In preparing for my upcoming Relief Society lesson, I have been reading everything and anything to get an idea of what I want to teach (or what I need to learn).
On Saturday, I picked up the November 2007 Ensign General Conference Addresses. I snuggled into a quiet corner of my bedroom with my bed cushions all around and just read and read...it seemed to me, most of the talks that session were about keeping our baptismal covenants, particularly, lifting one anothers burdens.
I couldn't put the Ensign down - I read from cover to cover and now have a pretty good idea of the talk I will focus on. In fact, when our boys woke up with fevers Sunday morning, Garrett mentioned he could stay home because he didn't have to teach in YM's and so I could go and give my lesson...I was confused...I told him I didn't have to teach. Then, he looked confused because he asked me what had I been preparing for on Saturday. I told him it's for my lesson next month. His reponse was priceless...all he said was "if you ever doubted that you're a women, this proves it!" Men are so different, especially when asked to teach or prepare a lesson...and I don't think that will ever change.
But, one thing I wanted to share was a talk entitled "Service" by Elder Steven E. Snow of the Presidency of the Seventy...he spoke about his mother dying from cancer and how a few weeks before his mother's death, he was visiting with her in the family room of his boyhood home. He mentioned how his mother had longed to travel during her life, but because of living on a modest budget, those dreams were not realized. Knowing this, he asked her if she had any regrets...he says, "I fully expected to hear she had always wanted a larger, more beautiful home or perhaps an expression of sadness and disappointment over never having traveled. She pondered my question for a few moments and replied simply, "I wish I had served more." I was shocked at her response. When I reminded her of all she had done in her life, she was undeterred. "I could have done more" was all she said.
I know that when we are given the chance to serve, and we do it well, we are changed and those we serve are changed...there isn't anything else like it.
In another talk, Elder Wirthlin asks the question..."What quality defines us best as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?" he then goes on to say "I would answer: we are a people who love the Lord with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and we love our neighbors as ourselves. That is our signature as a people. It is like a beacon to the world, signaling whose disciples we are."
