*Today we had Stake Conference for church. We had a visiting General Authority, Elder Isaac K. Morrison of the Seventy, and he has such an enjoyable, uplifting personality. He's from Ghana, and treats his calling as if he's living in a grand dream, being able to travel to different stakes and associate with the Brethren in Salt Lake City. In the evening adult session last night, he shared that wherever he travels (airplanes, Ubers, etc.), he asks people about their families. Then he tells them that they would be a good member of our church. He asks if they are a member, and when they say no, he says, "Why not?!" I am not so bold yet, but hope to be!
He also taught about the Covenant Path, and how we use it to turn our lives to God. He shared that he had a friend who left the church, so he went to see why. His friend still believed in the gospel, and hadn't been offended, but he felt that since he had "done everything" on the path, he was through! Elder Morrison said that his friend hadn't actually gotten anywhere on the path, if that's how he thought about it. He challenged us to find our next step and take it.
His third point that evening involved his favorite animals: elephants. He said that when a baby is born, the rest of the adult females surround the mother and baby and trumpet with joy. They also make a barrier to protect them from predators. He encouraged us to be like that as a church, to protect our members from predators and to be joyful they are there.
*I had been asked to accompany a musical number for the evening session. For some reason, despite the hours of practice I put in, I couldn't play it very well, and was feeling very, very nervous, which is not good for steady hands. I prayed a lot, and asked Ben and my ministering sisters to pray for me, and I finally felt confident that the Lord would be with me. My hands were steady, and I played well enough. I know most people immediately forget how a song is played. It doesn't matter-- I still want to do well and not detract from the Spirit. I always have to put my trust in God to guide my shaky, unsure hands. It is definitely humbling.
*I haven't even shared about today yet! Pres. Monroe gave a great talk, as always. It was about The Good Samaritan, and how in our day, we need to think that we can't afford to NOT stop to help, even if it delays us from our own journey for a bit. Tessa and I sang in the choir after his talk a song called "The Tree of Life," and the chorister talked to us about this before the session, too-- about how we may need to slow down our progression in order to help others along the way. I have been thinking about that since then.
*President Morrison again spoke, and he invited several children up to the stand with him. He said they're the rising generation, our future leaders. He read from 3 Nephi 17, and reminded us that Jesus wept twice when blessing the children. Angels surrounded the children then, and he said that we may be the angels surrounding the children now. He invited us to fall at the feet of Jesus and give a prayer of gratitude. It will bring so much joy!
He concluded with a story about when he was in the Church Office Building cafeteria, and President Nelson came to eat at his table. They shared a nice lunch, and after, President Morrison said that his children would ask what message the Prophet gave to him. President Nelson said, "Tell them I said 'Keep the commandments.'" President Morrison said that this inspired him to learn more about what a commandment is and how to keep them. He recommended that we read Mosiah 1 and 2 to learn, as well. Ben and I happened to be reading those chapters in our companion study and were blessed by the words. He reminded us to "stay for the full feast."
The last thing that President Morrison did was to change the closing hymn. He asked that we sing "Love One Another" two times. The first time we could look at the book, but the second time he said we should look around to those we're with and tell them with our eyes while we sing that we love them. It was easy for me to do that to my children (though they seemed to think it was a bit embarrassing! ☺) (Also, Ben was out of town, or I would have been looking at him, too!) We were sitting on the front side row, so I had to turn my body to look at my neighboring seat mate, who happened to be Jeanie Stultz from my ward. (She had kindly called us over to sit on her row when we arrived.) I've known her for almost 15 years now, and got to know her better when I served in Relief Society. She and I looked at each other, and she gave me a great big hug. It was really quite beautiful.
*It was a delight!
