A dear friend of mine called me today and invited me to an institute "devotional" in Sandy tonight with Wendy Watson Nelson (the wife of Russell M. Nelson, one of the 12 apostles). Now mind you I'm a little "old" for this institute group, but this dear friend of mine invites me anyway, partly because I'm single I guess. But I know the main reason is because he gets "inspired" to do so. Am I ever thankful for the tender mercies of the Lord, for my friend's inspiration and willingness to follow the Spirit, because it's always something I need to hear. That was the case tonight, more so than ever.
Before tonight I didn't know anything about Sister Nelson other than she was single her whole life until she married Elder Nelson after his wife passed away, and that she was in her 50's (that's a long time to be single!) And I will admit when I saw her come in, I thought she looked a little dull and boring. Boy was I wrong! This woman has quite the sense of humor! And she's smart! She was a marriage and family counselor for years, and later a professor at BYU. She told a lot of fun stories about herself and about "dating" and being married to an apostle and about President Monson. It was a delightful evening (I sound like my mom) :)
She joked a lot about her age. She said she's old enough to be our mother, and for some of us- our grandmother, and she intended to talk to us as such. Her main message was "NOT EVEN ONCE." She had a lot of pictures to go with her stories (she has a propensity for taking photos of signs - it's nice to know I'm not the only one!) The difference between us is that she is a master at using her photos as visual aids for a wonderful and important lesson. She told a story of getting lost driving from Montana to Canada, but along the way she drove by a big barn with 3 words on the roof......"NOT EVEN ONCE." She said if she lived by that one motto alone it would be all she needed. "Forget whatever you've done in the past" she said, "and start today to say Not Even Once will I......." (fill in your own blank here).
She also said "Don't miss an opportunity to....." Don't miss an opportunity to pay a full tithing, to be kinder to someone (one of my favorite things she said tonight "unkindness is unnecessary!") to invite the Spirit into your home in full abundance, to create an environment where the Spirit wants to be, to fully and completely repent. I cringe when I think of all the opportunities I've missed in my life.
She ended with the thoughts "Be prepared to be generous (she told a story about a time when President Monson was travelling overseas and he ended up giving away half of the outfit he had on - his jacket - even his shoes - to individuals who needed them, so now he packs in preparation for giving away his clothes), and be prepared to be where the Lord needs you to be."
Am I where the Lord needs me to be? Not 100%, but I'm working on it. Thank you Sister Nelson for the wonderful words of encouragement and advice.
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2 comments:
That is awesome. I'm so glad you went! I wish I could have gone with you. Very good lessons. I really think maybe you will marry a general authority someday. :)
How great that you were able to go and listen to her. Sometimes I miss my regular institute class or the devotionals or firesides. Even although we're past 30 we still need those moments of inspiration and encouragement.
Thanks for sharing!
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