WOW!

Okay, so I know I'm a little late and we're moving on to the Priesthood Session talks (hooray!), but Elder Scott's and Elder Nelson's talks NEED to have a post! WOW! I remember being so touched during Conference when I heard Elder Scott share his experience of losing his children and wife and expressing his gratitude for the temple ordinances that help families be together beyond the grave. Reading it again only made it better.

First of all, Lesson For Misty: Get to the Temple! Adam and I aren't able to go as often as we did before we had children, but we need to get in gear and make it a priority again. We find the time to have date night, to visit with friends, to go to a movie, but our temple attendance has been pretty sad as of late. I needed to hear Him remind me to get my act together and take advantage of the blessings offered by going to the temple.

Whew. Now on to some other things that stuck out to me: I noticed that 14 years ago, Elder Scott made the goal to attend the temple at least once a week, and that 14 years ago is also when he lost his wife. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing those two things are closely related. It reminded me that temple attendance can be an amazing source of strength and power and can give us the ability to get through any tough situation we may find ourselves in. There were also a few things he said while he was talking about losing his wife and his son that really touched me.

• "I have never asked why but rather what is it that He wants me to learn from this experience. I believe that is a good way to face the unpleasant things in our lives, not complaining but thanking the Lord for the trust He places in us when He gives us the opportunity to overcome difficulties."
• "We do not need to worry, because our children were born in the covenant. We have the assurance that we will have them with us in the future. Now we have a reason to live extremely well. We have a son and a daughter who have qualified to go to the celestial kingdom because they died before the age of eight."
• "What I am trying to teach is that when we keep the temple covenants we have made and when we live righteously in order to maintain the blessings promised by those ordinances, then come what may, we have no reason to worry or to feel despondent."

Again, WOW! If I could shape my attitude to match those statements during times of trial, I'm sure it would be much easier to get through that trial and I would have my faith strengthened in the process.

Elder Nelson's talk about prayer was also so good to read. I love how he used different examples of the Savior's prayers to teach us how to have more meaningful prayers ourselves. The main points I gathered were:

1. Pray for unity. We know Zion = purity, unity, & equality, so if we want to establish Zion in our families, neighborhoods, wards, and stakes, we have to pray for it.
2. Pray for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. "If companionship of the Holy Ghost is that important, we should pray for it too. We should likewise help all converts and our children cultivate the gift of the Holy Ghost. As we so pray, the Holy Ghost can become a vital force for good in our lives."
3. Enhance our prayers by using song, fasting, the proper language, and praying frequently.
4. Keep the length of our public prayers short. (I especially appreciated this suggestion...trying to keep two 2-year-olds still for a prayer at church can get a little tough depending on the length of the prayer!)
5. Kneel in family prayer each morning and evening. We don't kneel as a family to pray - we pray after the boys are tucked in bed. But I think we should start. The boys are old enough to try it, and it always seems more special or even sacred when we're kneeling together as a family rather than spread out all over the room, in various positions.

So there are the additions to my "List of Things to Work On" -- temple attendance, attitude during trials, more meaningful prayer - individually and as a family. Does the list ever end? I guess not. And I guess that's probably how it's supposed to be. Did anything stick out to you?