Adam: I Will Go And Do! – Eternal Lessons for Us

I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

September 1, 1994, Adam Michael Hawkes was born into this world.  He came from the his pre-mortal home where he lived with the spirit host of heaven… those spirits which kept their first estate.  While there he lived as a spirit waiting for his time to come to earth;  Waiting for the time when his spirit would join with a body to fulfill his purposes and accomplish the measure of his creation.

My thoughts tonight come from a discussion I had with Cindy, a conference talk given by Elder Rasband and the words of my niece Stephanie given to Adam. How grateful I am for the inspiration, kindness and love of others.

Have you ever felt and said to yourself, in those quiet moments of the morning, that there is something else for me to do?  Have you ever been in a busy, crowded place with people going by in all directions and you go unnoticed to the mass of humanity?  In that moment have you felt that you have a place and purpose, that you are much more apart of the picture than the situation appears?  Have you ever acted on a feeling knowing that it was the right thing to do?  Have you ever experienced the feeling that you “have been here before” or met someone and said  “don’t I know you” or “haven’t we met before?”

I believe that while we were lodged in our pre-mortal home, prior to coming to earth, we developed friendships, we gained knowledge, we developed talents and that before leaving we made promises to our God that we would do certain things once we came to earth.  I think, in part, that this is why we feel that we have met someone previously on our first meeting; That some of our pre-mortal friendships are rekindled in this life… when we meet these old friends it seems so natural and friendship flows so easy.  I believe that many of the gifted individuals with extreme talents brought those pre-learned abilities with them when they came to earth. More importantly I believe that we agreed with our Heavenly Father in our pre-mortal life that we would do our best to accomplish certain things while living out our lives here on earth.  I believe that some of us agreed to reach out and touch others for the better and to help them in their life;  I believe that some of us agreed we would share our table with those who are hungry: I believe that we agreed to share our talents for the benefit of others… And I believe that some suffer that others might benefit… let me explain.

In John 9: 1-3, Jesus was walking with his disciples when they came across a man who had been blind since birth. They asked Jesus whose fault it was as to why this man was born blind.  Was it due to the sins of his parents or due to the sins of the man himself?  It is interesting to observe that the Savior stated that neither was the case, but he was blind so that the “works of God should be made manifest in him.”

This is an excellent example of the Savior teaching about the pre-mortal life we came from. This man must have agreed in his pre-mortal life to help show the people that Jesus was the Christ; the Son of God.  By knowingly being born blind all those around him knew for many years that he could not see… even from his birth. Jesus performed the miracle and restored his sight for all to see and to testify that he was indeed the Messiah.

This man was fulfilling his pre-mortal promises that the works of The Savior might be made manifested:

1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

(John 9: 1-3)

Promises or Covenants are made in the pre-mortal world. An example of this would be found with our Savior.  He stood up among all of Father’s children and said “Send Me” and “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.” The Savior covenanted with the Father that he would ransom us from Death and Sin… And He did!

In a previous post I had spoken about patriarchal blessings, and that Adam has received his own Patriarchal Blessing.  These are sacred documents to the individual to whom they are given.  Adam has shared his with our family;  Without going into too much details I just wanted to share a little about the special nature of Adam.

Adam attended the councils in heaven and promised Heavenly Father many things prior to coming to earth that he would accomplish here.

Each of us were there in our pre-mortal home:  Each of us feel and understand important things at various intervals in our lives… Each of us made promises before coming here and when we come close to fulfilling those promises we are energized from within… we sense the good from the Devine which is near.

As a boy Adam was so full of life, so curious of the world around him and he was so bright… He had many talents which shined through his little personality; He would radiate a room with hope and the possibilities that might be.

April 13, 2002 the monster attacked our little boy and has been robbing him of a normal life since that day. The battles, the 911 calls, the hospitals and doctor visits all  have become a part of our daily and weekly life, all the while our little boy was walking the crucible; A mental crucible, A physical crucible, A social crucible.  We could see the pain, the physical pain he suffered, but we never knew the emotional or inner conflicts.

Year after year we fought; Adam was always so good… The doctors would stick him with so many needles and he would never complain or say ouch… I could see him squint with pain… but never a word of complaint.  There were those mornings that he would come out of his bedroom with his tongue badly cut up and swollen… he wouldn’t say much; we knew that he been fighting the beast alone the night before and experiencing the violent world of seizures…he couldn’t eat, it hurt too much…so he just got out of the habit of eating breakfast… to this day he still doesn’t eat breakfast.

Out of the mouth of babes… or out of the example of our son have I learned so many lessons.

I now feel that Adam made covenants before coming to earth to be a missionary for our Savior. I believe that he knows the Savior very well and the Savior knows Adam: though Adam may not remember all the details of this relationship. I know that through Adam’s suffering others have been touched by the sweet spirit; the tender touch of the Holy Ghost. Adam has suffered that others might come closer to him who he puts his faith in… even Jesus Christ.

We have been taught so many Eternal Lessons from Adam; Through Adam’s suffering the eternal moments are made clearer.

Much like the blind man from birth, God’s works are being made manifest through our little boy.  These are a few of the fruits of a son to his father.

I am being taught a greater dependence upon the Lord… where to turn in times of need as well as in times of plenty. I am being schooled on the worth of a soul… all of God’s Children and the good they possess. I am able to exercise a greater measure of faith.  I am learning to give a greater portion of my heart to him whom I love…. I want to give all of it to Him… He is teaching how.

Adam, as you relearn to Talk;  As you relearn to Read; As you relearn about the world around you… you are teaching all of us or helping us learn Eternal Lessons.  Thank you for your sacrifice that we might gain these lasting blessings… May your missionary influence grow and may you fulfill all your promises… Thank you son.

Stephanie is one of Adam’s cousins’. She and her sister sent Adam a care package and included a video they made over a period of several days.  Stephanie was kind enough to leave a few special words at the end of the video which I would like to share with all of you.  Thank you Stephanie