Stripling Warriors' Mom Message

Today's message had to wait a day so I decided to just go with the flow of how my day went yesterday. I posted a short note, like under construction for a later entry, I was too tired to write it last night.

At first I didn't think I had that much to share, but it is often the case for me to just "sleep" on a subject. The words seems to flow now and I DO have something to share and crow (or cackle) about.

I was talking to Tanise this morning(Tues. Jan 15). It seems that we don't have enough hours in a day to see or talk to all of you very often. It isn't unusual for me to have talked to at least half of you in a day! But, it comes in spurts--the talking and time to chat. I really get joy from conversing with each of you for the insight you each emanate and feel added upon. It is reality that I don't know everything and having such brilliant children as I do whom I can glean from each of you in our conversations. Enough said.

I wanted to get some information about a talk I heard yesterday by Sheri Dew. Tanise was my info/411 operator. She knew exactly how I could track the talk. I had several things I wanted to do yesterday and had KBYU cable on and couldn't pull myself away. The talks kept coming and I didn't want to miss any of the messages. I saw the women's conference talk by Sister Dew, then heard a talk by a speaker, Ronald Bartholomew, who addressed the youth. I was very interested in what he had to say, since it was all about youth missionary experiences and about standards of the youth of today--in and outside of the Church. He had some very touching stories and shared his testimony. His mother was the recipient as a teenager of someone that invited her every week (52 times)for a year before she consented to go to church with her neighbor and best friend. By the time I did pull away it was almost four in the afternoon. Oh well.

Sister Dew's talk was given a while ago (1999) at the Women's Conference. She really gives a great pep talk, almost like a coach would give his team before a game or at half time. That is how it felt. She motivated me, reminded me of who I am, and gave me a new insight of charging forward, not just mooooooooooving forward, but going for the gold!

Here are some of her comments:

"I am technologically impaired. I can't even make my VCR stop blinking. But I've used a computer for twenty years, and I can't imagine life without it—though frankly I only know how to do a few things well. Compared to my brother, who works in the software industry, I'm illiterate. He knows how to do much more using the same computer and the same programs than I do. At least a hundred times he has offered to show me how to work better and faster. But he always offers when I'm right in the middle of a huge deadline, and I don't have time to learn how to do things better and faster. I continue to just get by, doing what I know how to do well but leaving a tremendous source of power untapped.

"How many of us are just getting by spiritually rather than learning how to access the divine power available to those who seek for it? Brigham Young declared that "we should learn how to take into our possession every blessing and every privilege that God has put within our reach" (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1954], 53).

She went on and compared us to Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty and invited us all who would maintain it to "come forth in the strength of the Lord" (Alma 46:20) President Hinckley has done likewise, "We have a work to do...so very much of it. Let us roll up our sleeves and get at it, with a new commitment, putting our trust in the Lord. . . We can do better than we have ever done before." (May Ensign, 1995)

My testimony

I know President Hinckley is our living prophet of our day, and cheers us on to be who we are (sons and daughters of God) and put our trust in the Lord, and stand a little taller as witnesses of him in all times and in all places. I appreciate the blessing it is to do this daily log and share my thoughts, heart and testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all of you, my posterity and friends.

God bless you always, Love, Mom