Here's the current good news:
- Luke Erickson is engaged to Whitney Low, and Vickie & family couldn't be more pleased. They've set the date for some time in January.
- Marietta Sperry's daughter Caryn will be receiving her endowments this week in preparation for her wedding.
- Donna Blocksage's nephew works for the Lindsay Wildlife Museum and has set out on foot to walk the entire Pacific Crest Trail. He's just made it through California. You can follow along with him at Where's Devin on the museum website.
- Denae Adams received her grades from BYU-Idaho and got all A's!
I'm sure there was more good news but I was too nervous about leading the discussion today to be taking notes. Julie Stephens, our newly called Visiting Teaching Coordinator, took a moment to share with us an article by Orson Scott Card called "Everyone Needs a Buddy". I love most everything that he writes, but I especially love the idea that this presented... that we should always feel like someone is there looking out for us - that we have a "buddy" we can turn to. It also happened to tie in perfectly with our discussion.
I chose Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's April 2008 Conference talk called "Concern for the One" to speak from (or you can go HERE to choose to listen or watch it). This was his last conference talk before passing away, and what a sweet message it is. He talked about the Savior always being concerned for the one, despite being followed by multitudes and preaching to thousands. The Lord has commanded us to find the "lost sheep" and be our sister's keeper. We have sisters in our ward that are lost... some because they feel different, some because they are weary, and some because they have strayed. Some of those feeling lost aren't just the ones sitting at home either, they may be sitting next to you in Relief Society. I highly recommend reading his talk to get the full impact. I know I've felt each of those feelings at some point in my life and each time I became lost, sometimes for just one Sunday and one time for four years. Each time I returned because of my love for the gospel and the love and support I was continually receiving from my family and friends which included my visiting teachers.
My favorite quote from Elder Wirthlin's talk was when he spoke about those that feel different. "The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father's children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole." Isn't that beautiful? It made me wonder what instrument I would be... maybe an oboe. Elder Wirthlin continues with "This variety of creation itself is a testament of how the Lord values all His children. He does not esteem one flesh above another, but He "inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness, and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female... all are alike unto God."
My hope is that this message inspires you to take off your "I'm busy" blinders to those around you and see who is feeling lost and become a "buddy". It can be as simple as sitting next to someone new in class or as momentous as watching their kids for a couple of days. Maybe you're the one feeling lost. Look around to those nearby and let them know "hey, can you help?". If they can't, then call me. :) NO ONE should feel alone. Be a friend or find a friend.
Special bonus for the blog readers only: Okay, now to what I was going to add, but didn't.. and not just because of time. In preparation for this discussion I was trying to do my typical "put every single word I plan on saying in black and white so I don't get flustered" method of operation. Think I'm kidding? I could print you any of my past Sacrament talks or lessons and that would be exactly what I said... EXACTLY. But I just couldn't do it this time. I got stuck halfway through. Truly and honestly just stuck. Then it came to me that I shouldn't present this talk, that I needed to ask the sisters what they would do. Maybe I was taking Sis. Kantro's discussion from last week to heart, that we should learn from the past. Well, then let's learn from the sisters pasts why don't we? I read the talk through several times so that I could refer to it if it would go along with what was being discussed, but I really felt that this needed to be the sisters talking and not me. I KNOW. That is SO not me. So if that's not nerve-racking enough... I swear to you that not maybe 10 minutes after deciding this Sis. Page sent me a text message letting me know that the Stake R.S. President was going to be there as well. I KNOW!!! I tell you, if I had gotten that message any earlier it would have been a very different lesson, read straight from the paper! I'm happy I followed the prompting as I learned so much from everyone's input. Thank you to those that had comments and kept me from the train wreck it so easily could have been. :)
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