1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,720 Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference, where two friends share our own 2 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:14,480 approach to studying General Conference. Today we're going to be covering Be Still and Know 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:19,480 That I Am God by Elder David A. Bednar, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 4 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:22,640 Abby, it's so good to see you today. Welcome. 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:24,280 It feels like it's been forever. 6 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:25,280 I know, right? 7 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:26,280 Like 24 hours at least. 8 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:32,080 It has. I was just telling Abby last week that I love when we come together and we do 9 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:36,320 this. It brings so much joy and fulfillment, and we're so happy you're here with us too. 10 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:41,920 Okay, Abby, so as far as this talk goes, if you were the one that was going to be leading 11 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:46,280 a discussion in Relief Society about this, what would your approach be? How would you 12 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:47,280 do it? 13 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:52,280 Okay, that's funny because I'm trying to find my process for preparing these praying, 14 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,040 what needs to come out, what do we need to share? And when I was approaching this week, 15 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,720 I was like, okay, I'm going to act like I'm preparing a Relief Society lesson. I sit down 16 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:05,360 to my computer and I worked up four pages of notes. I'm like, the talk was four pages. 17 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:10,000 The notes are four pages. What that's going to look like in a Relief Society lesson is 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:17,880 a recitation. Am I saying that right? 19 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:18,880 Regurgitation? 20 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,360 Well, like just I'm just reading the talk again. And for me, when I do a lesson, I really 21 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:27,560 like to give them plenty of opportunity in advance to read the lesson, like we encourage 22 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:34,200 the listeners to do before or after, but this one's kind of a big deal. And then give them 23 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:39,760 some questions to ponder on, which we are trying to modify the setup. If people have 24 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:44,560 noticed with the show notes underneath the link to the talk that we're giving you, that 25 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,160 will take you right back to the church. It's also going to have the questions prompted. 26 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,600 I don't actually know what questions are going to go in that for this particular podcast, 27 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:57,000 but before this airs, they'll be there. And so maybe you'll maybe you'll notice that maybe 28 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,800 you haven't seen that we've done that in the past, but it's something we've been impressed 29 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,880 to include there. So you don't have to hunt through the audio or through the transcript. 30 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:11,160 Like it should be more plain and obvious to you. So I don't know. I maybe would have asked 31 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:17,720 the sisters in this one. What? What action do you feel is necessary to take in your life 32 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:22,160 now that you've like listened to elder Bednar's words, because in all the pages, there's like 33 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:30,340 a lot of things we could focus on. So much. We could talk about finding stillness in this 34 00:02:30,340 --> 00:02:37,560 chaotic world. We can find, we can talk about positive affirmations. He mentions the same 35 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:42,160 three affirmations three times, or I'm sorry, he at least six times. I could have gotten 36 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:47,800 that wrong, but times he does. God is our father, heavenly father. We are his children and Jesus 37 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:55,360 Christ is our savior. He wants to just hit that point home. We, um, we could, we could 38 00:02:55,360 --> 00:03:01,640 talk about, you know, how is your foundation looking right now? What fortifications do 39 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,400 you need to be having on your foundation? Do you want to say anything else about or 40 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,840 anything more about the foundation part? Um, I love, I loved it. We could jump to that. 41 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:15,640 He included lots of pictures and cute things, but I loved it because I love that part because 42 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:20,640 he made the point that our savior, Jesus Christ is the bedrock or the rock that we're putting 43 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:25,400 that foundation on. Right. Sometimes do you think that we mistake him as that foundation? 44 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,840 I almost, I don't know if he said the words or if I heard it in my head, but I was like, 45 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:35,020 Oh my gosh, he's not the foundation. We build our foundation on him. I was kind of surprised 46 00:03:35,020 --> 00:03:39,820 by that. I agree. Cause it was said differently. It wasn't different. It was just said differently 47 00:03:39,820 --> 00:03:45,880 and I thought differently. But it's the same message that we have been taught since our 48 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:51,580 primary age. Think about it. The wise men built his house upon the rock. So when you 49 00:03:51,580 --> 00:03:56,220 build a house, you start with the foundation and you put that foundation on whatever substrate 50 00:03:56,220 --> 00:04:00,680 that you're going to work with. If you're foolish, it's going to be on sand, which likens 51 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,600 to, you know, things of the world or st Satan, right? Things that move and change and everything 52 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:09,800 else versus the, the steadfastness, the rock that our savior Jesus Christ is. So I'm like, 53 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:15,240 well, that didn't change much. Like that song's always been there since my memory, my first 54 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:19,800 memories. So I don't know why that hit so differently, but I was like, you're totally 55 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:28,480 right. Jesus Christ is the rock upon which my foundation is going to be built. And spent 56 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:33,560 some time thinking about, I've built my own home. Well, my husband built our home and 57 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:39,160 I was his assistant. I cleaned up after him and I will say concrete's probably one of 58 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:43,640 the worst parts of the process. Like I cried the day that the concrete truck left. I was 59 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:51,560 like, yay, that step was done. That was not the final part, but there's so much preparation 60 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:54,960 for that surface that you're going to put your house on, how you want it to sit, how 61 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:59,320 you want it to lay out. And, and you really have to kind of design what you want the house 62 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:04,000 to look like in the end process before you even lay the work for the foundation. Right? 63 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:09,760 So we want to know what we're going to build. And so if I know that I want to build a, an 64 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:15,240 expansive house or something that's going to withstand the storms and the things that 65 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:20,480 come its way, then I have to know that from the very foundation that I set for this house. 66 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:27,760 Right? Yes. A vision of it. Right. And so I loved how he, he made me even think in the 67 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:33,240 construction of a home, I can think about my savior and how, when we, when we take the 68 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:40,680 time to, to build our foundation on our savior, that it is going to prepare us for the experiences 69 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:46,040 in life that are like into the storms and the winds and the things that are going to 70 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:52,000 sail the home and that home that's going to protect us in those moments. So you think 71 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,960 back when you're a youth and the commotions of the world, we kind of like it. We like 72 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:02,920 loud things and we, we like to be a little bit fast paced. Um, well, from the, from those 73 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,080 eyes and from that perspective, when I look at my kids and the things they're doing, like, 74 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:10,640 you know, that's a busy life, but then they have plenty of time to rest and recoup. And 75 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:15,280 they have such sweet pure testimonies and they're just a few key things that keep them 76 00:06:15,280 --> 00:06:21,880 grounded, that keep them, um, very content in the life that they're having. Life's very 77 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:28,760 simple. It's uncomplicated. And so our need for the foundation for that type of life looks 78 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,920 a little bit different than, you know, the life that I'm living right now. It gets a 79 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:39,520 little more complicated. You've got more people to be worrying about protecting, setting examples 80 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:46,840 for, um, just life, life gets busier, right? More responsibility. And so I was thinking, 81 00:06:46,840 --> 00:06:56,000 well, that foundation, that foundation has to change a little bit as, as the, as the 82 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:05,400 pressures of life come our way. And so the testimony that I had as a child was good. 83 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,840 The foundation that I set from it was good and it, and it held me up and it supported 84 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:14,920 me then. But what I heard from elder Bednar's talk is that even a foundation that's strong 85 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:23,640 and set on Jesus Christ, that has been good can be made better with, um, he mentioned 86 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:30,720 anchor pins and steel rods. And so with this talk, I really wanted to spend some time thinking, 87 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:39,000 what are my foundation points? Where are people trying to assail that? And how can I, how 88 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:46,360 can I think about my covenants in such a way that not only am I sitting resting upon that 89 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:52,040 sure foundation that Jesus Christ is, but I'm actually becoming one with him. You know, 90 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:57,900 that connection isn't just a setting on it's a embedding, right? How can we actually connect 91 00:07:57,900 --> 00:08:03,420 ourselves with Jesus Christ? So I thought that's all about the covenants and the ordinances 92 00:08:03,420 --> 00:08:09,260 that I participate in, in his restored gospel. Every time that I receive and review and remember 93 00:08:09,260 --> 00:08:14,680 and renew those covenants, I am more than resting and relying upon my savior. I am in 94 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:19,360 fact linked and bound to him, which we've heard the word, didn't we hear binding in 95 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:24,240 a couple of talks? We didn't get to spend a ton of time on it, but this visual about 96 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:30,220 a foundation and anchor pins and broads, like there's a binding there. I also love his three 97 00:08:30,220 --> 00:08:36,120 Rs that he used that you just said, um, review, remember, renew, or receive even for our, 98 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:40,300 oh, we have four. Yeah. Receive, review, remember and renew. We love alliteration because it 99 00:08:40,300 --> 00:08:45,920 helps stick in our brain and he's very good at like making those steps. Rememorable as 100 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:49,980 the foundation in our lives are built upon the savior. We're going to be blessed to be 101 00:08:49,980 --> 00:08:54,800 still and have spiritual assurance that God is our heavenly father. We are his children 102 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:59,340 and Jesus Christ is our savior. That was his direct words because that is the point he 103 00:08:59,340 --> 00:09:05,900 just really wanted to hit home. The chaos of the world to me from his prophetic view, 104 00:09:05,900 --> 00:09:12,400 I felt like he was saying it's loud, it's chaotic, it's busy right now. I think he's 105 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:16,960 seeing something different years down the road that we need to prepare for now. Cause 106 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:21,640 when do you, when to share up a foundation? Like when do you strengthen that foundation 107 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:26,880 in the middle of the storm? Right before I feel like he's, um, I feel like he's acknowledging 108 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,800 that we're going through kind of a hard time right now. It's, it's a way crazier, busier 109 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,860 life than it was in years past, but I think he's seeing something in the future that he's 110 00:09:34,860 --> 00:09:38,720 giving us plenty of time to prepare for. Yes. I think we're all feeling the acceleration 111 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:43,080 and commotion right now. And so for some it's probably like, well, how much work I've heard 112 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:47,000 that before, you know, how much more could there be? Um, and who knows, maybe it's just 113 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,720 more of the same and a lot of it all at once. You know what I mean? That feels way more 114 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:56,760 fast and quick. I've, I felt that way as a, as a elementary school child, like nothing 115 00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,480 was longer than a school year, like nine months could drag out and then summers were fast, 116 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:05,200 but you kind of got into that motion. But yeah, I literally can't even believe like 117 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,120 sometimes when I'm reflecting on something and I'm saying, Oh, I guess that was like 118 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:16,720 three, that was two years after COVID or, you know, AC or before COVID we've re we've 119 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:21,960 renamed the timeline now, but really years go by in such a way that I'm, I'm always blown 120 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:27,320 away and, and that's probably because we're just so busy and it's so fast paced that it, 121 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:32,840 it just ticks. It ticks by faster than we can keep track. Oh yeah. Um, the foundation 122 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:37,000 thing. Did you have anything to comment on that? Did you have any insights of that today? 123 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,480 I think we just felt different for me when I heard those words, like you said, it was 124 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:46,140 taught before we know these things. It felt different to me because I felt like he was 125 00:10:46,140 --> 00:10:51,240 drawing attention to a very specific thing that we use our agency to connect ourselves 126 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:55,560 to Christ. That's the part I felt maybe it was that maybe that was just for me, but I 127 00:10:55,560 --> 00:11:01,760 was like, Oh yeah, I enact my agency. I opt in. Right. Because if he was the foundation, 128 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:06,360 what choice did we have in that? Like you, where's the connection? I feel like, I mean, 129 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:10,040 if we're going to go back to the pre-existence, isn't that what Satan was asking for us? Like 130 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:14,020 let me do this. Let me have it. Let me be the glory. Like I will be the building block 131 00:11:14,020 --> 00:11:18,560 that everybody's lives have to be built upon. And then no storm or wind or wave is going 132 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:21,780 to come crashing and that they're not going to be able to rebound from, because I'm part 133 00:11:21,780 --> 00:11:25,820 of part of that. No, we get to come to this earth and we get to choose if it's a rock 134 00:11:25,820 --> 00:11:33,080 that we're locking ourselves or the sand. Right. So yeah, I think agency is exactly 135 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:38,320 the right word to be, to be visualizing with that. We make the choices of if Jesus Christ 136 00:11:38,320 --> 00:11:43,720 is going to be our, our, our point of focus where we're going to build things. And then 137 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:48,840 with the foundation, is it throwing you a curve ball? If I'm like, what, what do you 138 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:54,180 see as the foundation pieces? I feel like Elder Bednar is trying to say like those truths. 139 00:11:54,180 --> 00:11:59,440 God is our heavenly father, that I'm a child of God, that Jesus Christ is my savior. Do 140 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:03,920 you feel like that's three, three of the four walls of the beginning foundation? What, how 141 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:08,460 did you see that? Um, say that again, like I don't understand. I feel like he kept trying 142 00:12:08,460 --> 00:12:12,360 to emphasize that so much that it's like, is he trying to say that the foundation that 143 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:18,780 we build should be based on those truths or, or that when our foundation is no matter what 144 00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:23,880 pieces of our testimony we, we gather and we piece together to start that foundation 145 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:29,000 of whatever we're building to bear up the burdens that are going to be placed on us 146 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:34,000 throughout this life. It could be a myriad of things. I don't know. My mind hasn't settled 147 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:40,680 on, you know, is this, is this, is this a starting point of maybe positive affirmations, 148 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:45,480 positive truths that I need to have, or is it, should it be the base of everybody's foundation? 149 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,720 I feel like it's the base of everyone's foundation. Yeah. Because number one, we know we're children 150 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:55,880 of God, that he's God. We know that Jesus Christ is our savior. And so we know that those 151 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:59,960 two things are unchanging. They're not going to move. When we base them on something else, 152 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:04,280 like someone else's testimony or the way that we're treated at church or whatever, um, whatever's 153 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:08,600 going on in our lives, we're going to be let down. We're going, it's like sand and we're 154 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:13,120 going to be rocked and shaken. And then we're like, Oh shoot, everything I thought was real 155 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:18,560 really isn't. And then when we know who we are, if we have a clear understanding of who 156 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:24,440 we are and we're still in our own bodies and we are comfortable with ourselves, then we 157 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:31,800 are like, he says we're still, and we are very much more able to know that he is God. 158 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,720 I feel like that's kind of everything. I'm so glad I asked that question because that's 159 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:40,080 how I feel like, um, that's how we grow. Like in Relief Society, if, if I had put that out 160 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,920 there, I'm like, I'm still trying to lock in on that. You just spoke those words and 161 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:48,600 that resonated with me. It's like, yes, that needs to be the first and foremost pieces. 162 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:52,120 Don't, don't you think that most kids, when they get up and they bear their testimony, 163 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:57,000 it's as pure as pure can be. And they say like, I love heavenly father. Um, I'm a child 164 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:01,000 of God. I know that Jesus, my savior, I feel like those are things that come out of their 165 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,820 mouth. It's like, it is those, it is those first foundational pieces and it, everything 166 00:14:05,820 --> 00:14:09,760 else that they're picking up and learning at church does rest upon that. And it is plenty 167 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:16,720 to bear up what they need. It's, it suffices perfectly. And then really knowing it, because 168 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:22,040 I think Satan works extra hard, um, to fill the quiet moments and make us doubt those 169 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:29,720 simple truths. That's where we're being encouraged by Elder Bednar to work on anchoring those 170 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:34,320 with covenants. Absolutely. No, no, that he's going to fulfill his end of the covenant and 171 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:39,200 receive the blessing. We'll receive the blessings in, in practicing and reviewing and repeating 172 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:44,120 and doing those covenants. That's making the anchor pin. Okay. I love that. That was a 173 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:50,880 good conversation. You'd better teach me something else. What would you share? If, if, um, so 174 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:53,720 one of my thoughts was, and this is, that's what's funny. You know, you've been talking 175 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,640 about this and there's so many things to learn in this. There are so many layers. I went 176 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:03,600 down to the most basic and it was, what if I'm not feeling still? What if I had forgotten 177 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:09,080 how to feel still? And it totally reminded me of several years ago when I was not feeling 178 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,980 stillness. My family went through a number of traumatic events within a very short period 179 00:15:12,980 --> 00:15:19,240 of time and it felt like I was in a storm. There was just chaos all over. There was with 180 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,880 my husband, with my kids, with everyone we were up, you know, there was upheaval. It 181 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:27,320 was everything. Cause we moved so much and everything else. I was not feeling peace. 182 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:32,960 And so since my son was going to kindergarten, um, I had more time and I felt drawn to the 183 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:38,520 temple. I felt peace when I was there. I loved it. What I didn't realize at the time was 184 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:44,480 that every time I was going, I was actually learning how to breathe again. And I mean 185 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:49,600 like the deep breath that you take, not the one that's like something's the other shoe's 186 00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:54,760 going to drop type of breathing. It was fight or flight. Yes. It was accessory fight or 187 00:15:54,760 --> 00:16:00,400 flight and now it's rest and digest. And it is parasympathetic. Like it is the way that 188 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:04,280 we're meant to be breathing. So sitting in the temple, you're realizing that every moment 189 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:10,200 outside the temple, you were in this state of absolute panic, turmoil. Because there 190 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:17,240 was such a difference, there was an absolute difference. There was peace. And so when I 191 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:22,560 finally realized that and breathe and just felt like that elephant was off my chest for 192 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:28,240 the time being, I thanked heavenly father for that feeling that came and the realization 193 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,220 that came to me through the Holy ghost. And then I asked him, I pled with him in prayer 194 00:16:32,220 --> 00:16:39,200 and I said, please help me to take this feeling that's inside my heart here in the temple 195 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:44,720 and bring it outside into my home. As I go to the grocery store, all the things that 196 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:52,000 I do. And I went back very, very, very often. And within several months, I learned how to 197 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:58,220 breathe like the real kind of breathing again. And within a year, I feel like I just was 198 00:16:58,220 --> 00:17:05,080 recreating just how you feel, what peace feels like. So yeah, that was just a real big thing 199 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:06,080 for me. 200 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:11,480 That's huge because you do know this is the overlying theme of the talk. He opens us up 201 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:19,520 in a media tour, going into the celestial room. So it's going to be extra quiet. You've 202 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:21,640 been to a temple open house recently. 203 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:24,000 Not so recently, but yes. 204 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,600 We went to the Orem one and even though people are being very respectful and it's like such 205 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,440 a beautiful feeling, like my, my nine year olds, like he told me that he felt heaven 206 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:37,960 in his heart. It was so cute, but we are like going up multi flights of stairs with hundreds 207 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:43,120 of other people. So even just the chatter of the footsteps is loud in the temple, but 208 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:48,080 elder Bednar was able to create a really unique experience for this tour group. And so he 209 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,480 was answering questions as they were going. And then he said, we're not going to talk 210 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:56,280 when we go to the celestial room. And so, I mean, I think, especially thinking these 211 00:17:56,280 --> 00:18:02,040 are media people there, they're in the news, they're in the fast paced busy life. And yeah, 212 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,720 just like a lot of things. I think that that makes it extra special, but that it's like, 213 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,320 okay, we're going to shut the noise off. And it wasn't going to be like these crowds of 214 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:13,280 hundreds as, as we open it to the public, this isn't special media tour. So it's going 215 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,440 to be just a handful of people. It's going to be a very intimate tour. So when you enter 216 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:22,720 that celestial room, it's going to be as quiet as quiet can be. We have a very, um, petite 217 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:27,720 temple where I mean, I live, it's not abnormal to just have like two people in the celestial 218 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,400 room. Yeah. Which, so we've, we've had, we've experienced quiet in the celestial room like 219 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:36,840 this, but, or like cleaning the temple. I found like very special one-on-one moments 220 00:18:36,840 --> 00:18:40,840 in the celestial room. So I know what quiet is talking about. I hope that each of you 221 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,960 have experienced that type of quiet in your life, because what was cool, they get out 222 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:51,160 of the room and the media guy was like, I have never experienced quiet like that. And 223 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:55,440 it was a contrast to the normal life that he's been living. And I thought elder Bednar 224 00:18:55,440 --> 00:19:03,440 mentioned this talk at the beginning of his talk, because he wants us to each find a memory 225 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:10,920 like we have cataloged. When have you felt the most quiet in your life? And definitely 226 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:15,760 it could be the temple, but some people haven't made temple covenants. They haven't done that, 227 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,680 but maybe even if you haven't, maybe you have been to an open house and you have felt that 228 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,960 different spirit in the celestial room. And it's something that maybe you're desiring 229 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:29,920 to have more access to, but what he then weaves through his talk is the idea that it wasn't 230 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:36,080 intended to be an emotion of feeling that stillness was not meant just for these occasional 231 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:43,080 experiences in the celestial room. He mentions the higher and holier way is possible and 232 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:48,240 that outside of the temple walls as covenant makers, whatever degree of covenants were 233 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:54,100 making any. Let me read this scripture. It came to pass. I need if I beheld the power 234 00:19:54,100 --> 00:19:57,480 of the lamb of God that descended upon the saints of the church of the lamb and upon 235 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:01,320 the covenant people of the Lord who were scattered upon all the face of the earth. They were 236 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,400 armed with righteousness and with the power of God and great, great glory. If I was talking 237 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:11,280 about you, Amy, he's talking about me is talking about our audiences spread across the world 238 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:17,360 that within each of us is kind of a special power to have the tools to rise above the 239 00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:23,540 distractions that are around us every day. Naturally, normally part of this life existence, 240 00:20:23,540 --> 00:20:28,480 we can't be taken out of the world, but we can learn how to find that stillness in any 241 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:34,160 chaotic moment. Like I thought, um, certainly you, you go into your bedroom, you kind of, 242 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:39,480 you shut the door, you can create a quiet space in your home, but I feel like he's trying 243 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,840 to teach us that your, your toddler could be screaming, your, your kid's hand could 244 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:51,000 be cut. Um, you could be dealing with math homework, really traumatic things. Um, like 245 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:56,880 hard things, but you can find the stillness. You can be in a car accident, you can be battling 246 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:01,440 cancer, you can be dealing with a husband stroke, you could be dealing with a livestock 247 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:05,720 issues, you could be dealing with, uh, work things falling through, you could be dealing 248 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:11,680 with, uh, things with your business partner, you could be dealing with friendship problems, 249 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:16,520 the chaos and those moments, they're not dissipating, they're not going away because we, we promised 250 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:22,240 to accept that as part of life experience, but there is a way. And I know that it's true. 251 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,320 Um, I'm not good at it. I'm, it's definitely gonna be a process for me to get there, but 252 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:32,720 I know that there is a way to like center myself and find that stillness even in the 253 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:37,240 thick of the problem that it's right in front of my face. And it's not ignoring the problem 254 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:44,600 that's present, that's going to have to be dealt with. But, um, I kind of wanted to stop 255 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:47,400 there and give you a chance to say anything, if you have anything to say. 256 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:52,320 I just thought when you were saying that, um, that essentially like there's a storm 257 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:57,880 going on around us, right? Like imagine the, just the winds, everything. And that we, um, 258 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:03,520 something I learned years ago that has really, really helped me is before I pray, I take 259 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:10,400 like three deep breaths. Breath truly is the bridge between the spiritual and the physical. 260 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,800 And it reminds us who we are. It reminds us who we're talking to. It just kind of brings 261 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:18,960 you into the present. And that's the whole thing. If we're living in the present, we 262 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,920 remember who we are. We're a child of God, that he is our father and that Jesus Christ 263 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:27,720 is our savior. We have just kind of grounded ourselves and we remember what's truly most 264 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:32,000 important. The other things can keep swirling and flying around us, just like president 265 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:36,200 or sorry, elder Bednar said, like at the end, how he said, like chaos can be going on around 266 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:42,480 us. But if you feel that stillness in your heart, you know who you are, whose you are, 267 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:47,000 and then everything else can fall into place and you can be still. 268 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,280 I wish I was better remembering things, but I'm pretty sure it was when we were studying 269 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:56,160 the new Testament and we were talking about, Oh, president Nelson said even our very breath. 270 00:22:56,160 --> 00:23:00,840 Oh yeah. He did say that. He did say that that came to me. I'm so grateful. Everything 271 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:06,560 can change even your very breath. And we had been doing a lot of, um, breath work, meditation 272 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:09,600 and stuff at the time. And I was like, I was filling this connection with Jesus Christ 273 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:15,880 in that thing, which ties, did I already mentioned how, how he had said something about how members 274 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:20,240 who are striving to be faithful covenant people, they'll, they'll take in every good thing 275 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:24,120 that they find that for me was one of those things like, okay, cataloging, what are the 276 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:27,560 good things that I brought in my life that are bringing me closer to Jesus Christ? And, 277 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:32,960 and I just want to add my testimony to that, the, the breathing, the breathing thing, because 278 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,840 it, the, the back of my mindset, yeah, it's breathing. There's all sorts of things. People 279 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:42,560 that are good at the breathing thing can testify to that. But what I, what it ties me back to 280 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,600 is that I think when I stop and I pause and I take a moment and I take that extra breath, 281 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:50,720 I'm thinking of that, what, but president Nelson said in somebody else did this cool 282 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,040 thing and they kind of made these long things and they said something about there's like 283 00:23:54,040 --> 00:24:00,560 these Jewish words and like, yeah, way, right. I'm not, I'm not good at other languages either. 284 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:04,080 So I feel like I'm a player. I'm like kind of it's counterfeit if I'm the one that's 285 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:08,680 talking about that, but the, the, the visual and the picture and it resonated with me because 286 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:14,960 I thought every breath that I take can remind me of him. And I wanted to say in preparation 287 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:20,960 for this, I've been, I've been chewing on this talk for a couple of days and that is 288 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:25,360 something that I noticed. Okay. You, I've mentioned to you guys that on this particular 289 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:32,160 conference I had asked for insight on what I could do to fill the major, my creation 290 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:37,140 as a mother. And then this talks running through my mind and I know that it's completely possible 291 00:24:37,140 --> 00:24:40,680 for me to become a changed person as I work on this process of finding stillness and all 292 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:47,000 of the things. So my kids are preparing for, um, this market day, we're going to make some 293 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,480 goods and we're going to sell them to other kids. And we always like to do something that 294 00:24:50,480 --> 00:25:00,320 involves because we like to eat. And so my normal natural inclination is to, is to do 295 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:04,360 all the things and have it look perfect. And I've tried to lean out of that a little bit 296 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:08,260 because what are my kids learning if I'm doing everything? So over the years we've given 297 00:25:08,260 --> 00:25:13,520 them a little bit more responsibility than less this year. Um, they asked to do certain 298 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,040 things and I was like, you present the plan and I'll get the ingredients, you know, once 299 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:22,600 you like land on the plan. And I was able to like turn the reins over to my oldest that 300 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:26,640 really likes to bake and she's kind of perfected all the pieces of that. So now I've got my 301 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,840 six year old that wanted to do a little something and she's like, can I stir this? It's going 302 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:34,480 to involve sugar and carol syrup, butter. It's going to be messy. And if we mess this 303 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:38,320 up, it's going to be a real big mess for me to have to deal with later. Right. So my natural 304 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:41,840 inclination is like, no, you can't do that because it's not going to be perfect. And 305 00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:47,480 kind of just want to do it my way. And this was kind of running through my head and I 306 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:51,600 totally recognize that I like took a breath and I said, yes, you can do that. And she 307 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,000 did her thing and maybe there was a little mess to clean up. Maybe it took a little bit 308 00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:00,120 longer, but isn't that what I asked? Have any father for opportunities to magnify what 309 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:04,360 I'm doing as a mother? If I just do everything for my kids all the time, what are they learning? 310 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:08,080 Right. And he's given me the same chance to try and learn things that he could have done 311 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:13,160 more perfectly, but he gave me the chance to make messes that he then send a savior 312 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:17,880 to clean up for me. So I think cleaning the kitchen a little bit longer. That's, that's 313 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:22,800 doable. It is, especially when you're a mom. Did you get, did you get to share what's on 314 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:28,680 your heart? Yeah, I really, there's just the last thing I would share is be still may be 315 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:33,280 a way of reminding us to focus upon the savior unfailingly as the ultimate source of the 316 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:38,160 spiritual stillness of the soul that strengthens us to do and overcome hard things. I feel 317 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:42,040 like that was a great thing that he ended with. Beautiful. Let's, let's send it there 318 00:26:42,040 --> 00:26:53,160 too. All right. Till next time, Abby. We'll see you later. Bye guys.