It's a Sure Bet!

Wow! It has been a fantastic weekend!  It has been a little like Christmas, but without all the stress!  Did you watch general conference?  I hope you will take the chance to enjoy it if not.  Once again it has been a testimony for me that those men are called of God.  Although, recently I have been thinking about how it must be for someone on the outside looking in.  Is it obvious for them as it is for me that this church is true?  What is it that makes me so sure- and am I really so sure?  Some things I know absolutely are true from experience I have had.  Other things I just know, however it is the things coupled with the experiences I find I am able to glean the largest support.  I want to share my thoughts with you today about the sure way I know these things- and how you can know them as well.

I believe I have shared this story before, but that is ok as I am sure I will share it a little differently now.  I remember when I was little thinking about those some questions I mentioned above.  One evening pondering these things I had the question come to me about how much I would be willing to bet if the church was true.  I thought 1000$ would do . . . a little more thinking and I was up to 2000$ . . . soon up to 3000$ . . . and so forth continuing to climb.  After a time I realized there was a problem in trying to settle on any number to bet.

It's Simply Elementary!

Like I previously mentioned in my post “Have You Thanked Your Personal Cheerleaders Today?,” I am very grateful for the things my parents have done for me.  Immediately following Elder Holland, Sister Rosemary M. Wixom talked about the righteous example of parents in her talk titled “Stay on the Path.”  Supporting her words, Sister Mary N. Cook also talked about being a righteous example in her talk “Be an Example of the Believers.”  I love how even though none of the speakers in conference are assigned a talk they all seem to center around the same themes.  I enjoyed her inspired words urging us to reach out more to our children, and stand as a righteous example for them.

Although I do not have any children of my own . . . or plan to have any soon, the principles and lessons which Sister Wixom talked about are certainly applicable in our lives no matter who we are.  I think in each of our lives we do not fully realize the impact we have on others, or how we can affect them.  The year before I came here as a missionary I had a unique experience to volunteer at an elementary school.  This experience helped me to understand some of the principles Sister Wixom talked about.