I have to write these down quick before they escape out of my brain. Sacrament meeting today was so wonderful for me. It was ward conference and for some reason I was dreading it. Maybe the extra long time to keep Ava quiet and entertained didn't look very appealing. But somehow our bishop's talk about the youth was very touching to me. He mentioned two points that really stuck out. The first was that though we may feel that we want to remove ourselves from all the bad in the world and isolate ourselves, this is not the thing to do. Instead we MUST stand up and stand out, it is our obligation. It gave me a shot of "Yes, I can do this, we can do this, my children can do this!" I often think about how I would like to move to a remote location and have no contact with the outside world because it kills me to think of sending my precious family out there into the mess we live in. This brought a better perspective to me today.
The second point he made as he talked about the For The Strength of Youth pamphlet. He brought out the idea that these standards were not just for the youth but for all members of the church. And then he went on to say that some may feel that these standards do not adequately address the complicated situations that arise when you are an adult. But this is what was special to me and I know it's not rocket science or anything but, he said that these standards, and the basic tenets of the gospel are sophisticated enough for ANY circumstance. And he bore testimony of it and it was great!
I do not remember a sacrament meeting since I have had children where I felt the spirit so much. And I'm not complaining about my wild child situation, I am just so grateful for what I got out of church today because many times it feels like we go through the motions and struggle to get everything together and out the door. And once we're there it's a big fight. But it is days like today that make all of that worth it.
2 comments:
I love sacrament meetings like that. The spirit is so strong and my testimony grows stronger. We also had a great meeting yesterday. It was a multi-stake conference (107 stakes) broadcast from the conference center. Among the speakers were Elder Packer and President Hinckley. Elder Packer told of when his children were young and he was often away on assignments and his wife took the children to church by herself. He said they almost took up a whole row and there was the typical restlessness and squabbles among the children. He said there were things like "Don't look at me" and "Don't touch me." One Sunday a grandma in the ward sitting several rows back, got up and scooted into the row with Sister Packer, seating herself between two fighting children. She remained there helping with the children for the remainder of the meeting. When the meeting was over she said to Sister Packer, "You have your hands full." And Sister Packer agreed that she did. Then this sister put her hand on Sister Packer's hand and said, "Your hands are full now, but your heart will be full later on." I guess that's a good thing to remember on those Sundays when you wonder why your doing it and if it's worth it.
Elder Packer also talked about replacing fear with faith. Fear is a tool of the adversary. And we must also help our children to not fear and to assure them that they are loved and protected by their parents, the Savior, and their Heavenly Father.
Thank you, Linda! That is a great story. And I often tell myself when hard things are going on or I am worried, that I can choose fear or I can choose faith.
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