Thursday, March 13, 2008

Sister Beck's CES Talk, Take 2

I listened to Sister Beck’s CES fireside talk again. Wow, again. I wept as I felt the Spirit so strongly. There is such power in her words, in true and direct teaching.

I heard and noticed different things this time. Last time I listened, I heard much about claiming the blessings of Abraham. This time, I listened more carefully for the specific counsel she gave for those who are not yet married. She gave clear and simple counsel.

She spoke to these young adults as their aunt. She gave them four ‘keys’ that they could use to actively move the work of the Lord forward, have the Spirit more fully in their lives, and increase their likelihood of meeting someone with whom they could form an eternal family. The four keys were as follows (you need to listen to the talk to understand the significance of the keys...what a great image she created!)

BTW, these are not all going to be verbatim…I'm writing from memory:

  • Serve
  • Preach the Gospel
  • Do Family History and Temple Work
  • Prepare for the Future

Isn’t there wonderful counsel for any of us in those keys?

One of the elements of her talk that stuck out to me was her emphasis and re-emphasis on doing the things that allow the Spirit to flourish. As we do the things that bring the Spirit most abundantly, as we choose to spend our time engaged in the work of the Lord and more fully fulfilling our covenant responsibilities, our lives will be filled with the Spirit. And then the Spirit can more easily guide us in the specifics of all the counsel our leaders give. Good, better, best. We have gotten this reminder often the past few years. We need to be sure we spend our time in the best ways possible so that we increase the chance for the Spirit to be with us to guide and bless us.

There is much more she said. Once again, I commend her talk to you. I think I might just listen to it again, for I’m sure I will glean something every time I listen to it. I am so grateful to have such a strong and faith-filled woman leading the Relief Society organization for the Church.

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