We talked to Sarah yesterday on Skype, which I have lauded as a miracle! That my daughter can be in far-away Italy, that we can talk to her free of charge, and that we can also see her and she us, makes my heart so happy! It was noon for us here in the Rocky Mountains, 8:00 pm for her in Tuscany. She had experienced a modern-day miracle of her own, having enjoyed the live stream of General Conference on the internet two days in a row. The family all took turns talking, joking, laughing and making Sarah laugh. She is in a beautiful place but it is very lonely without family or friends. We all look forward to our weekend chats.
As the time drew near for the afternoon session of conference to start we asked her if she was going to try to stay up and watch it. She thought she might but didn't know if she could make it clear until midnight. She asked if we had noticed whether Elder Holland had spoken yet. She had missed parts of Saturday's sessions. We all thought about it and told her that we were pretty sure he hadn't spoken yet. She said, "That probably means he'll be speaking in this last session." He is one of her favorites and she really wanted to hear him speak. She also needed her sleep because she has not felt well lately. We expressed love and told her good-bye, hoping that she would get her wish.
Dee and I helped Rachel load up her belongings so we could drive her back to Ephraim. As we were headed south whose voice did we hear as the very first speaker but Elder Jeffrey Holland! I was so happy for Sarah and listened intently. I was soon overcome by the shear power of his voice and the truth of his words! Have you ever heard anything like it? As I thought about his testimony of The Book of Mormon yesterday and how he majestically sent it out to the world I was reminded of the words of Alma:
1. "Oh, that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! 2. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption..."
Alma 29: 1,2That we might all be so bold and valiant in our testimony is a hope I am sure our Father in Heaven has for us. May I share mine with you? I may? Thank you!
I have lived quite a few years and this I know to be true, God the Father is literally the father of us all. He loves us and wants us to live so that we can return to Him. Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son and is the Saviour of us all! The Gospel of Christ was restored in its fullness to the prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored and we have a living prophet! I know these things are real and true because the spirit has warmed my soul and told me so! I could never deny it!
I love you all! Yes, I do! Have a wonderful week!
5 comments:
Cory and I were on our way back from his parents when Elder Holland began speaking. I had goosebumps it was so powerful! Thank you for sharing your testimony!
Our former bishop from California (now living in No. SLC) was driving through St. George this afternoon and called to see if we could meet him for dinner, which we did. Our first "order of business" was to discuss Conference and we all said, at the same time, "could you believe Elder Holland's talk??" Curtis said, "he's like a fine wine, he just keeps getting better and better." I told him I wouldn't quote him, but here I am doing it. It really was an amazing testimony, Elder Holland was almost jumping up and down as he spoke. I thought his talk at April Conference was the best I had ever heard and now this. He REALLY is like a fine wine, I guess. Of course, he is very popular here in St. George, in fact, every woman in our ward is either related to him or dated him in school...or so they say! Anyway, what a great Conference. The Church is true!!! Thanks for sharing your testimony, it was inspiring. P.S. We were glad to hear that Dee is still planning on March. Brent had said something to Jim that made him think the plans had changed to November and Jim hasn't been training very much. He needs to get busy. Hearing that Dee is losing weight and training hard gave Jim a shot in the arm, which apparently he needs.
Oh Aunt Marianne, your sweet testimony touched me as much as Elder Holland's testimony. I was so overcome with emotion when I heard Elder Holland's talk. The spirit reconfirmed to me the truthfulness of the gospel as I listened to his sweet powerful testimony. Then once again as I read your testimony I was again re-reminded of it's truthfulness. I love you and I so appreciate you and your wonderful example to me and to my family. It has been such a blessing getting to communicate with you and read your blogs. Thank you again for everything!
We Love You,
JoLynn
That was one of my favorite talks of conference! I love you and I'm glad you got to listen to it as you drove your adorable Rachel back to Ephraim.
Elder Holland's talk was amazing and powerful, and no...I have never heard anything like it before. I just sat there spellbound. The Spirit was so strong, testifying of the truthfulness of all of his words.
Post a Comment