"Days Never To Be Forgotten"

As we bring to a close our five days at the Mission President's Seminar at the Provo MTC, I keep thinking of what Oliver Cowdery said of his experience acting as scribe to Joseph Smith while he was translating the Book of Mormon. He wrote:

"These are days never to be forgotten; to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven..."

The Spirit was so strong that there were times I seriously wondered if I would survive physically.  We learned that when we are taught by the Spirit both our hearts and our minds are fully engaged.  It is much more than just emotion or sentimentality or even tears.  It is a consuming process involving all of our faculties, filling our minds with enlightenment and our hearts with love.  At our Sacrament meeting on Sunday, President Monson spoke and the experience of partaking of the sacrament alongside 11 members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and all of the First Presidency passed to us by the missionaries was something we will never forget.

I have to admit that I have been astounded at how well cared for we have been.  They really set the example of how we can make our missionaries feel loved.  From the moment we drove our car through the booth we were addressed by name (even before we were wearing name tags) and we were treated with such love and concern. I later learned from the MTC President that they had been studying for weeks our names and faces so that they could greet us personally.  There were 130 couples.

Our environment was lovely with flowers and special touches.  And the meals and refreshments were wonderful. Too wonderful I should add! I couldn't help but think if Heaven is anything like what we experienced there: the love, the feeling that you are known personally and welcomed so enthusiastically, the chance to sit down and feast both temporally and spiritually alongside some of the finest individuals in the world and to be taught from on high, then I really want to go there! We were greatly fed.  And now we must go and do likewise and feed His sheep. 

One of the sweetest things that I didn't really expect to feel was such a love for the other presidents and their wives.  It has been a joy to meet these wonderful people from all over the world and hear of their stories of faith and sacrifice that have brought them here to serve.  I have marveled at the strong leaders that the Lord is raising up in His Church from every part of the world.  There is a special bond between all of us.  At one point in the seminar after a powerfully moving talk by President Uchtdorf, Elder Bednar, who was conducting, said that the reason there was such an outpouring of the Spirit was because of the power of the collective sacrifices made by all those in attendance to be there. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven.  I thought my heart would burst as I realized that I was the recipient of such a sublime experience because of all of those faithful people around me.  I felt that my sacrifice was so small compared to so many of them.  We ended with President Boyd K. Packer speaking to us and giving us an Apostolic blessing after the testimonies of five of the Apostles were given. As I listened to this man who the world may deem old and weak speaking to us from a wheelchair and in such a soft voice, I marveled that in this man was true power and authority.  In five days we had heard from all the First Presidency and the 12. These five days have been amazing.  But I realize they would not have been possible without the commitment to give the next 1095 days.  

Here's just a few highlights:

When we first drove in we almost didn't go in this lot thinking it couldn't be for US!

A precious couple from Fiji (pictured on the left) who will serve in Little Rock, Arkansas! They speak English, but are a little worried about learning the language of Arkansas!

The Famous MTC Map

The first day, we got to take a field trip to Thanksgiving Point to see a new film the Church will be releasing soon. It was powerful!  Our bus drove by 1600 North and I got a pang of homesickness and we hadn't even been gone a day!

I made friends with this beautiful woman from Africa who will be serving with her husband in the Ivory Coast.

Got to see these two special ladies!  Juliana who is serving at the MTC and Terri Taggart called to serve with her husband in Anaheim, California.

Seeing our fellow ward member, Chris Dowling who has a calling at the MTC, was also a treat. 

Some memorable quotes:

Elder Bednar: "Never forget that with the weight of the responsibility you are feeling also comes the equally enabling strength from the power of the Atonement." ( It was so sweet to see a really relaxed and fun side to Elder Bednar as well as his powerful more serious qualities.)

Elder Russel M. Nelson addressing all of us: "Together, as you serve all over the world, you will catch the wave of righteousness that will sweep the earth!"

Elder David F. Evans (Head of the Missionary Departnment) "We must not be fearful of the use of Technology by our missionaries.  Instead we must see that their mission can be an ideal opportunity for them to learn how to use technology appropriately and teach habits that will last forever because

when they return they will be surrounded by technology.  They will need to have learned that the only effective filter will be the heart of an individual seeking to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost.."  He went on to report that by 2015 more than 32, 000 missionaries will be using technology and digital devices properly configured. 

Sister Clayton: To those wives who will be having to learn another language. "Don't feel like you ever have to dumb down your message because you can't say it in that language. There is always someone who can translate for you.  You weren't called because of your ability to conjugate verbs.  You were called because of who you are and what you have to offer.  When the Prophet travels to different countries he uses an interpreter.  While there can be great power in a simple testimony, there may be times you feel impressed to share something more complex.  All of you women here have a  very high level of gospel knowledge. Don't feel like you can only give a second grade level talk. While the gift of tongues is real, make your peace now with the fact that you probably will never be able to speak at the level you would like.  It's ok and no reflection on your worthiness or capacity to serve.  (This one really made me feel better.)  When she said this in the Wives' session you could feel a huge collective sigh of relief!) 

President Uchtdorf gave one of the most  powerful talks I will every hear about the Savior and what happened to the apostles after His death.  He said that "the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ  and the ensuing reception of the Holy Ghost transformed a tiny band of frightened, discouraged and grieving men into dynamic, powerful witnesses of Christ.  And it can do the same thing for you and your missionaries." 

"The life-giving waters of the everlasting gospel are before us.  Will we take a few sips through a pinched straw or will we allow the everlasting well of water become a spring within us?" 

The Spirit was so strong that none of us could really process what was happening to us.  We wondered how could Bishop Causse follow such a talk.  And he proceeded to add upon what President Uctdorf  said in ways that again we all marveled. He spoke about the difference between sacrifice and consecration.  Although he didn't say it exactly like this, what I came away with was that sacrifice involves what we give up and consecration involves what we give. He shared some  tender personal stories about the opportunities that have come in his life to do both. 

Another treat was after the devotional talk by Elder Todd Christofferson about the worth of a soul and then we all sang Called to Serve and after the prayer all the mission presidents, who were seated on the main floor with all the young missionaries behind us, turned around and waved to all the young missionaries and they waved back. Such a sweet moment.  We were filled with such love for all of them.  Onward, ever onward!