The theme presentation at the stake women's conference:
As we meet as Relief Society sisters this morning, I am
overcome with a sense of gratitude for ALL those sisters who have gone before
us. March 17, 2017 marks 175 years since the organization of the Relief Society
by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842. Knowing that we are a part of this great
chain of female discipleship should give us strength and courage as we move
ahead to overcome the challenges we face in our day as modern day members of
this great organization. Relief Society
is literally the gospel in action in the lives of you remarkable women. One of
the purposes of Relief Society is to increase faith in Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ and His Atonement. Our goal
for the conference today is to do just that.
We hope that you will leave this conference knowing that you are a
beloved daughter of our Heavenly Father and that he knows you and what you are
experiencing in mortality. We hope you
will feel increased hope and encouragement, knowing that you are not alone as
you face challenges in life. We have
prayed that that Holy Ghost will touch your hearts and give you strength,
encouragement and determination to carry on, for we know that many of you are
dealing with very difficult challenges.
We are hopeful that through the beautiful music that will be sung or
presented, through the messages of our speakers and through the spirit, that
you will feel buoyed up, more confident and more able to recognize the good in
your lives, and to give thanks to the Lord.
As a presidency, we chose the theme for this conference from
Proverbs 3:5-6, which reads: Trust in
the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all they ways acknowledge him, and he
shall direct they paths.
Trusting in the Lord with all our hearts is sometimes a very
difficult challenge because our own reasoning, our own thoughts and ways of
doing things can get in the way. Leaning
on our own understanding typically means that we tend to ask the question
“WHY?” Why me, why did this happen, why
now, why this person, why this challenge? Then we tend to wonder: What did I do to deserve this? Did I do something wrong? Am I being punished? Who is to blame? Where can I go to find solace? Who will help me? How can I escape this challenge? Why, why, why?
Although each of us will pass through the “land of whys” or
the land of questions and concerns as a natural part of grieving those things
we’ve lost or that have changed, we usually try to find mortal solutions and
explanations for the hard things that happen to us. Ultimately I believe the answers will be more
quickly found and issues more quickly resolved if we learn to trust in the
Savior. The Savior doesn’t want us to
try harder to resolve our problems and challenges on our own; he wants us to
turn to him sooner. Accessing the healing and comforting power of the atonement is the one sure way to feel peace and comfort in a world of challenges, sorrow and disappointment.
Sisters, how can we learn to turn to him sooner? How can we learn to access the Lord’s help through the atonement?
The answer is in learning to have faith in Him, believing
Christ’s promises and teachings, trusting him and turning the challenges that
our mortal minds cannot solve or comprehend over to Him who is mighty to
save. He, only one.
This process may seem counterintuitive to our mortal
minds.
We may insist that we can “do it
on our own” or that “God doesn’t care about me” or “I don’t feel worthy to ask
for help.”
Simply put, these are all
Satan’s lies.
He wants us struggle on
alone, hopeless and unhappy, isolated and prone to making foolish choices that
only make hard situations harder.
Trusting in Christ is the only safe way that will ultimately yield the greatest
rewards here and later. The choice is ours.
He may test us to see if we will chose Him, even when we feel abandoned
by Him.
At some point we will have to
decide if we choose to follow Christ, having faith and trust in Him, or if we won’t.
If we don’t chose Christ, the alternatives
often lead to bitterness, despair, sustained anger, on-going loss of faith,
remorse and hopelessness.
We have chosen to use the beautiful painting by Joseph Brickey (a member of the 8th ward) that depicts Christ walking on the water.
We can read in the gospels the accounts of Matthew, Mark and John as they relate to this miraculous story. The words they use are instructive to us today:
In Matthew 14: 24-32 it reads:
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the seas,
tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they
cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying,
Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou,
bid me come unto three on the water.
29 And
he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw
the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and
beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And
immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him,
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying,
Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
In Mark 6:48 it reads that they were
toiling to row, that
the wind was contrary.
John states in 6:21: Then they
willingly received him into the ship, and immediately the ship was at the land wither they went.
The key words used in the scriptures are: tossed with waves, winds contrary and boisterous, fearful, cried out "save me!" Christ IMMEDIATELY helped when asked. But Peter had to ask first. He had to reach and then Christ stretched for his hand and saved him. He, meaning Christ, reaches our reaching! Once they had been tested, they willingly received him into the safety of their ship and the seas were instantly calmed.
Can you see the application for us today? Can you see the parallels to your own life's circumstances?
Today, I asked my presidency and five more sisters to share a short example, or a vignette of sorts, from their lives telling of a time when they were figuratively traveling on a ship that was tossed with the waves and the wind was contrary. Some of them even left the safety of the ship to seek the Savior or were thrown overboard and ventured into deep water, trying to make their way to Christ who was mighty to save. I'm grateful for these courageous women who have agreed to show us a glimpse into their hearts and personal lives were there is sometimes sorrow or challenges that the eye can't see. We often look around the room full of our Relief Society sisters and think that we are the only one who is struggling or suffering through some challenges in life. Sisters, we all have been, or will be upon the great deep. Hopefully the stories shared will strengthen your resolve to carry on with faith, trusting in the Lord, and to keep moving, struggling or swimming towards Christ. We will share real life examples of how this could be done.
I'll start off and share an example from my own life of learning to trust in the Lord and then we will follow the program as outlined.
