Thirteen years ago today, we bought our house. (I remember the date because our house is green, and we thought it was a fun coincidence that we bought it on St. Patrick's Day.)
We weren't looking for a house. We didn't plan to move. We had lived in our first house for four years, and we had been very happy there. We enjoyed the house and the neighborhood and felt very blessed. But our family had grown to include six children, and as they grew bigger, I began to feel that our small, one-bathroom house might feel pretty cramped before too long. And when we learned that we would be blessed with child number seven, my concern increased.
One evening, while I sat in the kitchen, helping thirteen-month-old Elisabeth eat her dinner, I flipped idly through the classified advertising section that had been delivered to our home that day. A line from a real estate ad jumped out at me — ‘Perfect for the large family,’ it said. Well, that’s us, I thought, and read the ad. It described an eight-bedroom home on a large wooded lot. There was a small picture of the house and for the price, it looked very nice. I read the ad several times, but then put the paper aside and went about cleaning up the kitchen.
But I couldn't get that house out of my mind. I didn't know where it was located, and I told myself it was probably somewhere we wouldn't want to live, or that there was something really wrong with it. I kept thinking about it, though, so I decided to get look at the house listing on the internet. That way, I figured, I would be able to stop wondering about it.
Although I had rather expected that seeing the detailed house listing online would discourage me, the opposite was true. I learned that it was in an area I had always liked. It had wood floors, a finished walk-out basement, a master suite, a big kitchen, a gas fireplace in the living room, and a large, fully-fenced yard.
Wes was at a meeting that evening, and I was determined not to pounce on him with this information as soon as he walked in the door. But I didn't manage to wait very long. He agreed that it seemed really good, but he just didn't want to move. I sent an e-mail to the agent, though, telling her I would like to see the house.
When the agent called me the next morning, she said she could meet me at the house right away. I put the kids in the minivan and drove to the address she had given me. The house was empty and seemed huge to me. There were plenty of things I liked, and although the decor screamed 1980s (blue carpet, pink walls) I decided Wes should see it. He met me there that same evening, and he was impressed. But still, we were not convinced.
The next day we drove back to the house and stood at the end of the driveway. As we looked down the street, we both felt that we should make an offer on the house.
I called the agent the next day and we made an offer. The owners of the house made us a counteroffer, which we accepted.
Under the terms of their offer, we would put our home on the market immediately. If we had not received and accepted an offer on it within thirty days, the offer on the new house would be void.
This was a fairly major condition, because the housing market had been very slow in our area. There were houses in our neighborhood that had been for sale for two years. We felt that if we were meant to move, the house would sell, and if it didn't, we would stay there with no regrets.
We put an ad in the paper and a sign in the yard and waited. The response was less than overwhelming. We occasionally received a phone call, but very few people came to see the house. We began to wonder if we could do it.
The situation was confusing for us in a number of ways. We had always felt that we should live simply, within our means, and use any surplus to help others less fortunate. We were not sure how such a large house in such a nice neighborhood fit in with this philosophy. We wanted to do what was right; what was best for our family, and we sincerely desired to know what that was.
One morning, as I prayed for guidance in this situation, these words came into my mind: “Feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ shall tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:3)
From this I understood that our answer could be found in the scriptures. I began to study the scriptures more diligently, wondering how I might find the answer there. We continued to pray about buying the house but received no strong impression either way.
A couple of weeks after we made the offer, I picked up my scriptures and turned to Doctrine and Covenants Section 41, where I read:
“And again, it is meet that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., should have a house built, in which to live and translate.”
So, I thought, it was good for Joseph Smith to have a house. How could we know what was right for us? As I read on, the next verse jumped out as though it were meant for me: “And again, it is meet that my servant Sidney Rigdon should live as seemeth him good, inasmuch as he keepeth my commandments.”
I felt as though the words, “The Spencers” had been substituted for Sidney Rigdon’s name. Throughout the past weeks, we had said over and over about the house, “It just seems so good.” We had asked ourselves, as we pondered the decision, whether we could buy this house and still keep the commandments. The answer to that question, we felt, was yes.
Now as I read section 41, I felt the Holy Ghost confirm that I had indeed received my answer in the scriptures, and I knew everything would be all right.
I found Wes and showed him the scripture, telling him my feelings about it. He looked at the page with surprise. “I just read this section this morning,” he said.
Within the week, we received two offers on our house. We were able to sell it before the deadline for the price we were asking.
The day we moved in we were greeted by smiling, welcoming neighbors. We settled in and quickly made friends.
Three years after the move, I got my cancer diagnosis. Everything changed. My children were young, and I was very sick. My dear Wes took time off from his job and did everything he could to help, but that couldn't last forever. I needed help.
And I got it. Generous ward members provided meals and rides, cleaned my house and and entertained my children. Their extraordinary acts of service reinforced our belief that we had been divinely led to this home.
Through good times and hard times, we have enjoyed the house. We are grateful for the blessings that have made it possible, and for a loving Father in Heaven who has given us His word and who can guide us through the scriptures to make decisions that will bless our lives.
