Divine Appointments

President Timothy L. Farnes leads the Young Men of the Church. About 20 years ago, he had a very busy Saturday with lots of Church meetings. He asked a question in one meeting, and he felt like no one cared about his question. He felt sad and discouraged. He didn’t even want to go to the temple that night. He told his wife, Lindsay, “Let’s go to dinner instead of the temple.” But she said, “No, I think you need to be in the temple.”

So he went. In the temple, a man asked him, “How are you, brother?” It was Elder Dallin H. Oaks, an Apostle! Brother Farnes smiled and said, “Everything’s great!” even though it wasn’t.

But Elder Oaks waited for him. He said, “Brother, tell me how you are really doing.” Elder Oaks was so kind that Brother Farnes told him the truth. Elder Oaks listened. He said thank you, said kind words, answered his question, and gave him a big hug. Brother Farnes went from wanting to give up to wanting to serve the Lord with his whole heart.

Five years later, Brother Farnes met Elder Oaks again and asked if he remembered that day. Elder Oaks did not remember! He said, “I’m sorry, brother. I don’t remember that.” Then he said, “But it’s what we do. Isn’t it?” Being kind was just what he always did.

Every Sunday when we take the sacrament, we promise to take Jesus’s name on us. That means we try to see like Jesus sees and help like Jesus helps. When people are with us, they should feel some of Jesus’s kindness and love.

Jesus told a story about a man who was hurt on the road. Some people walked past him. But one man, the good Samaritan, stopped and helped. President Farnes calls times like that divine appointments. That means a special time when Heavenly Father puts someone in our path so we can help them.

Once, President Farnes and his wife were at the airport. He was reading a book. He looked up and saw a young missionary who was crying and scared. The missionary was holding his boarding pass and an alarm clock. It was his first time on an airplane alone, and he was far from home. President Farnes almost went back to his book, but the Holy Ghost told him to look again. He asked, “Are you OK?”

President Farnes and his wife helped him. On the airplane, the only empty seat was right next to President Farnes! The missionary fell asleep. When they landed, they walked with him, arm in arm, to meet his mission leaders. Instead of running to his leaders, the missionary dropped his bags and gave them a big hug!

President Farnes asked us to pray every day for eyes to see people who need help. Then we can be kind, like Jesus. It’s what we do, isn’t it?

A scripture for this talk: Luke 10:33–34. Like the good Samaritan, we can see people who need help and then help them.

President Timothy L. Farnes, Young Men General President, remembered a Saturday almost 20 years earlier. He had just been called into a stake presidency but hadn’t yet been released as bishop. He and his wife had five young children and a business to run, and that day had church meetings from 8:00 a.m. until a ward temple night. He said, “It was a busy time, and I wanted to give my all to the Lord, but I was never sure if I had enough to give.”

At a leadership meeting, he gathered his courage to ask a question that troubled him, and felt like it was dismissed. Discouraged, he wondered why he was sacrificing so much. He called his wife, Lindsay, and said, “Let’s go to dinner instead of the temple.” She wisely answered, “No, I think you need to be in the temple. We’ll talk after.”

He went, grumbling. In the dressing room someone said, “How are you, brother?” It was Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Twelve. Not wanting to tell an Apostle how he felt, Brother Farnes forced a smile: “Everything’s great!” But when he came out, Elder Oaks was waiting. “Brother, tell me how you are really doing.” The compassion in his voice helped him open up. Elder Oaks listened, thanked him, encouraged him, answered his question, and gave him a big hug. “In an instant I went from feeling like giving up to feeling like I could give my whole soul in service to the Lord.”

Five years later, the Farneses met with Elder Oaks. Excited, Brother Farnes asked, “Do you remember the conversation we had in the temple?” Elder Oaks said, “I’m sorry, brother. I don’t remember that.” Then, sensing his disappointment, he added, “But it’s what we do. Isn’t it?” Those words stayed with President Farnes. That is what covenant followers of Jesus do: we minister with compassion to whomever God places in our path.

Each Sabbath, when we take the sacrament, we witness our willingness to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ. President Farnes said that means “That means we choose to see as He sees, feel as He feels, and do as He would do.” When someone meets us, they should experience something of Jesus Christ, his kindness, his patience, his hope, his love. We make the covenant on Sunday, and we keep it by ministering every day.

Often this happens when God places someone in our path and we have eyes to see them. He calls these divine appointments. When Jesus was asked how to inherit eternal life, He told of a traveler wounded on the road to Jericho. Others saw an interruption. One man saw a chance to minister. Seeing awakened compassion, and compassion moved him to act. To Jesus, the people He met were not interrupting his mission. They were His mission.

A few years ago, President Farnes and Lindsay were at the airport, early for a vacation. He had his earbuds in and a book. He glanced up and saw a young missionary across from him, eyes closed, rocking back and forth, tears streaming down his face, clutching a boarding pass and a digital alarm clock. President Farnes went back to his book, but the Spirit prompted him to look again. The missionary’s eyes were pleading for help. “Are you OK?” he asked. In broken English, the elder explained it was his first time flying alone, far from home, and he was terrified. The alarm clock was so he wouldn’t miss the plane.

Embarrassed at how slow he’d been to help, President Farnes promised they would get him on the plane. They showed him the gate, but then had to board without him. As the plane filled, there was no sign of him, until finally, the last to board, he came down the aisle to the only empty seat: the one next to President Farnes. The missionary relaxed and fell asleep. After landing, they walked him arm in arm to baggage claim, where his mission leaders waited. Instead of running to them, the elder dropped his bags and hugged the Farneses.

“What we did for that elder didn’t require much of us, but this ordinary encounter became a divine appointment we will always treasure.” he said. “All we had to do was see the person God had placed in our path, look with compassion rather than judgment, and then act.” He invited, “Brothers and sisters, let us pray every day for eyes to see the divine appointments God places before us! Let us put compassion into action and minister to the person in front of us.” “It’s what Jesus did. And it’s what we do.”

Scripture to look up: Luke 10:33–34. The good Samaritan saw the man in need, had compassion, and acted, just as we can with the people God puts in our path.

President Timothy L. Farnes, Young Men General President, began with a Saturday almost twenty years earlier. Newly called to a stake presidency and not yet released as bishop, with five young children and a business to run, he faced meetings from 8:00 a.m. through a ward temple night. “It was a busy time, and I wanted to give my all to the Lord, but I was never sure if I had enough to give.”

At a midday leadership meeting the presiding authority invited questions. He gathered his courage and asked about an administrative matter that was troubling him. “Instead of getting a helpful answer, I felt like my question was dismissed.” Disheartened, he questioned why he was sacrificing so much, and lost all desire to attend the temple. He called his wife: “Let’s go to dinner instead of the temple.” Lindsay replied, “No, I think you need to be in the temple. We’ll talk after.”

He went, but not with the best attitude. Entering the dressing room, grumbling, he heard, “How are you, brother?” It was Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve. They had never met, and he wasn’t about to tell a member of the Quorum of the twelve apostles how discouraged I felt, so he forced a smile: “Everything’s great!” When he came out, Elder Oaks was waiting. “Brother, tell me how you are really doing.” Something in his compassion opened him up. Elder Oaks listened, expressed sincere gratitude, encouraged him, even answered his administrative question, and then gave him a big hug. “In an instant I went from feeling like giving up to feeling like I could give my whole soul in service to the Lord.”

Five years later he and Lindsay met Elder Oaks in his office. Eager to reminisce, he asked, “Do you remember the conversation we had in the temple?” “I don’t think so,” he said. “Have we met before?” After hearing the story, Elder Oaks said, “I’m sorry, brother. I don’t remember that.” Then, sensing his disappointment: “But it’s what we do. Isn’t it?” The line became the talk’s refrain. “That is what we do. As covenant followers of Jesus Christ, we minister with compassion to whomever God places in our path. We do it because that’s what the Savior did. And we’ve made a covenant to follow Him.”

He connected ministering to the sacrament covenant. Each Sabbath we witness our willingness to take upon us Christ’s name: “That means we choose to see as He sees, feel as He feels, and do as He would do. His life should be reflected in ours.” When someone encounters us, they should experience something of Jesus Christ, his kindness, his patience, his hope, his love, his compassion. Our promise of willingness is met by the Lord’s promise that we may always have His Spirit, and with that gift we can minister with His power. “We make the covenant during sacred time with God every Sunday. A way we keep the covenant is by ministering to God’s children every day.”

Often, he said, God places someone in our path, and we have eyes to see them. He calls these divine appointments. When asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered with the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). “Where others saw an inconvenience or an interruption, one man saw an opportunity to minister—a divine appointment.” Seeing awakened compassion, compassion moved him to act, and his actions changed a life. That pattern defined the Savior’s ministry: “He turned ordinary encounters with people into extraordinary moments of healing, encouragement, and transformation.” “To Jesus, these people were not interrupting His mission. They were His mission.” When we use our God-given eyes, “What once looked like random encounters become invitations from the Lord to minister with compassion.”

Then came his own lesson in slow seeing. Waiting early for a vacation flight, earbuds in and book open, he glanced up at a young missionary across from him: eyes closed, rocking, tears streaming, clutching a boarding pass and a digital alarm clock. “After briefly imagining the various reasons a missionary might look so anxious, I returned to my book.” The Spirit prompted him to look again, and the elder’s tear-filled eyes were pleading for help. “Are you OK?” he asked. In broken, timid English, the missionary explained he was headed to his mission, a long way from his home country, flying alone for the first time, and terrified; the alarm clock was to make sure he didn’t miss the plane.

“Embarrassed by how slow I had been to help this elder, I explained that my wife and I would be on the same flight, and we would make sure he made it on the plane.” The Farneses walked him to the gate, then had to board first. As the plane filled, the missionary didn’t appear, and President Farnes feared they’d made a big mistake. Finally, like every missionary, the last one to board, he made his way to the only empty seat at the back, which was right beside President Farnes. They marveled at how God arranged even that detail. The elder fell asleep. After landing, panic returned, so they walked him arm in arm, not to lose him again, to baggage claim, where his mission leaders waited. Instead of running to them, he dropped his bags and gave Lindsay and me a big hug.

“What we did for that elder didn’t require much of us, but this ordinary encounter became a divine appointment we will always treasure. All we had to do was see the person God had placed in our path, look with compassion rather than judgment, and then act.” His invitation: Let us pray every day for eyes to see the divine appointments God places before us. Let us put compassion into action and minister to the person in front of us. It’s what Jesus did and it’s what we do in the sacred name we take upon ourselves by covenant, even Jesus Christ.