From Deseret News archives:
Faith that can shut down a rock concert
Elder Cook, an emeritus general authority, was the opening speaker at the \"Sharpen Your Focus\" conference, which included people from 22 stakes in north Utah County.
Elder Cook walked right into the crowd, taking his microphone down onto the main floor and gathering those in the chapel up close.
\"I know what's concerning most of you here today,\" he said, \"You are wondering where your spouse is, was he killed in the war in heaven?\"
He suggested those in the congregation have faith and exercise that faith.
He said he has learned that exercising faith in the Lord can help cause things to happen and he gave an example from a visit to Caracas, Venezuela.
He and several other general authorities had set up a three-hour meeting with bishops and stake presidents to discuss why Venezuela had yet to be blessed with a temple.
As the meeting began, loud rock music poured into the room through the open windows, drowning out the discussion. It was too hot to close the windows.
Cook asked two young men to go see what could be done to shut down the music.
One man in the group asked him if he realized what he was asking and explained that the \"noise\" was coming from a nearby rock concert that had been sold out for weeks.
\"Is anything too hard for the Lord?\" Cook asked before he instructed the congregation to pray for the messengers' success.
It turned out that the two young men sent off persuaded the lead guitarist in the band to hold off warming up for an hour, bearing testimony to an amused musician that they were on a Lord's errand.
Three hours later, the meeting ended and Cook and others realized they'd heard nothing from the band.
When they looked outside, they discovered it had been raining hard for two hours, effectively shutting down the outdoor concert.
Further, as the men departed Caracas and headed back into sunshine and heat, they realized it was only raining over the concert venue.
Today, Venezuela has a temple, Elder Cook said, emphasizing that God is a God of miracles and indeed, nothing is too hard for him.
Elder Cook said it's therefore important to have faith in a God that one knows and trusts.
\"Faith and doubt cannot reside in a man at the same time. There can be no doubt and no fear,\" he said. When there is doubt, it's the devil saying it's too hard or it's impossible.
\"The Lord does not talk that way,\" Elder Cook said.
He advised the young single adults in his audience to visualize what they need and offer the Lord something such as a personal sacrifice or repenting.
