Waxing Spiritual

On Saturday morning I was able to attend the Stake Relief Society presentation of the 10 Virgins.  It was very well done and the spirit was there in abundance.

As I sat listening to the story told through song it occurred to me as it never had before that all 10 women were good women, and not 5 good and 5 bad like I had previously supposed.  Each woman was given a talent and the only difference between the women was whether they chose to magnify their talent and use it to bless the lives of others, or to get so busy doing other good things that they failed to do the most important things.

There was a point when the bridegroom came and one woman lamented that she had meant to fill her lamp, but just got so busy with everything else she had to do that she ran out of time and my heart broke for her, because by then it was too late and I felt a pang in my heart that unless I get busy that could be me.

After the presentation our Stake President stood and felt prompted to remind us sisters that we shouldn't be to hard on ourselves and that all Heavenly Father requires is our best.  He then did something I have never had happen to me before, he blessed us by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood he holds that "as we come unto our Father it will be enough" and "that we will not be deceived" and "the day will come when he will say unto you, 'well done thou good and faithful servant".  It was an experience I hope I never forget.

Sunday evening I attended a fireside given by Kim Nelson a member of the Bellevue WA Stake Presidency.  His address was given to the sisters and was about how we as women are too hard on ourselves.  He said, "You sisters have no idea how good you are!  It is frustrating to see people in the world doing mediocre things and calling them great and see you women doing great things and thinking it is not good enough.  Only the adversary would have you not feel good about yourself."

He talked a little bit about Moroni, in Ether 12:37.  He reminded us that at this point Moroni had been the prophet for about 40 years and that he was in hiding from the Lamanites because if they found him they would kill him, just like they had killed all the rest of the Nephites.  Ether 12:37 says,
"And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made ^aclean. And because thou hast seen thy ^bweakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father."

President Nelson pointed out that the Lord told Moroni that his garments shall be made clean and that his weaknesses shalt be made strong.  So here is the prophet who is still not perfect, but he is able to talk to the Lord face to face.  If Moroni can approach the Lord despite his lack of perfection, we can to and we should.

Another thing he said was, "Sisters, you have a wonderful capacity to give, but you're terrible at receiving!  Be as kind to yourself as you are to others!!"  He read Proverbs 31:10-31 which describes a virtuous woman and then reminded us that for most of the women in the church this is not a to-do list, but rather a resume.

As he concluded his talk, I witnessed for the second time in my life a speaker bless those who were in attendance by the authority of Melchizedek priesthood that he holds.  He blessed us that we would "find the kindness of the spirit in our lives and that we would say kind things to each other and hear the good things said about us".

For the first time in a long time I have pulled my lamp off the shelf and I am carrying it proudly looking for an opportunity to add another drop of oil to the reservoir just in case He comes sooner than I was expecting and I hope that you will too.