Susan and I recently completed a two year mission experience for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve and saddened our time has come to an end. As I have reflected on this experience, several spiritual truths have pressed upon me. These are truths I have long known, but in one miraculous weekend they all combined into one profoundly powerful experience. First, some background.
Setting the Stage
Our mission adventure started in the Tacoma Washington Mission where we lived in Gig Harbor, WA.
Gig Harbor was a beautiful place where we formed new friendships and connections. After several months we were unexpectedly transferred to the Orem Utah Mission. In both venues I served as a counselor to Kurt & Katie Brown, the Mission Leaders. Susan served as a service missionary in Tacoma and Orem.
While in Orem Susan also served in the Special Projects Department at church headquarters in Salt Lake City assisting with temple interior design. In both missions, we worked together to help align the efforts of members with full-time missionaries. Our focus was the sharing of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ or what is affectionately called, “The Gathering of Israel.”
We spent most of our time fulfilling church speaking assignments in wards and stakes. We routinely spoke in ward sacrament meetings and stake conference sessions with about 150 to 1,000 people attending each gathering. These were growing and spiritual experiences allowing us to associate with hundreds of delightful church members. Each assignment took us on the road to different congregations to lift and strengthen the saints.
On many weekends we often spoke multiple times encouraging members regarding missionary work and their path of discipleship. There were other ancillary speaking opportunities including various weekday and weekend ward and stake training meetings, evening firesides or youth speaking assignments. No matter our assignment, our primary message always centered around the life and purpose of the Savior Jesus Christ and His desire for us to come unto Him through the making and keeping of sacred covenants.
Yielding Our Hearts in Prayer
Rather than give the same few talks over and over again, prior to each of our assignments we would prayerfully consider what to say. Our focus was to seek the Lord’s will regarding our comments. We often would pray,
“Lord please impress upon our minds and hearts what we should say in the Pleasant Grove 2nd Ward this week? Help us to know what the saints need and what we might share to help hearts change.”
Sometimes I would exchange thoughts via phone or email with a local ecclesiastical leader, desiring to gather insight into the needs of the local congregation. This along with prayerful consideration guided our preparation.
Summer of 2025
On a routine week in July we were praying regarding our upcoming sabbath assignment. A couple days prior I felt some impressions on the structure of my remarks. Earnest seeking to know the Lord’s will has become a growing priority in my life. Over the years as the gray hair, reading glasses and hearing aids have become my companion, I have grown more and more interested in the Lord’s will. Call me stubborn, but over time I have become disinterested in any path other than a path of discipleship. This week was no different as I was focused on receiving spiritual impressions to be aligned with the Savior.
Personal Revelation
Early Sunday morning we got ready for the day. Our assignment was to speak in a local Ward Sacrament Meeting. After my shower, as I was standing in front of my open closet trying to decide what suit to wear, an immediate impression pressed upon me:
“Wear the black suit.”
I immediately dismissed the prompting. It was summer time and would be over 100° that day. The blue suit or even the light grey one seemed a better choice.
Standing there, the subtle prompting came again, “Wear the black suit“.
I have learned over the years, not to negotiate promptings from the Holy Ghost. So as trivial as it might have seemed, meaning what color of suit I was to wear that day, I followed the nudge putting on the black suit not knowing why. Fast-forward a couple hours, Susan and I are now sitting on the rostrum in a Utah County chapel Ward Sacrament Meeting with 200+ members preparing to partake of the holy sacrament. In quiet reverence during the ordinance I continued to pray and ponder for confirmation regarding my prepared words. I deeply wanted to be aligned with the Savior. I sought to know the hearts of those in the room to help them progress on the covenant path.
During that quiet moment of tilting my ear toward heaven, the spirit spoke to my mind saying,
“Tell the story of aligning the front end of an old Ford.”
This seemed out of left field. It was not what I was expecting. I prayed, “Lord, that story is not in the remarks that you prompted me to deliver days ago.” The spirit responded, “Give the same talk as prompted, but insert the story of aligning the old Ford.” Not wanting to negotiate the prompting I quietly replied, “I don’t have a shim. I don’t think the story of the old Ford would work without it.”
You are likely asking, “What does the story of aligning the front end of an old Ford have to do with me not having a shim? And, what is a shim anyway?”
Let me explain.
Aligning Our Will with the Father
Remember in John Chapter 17 we read of the Savior’s intercessory prayer? With his death and resurrection drawing near, Christ prays to the Father in the presence of his apostles. Imagine being in the room, if you were one of them. He prays that they might be protected from the world. That they might feel joy. That they might be sanctified.
And then, in verses 21-23 the Savior petitioned,
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”
The Savior spoke of living our lives in divine oneness, in unity or alignment with Him and His Father. Christ prayed for His apostles to be one as He is one with the Father. That the love, glory, abiding love and friendship that He shared with His Father might continue with them. But, Christ was not only praying for His apostles. He said,
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word” John 17:20
The Savior was also praying for us. Imagine that! We have all prayed for someone, yearning for our prayers to be answered on behalf of someone else. And now, our Savior, our Redeemer was praying for each of us. And, what does He pray for? That we might be one, in unity or aligned with Him as He is one or aligned with His Father.
Oneness, Unity and Alignment
Let’s spend a moment understanding oneness, unity or what it means to be aligned with someone or something.
Oneness means, “the state of being unified or whole, through two or more parts.” Unity means, “being together or at one with someone or something.” To be aligned or in alignment means, “Arrangement in a straight line, or in correct or appropriate relative position.” Or, “The proper positioning or adjustment of parts in relation to each other”
The Savior aligned with the Father through their eternal purpose, the Great Plan of Happiness, in action, in deed, in glory and in love.
And now, to the old Ford and a shim.
Aligning the Front End of an Old Ford
Since my youth I have had a fascination with old cars, hot rods and street rods of all types, but mostly old Fords. I lovingly blame my dad for this passion as he loved these old automobiles and introduced them to me when I was just a youngster. I can’t count the times I have been underneath, in or around these wonderful old machines from every decade from the 1930’s through the 1960’s. It’s probably why my Dad and I had such a great relationship. We spent a lot of time working on these old rides together.
On many occasions throughout my youth and even today, I have found myself repairing, replacing or aligning the front end of an old Ford. Just recently my son Austin and I completely replaced the entire suspension on the above classic 1966 Mustang GT Coupe. A fun project car we bought through an online auction in Colorado. The car sat for nine years and needed a lot of attention.
Caster, Camber and Tow
Let me give you a crash course on the independent front suspension of a 1960’s Ford. If you want a car to drive straight down the road, there are three basic principles to front end alignment that are important to understand. They are caster, camber and tow.
Caster can be described as how the kingpins are vertically positioned in relation to the front axle and spindles of a car. The more caster, the more naturally the car’s front wheels will automatically point forward while in motion. You observe this in the grocery store where the front wheels of a grocery cart naturally move in a straight fashion as you push the cart. This is an example of extreme caster! We also see this with top fuel dragsters which are designed to go straight down the ¼ mile track at over 100 mph, no turns. In an classic 1960’s Ford Mustang, caster is set from the factory and cannot be adjusted.
Camber is a setting were the tires are either adjusted or tipped in toward the top inside of the front fender or tipped out, toward the outside of the fender. See the above diagram.
Tow is an adjustment where each front tire points in or out, meaning forward toward the center of the road or pointing back toward the rear center of the vehicle.
If you took your classic car to a front end alignment shop they would place the car on a special rack with unique alignment tools and equipment to determine if your vehicle was in or out of alignment. Of course, being in alignment is essential to a safe and enjoyable driving experience.
To bring the front end into alignment, shims must be placed at different parts of the car’s suspension. A shim is a very small metal insert or plate. As you might imagine, they come in various thicknesses depending on how much adjustment is needed.
By inserting one, two or often multiple shims behind the front or rear bolts attaching an upper control arm to a car’s left or right shock tower, camber and tow can be adjusted. In this way, the car can be aligned to go straight down the road. If not, unless you keep a tight grip on the steering wheel, the car can drift or pull off the road. In addition, a lack of alignment can cause unnecessary tire wear making for a costly experience.
Tilting My Ear Toward Heaven
Back to the sacrament meeting. We were just minutes before addressing a couple hundred people. During those quiet pondering moments, the last minute impression was to “Tell the story of aligning the front end of an old Ford.” The impression varied with what I had previously prepared. But again, in a desire to align my will with the Father, I paused and calmly prayed,
“But Lord, I don’t have a shim?”
When I would tell the story of the old Ford and the importance of aligning our will with His, I always had an old shim from a classic Mustang in my inside coat pocket. At the moment of explaining caster, camber and tow I would pull out the shim holding it up to demonstrate the secret of aligning of an old Ford.
The alignment analogy was useful when speaking spiritually of the need to realign our own lives when we find ourselves off track or straying off the covenant path in our earthly journey. The shim of faith, repentance or obedience might be appropriate spiritual adjustments to become more like our Savior. But, in this situation I didn’t have a shim as my object lesson. So there I was, stalled in a moment of spiritual searching before a couple hundred people.
You’re Wearing the Black Suit
Quietly searching and pondering to know what the Lord wanted me to do, a very quiet but clear voice whispered to me saying,
“You’re wearing the black suit.”
It wasn’t an audible voice, but a very clear voice of direction to my mind and heart. It was undeniable. I immediately reflected back on the morning closet experience prompting me to wear the black suit. I mumbled to myself,
“I’m wearing the black suit?”
In that moment I immediately felt the warm familiar feelings of the Holy Ghost wash over me, as I slowly put my right hand inside my left coat pocket only to feel a single metal shim I must have placed there weeks before.
My mind was quietly reeling with a flood of emotions, but the most important were the words, “I know you, I am here and I need you to be my voice right now.” All I can say is I started to weep with this realization. My eyes filled with tears as I was overcome with emotion. The feelings welled up deep inside. Everything seemed to slow down and I realized I was receiving Divine guidance.
Susan observing my countenance, glanced in concerning curiosity of what was the matter. I slowly shook my head and couldn’t speak. I just sat there personally witnessing the power of God, not only in my life, but in the lives of His children whom we were to address. The heavenly veil had thinned and I had experienced something truly profound. So many different truths I would later realize were born witness in that moment. I had experienced a manifestation of Divine providence.
One thing was immediately clear, someone needed to hear the story of the old Ford and the doctrine of eternal alignment. They needed to hear about aligning our will with God and the importance of often surrendering our will to Him in the midst of earthly struggles and difficulties. Or maybe of faith, repentance, of change, of getting our lives aligned with His, just as He prayed for His apostles of old.
After the sacrament concluded, Susan would speak and then it would be my turn. She would speak of finding our individual sacred groves, that special personal place where God speaks to us and reveals His will. Someday soon she will pen her wonderful comments. Stay tuned.
I had about 10 minutes to collect my thoughts and emotions, again praying,
“Lord, guide my words to be consistent with yours.”
I Moved to the Podium
I gathered my thoughts. Susan finished her remarks and I took my place at the podium.
I began with the original message I had felt prompted to share days prior. I told the story of one of my favorite song artists Billy Joel, who quit writing music over 30 years ago. After working so hard on his 1993 River of Dreams album, Billy didn’t get the results he wanted, so out of disappointment and anger he pulled back. For 30 years, virtually no music, no songs, no new records.
Turn the Lights Back On
He was repeatedly interviewed about writing more songs and would often curtly say, “I don’t have anything else to say.” After a 30 year drought, on Feb 1st 2024, Billy released a new song called, “Turn the Lights Back On.”
The lyrics are telling. He talks about pride, admits he was wrong, he asks for forgiveness. He’s says, “I’m late, but I am here right now.”
Consider some of the lyrics:
Please open the door
Nothing is different, we’ve been here before
Pacing these halls
Trying to talk over the silence
And pride sticks out its tongue
Laughs at the portrait that we’ve become
Stuck in a frame, unable to change
I was wrong
I’m late, but I’m here right now
Though I used to be romantic
I forgot somehow
Time can make you blind
But I see you now
As we’re laying in the darkness
Did I wait too long
To turn the lights back on?
I posed the question,
Sometimes we can casually place distance between ourselves and what matters most. Enmity between us and our highest priorities, space between ourselves and our relationship with friends, family members or our God. In our spiritual journey, maybe we like Billy, feel we are too late, that we’ve lost the magic or that private connection with the one who is mighty to save.
Remember the words from the Eagles song Desperado, “Losing all the highs and lows ain’t it funny how the feelings go away?”
We pause, drift, maybe we lose our way for a time. Like Billy, do we need to turn the lights back on? Do we need to change course? And when we decide to change, what adjustments or course corrections or shims are necessary? For Billy, it was to risk again, to write a new song!
Aligning Our Will to God
To help us understand how to adjust or align our lives, I then told the story of aligning the front suspension of an old Ford. But, I didn’t just share the story like I had before, I shared the experience I had had that morning, the prompting to wear the black suit and the revelation just moments earlier of the shim stowed in my inside coat pocket.
My experience with divine revelation is not new. My time in the Philippines as a missionary 40+ years ago was filled with many spiritual experiences. Since then there have been many times as a father, husband and provider where my mind and heart has been humbly directed by heaven’s hand. It’s been a line upon line, precept upon precept kind of journey. But of countless times over the years I have spoken in church, in my career or in other public settings, this was a moment I will never forget. The “black suit experience” galvanized for me several spiritual truths all in one weekend mission speaking assignment.
Five Eternal Truths
I have seen these truths exemplified not only during our mission service, but across decades of strengthening my grip on discipleship. The black suit story provided a dramatic exclamation point for me confirming a collection of eternal truths all in one day.
First, the heavens are open. God speaks to man and the Holy Ghost is real. Personal revelation can be constant in our lives, but we must seek, ask and petition Him often. If so, He will manifest himself unto us. For this I am certain!
Second, We are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father. God loves us, knows us, knows our struggles and knows what we need. He will succor us according to our individual infirmities and provide opportunities for us to learn important principles tailored specifically for our lives.
Third, God will inspire other godly people in our lives, parents, teachers and mentors to us provide counsel, direction and help when we need it. Blessings can flow to us if we surround ourselves with consecrated people and then heed their guidance.
Fourth, as disciples of Jesus Christ, He will guide our words and actions as we seek to serve others, but we must first diligently seek Him. As we draw near to Him He will guide our efforts to help those in need.
Fifth, the Doctrine of Alignment, oneness and unity with the Father and the Son is essential in our successful experience on the covenant path. As we make frequent course corrections to follow Him we can experience enduring joy in this life.
Conclusion – Wear the Black Suit
The story of the black suit is a reminder that we are not alone. It testifies that there is a divine God in heaven who loves us and understands our needs. It teaches us that if we will reach out to Him He is there.
An honest desire, a willingness to exercise our faith in Christ, to repent and demonstrate a real intent to align our will with Him, is all that is required. I have experienced the blessings of this formula in my life and have observed it in the lives of others throughout my days. Living a covenant life is a requisite of discipleship, but the promised blessings of living a consecrated life are so much more.
I declare that God has a plan for us. He is our Father and we are His spirit children. As we exercise our faith and engage our agency toward Him, we can experience joy in mortality.
No matter your circumstance, God loves you and knows you! He wants to guide your way. Reach out to Him. Listen closely for His guidance. Come unto Him. Some of the best experiences in life are when we exercise our faith to follow Him.
I am just a guy who loves life, my wife, my family, my God and my country. I want to pay it forward and make a positive contribution inspiring others to make great life decisions. Growing McKell Partners, a full service wealth management and financial planning practice, is also my passion.
I love a great game of golf, tennis or chasing the sunset on my Cannondale. An evening convertible ride and a bowl of Haagen Dazs peanut butter chocolate ice cream are my go-to stress relievers.
I am just a guy who loves life, my wife, my family, my God, and my country. I want to pay it forward and make a positive contribution inspiring others to make great life decisions.