth, she did her teeth and said her prayers. After she finished she looks up and me and starts to ask me a question when suddenly our apartment starts smelling like burning plastic. It smells like those times a piece of tupperware fell on the heating element of the dishwasher. Except...we don't have a dishwasher.

So we start to look around the house, turning things off as we go, checking the heaters on the floor, and we cannot find the source of this burning smell, but it's getting stronger. I look to my companion who just nods at me, looking as uneasy as I feel, and I say, "We need to get out of the apartment." And just like that we leave, taking only our scriptures, wallets, and a blanket each.

"The Lord hath commanded that thou...shall return." -1 Nephi 3:2

As we are walking to our car I get another very distinct impression. I stop in my tracks and turn to Sis B and said we needed to go back. When asked why I told her that I felt the need to prepare in the case that we came back to nothing, ie passports and important documents would be needed. So we pulled the car around and ran back in. By this time the smell was overwhelming and I felt very uneasy being in the apartment. 1 minute. That was it. We would only grab what was needed, and when that minute was up we would leave.

I walked through each room and grabbed only a few things as I went: My passport and travel documents, a change of clothes, my current journal (with the pictures on top), and my small notebook that I used to take notes while I studied. On a second faster sweep I grabbed deoderant and the ring my parents gave me for my 18th birthday. That was it. She grabbed documents, our coats, a change of clothes, and few sentimental things her mother had given her.

Then we were out.

"And they that have farms that cannot be sold, let them be left.." -Doctrine and Covenants

38:37

First lesson: When the Lord calls you out, or warns you to leave, there will be things that will be left behind. Nice things. Things you love. Things of value. There will always be sacrifices made when the Lord calls you.

So where did we go? To the church, the only place we knew where we could sit and think, be safe, and find peace. And we did. Sister Bronson and I both wondered if we would go back to a whole apartment, or just bits and pieces that had been scorched and burned. But as I sat there thinking I just felt calm. I looked at her, and she said, "I'm not worried." I smiled. "Me either."

Second Lesson: The church is a place of refuge no matter what the circumstances may be. ALWAYS.

From there we went through the proper channels, got a hold of somebody to let them know our concerns, found a wonderful member family who let us crash at their place for the night. (Woohoo London!) We were safe, and we were happy.

"Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body what ye shall put on...For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." -3 Nephi 13;25, 32

The rest of the story doesn't matter, (that and it's very anticlimactic), the point is, I had a spiritual experience in the midst of being prompted to up and leave in the middle of the night.

"Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.." -2 Nephi 4:18

The best and third lesson is this: Trust in God. He will never lead you astray. If He asks you to do something, and you don't know why, trust He has a reason.

I will never know why we were prompted to leave the apartment that night. Sister Bronson and I talk about it, and we still can't pinpoint a reason. But I had personal revelation the night, and we did  something I had been struggling with for so long: I trusted in God. He would provide for me.

And maybe that was the reason all along

With love, from Can-Win.