By David Randall
In his Devotional address on Feb. 5 Clayton S. Huber talked about not only knowing God, but knowing that He knows us.
'Through prayer we can communicate with the God of Heaven and receive answers,' said Huber, professor of food science, who also serves as an area authority for the LDS Church.
In his talk, Huber outlined the importance of prayer and the personal inspiration it can bring.
'There is a relationship between prayer and revelation,' he said. Quoting Marion G. Romney, he added, 'just as prayer is the means by which men address the Lord, so revelation is the means by which God communicates to men.'
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Huber shared an experience about how prayers should follow a specific process in order to receive answers.
He said that while looking for a wife in college, he told his former mission president that he had narrowed the choice down to two women. His president asked what he was doing to decide between them.
When Huber told him that he was praying about it, his president said that if he were the Lord he would not answer a prayer like that.
'He reminded me of the revelatory process included in The Doctrine and Covenants,' Huber said, 'that I needed to make a decision and then seek confirmation through prayer.'
FOLLOWING REVELATION
Huber said that the results of following revelation can be peace and a personal knowledge that God is aware of one''s existence.
'There is an inner peace that comes by calling home and simply talking to God,' he said. 'There are times when we may be discouraged, faced with trials ... At such times we can open heaven''s door and communicate with the Almighty and know that He is there.'
AUDIENCE REACTION
Brent Burnett, 22, a sophomore from Yakima, Wash. said that he thought the speech was one of the best he had heard in a while.
'I liked how he talked about how we need to improve our personal relationship with our Heavenly Father,' he said. 'It is something important that we tend to forget about with our busy college schedules.'
HUBER''S BACKGROUND
Huber received a BS and MS degree from Utah State in food science, and a PhD from Purdue in 1968.
He has done work in the food industry, including developing specialized food and packaging used by astronauts.
He has also served as the chair of the Food Science and Nutrition Department and as dean of the College of Biology and Agriculture.