“The Wind Did Never Cease to Blow”

Last updated on March 20th, 2025 at 05:46 pm

General Conference Applied

S4 E30 – Sunday, March 16, 2025 | “The Wind Did Never Cease to Blow” by Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante; October 2024 General Conference

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Podcast Episode Outline

Introduction

Bio

• “Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the April 2024 general conference. At the time of his call, he had been serving as president of the Brazil Rio de Janeiro South Mission (2021–2024).
  
  “Since joining the Church in 1991, Elder Cavalcante has served in a number of Church callings, including full-time missionary in the Brazil Recife South Mission, counselor in a bishopric, bishop, stake president, and Area Seventy.
  
  “Elder Cavalcante received a postgraduate degree in administrative law from the Federal University of Ceará in 1997. From 1997 until 2005 he was an attorney for Procuradoria Geral do Município. Most recently, he worked as an attorney and managing partner of Barreto Cavalcante Advogados, where he has been since 1999.
  
  “Aroldo Barreto Cavalcante Filho was born in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, on November 22, 1970. He married Christiana Ramalho Bezerra in 2002. They are the parents of four children.”
• This was Elder Cavalcante’s first general conference address.
• “How a missionary area book led Elder Aroldo B. Cavalcante to serve the Lord“

Subtle Connections

• To me, Elder Cavalcante’s focus on the elderly at the beginning of his address indicates to me that some of those who are “forgotten” are the elderly.
• To me, Elder Cavalcante’s focus on missionaries indicates to me that missionary work is one way that we can become a “gust of wind” to assist the Lord in His work.

---

“In 2015, in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, 62 members of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society cooperated with the state Prosecutor’s Office in investigating the legal challenges of residents in four different nursing homes. For five hours one Saturday, these attorneys interviewed over 200 residents one by one, each of whom had been functionally forgotten by society.

• J. Reuben Clark Law Society Mission and Vision Statements

“During their interviews, they discovered several crimes that had been committed against the elderly residents, such as abandonment, mistreatment, and misappropriation of funds. A key pillar of this law society is to care for the poor and in need. Just two months later, the prosecutor successfully filed charges against the responsible parties.

“Their assistance is a perfect example of King Benjamin’s teaching ‘that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.’

• Just Serve

“One resident I personally interviewed during the pro bono project was a kindhearted 93-year-old woman named Lúcia. Grateful for our service, she jokingly exclaimed, ‘Marry me!’

“Surprised, I responded: ‘Look over there at that beautiful young woman! She is my wife and the state prosecutor.’

“She quickly fired back: ‘So what? She is young, pretty, and can easily get married again. All I have is you!’

“The wonderful residents did not have all their problems solved that day. They undoubtedly continued to experience hardship from time to time like the Jaredites in their boats on the challenging journey to the promised land, ‘buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them.’

“But that Saturday, the nursing home residents knew that regardless of their earthly anonymity, they were known personally by a loving Heavenly Father, One who responds to even the simplest of prayers.

“The Master of masters caused ‘a furious wind’ to blow the Jaredites toward promised blessings. Similarly, [INVITATION] we can decide to serve as a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands. Just as ‘the wind did never cease to blow’ the Jaredites toward the promised land, we can help others progress in their journey to receive God’s blessings.

What is the speaker inviting me to do?

• In my own words: Be that “humble gust of wind” that keeps motivating others to keep trying, to keep striving, and to keep progressing.

Why does it matter, or why is it important? (Doctrines, Principles, Christlike Attributes)

• Christlike Attribute: “I feel a sincere desire for the eternal welfare and happiness of others. (Mosiah 28:3)” (Charity and Love)
  • “[3] Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.”

What’s in it for us? (Promises)

• “He can ‘consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain’ and help us respond to our trials in a way that facilitates our spiritual progression.” -Elder Cavalcante

How will we take action? (Directives, Personal Revelation)

• “We can be ‘the wind [that] did never cease to blow,’ bringing hope and guiding others to the covenant path.” -Elder Cavalcante
• “Your transformation from your natural to spiritual self will occur ‘line upon line, precept upon precept’ as you earnestly strive to serve Jesus Christ in the mission field through daily repentance, faith, exact obedience, and hard work to ‘find constantly, teach repentance, and baptize converts.'” -Elder Cavalcante
• Sister Tamara W. Runia, “Seeing God’s Family through the Overview Lens“, October 2023 General Conference: “When I graduated from high school and went to BYU, my dad sent letters reminding me of who I was. He became my cheerleader, and everybody needs a cheerleader—someone who isn’t telling you, ‘You’re not running fast enough’; they’re lovingly reminding you that you can. …
  
  “Shortly after Elder Neal A. Maxwell passed away, a reporter asked his son what he’d miss most. He said dinners at his parents’ house because he always left feeling like his dad believed in him.
  
  “This was around the time our adult children were starting to come home for Sunday dinners with their spouses. During the week, I found myself making lists in my mind of things I could remind them of on Sunday, like ‘Maybe try and help out more with the kids when you’re home’ or ‘Don’t forget to be a good listener.’
  
  “When I read Brother Maxwell’s comment, I threw away the lists and silenced that critical voice, so when I saw my grown children for that brief time each week, I focused on the many positive things they were already doing. When our oldest son, Ryan, passed away a few years later, I remember being grateful our time together was happier and more positive.”
• “Bread or Stones: Understanding the God We Pray To“, S. Michael Wilcox, BYU-Hawaii Devotional, March 31, 2009: “We worship a fourth watch God. So when the trials aren’t over and the blessings don’t come, don’t assume that He is not there, or He is not listening, or He doesn’t care, or you’re not worthy. Always assume you have not yet reached the fourth watch.
  
  “Now occasionally people have said to me, ‘I’m sure I’m past the fourth watch.’ I was once talking with Sheri Dew and she said later, ‘Mike, I think I’m in the ninth watch—now what?’ Well, when you feel that you have passed the fourth watch, then we need another letter. We need another letter called Tight like a Dish. Now that is an expression I think you all will understand — ‘Tight like a dish.’ It’s the description of the Jaredite barges. …
  
  “These are not submarines; they float light like a fowl, we are told, on the water. But the problem is that great waves are going to be washing over them, and so they need to be waterproof.
  
  “Now being ‘Tight like a dish’ causes two problems for the Jaredites’ crossing of the sea. Number one, minor problems, it was probably Mrs. Moriancumer who pointed them out to her husband: ‘We can’t breathe in here, and we can’t see, so unless we are going to get the Promised Land in sixty seconds, we’ve got big problems. Did you get the instructions right?’
  
  “And so Moriancumer, the brother of Jared, goes back to the Lord, and he presents his two problems. Now you learn something about your Father in Heaven in the solution or the handling of these two problems. Of the two problems—no air and no light—the Lord solves one of them just because He is asked. He tells them to put the holes in so they can have air. And sometimes when we go to the Lord, we simply ask and we will receive. He tells us the solution. The second problem we have to seek and find; for the second problem the Lord says, ‘You come up with a solution.’ Now He put some parameters on that. He tells them, ‘You can’t go by windows’—probably not invented yet, and the second, ‘You can’t go by fire’—oxygen is a problem anyway. All that tossing around in the sea with coals flying everywhere probably wouldn’t be good, so you come up with a solution.
  
  “Now you are the brother of Jared. I want you to listen with his mind at what the Lord says because the twenty-fourth verse is a really interesting verse of Ether chapter two:
  
  “‘Behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.’
  
  “Now the reason they need ‘Tight like a dish’ ships is because there are going to be mountain waves. Now what causes mountain waves in the ocean?—wind and storm. And what did the Lord just say the source of the winds were? ‘The winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and the rains and floods have I sent forth’—do you have a solution to the problem?
  
  “If I were the brother of Jared, I would have said, ‘Lord, we don’t need these ‘Tight like a dish’ ships at all. Since waves are the problem, and waves are caused by wind, and wind comes out of your mouth—blow softly. Blow softly. Breeze us to the Promised Land. We’ll sit on deck, we’ll fish, we’ll get tanned, we’ll play shuffleboard.’ How many here want the first watch cruise version of life?—that’s me; I’m a first watch person. I don’t like mountain waves.
  
  “And then the great lesson: We know God can still the storms of our lives—we know that; there are precedents. But he prefers to do something else:
  
  “‘Behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. What will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?’ (Ether 2:25)
  
  “What we need to understand about our Father in Heaven is that He prefers to prepare us to face the storms of life, the contrary winds, rather than to still them. So if you are past your fourth watch and He has not come, don’t assume that He is not there, that He doesn’t care, He doesn’t listen, or that you are not worthy. Assume your ship is tight like a dish. You will not sink. Somewhere in the past of your life, experiences have been placed by a wise and foresighted Father in Heaven to prepare you to face the very things that you are facing. As the lion and the bear came to David, before Goliath, to prepare him to face Goliath, so will lion-and-bear moments come in your lives before the Goliath moments come. Because if your ship was not tight like a dish and you have reached the fourth watch, He will come to you and still the storm. So if the storm is not still, we must assume our ship is tight like a dish.”
• Mitch:
  • Ether 6:5-9 – “[5] And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. [6] And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind. [7] And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters. [8] And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind. [9] And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.“
  • “President Russell M. Nelson on the Healing Power of Gratitude​“: “Over my nine and a half decades of life, I have concluded that counting our blessings is far better than recounting our problems. No matter our situation, showing gratitude for our privileges is a fast-acting and long-lasting spiritual prescription. Does gratitude spare us from sorrow, sadness, grief, and pain? No, but it does soothe our feelings. It provides us with a greater perspective on the very purpose and joy of life.”
  • I will strive to be more grateful in all things. I will measure this by dedicating at least one of my personal prayers each week solely to expressing gratitude to my Heavenly Father. I feel that as I become more grateful, I will inspire others to be more grateful, and this will help them more successfully face their problems.

“Several years ago, when Chris, my dear wife, and I were interviewed for my calling as bishop, our stake president asked me to prayerfully consider names to recommend as counselors. After hearing the names I recommended, he said I should know a few things about one of the brethren.

“First, this brother could not read. Second, he didn’t have a car he could use to visit members. Third, he always—always—used sunglasses at church. Despite the president’s honest concerns, I felt strongly that I should still recommend him as my counselor, and the stake president supported me.

“The Sunday my counselors and I were sustained in sacrament meeting, the surprise on the members’ faces was evident. This dear brother slowly made his way up to the stand, where the overhead lights reflected brightly across his sunglasses.

“As he sat by my side, I asked him, ‘Brother, do you have problems with your vision?’

“‘No,’ he said.

“‘Then why do you use sunglasses at church?’ I asked. ‘My friend, the members need to see your eyes, and you must be able to see them better too.’

“In that moment, he took off his sunglasses and never used them at church again.

“This beloved brother served at my side until my release as bishop. Today, he continues to serve faithfully in the Church and is an example of dedication and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, years ago, he was an unknown sunglass-wearer sitting essentially forgotten in the pews of the chapel. [INVITATION] I often wonder, ‘How many faithful brothers and sisters sit forgotten among us today?’

What is the speaker inviting me to do?

• In my own words: See others for who they can become. Make time for those who are forgotten.
  • Elder Ciro Schmeil, “Faith to Act and Become“, October 2021 General Conference: “Shortly after I was called to serve as a General Authority Seventy, I had the opportunity to visit with President Russell M. Nelson for a few minutes. It was an unplanned encounter in the cafeteria, and he was so kind to invite Elder S. Mark Palmer and me to sit and enjoy lunch with him.
    
    “‘What do we talk about during lunch with the prophet?’ was the thought that came to my mind. So I decided to ask President Nelson if he had any counsel or guidance for me since I was just starting my calling. His answer was very simple and direct; he looked at me and said, ‘Elder Schmeil, you are called for what you can become.'”

Why does it matter, or why is it important? (Doctrines, Principles, Christlike Attributes)

• Christlike Attribute: “I reach out in love to help those who are lonely, struggling, or discouraged. (Mosiah 18:9)” (Charity and Love)
  • “[9] Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life.”

What’s in it for us? (Promises)

• None.

How will we take action? (Directives, Personal Revelation)

• “Each of us can be a part of this wind—the same wind that blessed the Jaredites in their journey and the same wind that, with our help, will bless the unrecognized and forgotten to reach their own promised lands.” -Elder Cavalcante
• Sister Michelle D. Craig, “Eyes to See“, October 2020 General Conference: “As I pray for the Lord to open my eyes to see things I might not normally see, I often ask myself two questions and pay attention to the impressions that come: ‘What am I doing that I should stop doing?’ and ‘What am I not doing that I should start doing?’
  
  “Months ago, during the sacrament, I asked myself these questions and was surprised by the impression that came. ‘Stop looking at your phone when you are waiting in lines.’ Looking at my phone in lines had become almost automatic; I found it a good time to multitask, catch up on email, look at headlines, or scroll through a social media feed.
  
  “The next morning, I found myself waiting in a long line at the store. I pulled out my phone and then remembered the impression I had received. I put my phone away and looked around. I saw an elderly gentleman in line ahead of me. His cart was empty except for a few cans of cat food. I felt a little awkward but said something really clever like, ‘I can see you have a cat.’ He said that a storm was coming, and he did not want to be caught without cat food. We visited briefly, and then he turned to me and said, ‘You know, I haven’t told anyone this, but today is my birthday.’ My heart melted. I wished him a happy birthday and offered a silent prayer of thanks that I had not been on my phone and missed an opportunity to truly see and connect with another person who needed it.
  
  “With all of my heart I do not want to be like the priest or the Levite on the road to Jericho—one who looks and passes by. But too often I think I am.”
• “The Plateau Effect: Getting from Stuck to Success” by Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson: “We’ve spent twenty years each talking to people for a living, people from all walks of life, and without hesitation we can say this – most people are lonely, and then desperately happy when someone asks them a question and truly listens for the answer.”
• Mitch: I will once again prioritize having dinner with Morgan’s grandma at least monthly. I will also make time each day to play with my 3-year-old daughter.

“Whether we are well-known or forgotten, trials will inevitably come to each one of us. As we turn to the Savior, [PROMISE] He can ‘consecrate [our] afflictions for [our] gain’ and help us respond to our trials in a way that facilitates our spiritual progression. Whether for nursing home residents, a misjudged Church member, or anyone else, [DIRECTIVE] we can be ‘the wind [that] did never cease to blow,’ bringing hope and guiding others to the covenant path.

• Corresponding Invitation (Promise): “We can decide to serve as a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands. Just as ‘the wind did never cease to blow’ the Jaredites toward the promised land, we can help others progress in their journey to receive God’s blessings.”
• Corresponding Invitation (Directive): “We can decide to serve as a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands. Just as ‘the wind did never cease to blow’ the Jaredites toward the promised land, we can help others progress in their journey to receive God’s blessings.”

“Our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, made an exciting and inspiring invitation to the youth: ‘I reaffirm strongly that the Lord has asked every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission. For Latter-day Saint young men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility. … For you young and able sisters, a mission is also a powerful, but optional, opportunity.’

“Every day, thousands of young men and women answer the Lord’s prophetic call by serving as missionaries. You are brilliant, and as President Nelson has said, you can ‘have more impact on the world than any previous generation!’ Of course, that does not mean you will be the best version of yourselves the moment you step foot in the missionary training center.

“Instead, you might feel like Nephi, ‘led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [you] should do. Nevertheless [you] went forth.’

“Perhaps you feel insecure like Jeremiah did and want to say, ‘I cannot speak: for I am a child.’

“You might even see your personal shortcomings and want to cry out like Moses did: ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent … : but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.’

“If any of you beloved and mighty young men and women is having a thought like this right now, remember that the Lord has answered, ‘Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee.’ And He promises, ‘Therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.’

[DIRECTIVE] “Your transformation from your natural to spiritual self will occur ‘line upon line, precept upon precept’ as you earnestly strive to serve Jesus Christ in the mission field through daily repentance, faith, exact obedience, and hard work to ‘find constantly, teach repentance, and baptize converts.’

• Corresponding Invitation (Directive): “We can decide to serve as a humble gust of wind in the Lord’s hands. Just as ‘the wind did never cease to blow’ the Jaredites toward the promised land, we can help others progress in their journey to receive God’s blessings.”
• By serving as senior missionaries, parents and grandparents can be the “gust of wind” that their family members back home need.
  • Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Senior Missionaries and the Gospel“, October 2004 General Conference: “I think of Elder Lloyd Poelman and his wife, Sister Catherine Poelman. Parents of 9 grown children and grandparents of 20 grandchildren, they now serve in a remote part of Chile, working in a small branch. They make frequent visits among less-active members and with families recently converted to the Church. These visits provide opportunity for the Poelmans to read with those families and bear testimony of temple blessings. In their mission branches they have also taught people how to conduct music and play simplified versions of the hymns on small electronic keyboards. Elder and Sister Poelman recently wrote: ‘Baptism is only the first step in conversion. When the initial excitement subsides and the new converts continue facing the need to work long hours just to put bread on the table, they need others to help them who share the joy of the gospel. That is our specialty. Part of our work is preventive—staying close to new converts. Yet others who rarely attend meetings have not lost conviction and receive our messages gratefully. As we watch the changes brought about in the lives of those we visit, we feel blessed to be receiving constant tutoring and help from the Lord in this work and, at the same time, to know that our family members back home are vicariously sharing our calling and those special blessings.'”

“Though you wear a name tag, sometimes you may feel unrecognized or forgotten. However, you must know that you have a perfect Heavenly Father, who knows you personally, and a Savior, who loves you. You will have mission leaders who, despite their imperfections, will serve you as ‘the wind [that] did never cease to blow’ in guiding you along your journey of personal conversion.

“In the ‘land that floweth with milk and honey’ you will serve in on your mission, you will be spiritually reborn and become a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ as you draw near to Him. You can come to know that you are never forgotten.

“Though some may wait ‘a long time’ for relief, for they ‘have no man’ that can yet help, the Lord Jesus Christ has taught us that no one is ever forgotten by Him. On the contrary, He was a perfect example of seeking out the one in every moment of His mortal ministry.

“Each of us—and those around us—faces our own storms of opposition and waves of trials that submerge us daily. But ‘the wind [will not] cease to blow towards the promised land … ; and thus [we shall be] driven forth before the wind.’

[DIRECTIVE] “Each of us can be a part of this wind—the same wind that blessed the Jaredites in their journey and the same wind that, with our help, will bless the unrecognized and forgotten to reach their own promised lands.

• Corresponding Invitation (Directive): “I often wonder, ‘How many faithful brothers and sisters sit forgotten among us today?'”
• Footnote 27: “President Dallin H. Oaks mentioned a painting by Maynard Dixon titled Forgotten Man, which hangs in his office in the Church Administration Building in Salt Lake City: ‘You see the sun shining on his head. His Heavenly Father knows he’s there. He is forgotten by the passing crowd, but in his struggles, his Heavenly Father knows he’s there. … I have been with that painting for close to 40 years, and it speaks to me and reminds me of things that I need to remember’ (in Sarah Jane Weaver, ‘What I Learned from President Oaks about the ‘Forgotten Man,” Church News, Sept. 18, 2022, thechurchnews.com).”
• YouTube video where President Oaks talks about Forgotten Man.
• “Maynard Dixon’s “forgotten men” on view at BYU Museum of Art“
• Dorothea Lange – “Migrant Mother”

“I testify that Jesus Christ is our Advocate with the Father. He is a living God and acts as a strong wind that will always guide us along the covenant path. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

What will you do?

How will you take action on the invitations extended in this General Conference address?

Conclusion

The focus of our next podcast episode will be the October 2024 General Conference address that was delivered by Elder Kyle S. McKay and was entitled “The Man Who Communed with Jehovah.”

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Tags

Adversity | Missionary Service | Service | Spiritual Growth | Youth

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