Welcome to Closer to Christ Through Conference. We're two friends who love Jesus, sharing
our own approach to conference. Today we're going to talk about Rise, He Calleth Thee,
from Elder Massimo de Feo of the Quorum of the Seventy.
Ooh, you said that so good. Like, you said it good enough, like you maybe speak Italian.
I used to.
I bet you could if we pressed you hard enough.
I could.
So this was a cute, short, simple, very well thought out talk.
So good.
And helped me think of a lot of good things. But what do you think we want to focus on
to start with?
I have a few thoughts on it. And so, yeah, I'm trying to figure out where the best one
is. But overall, it lit a fire in me about talking about Jesus Christ, how He said, we
need to speak more of Him, not less. And if we don't speak about Him, who will? It's just,
I feel like it was a rise. Truly, when He says rise, He calleth thee, it felt like a
rise and a call to action. And I'm here for it.
Right. Because social media is prevalent in our society, and it's the way people communicate
now, it's the way people interact and connect. And what are we willing to put out there?
Something that generates a lot of likes. Like, if I put something out there about Jesus Christ,
maybe he's not going to get that many reviews, likes, hits.
You could get blocked.
Maybe you will get censored. But do you remember, were you going to step away from Instagram
for a little bit or something? Do you remember this?
Yes.
Do you remember what your process was with that?
Yes, at the beginning of the year, I felt like a total shift. It just felt different.
And I noticed the shift and I was prayer journaling. And I said, Heavenly Father, I'm noticing
a shift.
Like in the world or like you're feeling toward?
Just for me. It just felt different. And so I was trying to figure out why. So I was trying
to formulate my question. And for me, the best thing to do is to write it down so I
can really get it. So I said, Heavenly Father, I'm feeling a difference. And I said, is this
a time for me to pivot? And I felt, yeah, that would be a good thing. And I said, okay.
So I started writing down different options of things I could do to pivot. It was, you
know, leave Instagram entirely. Or I had another one, I forget what it was. And then I said,
or and all of a sudden, this just came to my mind. It wasn't something I was thinking
before. But it was, or testify of Jesus Christ more. And it was like, yeah, that's the one
I thought, wow, I thought I already was doing that. That was kind of interesting to me because
I truly felt like I already was. I talk about the beauty of nature that surrounds me and
the peace and the serenity. And I do feel like all of that denotes there's a God that's
in my, that's in my bio, you know what I mean? And so I just thought, wow, that's interesting.
And it's so funny, because it may not be on my personal Instagram so much. But what am
I putting out there more now into our environment is this podcast, we speak more about him.
At the end of this, actually, I think I texted you right afterwards when he finished this
podcast, Elder DeFeo at the very end, he kind of summarized and he says, you know, we need
more of our voices, not less. And I was like, oh my gosh, like, I just felt like a thunderbolt
to my heart. And I was like, this is my why of doing the podcast. Absolutely. Like if
there were ever something, you know, a case against me of do you believe in Jesus Christ?
Is he your absolute best friend? Has he brought you through everything? I would want there
to be enough evidence to where someone would convict me of that. I want to be that person.
So it just, um, wow, Abby, thanks for asking that question.
I'm sorry. I know I felt like I threw you under the bus on that, but I remember, I remember
that the, the mood that you were filling on Instagram and it's like, should I just step
away from it? It's designed for so much good. It is if we let it. So I've, I listened back
to the podcasts, like up to this point that we've put out there kind of as a, like, that's
a scary thing because I know that I speak better English than is coming across this
microphone and it's embarrassing. I'm like, I wish I could redo so much, so many of the
things that I'm saying, but, um, at the end of the day, I don't really care because it
has been multiple opportunities to testify my savior and it's drawn me closer to him.
And what is that? What we said the intent of the podcast is close. We want to get closer
to him every day. Um, and so I had mentioned that I didn't really prepare for this latest
conference like I have in one's past. And I referenced a 40 day walk that I did walk
with Jesus in like two times ago, but in actual fact, because I was preparing for Easter,
I actually did lent this last year, which was a 40 day. And what do I give up since
I can't give up smoking or drinking or myriad of things. And I didn't really want to give
up sugar. Um, I gave up social media. Yes. I stepped away from it and, uh, a friend of
mine actually put the, put the idea out there and I'm like, you know what? That is sucking
my time away. And so I stepped away from it and I've tentatively like released the reins
like since that day, but maybe cumulatively has spent like three hours on it since Easter.
That's been 40 days plus the extra, but this talk did remind me as I was studying for it,
I was like, there is a place, there is a time, there is a purpose for social media. We are
doing so many amazing things with, with it. Like, um, what isn't it in this general conference
that we talked about missionary baptism should have plummeted or maybe it was another thing
I was reading, but we were expecting that we would get zero baptisms. We're not in COVID
time. We're not allowed to, uh, proselyte door to door missionary works can look different.
And then we had like 90,000 baptisms or something during COVID. Amazing. Did that happen? I'll
find it. They may, they might've mentioned it or for whatever in my recent study, like
that truth came to light and I thought, how, how can it be so bad if it can do so much
good? Right? Right. So I did hop on the other day and I posed a question to my friends and
I said, what is something that you're doing in your life right now? You're very proud
of because too many times we just kind of post frivolous things, like a picture that
something that we're eating, Hey, what are you guys making for dinner? And it's very
like, like, like low level connection. But I thought if I'm going to get on it, I'm going
to spend some time on it. I want it like, I want to post something that's good so that
I can see something that's good. And so then I'm kind of embarrassed to say this, but I'm
raising my second family now. Like they're fostering children or adopting children. You
know, we're not talking about them raising their grandchildren, which is also a beautiful
thing, but like they've raised their children and they're bringing another thing. And another
one of my friends was like, that's not bragging at all. That's super amazing. And I, I had
a chance to just be like, wow, what an amazing thing. You raised one successful family and
like you're doing that again, multiple people talking about the education that they're getting
again, growing their lives, expanding, expanding their vision, doing cool things. And so I
thought, you know, that's what I want to use social media for, put out the good, receive
the good. And I will say, I do think that I have kind of an eclectic group of friends
and definitely not really all members of the same faith that I am. And I don't ever want
to offend anybody. And so I like all totally Christmas time Easter, like that savior focused,
but to my shame, I think that I could do a better job of testifying of the savior in
my social media thing. So the podcast for me is certainly, um, an opportunity to talk
of Jesus Christ, but it's also, um, nobody knows me late. They don't know who Abby and
Amy are. So it's not like they say, Oh, and she's my friend and she's trying to shove
something down my throat. People that come to the podcast are like, like willingly, or
they're looking for general conference. That's kind of a different breed of people. They're
already like Jesus and they want more of him in their lives. And so they're bringing that
extra into it. Like, whereas you get on Facebook and you're like, I didn't want to see that
about him or they're opting in. Right. Right. And so it's something, it's a, it's a fault
that I see in myself of, um, my, my concern of offending or stepping on toes being as
vocal about him as I feel about him. So it's a good way to say it. Wake up call for me
that I can do better and I can do more. And I felt, I felt that he was giving that message.
Yeah. You know, when you were saying that Abby about how it feels vulnerable and how
you know, we haven't done this before. Right. Yes. I felt the same way. And it's funny when
you said that I was like, Oh my gosh, that's the first principle in that Moss that elder
Moss Motif a O used. He said he acted instead of being acted upon. And then he says, despite
his limited circumstances, he used his faith to go beyond his limitations. Oh, hasn't that
been true about the podcast? Right. Yeah. And especially listening back, I'm like, yeah,
that's novice material, but because if it's focused on the savior, like that's how I feel
about like a Sabbath day meeting. I'm like, maybe it wasn't the best written talk that
I put out there. This hasn't been, but if it was savior focused, then I walk away thinking
that was a great moment in time. Absolutely. Absolutely. I love that. We have that going
for us, Amy. We do. Um, you know, I also, it really goes beautifully into the next one.
When he talks about Abby and I were on a walk the other day and we were talking about the
aspect of this talk about the beggars coat, what did you feel when he said he immediately
threw away the beggars coat? Like, what, what does that mean to you? So I feel like the
garment is indicative of what he's experienced at the time. And I don't, I wish I knew a
little bit more about what a beggars coat was, but to me, it was saying, I'm not going
to need this garment anymore because I'm going to be a full functioning non-blind person.
I'm not going to have to beg for my existence back in those days. If you're lame or deaf
or blind, or you have any number one of these infirmities, like you can't provide a, a live,
a living for yourself. You have to require the goodness of others. That's true to help
you survive. And he was so confident in the savior that he physically had never laid his
eyes on that he knew he could get rid of the beggars coat. That's it. That's incredible
faith. It truly is. When he said it that way, I was like, Oh my gosh, yes. He immediately
threw that away. He didn't put it on like a proverbial coat stand, like to maybe use
it later. Right? Like it was done. It was gone. And I was just thinking to myself, like
in what ways do I wear a beggars coat or in what ways do I, um, you know, just have that
fall back. Do you know what I mean? And so I definitely, I think you're saying to me
that you think blessings can come, but they're sort of conditional, like they're maybe not
going to last forever or that possibly there are millions of ways to wear a beggars coat.
I, I maybe, I mean, maybe need you to keep talking about it. So part of it for me is,
um, in what, cause he talks a lot about, he says, there's never a good excuse to say I
am the way I am because of some unfortunate event or some unpleasant, sorry, unpleasant
circumstances and I cannot change and I am justified. So in my mind, it kind of is saying
being the victim, right? Cause all of us have had garbage happen to us. Like we live in
a fallen world. There are sad things. There are very unjust things that have happened
to each of us. It's just hard, you know? And so how many times do you kind of hold on to
that and say, but this is what happened to me. Like I'm holding onto this beggars coat
and to just be able to, you know, either like pull out that lighter and just torch it and
it's just gone. Like I love the thought of that, having it just be gone. I don't want
to lean on it later. I don't want to try to put it on later when I'm feeling like a victim.
It's gone because now Jesus Christ is my ultimate, um, focus. Savior. Yes. So you've, you've
heard the saying, um, you believe in Jesus, but do you believe Jesus? You heard that?
Yes. I'd say that. And it's like, you know, physically we don't see him, but do we know
enough about him that we believe that he's true? Yeah. But what are the limitations that
we're putting on the great and atoning sacrifice that he made for us? Absolutely. Well, that
will, that will work for everybody else, but it's not going to quite work for me because
of the mentality. What if it's even, it's worked every time until now, but this one
might be the one that just breaks the camel, the straw that breaks the camel's back. Right?
And I feel like these are types of things that Satan wants to put into our minds and
say, yeah, you're right. You know, there really is no way to know that if, if this time, if
it's really going to work out, there isn't, yeah, he'll sit and hound you with that idea.
If you're going to let him fill the void spaces in your day and in your thoughts, it's things
that seem impossible. That's what Jesus Christ is extra good at doing the impossible. But
Satan wants us to think like, yeah, he probably isn't going to be able to get this one. Now
the timeline might look a little different. It might be a little more drawn out than the
immediate blessing the blind man received of his sight restored, but he had the faith
to make this immediate blessing come to pass in his life. So don't put limitations. Right?
Come to Jesus. Like the third one, he says, yeah, come to Jesus. That's the third principle.
Allow him to guide him to us. Yeah. I love that. Weren't these just so sweet and simple?
Yes. What I thought was cool. What, what did you call it when it was like situ situational?
He's speaking about a story of a blind man in the gospel of Mark Bartimaeus. That is
the, it's a short and sweet, but he falls three points from the story of the blind man,
but he prefaces it by saying that he himself and his life was going to be experiencing
possible blindness and he has to kind of go to heroics monthly to preserve his eyesight.
And this is a scary thing. So how many times had he read that story in the past? And it
was like, that's a cool story, but then he's reading it now with this life circumstances,
right? You called that something, the gift of experience. Yeah. The gift of experience
makes this story stand out and highlight and feel just for him. And the message he can
draw for that he then shared in general conference that made it my message. It made it a message
for you. Absolutely. Made a message for all of us to say, um, you know, if Jesus Christ
calls, do I trust that I can, in my blindness, that I can make my way to him so that then
I can ask him for the blessings that I need in that moment. I love that. That's a, that's
a look at it. I feel like that's the best synopsis of the whole thing. It was just so
good. And like you said, Abby, I feel like there is a special spirit, but the Holy ghost,
you know, he, he bears witness of multiple things that are truth. And I feel like he
bore witness of, he had the spirit of experience. I felt depth, like the depths of elder Defeo
talking about how this was very, very real to him. And just like you said that it became
real to me as well. And that spirit resonated with me. And I hope that it resonated with
just everyone that was listening to it, because there is going to be something that you don't
want to have happen. You don't want the gift of experience. Usually we don't really want
that. We would be happy to just pass it, you know, and, um, but looking back, it's the
thing that gives us our character. It gives us experience and it sanctifies us and it
brings us closer to Christ. I love it. Um, he really makes an amazing point of like,
there's literally no limits on the things that we can bring to the savior. Can I go
to the scriptures that he was in? Yes. Mark chapter 10, verses 51 and 52, Jesus answered
him and said, what will thou that I should do to thee? So I love this. Jesus posed the
question, what, what do you want from me? Because you know, Jesus, you know that he
knows what the blind man wants from him. But when he asks the question, it's causing the,
the blind man to verbalize what the desire of his heart is and probably out loud and
probably the whole crowd can hear it. And I don't know if they've seen him heal the
blind yet. I, I don't, I don't know. I'm, I don't know where it is. I don't either.
Okay. So I wish that I was more of a script orium, but this podcast is not claimed to
be, uh, that voiced by people that are experienced like that, but we feel, we feel this. What
will thou that I should do unto thee and the blind men said unto him, Lord, that I might
receive my sight now emphasis on that he's still a blind man. He's made his way to Jesus
Christ blind with severe limitations. So when we liken the story to us, it's like we come
to him, we're not fixed. We need something. We, we know that it's him to the source that
we're looking for it to have that thing taken care of. And then, um, 52 says Jesus said
unto him, go thy way by faith have made the whole and immediately he received a site and
followed Jesus in the way. So faith proceeds miracle for all of us. We have to show that
willingness to come to him, to know that he can heal us, to put our heart's desire on
the line and ask for big things. And when we have that amount of faith, there really
is no blessing that he's going to withhold from us. People will say like, eh, sometimes
it doesn't seem so immediate. So maybe we don't see it, but there's never been a blessing
that I've received that I haven't reflected back on that is much better and bigger than
even the one that I asked for. So really in this blind man's life, a physical eyesight
was the gift that he was asking to be restored. But the fact that he's following the savior
going forward from his life, isn't that the greatest gift? Don't you think he experienced
even more amazing things in his life past the point of healing?
Yes. As you were talking, I just had the thought his, um, gift or his blessing of compensation
from Jesus Christ was you have seen me spiritually when other people have not. And so here's
your physical sight. I feel like that's what it was.
That's beautiful. Let's wrap it up. We'll catch you next time.
Thanks for coming.