PRIESTHOOD POWER

Happy Middle of September!

Hope this email finds you all with smiles on your face and ready to face ANYTHING that is thrown at you because you have the gospel power to combat it, right?!

We were given an great lesson by Kelly Beeson this week in Relief Society.  She took us on a plane ride.  She was the non member sitting next to us and she had us explain to her as we would to a perfect stranger knowing nothing of the gospel, the restoration.  It kept us all on our toes.

Kelly was blessed to work on the FARMS project while she attended BYU.  There she was given an assignment to record and type letters that were written by Orson P Pratt.  Something powerful that she said as she was able to share her experience briefly with us was that while she was reading and typing she felt time and time again “ This man REALLY saw an Angel!” She said it was amazing that even though he ended up leaving the church, he NEVER denied the experience that he had with Joseph Smith!  What an awesome testimony she gave, having experienced reading the actual letters where he recounted it with others.

Something that I was thinking about A LOT during this lesson was The Priesthood.  That is definitely something that sets us apart from other religions.  We have holders that have been given that power from the Lord in our day.

Growing up without the priesthood in my home, I often prayed for better understanding of this power and the miracles it can bring forth.  Because of my intense desire to understand and experience the power in my own life, I have been given poignant experiences with the Priesthood that I will treasure forever.   One inparticular was standing out to me as I heard all of you sharing in RS this week.

I have shared before with you all that I worked many years in the EFY program (Especial For Youth).  This program is for the 14-18 year olds of the church (although we do have a number on non members attend as well).  It is set up like a bible style camp and is held in college campuses all over the world now. 

We have a special day in the week program that is a spiritual day.  It happens on Thursdays.  This is the day that all the youth and leaders dress in their Sunday best and we have mini classes talking about our worth and virtue to the girls and missions to the boys.  Then that night it ends with testimony meetings.  It is the day all counselors and leadership look forward too, the day of miracles some of us call it.  You see the light finally come on in some of your most challenging youth’s heads and you see a light of testimony starting to grow.  This day at EFY is always solemn and special.

Of course we give our Youth a break from the spiritual things and they eat lunch and have some free time.  On this particular day that I am going to talk about, I was at BYU-Idaho.  I was incharge of keeping the youth from butting in the lunch lines etc this day.  Having 800 youth come to eat at relatively the same time, is a challenge and this day hadn’t proven any less of one.  The lunch room was crowded, loud and boisterous to say the least.  I was talking to the youth and laughing with them when all of the sudden out of the corner of my eye I noticed something startling.  I noticed a youth go down and begin to have a seizure.

We had just had a training that VERY morning while the kids were in classes about how to react in an emergency situation. I watched fellow counselors move in as we were told and we formed a circle around this girl with our backs faced inward as to not cause a scene.  It worked amazing.  Only a few youth had seen what was happening and we were able to keep things calm and continuing on as normal.  As I sat there on the outside of that circle I could here the priesthood holders discuss what her full name was with her sister who was there and then without any warning the ENTIRE lunchroom went SILENT.  A hush fell over that lunch room.  You couldn’t hear one noise (not even the voice of the men giving a blessing) all you could feel was this OVERWHELMING sense of calm and spirit. 

I as well as many other’s had tears flowing down our cheeks.  It was a power like I hadn’t felt before, it was tangible, it was so powerful it HUSHED a sea of 800 hungry, boisterous teens.  The only way that I knew that the blessing was over is that as soon as the AMEN was done the teens in the room started to carryon like nothing had happened. 

I reflected on that experience all day.  I was so touched at the reverence that the youth showed for the moment of healing that was taking place.  I wondered how in the world they all knew to be quiet at the same time as the blessing was being said. 

That night as I got my girls settled down for bed they said, “Meg, can we ask you something?” I said of course.  “What happened in the lunchroom today?  Why did we feel so compelled to be reverent?”

These youth had absolutely NO IDEA that there was someone that was having a seizure. They had no idea that someone was administering a blessing. All they knew is they were compelled to be reverent.  That was such a testimony to me and to them, of the power of the priesthood.  It has power to compel you to be reverent if it needs to.

That day (as well as many others since) I was taught such a valuable lesson and my faith in Priesthood power was strengthened and made alive again.  I am so thankful for the restoration of the gospel.  For the Priesthood power that it brought back to the earth.  I am thankful that daily through the worthy men in my life I have access to that power. All I need to do is call upon them to bless me with it. I am thankful for the youth of the church that taught me that miracles still happen and who were in-tune to the change in their behavior and made it possible for all of us involved to feel that HUSH that came into the BYU-I lunchroom that day.

Sisters, may we never take this blessing in our lives for granted.  May we be compelled and reverence this gift that we have been blessed with.  May we always feel comfortable to ask for it to bless our lives.  The Priest brings amazing power in our life if we will allow it to work.

Keep pressing forward with faith Sisters!!  Have a great week!!  YOU CAN DO IT!

TO LOVE THE THINGS GOD LOVES

Good Morning Sisters!

HAPPY LABOR DAY!! Hope that all of you are enjoying the day with friends or family.  I am enjoying the day not nannying my twins! Wish I could’ve slept in though, my body is so on this 4:30am schedule though.  Have a great day!

Our lesson today was taught by Carole Richards, our Relief Society President.  She got some of her thoughts from a talk entitled, “ To Love the Things God Loves” from the Ensign in 1981.

We focused on the desires of the heart and that is always such a great teaching to go back to often.  For if we can keep our desires in line with God’s desires, the outcome of our lives would be so much more bright, wouldn’t it?!

In this talk Dennis Peterson shares a story from his mission to Japan and how he had a life changing  moment, while watching an investigator change from a mean and abusive man, to a kind and loving father through the gospel.  He then found a passage in the book, Jesus The Christ,  that made a lasting impression.  It is too powerful not to share.  He relates the following:

 “In Jesus the Christ, it explains that the Savior “had the capacity, the ability to sin had He willed so to do … Nevertheless his insurance against [sin] … is not that of external compulsion, but of internal restraint due to his cultivated companionship of the spirit of truth” (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1973, chapter 10, paragraph 2 from the end, p. 134).

It was a moment of real revelation for me; I understood finally that Christ’s ultimate defense was not his supreme will power but simply that, nurtured by the Spirit, he had no desire for Satan’s grimy alternatives. He loves the things his Father loves. Thus, as his desires became deeds, those deeds reflected a spontaneous righteousness that came from the very depths of his being.

That was the key: to love the things God loves, to make his desires my own, and thus to be truly like him. My problem was that I had been trying to act in godly ways while wanting ungodly things. If I could change the desires of my heart, then my actions would spontaneously become godly.”

I loved this teaching. “If I could change the desires of my heart, then my actions would spontaneously become godly!”

What are our desires of the heart?  Are they turned to the things of God, or do we desire having all the best of the things or the world? 

The gap between good and evil is closing in on us every day. We have to determine where are desires are going to be set.  What our ultimate goals are in this life. Where we want to be. 

I love the story in the Book of Mormon where the prophet King Benjamin asked his people to gather to the temple, “they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple” (Mosiah 2:6) I think this perfectly depicts the desires of their hearts.  They believed that King Benjamin was a prophet of God and their desires were to heed to his words so they  put their doors toward the temple READY to hear.

Where are our door point toward? So our tent door show our true desires? Are we heading ourselves and our families in the right direction?

It is always good to take our temperatures and realign our lives continually so that we are closer to the things that God loves.  I know it is a daily battle.  None of us has it easy.  The battle is what strengthens us for the REAL battle ahead.  It is what prepares us to STAND at the  last day.  The real battle hasn’t started, we are just getting our armor ready.  Every thing that we do to become more godlike, every righteous desire,  gives us one more layer in our shield.  I know that I need every layer that I can get.

Carole said something yesterday that I jotted down because it reminded me of my favorite quote.  She said, “He (God) may not always put things in our time table, but he is listening!”  My favorite quote is by Neal A Maxwell, “Faith in God includes faith in His timing!”

May we all continue to work on “turning our tents toward the temple” that we may be able to align our desires with God’s desires and have faith in him that he KNOWS what is the best for us, because he does!

I love you Sisters and appreciate all the righteous desires I see in you.  I am blessed to be part of you!  Happy Monday!  

KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS

Sisters!  How fun to be back with you after I have missed a couple weeks.  Every time I return after even a week away, I get so excited to be part of things with you again!

Today was our Conference Talk Sunday with our lovely Suzann Garner.  We went over the talk by Elder Bruce Carlson of the seventy from April Conference entitled “When the Lord Commands”.

I read this talk last night and was so impressed by the power in which he taught, using great experiences from the scriptures as well as how he taught in simple terms. 

He taught us that generally when we aren’t keeping the commandments it is because of  3 basic reasons:

1.       We have convinced ourselves that the commandment does not apply to us

2.       This commandment is NOT important

3.       This commandment is just TOO hard!

One of my favorite quotes out of this talk is the following:

“At times we may rationalize that the Lord will understand our disobedience because our special circumstances make adherence to His laws difficult, embarrassing, or even painful.  However, faithful obedience, regardless of the apparent size of task, will bring the Lord’s guidance, assistance and peace.”

This talk was perfect for me at the moment.  I personally needed it to reconfirm to me that a recent conversation I had with a friend, was on point with the gospel teachings.  We know that this world is getting increasingly BLACK AND WHITE.  Being a “fence sitter” is just not enough any more.  We are all being forced to DEFINE our beliefs and HOLD TO THEM. 

One of the heart breaking things that I personally have been going through for years is a lot of my dearest friends in the gospel are choosing a different path, a path that takes them COMPLETELY out of the  path of the Plan of Salvation.  Many of my friends are choosing to lead a homosexual life and giving into those tendencies.  I was having a conversation with one of my best guy friends who I have worked with in gospel teaching situations before. It was a tearful, agonizing conversation in which he was telling me that he has made the choice to continue with this type of lifestyle.  He was talking to me about how heart wrenching it has been for him and how much he has missed teaching in the church, and how he loves the gospel and yet he has “CONVINCED” himself that those 3 things (discussed above) apply to him.

 I talked to him about the Atonement and that he can come back, he doesn’t ‘have to” live this lifestyle.  He told me that it is “just too hard” not to. When he said that, the spirit filed my mind and I was able to talk to him boldly and yet be filled with love.  I told him, “Do you know what the only difference between you and me is?”  He of course said, “What?”  I continued, “The only difference between you and me is that I am straight and you are gay and I choose to bridle my passions and you choose to act on them.  If you chose to be not act on them, you could have all the same rights, covenants and blessings that I do.”  It was silent on the phone for what seemed like 5 minutes, knowing that he was thinking about what I was saying I left it at, “ You know I love you.  Anytime you need me to remind you, I will be here.” And that was the end of a very long conversation that we had that night.  Just when I was at my emotional end, just at the part of the conversation when I was spent “dealing with it”, the spirit took over and said what needed to be said in a way that I personally had not thought of before.

When we choose to live the commandments even when it is HARD.  Even when it is inconvenient.  Even when we have to trade something that we really want for something we want even more, we receive peace and all the blessings that are associated with keeping the commandments.  Living the commandments is ALWAYS the right choice!

  I appreciated the reminder in today’s lesson from the teaching of Joseph Smith.  It was discussing when he kept going to the Lord to allow Martin Harris to take the plates and finally after the third round of asking, The Lord agreed and through that process, Martin lost the manuscript and the plates were taken away from Prophet Joseph for a time.  After this painful lesson Joseph taught, “ I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, DO IT!”

Growing up my Mother would always say, “When the prophet speaks, the debate is over!” as she was teaching us a certain principle that we found particularly hard to hear.   I think that mantra fits the teachings from Joseph Smith as well.  And the great news is when we do, WE WILL BE BLESSED!  Keeping the commandments saves us from so much UNNECESSARY heartache we just need to DO IT! 

Sister’s you are all example’s to me of Women trying hard to keep the commandments.  None of us are perfect but the more time we can stay close to the commandments without faultering, the better we will be in this world of so much contradiction.  May you be blessed as you follow the Lord and heed to the teachings of our leaders today!

Keep the Commandments! Keep the Commandments!

In this there is safety; in this there is peace.

He will send blessings; He will send blessings,

Words of the prophet; Keep the commandments.

In this there is safety and peace.

WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH, IT WILL BE FILLED

Sisters!

 I hope this email finds you well and happy.  I am sorry that I missed you today.  Know that I really did miss you.  Today’s lesson was taught by Kristal Burton.  I didn’t get to hear her lesson but heard she was great!  Her lesson was lesson 15, The Lords Covenant People. 

I loved reading this and knowing that EACH OF US have that title.  We have ALL been baptized and taken on those special covenants and what an honor it is that we each carry that title.   In the lesson it says;

“Along with the blessings we receive as the Lord’s covenant people, we have great responsibilities.  The Lord promised Abraham that through his descendants the gospel would be taken to all the earth.  WE are fulfilling this responsibility though the full-time missionary program of the church and the missionary work done by the members. The opportunity to preach the gospel to all the world belongs ONLY to the Lord’s Church and HIS covenant people.”

I have felt so blessed since living in Arizona in many ways.  Not only the wonderful friends and families I have come close to here in the ward but also the ample opportunities I have had with missionary experiences.  I can not wait for the Gilbert temple to get done.  I already have people waiting in line to go through the tour!  The Lord has blessed me with some great people in my life that have a desire to know more about what I am about.

I had an interesting experience last month that I am going to try to explain to you over email.  I tried out for the show “The Biggest Loser” in 2008.  Through that experience I met some WONDERFUL people that I have continued facebook and phone conversations with for the past 2 years.  We have become pretty close for people that had not previously known each other and do not live in the same area.  One of those people, Josh, who I have been talking to for 2 years now, ended up moving to Arizona around the same time as I did and we didn’t even figure out we were living in the same state until recently.

I participated in a 7.5 mile urban race with him a few weeks ago and that experience opened GREAT opportunity for missionary work.  Why you might ask?  Well I am going to tell you! Haha

When Josh started spending more time with me training and working out he started to see that I was different than other girls he hangs out with.  My language is different, my goals are different the things I do with free time is different.  So he started going through my facebook and blog and found out that I am LDS.  One night when we were finalizing things about the race by phone he said to me,

“ Well I will try really hard not to corrupt you when we spend time together!”  I said, “Corrupt me?  Were you planning too?!”

 He then said,

 “ Well I noticed yesterday on your facebook that you are LDS and so I know that you are a really good girl”

 I said,

“ I am LDS.  It sounds like you have met other LDS people in your life.”

He then said something that was jaw dropping to me. He told me that he was once baptized LDS!  I fought through shock and asked him for more details on that.  He agreed that the night of the race we would talk about it.

He kept up to his bargain and I was told the most tragic tale of someone who the gospel found him, he accepted.  He JUMPED right into activity and responsibility in the church.  Was working on mission papers and then was anti- mormon-ed 2 years after baptism by an previous member. Josh came back to the right sources (members of the church) for the answers to the questions he then had.  His questions were ignored.  They all told him that “all your questions will be answered in time and why don’t you just focus on getting on your mission right now”.

Because Josh’s questions (which by the way ALL have answers through scripture) weren’t answered he has spent the last 8 years out of the church, and from what I can tell pretty lonely and searching.  Something very tragic and unnecessary being that answers could have been given and concerns over come.

I was so thankful that day to be one of the “Lord’s Covenant People” and have the spirit with me to know how to reply to what he was talking to me about.  It felt so good to be in missionary mode again.  It felt good that he knew I lived up to a certain standard and it felt good that Heavenly Father trusted me with starting the teaching process with his child who is wandering.

I have since had many spiritual discussions with Josh and I am still getting the bug into him to start working with the missionaries again.  He said to me, “Why is it that is 20 minutes you could answer all the questions that I have had for 8 years!” I just replied that I didn’t know, but that they were always there. 

Sisters, if we can just remember when we get in situations like this that there are answers in the scriptures.  We are all the Lords’ covenant people and he wants ALL his children to have what we have, and will lead us to the elect. “for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts” (D&C 29:7).  All we have to do is open our mouths.  I know that is easier said then done, but the spirit that comes into your heart when that happens, is so beautiful, it is worth opening your mouth!

Have a great week!  Let’s start praying for those missionary experiences!  One thing that I love about my church is the sister’s that come with it!!  I love you ladies!!

Things As They Really Are

Happy Sabbath Sisters!!

Can you believe that the summer is coming to a close?! Next week for most the school year will be starting! One of the great things that comes with a new School Year is new goals. Both individually and as family members. That is why I LOVED the topic that Ashlee prayerfully selected to teach on this month. It is a CES talk that was put in the July Ensign called, “Things as they really are” by Elder David Bednar.

This article focuses a lot on the internet and how it has potential to “lull us into carnal security” as is talked about in 2 Nephi 28:21 or basically Satan tactics work in such a clever way that before we even know it, we are wasting away our time on things that appear to be good, but are taking away the BEST parts of our lives; family time, teaching time, listening time, pondering time.

Some of the examples that we gave that are things that aren’t real (not necessarily are they bad, but if used out of balance, they can take away the BEST parts of our life that we mentioned above.)
• Blogging or Blog Stocking  Blogging is used for so many things and in my family I have seen our relationships grow stronger because people are better able to candidly speak their mind in a safe place. But this can also consume A LOT of your time. You could be so addicted to see what your friends are posting about their kids and “perfect lil families” that you are neglecting important things with you own.
• Games could also fall into this category. If you are constantly playing solitaire, bejeweled, Farmville, family feud or other games that you can play mindlessly by yourself, are you taking away from better things?
• Shopping could fall into this category. Are you going shopping cause your bored, or to fill a need fro retail therapy?
• Grooming. So you go to get a pedicure to ESCAPE a day of badly behaved kids or to get away with a best girlfriend or are you going to keep yourself in order?
• Movies, TV, Video game systems- are they the babysitters of your kids or are you? Do they take away quality CAR TALKING TIME from your kids cause it is just easier to have them on? Are you missing opportunities to teach, talk or giggle with your kids because these have become big distractions in your homes?
There are so many more things we could add to the list of things that have the potential to get us distracted from the real picture! From the REAL things that lead us back to our Father in Heaven, the eternal things. We all know what those are… prayer, family time, scripture study, teaching gospel principles through life experiences, bearing testimony through life experiences.

It all comes down to this. We are all susceptible to the cunning deceiving ways of Lucifer. He can slowly and creatively use GOOD things and make them things that distract us from being who we really are or seeing things and they REALLY are. Something that Elder Bednar said struck me:

 "The Lord KNOWS who WE really are, what WE really think, what WE really do, and who WE really are becoming”

 Because Satan was there with us in the war in Heaven, he too knows who we are, and what we are to become and that is why he tries his HARDEST to make GOOD things to become distractions and wedges in our family relationships and our relationships with our Father in Heaven!

One of the parts to this talk that REALLY stood out to me personally was this.

“Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception—and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons. Moroni declared:

“Hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

“Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:27–28).

As we heed that inspired counsel, we can and will be blessed to recognize and repel the attacks of the adversary—today and in the days that lie ahead. We can and will fulfill our foreordained responsibilities and contribute to the work of the Lord in all the world.”

We all have weaknesses. We all have things that keep us just a little farther away from God. Things that we are constantly struggling on overcoming. We all have to take these times of the year to RE-EVALUATE where we stand in relationship to our journey home. Where we can make a small change or a course correction that will steer us closer to our eternal home and realign our compass yet again. It’s not hard to do, many of the things we need to change are there right within the walls of our OWN homes. Just small course corrections that can make HUGE differences on the lives of our family members.

“When a man makes war on his own weaknesses he engages in the holiest war that mortals ever wage. The reward that comes from victory in this struggle is the most enduring, most satisfying, and the most exquisite that man ever experiences…The power to do what we ought to so is the greatest freedom” – Bryant Hinckley , father of Gordon B. Hinckley ( That Ye Might Have Joy, p. 83)

Sisters, may we have the courage to evaluate how we are spending our “free time” both in our families and our individual lives and make sure we have the balance that we need to spiritually safeguard ourselves from the threatening of Satan. I am so thankful that we have Prophets, Seers and Revelators in our midst and that they know OUR day and know the things that we need to make it back to our eternal home. May we help, encourage and love each other through our journey home.

WATCHING WITH ALL PERSERVERANCE

Hello Dear Ladies!!

How has your week been?  Are you enduring the heat?!  I have been thinking about you all this week and I am so thankful being surrounded by all the wonderful examples and the  “builders” of people that you all are.  Thank you for showing me how  real woman of God really act.  I love being with and around you woman!

Our lesson today was taught by the ever talented Suzann Garner.  She taught using the talk in this last conference by Elder Bednar called, "Watching with All Perseverance" In this lesson Suzann did a beautiful job talking about spiritual warnings.  She played different earthly warning systems for us and asked us to identify what they were.  Then talked about the warnings that we may feel or see that aren’t necessarily obvious at first. We talked about safeguards that keep us from missing these warnings, such as, our scriptures, prayer, spiritual family conversations etc. 

I have told you all before about my experiences from EFY (since I don’t have kids of my own yet) and one thing they stress to us as counselors is when youth ask questions, take them to the “SOURCE”.  Have them open the source, read what you are teaching, and so that when they are alone, or when they are in need of an IMMEDIATE answers, comfort etc they on their own will seek the RIGHT source.  Of course for sources we have the Book of Mormon and other scripture, Conference talks, For the Strength of Youth, and one of my all time favorite is True to the Faith. These are the things that will help us to:

1.       Talk to our Children

2.       Bear Testimony to them

3.       And invite them to ACT

My mom shared with me the sweetest story that she read out of the friend magazine and I loved how this young 11 yr old KNEW what she believed and how she could gain the spirit to testify about her beliefs.

Courage to Testify

Sophie E., age 11, Utah

Sophie E., “Courage to Testify,” Friend, Mar. 2010, 30

“I visited my grandpa and grandma who are not members of the LDS Church. On Sunday we went to the church where my grandpa preaches. A girl invited me to go to Sunday School with her. The teacher was teaching about “Mormonism.” I knew that what she was teaching was not the truth, and I felt angry. I excused myself from class. Once I was alone I said a prayer to ask Heavenly Father for courage to bear my testimony. When I got back to class, I raised my hand and said, “I am a Mormon.” Suddenly I felt the Spirit really strong and my fear went away completely.

The teacher asked me if I could tell the class why we are called Mormons. I said, “We are called Mormons because we believe in the Book of Mormon.” A girl said that she had started to read the Book of the Mormon but she laughed at it. She asked me how I could believe such a story. Her question hurt my feelings, but I said what was in my heart: “I know it is true because I prayed to Heavenly Father and He told me it was so.” Before this happened I did not think I could share my testimony with so many people who didn’t believe in our Church, but now I know that the Spirit will always give me courage.”

We will all at times in our lives need the “Courage to Testify”.  We will be given those spiritual promptings that tell us we need to open our mouths and share a gospel principle or use an everyday conversation to teach. It  may be with a child, a family member , neighbor, co-worker or someone we barely know.  If we put our life in harmony with receiving those promptings we will be able to turn those around us to the “source” and help them to understand something a little more.  I am so thankful for the blessings that we receive when heed the promptings of the spirit and we add more and more spiritual things into our life! As we do those spiritual things the promptings become richer and we are able to share more of ourselves and our testimonies with others!

Have an amazing week, full of good things my dear sisters!

The Power of the Priesthood

Happy July Sisters!!
I am so sorry that I missed you last week. I actually got sick on the fourth from too much partying with the Layton Bunch (HAHAHA). I went to bed at 8pm and just blanked getting you emailed. I am glad to be back this week with you. What a great month to remember our freedoms and the things that we get to experience as members of the church in this country! We don’t have to hide behind who we are or what we stand for. We don’t have to keep our beliefs in members homes and be silent in public. We don’t have to live in fear that our very lives are in jeopardy because of our beliefs. We just basically have to live them! What an amazing feeling that is for us as Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints.

Today we were taught well by our lovely Michelle Hansen about The Priesthood and the blessings we receive in our life from this worthy holders of God’s power. Many Sister’s shared such touching stories about how it has blessed their lives or the lives of family members directly and I was so filled with gratitude from the things that they shared.

I wanted to share part of my life with you today about how the priesthood has blessed my life and I hope that through writing this will make sense because I have never recorded this is writing.

Many of you know that I was raised by a single Mom alone. My Dad wasn’t in the picture until my adult years. I never had the priesthood in my home and from an early age I recognized the difference of feeling that was from visiting other homes with worthy priesthood holders. It was something that I thought about often but not so sure I expressed it as much through prayer, although I definitely discussed it within my being a lot. I had to come to terms with this emptiness I thought I had as a youth. I longed to be able to KNOW what it felt like to have a Father’s Blessing, what it felt like to wake up sick in the night and have the Priesthood there to administer to you without having to call an uncle, grandpa or ward member out of their homes to do so. I think the Lord knew that this was something that tormented my little soul and he started sending me very SACRED experiences with the Priesthood which helped me understand that this was HIS Priesthood and no matter who the messenger was, HE was the source. I have several experience with this power that I could talk to you about today, very spiritual to me, but the one that came to my mind as you were all sharing today was when my cousin was in need of healing and I was able to witness the true Priesthood at work.

My Mother comes from a family of 11 children in which she is the oldest and the only single one. Growing up “Aunt Kim’s” house was the house to be at! Mom always made it fun and let us destroy, play, create, and eat so we all loved to be there! Mom and I were also the babysitters of the many nieces and nephews she had. At one time in my life my Uncle had just gone through a bad divorce and was working a lot and so Mom and I helped to care for his daughter, who he had full custody of, from when she was still using a bottle. We had been doing this for many years. At one point the courts allowed her mother weekend visitations. She was to get Jessica for a day and had to return her to us at a certain time at night.

On a particular weekend Mom and I were at home (I was about 19) waiting for Jes to arrive home and there was no sign of her. We started getting nervous as to why she wasn’t there. We were watching the news when a breaking story came on that there was a 5 year old girl in ICU at Primary Children’s due to a drug overdose from her Mother. We just had that feeling that it was her and called and confirmed it with the hospital. Another Aunt and I rushed to Salt Lake while Mom stayed home and tried to contact her Father and other family members.

When we got to the hospital and explained who we were, they sat down and talked to us about what had happened to her. They told us that she was with her Mother (who told them she had full custody) and had been put in a bedroom for a nap. On the dresser there were 5 LSD laced candy conversation hearts. This 5 yr old saw them and OF COURSE wanted them. So she ate all 5 (enough to kill an adult). When her Mom came in she found her foaming at the mouth and called 911. They placed Mother in jail and brought Jessica back to life on route to the hospital. They explained that when we went into her room it will be dark and that we needed to talk in the quietest whispers because the drug makes everything so much louder and she is very scared. He also told us that with the amount of LSD she consumed she would most likely experience symptoms her whole life in some form.

As we went entered that dark, cold room my heart was broke. This poor girl was so scared, hiding under her blanket and having horrible hallucinations. When I lifted the blanket she just clung on to me and was crying asking me to help her. I have never seen such heart break in my life to that point. The only thing I could think of is getting her the help I knew ONLY Heavenly Father had to give. My Aunt stayed with her in the room and I went out in search of the Priesthood.

One nice thing about living in Utah is they will page over the loud speaker to have Priesthood holders come to room such and such and people will show up, which was the case this time. We had 2 men show up. One that only spoke Spanish as well as an English speaking man. In my haste and anxiety I just showed them into the room and told them they had to whisper, without giving ANY explanation of what had happened to our sweet Jes. They asked for her full named and the Spanish speaking brother anointed her for her healing and the other was voice. The most overwhelming feeling of peace and comfort came into the room the second he spoke her full name. In the blessing she was told that in her short years of life she had already been given many trials that people don’t go through in a lifetime and that her Heavenly Father wanted her to know that it was not her fault. He told her that she would be blessed because of these trials and that she would be “successful and live a healthy, normal life and would experience no side effects from these drugs.” By the time he closed this priesthood blessing both strangers in the gospel were in tears and kissed her forehead and left the room. They motioned for me to follow them and with tear stained face the English speaking brother said, “what happened to her?” That was the moment that I realized I had never even explained to them why she was even in the hospital. Here this stranger, through the power of the priesthood, granted her to have “no side effects from these drugs” yet he himself had no idea what he ailment was.

I explained to them a little of what had gone on, hugged them and thanked them for being worthy holders that day and went back to attend to my cousin, who by this time had visitors beginning to file in. I want you to know that Jessica miraculously went home the next day, she has never suffered the consequences of those damaging drugs, she graduated from high school with honors and has a full ride scholarship at UVU.

I understand that not all Priesthood blessings end with the result being what all the family hoped for. But for Jessica that is what was supposed to happen as part of Heavenly Father’s plan in her life and she has been blessed even though she was suffering because of someone else’s negligence.

Experiences like this, the ones I have witnessed first hand, have strengthened and developed my unwavering testimony of the power of the Priesthood, God’s power. I KNOW that God has restored his power to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. I KNOW that the same power is on the earth today. I know it because I have felt it. I know it because I have seen mighty miracles come as a result of the priesthood. I saw a very sick 5 year old be released from the hospital the day after she was brought back to life. I have seen health restored, faith restored, ordinances restored, all through this same power. It is real. It is available to all of us!

Whether we currently have it in our homes or not, we all have rights to receive the blessings and can do so just by asking a worthy Priesthood holder. As someone who is in that situation still to this day where I have to go out of my home to ask someone to bless me, I will tell you that it is an honor to these holders to bless you. They receive such peace and comfort from blessing you. I have been told thank you by people I have asked for a blessing stating that they love to serve their Heavenly Father in that way.

The only person that you are hurting by not asking for a blessing, regardless of circumstance, is yourself. Such peace and comfort can be felt through this holy power given to worthy men on Earth.

Thank you Michelle for setting such a great atmosphere for sharing today. I loved to hear the blessings that those among us have experienced and it brought in the spirit so strong. I love you all. Enjoy your week and stay as cool as you can!

Meg