In August of this year, many people throughout the world read or heard the news of a remarkable achievement as a team of surgeons, nurses and other medical personnel worked 26 hours to separate 4-year-old Latter-day Saint conjoined twins.

Without doubt, the successful operation was miraculous. Parents, grandparents and other relatives of the little girls, as well as the medical team, declared it was so. One of the team said in a televised statement that the Lord's influence was in the operating room.

We rely on miracles every day. While they might not be on a scale so grand as the parting of the Red Sea in Moses' day (see Exodus 14) or the appearance of a ball-like device to guide Lehi's family through their wilderness journey (see 1 Nephi 16), miracles do occur.

The Lord allows miracles, perhaps, because people are prepared for them.

Members of the medical team that separated the twins had spent years in study, training at great expense and tireless effort, and had practiced in order to develop the remarkable skills that enabled them to perform the operation with success. Long before the operation took place, they met together, discussed options, laid out plans, looked at every conceivable possibility and "rehearsed" for the procedure.

They prepared. They did all that was in their power to do. The rest was up to the will of the Lord. And a miracle happened.

Sometimes, we give little care to the concept of being prepared. It is, for example, much easier to just pray for help to accomplish a goal than it is to actually prepare to achieve it. How many students pray to get the answers right although they have done little studying?

Whether we're following the progress of a landmark operation, or watching a mechanic fix our cars or a plumber or electrician do work in our homes, it's a pleasure to see any person do a good job. A successful outcome almost always is based on the foundation of preparation.

We encourage youngsters to study, to succeed in school because we know that what they learn today will be of benefit to them tomorrow. The same holds true for adults: what we learn each day will help us in the future.

We are encouraged to continue learning. For many of us, days of formal schooling are in the past: we've completed high school and, perhaps, college and even earned higher degrees. But our days of study should not have come to an end.

We don't have to go to a college or university campus in order to be students. Brigham Young University, and other institutions, have various "distance learning" and home study options that one can enroll in for credit or for just the joy of learning.

There are forms of study beyond that associated with institutions of learning. We may read books, newspapers and other material, attend lectures, watch enlightening programs on television and take advantage of other edifying media offerings.

Certainly the most crucial learning is that which is spiritual. From earliest times, the Lord has instructed that records be kept and that His children study the scriptures. In addition to the Bible, we are blessed with the Book of Mormon — Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.

Also, we have access to the counsel and teachings of modern-day apostles and prophets, and curricula taught in quorums and auxiliaries. We learn as we attend the temple, and also from one another as we give and listen to lessons, talks in sacrament meetings and other Church settings. We are taught, too, by the Holy Ghost as we heed promptings and stay attuned to the whisperings of the Spirit.

All this learning helps build a strong foundation for the preparation that will help us achieve our goals. Relatively few of us will garner worldwide attention as did the medical team that helped bring about a miracle in the surgical amphitheater, but we can all find rewards as we prepare today for tomorrow's opportunities or challenges.