I spoke on Eternal Life/Gospel of Jesus Christ and Jared spoke on Service. I especially enjoy "introducing" our family at the beginning. From our missions, to how we met in the mission, to our 14 moves, to our different jobs, children, and now what we are currently doing.
How thankful I am for the experiences I have had as a teacher, and now as the owner at our DB location b/c speaking in front of a group is not intimidating to me anymore and I feel very comfortable in front of a crowd. Not only that, but how nice it is to have people smile back at you when you are speaking.
I shared a story that was very powerful. If you can....read it.
It is from Elder Craig A. Cardon....read it until the very end b/c it has a different ending than expected:
I began my college studies at a university about 100 miles (160 km) from home. It was an exciting time for all the freshman students. Many were living away from home for the first time and were eager to express their newfound freedom from parental oversight.
I was on the university basketball team, and it quickly became known that I was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the first weeks of the semester, one of my teammates invited me to a Saturday night party for new students to be held in the desert outside the city. I asked if the party would include alcohol and was assured that it would not. I felt uncomfortable with this response but decided to attend nonetheless. A blind date was arranged for me with the assurance that she had the same standards I had. My teammate explained that we would use his car.
That Saturday night we drove some distance into the desert and found the party. To my great disappointment, drinking alcohol was the principal activity, notwithstanding the fact that the legal drinking age in the state was three years above the age of most of the freshman students. My date couldn’t wait to begin drinking, along with my teammate and his date. When I voiced disappointment, they said I needed to “grow up and live a little” and that they would help me. I told them that I had never drunk alcohol and that I was not going to start then. They soon left me so they could join the others.
I sat alone, apart from the drinking and boisterous laughter, without transportation to leave, wondering why I had gotten myself into this mess. Later in the night, I saw a line of car headlights coming through the desert toward the party. The cars encircled the group, and then, as if on signal, lights began flashing on the top of what I then recognized as police cars. Many students attempted to run into the desert but were quickly apprehended. I remained where I was, perplexed by the developments.
The police began checking identification to determine the ages of the students, giving breath tests to those below the legal drinking age to determine if they had been drinking. When they came to me, I told an officer that I had not drunk alcohol that night or ever. He laughed at me, but when I firmly stated that he could believe me, his countenance changed. He told me that I did not have to take the test and directed me to drive my teammate’s car back to the university. Those who were underage and drinking were cited and required to pay fines. Some were taken to jail.
I, however, left with no police record and arrived home at about 3:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. Priesthood meeting in my ward began at 7:00 a.m. My alarm sounded at 6:45 a.m. I turned it off and rolled over, thinking for a few moments of all the reasons not to attend that morning. But spiritually, I couldn’t rest. I arose, dressed in my Sunday clothes, and walked to the chapel, arriving about 10 minutes after the meeting had begun.
As I walked into the chapel, my heart leaped as I recognized the back of my father’s head. He had come to visit me, unannounced. I slipped in beside him and sat down. He looked at me and smiled. Then, putting his hand firmly on my knee, he leaned over and whispered a message with meaning far beyond words: “I knew I would find you here, Son.” Simultaneously, Heavenly Father whispered the same message to my soul. I can’t adequately describe the love and joy I felt at that moment.
A few months later I was on my mission. A few months after that, I received word that my father had died unexpectedly. The message I received from him and through him that Sunday, however, has never left me.
What a powerful message that Elder Cardon received from his father about the trust that his own father had in him. His dad, although arriving unannounced, knew that he would find his son attending his priesthood meeting. How do you think his dad would feel if he had arrived and didn’t find his son in attendance? How do you think Elder Cardon would’ve felt knowing that his dad had planned this surprise visit, was anxiously awaiting a chance to visit with his son, and never was able to do so?
This scenario is similar to what I perceive our Heavenly Father feeling when we are sent here to earth. We are given opportunities to make mistakes, to repent, to learn from our lessons and choose better choices. Elder Cardon could’ve slept through the alarm, blaming his so called “friends” for his lack of sleep and providing a solid excuse to not go to his meeting. But, he had been taught that what’s even more important, is the fact that the gospel of Jesus Christ is more important than sleep. What makes a stronger impact on me, are the final words that his father was able to express with him two months before dying, “I knew I would find you here, Son.” Heavenly Father has that same trust in us, that same desire to share the Eternities with us, and it is up to us to wake up, put on our Sunday clothes, and attend that meeting!
