1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,800 Welcome to Closer to Christ Through Conference, where two friends who love Jesus share our 2 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,280 own approach to studying general conference. 3 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:18,960 Today we get to break into the Saturday evening session that was kicked off by Elder Shane 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,040 M. Bowen of the Seventy. 5 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:24,120 His talk was titled, Miracles, Angels, and Priesthood Power. 6 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:28,280 Oh, Amy, I know this talk was for you. 7 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:33,000 We today say that miracles no longer exist, that angels are fictional, and that the heavens 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:34,800 are closed. 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:37,880 Elder Bowen testified that miracles have not ceased. 10 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:40,480 Angels are among us, and the heavens truly are open. 11 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:42,440 And I want to add my testimony to this. 12 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:44,800 I know, Amy, you'll do the same. 13 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:45,800 What caught your attention? 14 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,360 Oh my gosh, Abby. 15 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:53,480 I absolutely love that from the beginning, the whole talk is standing on a framework 16 00:00:53,480 --> 00:01:01,400 that we understand why we have the ministering of angels. 17 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:03,440 So first of all, God is a God of order. 18 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,000 He follows laws of nature and his own laws. 19 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,700 And I love that Elder Bowen reminds us that the heavens were opened by the reestablishment 20 00:01:10,700 --> 00:01:12,500 of priesthood keys. 21 00:01:12,500 --> 00:01:16,620 He says, Through the Savior's Church, we receive the blessings of the priesthood, including 22 00:01:16,620 --> 00:01:19,960 the power of God, to help us in our own lives. 23 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:24,880 Now I have to tell you, Abby, a younger version of myself didn't realize that angelic help 24 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,360 was available because of the priesthood being restored upon the earth. 25 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:30,440 I didn't put those two things together. 26 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:34,040 The ministering of angels is a direct blessing of the priesthood. 27 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:35,800 And I'm a visual person. 28 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:37,740 I like to know how things work. 29 00:01:37,740 --> 00:01:40,320 And I like to know by what authority I'm being blessed. 30 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:44,360 I like to know which of God's laws is being enacted as I receive heavenly blessings. 31 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:51,440 And part of that, I think, is because I like to know what I can do to opt into those blessings. 32 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:53,160 I like to know what my part is. 33 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:54,160 And Elder Bowen says this. 34 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:58,540 He says, If you desire the blessings of the priesthood, including miracles and the ministering 35 00:01:58,540 --> 00:02:03,260 of angels, walk the path of covenants that God's made available. 36 00:02:03,260 --> 00:02:08,280 And I do want to say right now that I absolutely understand that I'm not saying God is an ending 37 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:09,280 machine. 38 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,560 I'm not saying I do this and out comes a very specific blessing that I'm after. 39 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:18,520 What I am saying is that it's more like I identify that I love heavenly blessings. 40 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,460 I walk the covenant path with God and Jesus. 41 00:02:21,460 --> 00:02:26,120 And I'm blessed according to my needs, my desires, and my choices along the way. 42 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:30,840 And I'm definitely going to say that these blessings often come in the form of trials, 43 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,260 hard work, and experiences that we'd rather not have. 44 00:02:34,260 --> 00:02:39,040 And then our lives are sprinkled with little glimpses of heaven as God lets us know that 45 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:40,120 He's not left us. 46 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:45,960 And that often comes through heavenly assistance, through angelic assistance. 47 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:51,320 As this is maybe a new thought or idea for somebody, I would say most of us have experienced 48 00:02:51,320 --> 00:03:00,340 this, like when you've lost a loved one and you're doing the last thing, the funeral, 49 00:03:00,340 --> 00:03:05,560 you feel like an extra abundance of the spirit and you feel the presence of that relative 50 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:07,920 helping guide making some decisions. 51 00:03:07,920 --> 00:03:09,440 You're kind of in a different state. 52 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:10,440 100%. 53 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:12,040 The veil is very thin. 54 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:13,040 It's super thin. 55 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:17,360 And so I would say, no, it doesn't have to be a unique experience to just that. 56 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:24,360 And like, okay, we finished the funeral and we've laid them to rest or whatever their 57 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,960 end of right things are. 58 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,140 And then that feeling is going to be gone. 59 00:03:29,140 --> 00:03:32,720 Sometimes we do that and then you'll find people will find themselves at the cemetery 60 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:37,640 like laying on the grave and just hoping to fill that connection again. 61 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:42,600 And they may feel some peace there, but I would say more in recent years and through 62 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:48,520 my association with you, I've learned that there are ways to access priesthood power 63 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,920 and know the ancestors that are there and available for us to call on for help. 64 00:03:53,920 --> 00:03:57,880 And when you have ears that you're listening to that, you can listen back to just like 65 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:02,960 the last year on conference house, like, whoa, there are so many references to that angelic 66 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:03,960 help. 67 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,600 We're helping them do things that they can't do for themselves. 68 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,240 And when they're recognizing that from us, you'll feel that when you're doing family 69 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:11,240 history. 70 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:13,760 I totally agree. 71 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:14,760 So many different ways. 72 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,640 And I don't want to sit and list out like for people how they're going to find that. 73 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,720 I think let's keep delving into this awesome talk. 74 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,560 Did you fill an overarching theme with this talk? 75 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:24,560 Yes, Abby. 76 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:28,320 So this is one of those talks that like you listen to it the first time and you're like, 77 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:29,800 wow, that was a great talk. 78 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,640 And then you really go back and look at it or listen again. 79 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:38,080 And I wanted to cry the whole time for him, like bawl my eyes out, because he talks about 80 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,240 this first amazing experience that happened with his grandfather, right? 81 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:49,000 Where he was able to call back his mother from the other side, like she had passed. 82 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,640 And then how he had this accident with his family. 83 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:57,600 And honestly, as he was talking about it, I was like, oh, no, is he the one that talked 84 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,080 about the baby that that passed? 85 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:07,680 And I was like, I mean, you just kind of want to like push pause and just cry and just mourn 86 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:09,120 for this man. 87 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:15,760 Because the thing he's testifying of has come from a hard one lesson of experience. 88 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:21,240 And so this is what I think is so beautiful, Abby, like this, if for me, this is me through 89 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:22,740 my own eyes. 90 00:05:22,740 --> 00:05:28,560 If I were to look at this talk, I would say what a shining example he is because what 91 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:30,800 is he testify of the entire time? 92 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,200 He testifies of the goodness of God. 93 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,600 He testifies of the power of the atonement. 94 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:42,280 He testifies of prayers being answered and also in God's way and timing. 95 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:50,200 Like we, as a parent, I can imagine that his prayer was that his baby was going to survive, 96 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:51,200 right? 97 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:52,360 That didn't happen. 98 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:56,500 But that's not what this talk was even about. 99 00:05:56,500 --> 00:05:58,360 He had a child die. 100 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,440 He also raised another child from the dead. 101 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:05,240 Like do we, like there is profound information in this talk. 102 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:10,160 And if we're going to take it at face value, it would be a very depressing talk in my mind. 103 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:17,640 However, if we're thinking celestial, if we are taking this at spiritual face value, then 104 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:19,960 it's just kind of a mirror for all of our lives. 105 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:21,160 We're all going to go through crap. 106 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:27,000 We're all going to have really sad, hard things happen that we wish never came to our doorstep. 107 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:32,960 And I just feel like he is a wonderful example, Elder Bowen, of showing us that you can focus 108 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:34,020 on Christ. 109 00:06:34,020 --> 00:06:39,000 You can focus on the positive aspect. 110 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:43,680 Yes, the shining moments, the fact that there are glimmers of heaven, the fact that there 111 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,440 were miracles that happened and that there was angelic assistance. 112 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,000 One of the things he said was when there was this accident with his family and his sweet 113 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,560 little daughter got stuck under their car. 114 00:06:54,560 --> 00:07:00,600 He talked about how there were people who came to lift the car up. 115 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:01,600 It's a big car. 116 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:02,600 I think it was a van. 117 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:04,600 And he said there was like this most perfect- 118 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:05,600 High calculation. 119 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:06,600 They shouldn't be able to. 120 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:07,600 Right. 121 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,120 Because, and so like, I love the way that he reframed that picture for me and very visual 122 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:12,120 again. 123 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:17,640 He said there were heavenly angels that assisted earthly angels because he said each one of 124 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,860 them noted that that car was much lighter than it should have been. 125 00:07:21,860 --> 00:07:26,320 So that's what I feel like that's the whole thing is that our burdens can be much lighter 126 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,720 than they should have been when we are calling on the powers of heaven, when we are living 127 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,400 covenant lives. 128 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:36,480 And really that's like the, that's the payoff. 129 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:40,280 There is no, there's nothing that's going to say that you're not going to have tragic, 130 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:43,360 sad things happen in your life, but you are the one. 131 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:44,360 I am the one. 132 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:51,240 Our listeners are the ones that can reach up to heaven, claim our blessings, claim those 133 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:56,320 blessings, pray and ask for that spirit or the power of the Aaronic priesthood to flow 134 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,320 into your life through the ministering of angels. 135 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:01,840 I want everyone to claim that blessing. 136 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:06,800 That's the one thing that makes life sweet is heavenly assistance. 137 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:09,760 Sometimes mortal life can just be so mortal and so hard. 138 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,920 So that's, that's really the overarching theme for me, Abby. 139 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:17,840 I just felt over and over the deep testimony that he shared. 140 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:20,900 He didn't focus on death and near death. 141 00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:25,400 He focused on angelic help and the atonement. 142 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:34,000 And I love how he has that story in his, in his past of the grandfather that did raise 143 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,080 his mother from the dead. 144 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:41,760 And that would, I don't think it was coincidental that that thought would come to him as he 145 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:43,720 is looking at his daughter's lifeless form. 146 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:49,080 That would be like, we have claimed these blessings in our heritage and now is it as 147 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:50,920 good of opportunity to try as any. 148 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:52,520 And so he did that. 149 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,640 And that we do know that he did lose a child later, but that he's not saying that negated 150 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:01,160 the blessing that he'd received or that it was like, well, he saved one and didn't save 151 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:03,040 the other and was angry about it. 152 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:10,280 It's just from, from the way that he's living his life, he just, he, he has to know he's 153 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:15,400 able to more comfortably live with the idea that it wasn't his daughter's time to go. 154 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:21,840 And that because he was righteously holding the priesthood that he could claim those blessings 155 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,800 and that it must have been absolutely the time for those little guy to go. 156 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:26,800 Absolutely. 157 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:27,800 And that's hard. 158 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:32,420 I remember when that talk was shared a while back and like, I'm always like texting my 159 00:09:32,420 --> 00:09:35,720 sisters during conference and like, it's just lots of cry emojis on that. 160 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:39,040 Cause it's just like, that's not what you were expecting the outcome of that story to 161 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:40,040 be. 162 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:41,040 Yeah. 163 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:42,040 It got your parent heart, your mama heart. 164 00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:43,040 It just tugged at it. 165 00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:45,880 I'm terrified every time like when your kids are in that stage where they're just putting 166 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:47,640 everything in their, in their mouths. 167 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:56,860 But I don't know when it started for you on, on this connection that you have with your 168 00:09:56,860 --> 00:10:02,880 ancestors and the angelic and I know when, so I think maybe you should share that. 169 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:04,760 What, what experiences have you had? 170 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:06,200 What angelic help have you had before? 171 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,840 Do you have anything you can specifically share about that? 172 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,240 Because I know it's kind of my overall arching filling with you. 173 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,520 You've taught me that more than anybody else in my life. 174 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,680 And then as my ears have been open to it, I hear the apostles and prophets talk about 175 00:10:17,680 --> 00:10:19,560 all the time and I'm like, how did I miss that? 176 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:25,920 And I think it was because I wasn't ready to accept the idea of the veil being so thin. 177 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,240 I will say like in my patriarchal blessing, it does talk about the veil becoming thin 178 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:31,760 in the later years of my life as I work on temple work and stuff. 179 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,440 So I'm like, well, in my mind, like I was thinking like 80. 180 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:36,440 Right. 181 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:37,440 So I'm like only halfway there. 182 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:38,720 That was the number I was going to throw out. 183 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:39,720 Yeah. 184 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,840 But I think it's already must be the later years of my life because I'm definitely, definitely 185 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:48,080 feeling that in the family history work that I'm doing or connecting with ancestors that 186 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:49,080 I'm taking to temple. 187 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:50,080 It's a different experience. 188 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:55,120 And then we never said this before, but a couple of talks ago, we talked about preparing 189 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:56,120 for the temple differently. 190 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,800 Sometimes you go with a question and we didn't say it in that thing. 191 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:03,080 But since I've re-listened to the thing, I was like, when I prepare and I print a family 192 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,840 member's name and I look and quickly see how I'm related to them, it changes the experience 193 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:08,840 in the temple for me. 194 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:09,840 It does. 195 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:11,600 So I think that it makes sense to insert that thought. 196 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,080 I totally agree with that. 197 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:14,160 I totally agree. 198 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:19,320 So Abby, it's interesting that you say that about, you know, like when did it start or 199 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:20,320 whatever. 200 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,880 I think what's really interesting for me is that mine happened with a car accident. 201 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:27,560 It was my Chile car accident. 202 00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:32,000 And without going into all the details, it was miraculous. 203 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,800 It truly was miraculous. 204 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:37,700 The way that my car turned, we didn't go into oncoming traffic. 205 00:11:37,700 --> 00:11:41,240 We didn't hit a pole that was right there in front of our car. 206 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,520 Was it slow motion for you? 207 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:44,860 Yes, totally slow motion. 208 00:11:44,860 --> 00:11:47,040 We spun around perfectly in the lane. 209 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:50,960 So not even any other cars, not in my lane, not in the oncoming lane, none of that. 210 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:51,960 Yes, we had injuries. 211 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:52,960 We suffered burns. 212 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:57,000 Yeah, three of us left in separate ambulances. 213 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,520 But this is my point. 214 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,560 That was enough to get my attention. 215 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:07,480 Because as I thought on it, after I was recovering from burns, I had some time to think about 216 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,960 it and I just kept thinking it shouldn't have ended that way. 217 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,520 Like it didn't have to end so perfectly. 218 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:15,660 There were so many things that happened. 219 00:12:15,660 --> 00:12:18,080 My point is this. 220 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:22,200 After thinking about it, I only had one conclusion is that there was heavenly assistance. 221 00:12:22,200 --> 00:12:24,560 We had more than one angel helping us. 222 00:12:24,560 --> 00:12:28,560 And from that point, probably the next few years didn't think about it too much. 223 00:12:28,560 --> 00:12:29,840 And then it really accelerated. 224 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:30,840 We had another accident. 225 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:32,400 But my point is this. 226 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:37,600 I feel like every single one of us has these things happen in our lives. 227 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:42,720 And when I say these things, I mean angelic ministering from our ancestors who love us. 228 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,240 We're just not aware of it. 229 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:48,380 And as soon as we become aware of it, I mean, we can even have a prayer in our heart that 230 00:12:48,380 --> 00:12:51,380 says, Heavenly Father, help me to recognize your hand. 231 00:12:51,380 --> 00:12:54,680 And sometimes that means angelic assistance. 232 00:12:54,680 --> 00:13:01,920 Sometimes when I just have my grandpa's name come to mind or his song comes on my playlist, 233 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,400 I could just go about my day and keep doing it. 234 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:08,680 Or I could stop and say, is there something that I could learn from this situation? 235 00:13:08,680 --> 00:13:11,560 Is this a time when the veil is thin? 236 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:17,000 So there are small things that have happened to every single one of us. 237 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,200 We just have to stop and be aware. 238 00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:23,920 We've mentioned your, well, should we call it a hobby farm? 239 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:25,320 I don't even know what you have here. 240 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,240 But as you're creating it and we know stories of your ancestors, it's something that they 241 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:33,960 have already paid the price to learn about how to run. 242 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:34,960 They were farmers. 243 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:35,960 Yeah. 244 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,600 And they had some of these same animals that you're caring for. 245 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,680 And so what better person to tutor you? 246 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:44,520 I mean, it's not going to be like this real heavy conversation. 247 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:46,560 They're like, okay, this is what you need to do A, B and C. 248 00:13:46,560 --> 00:13:48,440 No, it comes as a thought. 249 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:49,520 Just as a thought. 250 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,160 And it feels like the Holy Ghost because angels speak by the power of Holy Ghost. 251 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:57,080 So it's literally just a thought of how about you do this with the animals? 252 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:58,080 How about you? 253 00:13:58,080 --> 00:13:59,400 How am I going to get the sheep back in? 254 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,640 How about you go grab this? 255 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:03,000 It makes things more fluid. 256 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,440 And it's just a beautiful thing that I just thinking of my ancestors helping me in this 257 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:09,920 way because this is very new to me. 258 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:11,280 I'm a city girl. 259 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:15,680 I've only ever had more than no more than one dog in the family. 260 00:14:15,680 --> 00:14:19,000 So thinking in this way is very different for me. 261 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:24,120 And I'm not telling you that they're around all the time, but I do have thoughts and impressions. 262 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:29,240 And I absolutely that night in my prayers, I thank Heavenly Father for sending an ancestor 263 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,000 in that moment that just helped things to move smoothly for me. 264 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,720 Nicole Sade The subject is really dear to Amy's heart. 265 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:39,200 And she's made it a gift in the lives of her friends, those around her. 266 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,680 Now she's making it part of the podcast. 267 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:47,280 Like kind of a process on recognizing those ancestors and some of those experiences, they're 268 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:48,360 ones that you can share. 269 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:52,960 And some of them are maybe a little more sacred and you have to kind of, you're best holding 270 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:54,480 them like a little closer to your heart. 271 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:59,760 Like you know that they existed in there, but they're not really to share. 272 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:01,080 I have one that I'll share. 273 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:05,440 On my fifth child, I had Benson and I've already told the audience, we've got two kids with 274 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,320 cystic fibrosis, we shut the family thing down, and then we were blessed with two more 275 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:10,320 children. 276 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,160 So he comes along. 277 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,680 My mother instinct was pretty sure he had CF at birth. 278 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:18,520 Kind of there are just some things that I'm looking for and I'd experienced it a couple 279 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:22,860 of times before and I had two with no CF and two with CS that I was like, okay, pretty 280 00:15:22,860 --> 00:15:24,360 sure Benson has this. 281 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:27,780 And he had some respiratory things kind of right from the beginning. 282 00:15:27,780 --> 00:15:30,840 And so I was exhausted from giving birth. 283 00:15:30,840 --> 00:15:34,600 I sent my husband home so he wasn't there with me, but we had four other kids to take 284 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:36,680 care of and therapy and some myriad of things. 285 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:37,960 It makes more sense to send him home. 286 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,660 So I'm there by myself and he'd kind of had like a little respiratory issue. 287 00:15:41,660 --> 00:15:46,120 And so the team comes in, this is like late at night and I'm like trying to hold my eyes 288 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,940 open because like my worst fear is my child stopping breathing. 289 00:15:49,940 --> 00:15:54,820 Like just probably like post-traumatic stress just for different things. 290 00:15:54,820 --> 00:15:56,760 So that's happening. 291 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:02,440 And so we did the first thing and then I was just like, the respiratory team comes in, 292 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:10,040 they suction some things and then it was like so exhausted, but like I could not feel good 293 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:11,040 about sleeping. 294 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:16,080 And so because I had some training from you, I thought I invited my ancestors to join me. 295 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:20,840 And I said, I'm exhausted and I need some sleep, but I can't rest comfortably unless 296 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:22,600 I know Benson's looked over for. 297 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:24,640 I'll tell you who came. 298 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,280 I don't know every, I don't, I feel like there were more than one person, but because I don't 299 00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:34,720 know everybody's name, I'm like, yeah, but my grandma Wolfly came to help that night. 300 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,680 And then you sit and you question, you're like, was it really her that came? 301 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:41,520 But as I was thinking of sharing the experience, I was like, grandma, I thought you were there 302 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:42,520 for me. 303 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:43,960 And she's like, yeah, I was there for you. 304 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:48,760 Why that's special and unique is that she passed away a month before I was born. 305 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:53,460 So I never knew her in this life, but it's special to me that we can have a connection 306 00:16:53,460 --> 00:16:55,160 in a different way, even though we didn't. 307 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,120 We must have crossed paths or whatever. 308 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:02,040 And I got her, I'm blue eyed and like, it's pretty random, like in my family. 309 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,880 So I'm like, she shared some things with me and I think she was a bigger woman. 310 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:06,880 That's what I am too. 311 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:11,000 So, and I don't know, I think I physically maybe look like her and I'm kind of, I'm 312 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:15,680 hoping that I have some of her qualities, but she's been there for me. 313 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:16,680 Yeah. 314 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:18,680 I love that, Abby. 315 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,280 They don't have to be huge experiences. 316 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,240 Sometimes it's just as special as getting a confirmation when you're doing like temple 317 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:30,720 work and you feel that person acknowledge that you were there for them that day. 318 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:35,160 I'm just like that the veil was very thin for me. 319 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:36,160 You were ready and waiting. 320 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:37,160 I'm always looking at the date. 321 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:38,480 I'm looking at the location. 322 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,160 I do love when I'm opening it up, like how closely am I related? 323 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:44,680 And they're not super close oftentimes, but it doesn't matter. 324 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:46,520 But you know where they fit in your family and where you fit. 325 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,640 I love clicking on that little button that says how you're related and you can just, 326 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:50,640 you can see it. 327 00:17:50,640 --> 00:18:00,920 You know, Abby, as you were talking, you know, one thing I do want to share is, is 328 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:05,680 so something that came. 329 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:07,640 Was it something about family history? 330 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:12,120 It was, you know, it was something about, so when I was going through my cancer, there 331 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:17,640 was a point where I recognized, there was a point where I recognized that ancestors 332 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:18,880 were helping me through it. 333 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:20,000 Oh, that's cool. 334 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:22,920 I just had a thought and a feeling, but I wasn't sure. 335 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:25,680 And so Abby, I didn't know. 336 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:27,480 I was unfamiliar with this world. 337 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,180 I'm unfamiliar with the rules of it. 338 00:18:29,180 --> 00:18:34,240 So I just prayed and said, heavenly father, is it appropriate that I know who's helping 339 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:35,240 me? 340 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:36,240 Oh, that's good. 341 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,920 The feeling that I got was absolutely it is. 342 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,280 And since then, I've learned more and more reasons why it's appropriate that you know 343 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:45,200 who's helping you from the other side. 344 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:51,800 But for me, what happened in that very instance is my niece was helping me to wash and care 345 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:53,760 for my cancer that day. 346 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:58,700 And all of a sudden I just had a thought and I prayed out loud and asked heavenly father, 347 00:18:58,700 --> 00:19:00,840 and I literally said my aunt's name out loud. 348 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:02,660 I said, aunt Shirley. 349 00:19:02,660 --> 00:19:06,920 And as soon as I said it, we both just started crying. 350 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:11,540 There was like an overwhelming feeling of peace and love and reassurance through the 351 00:19:11,540 --> 00:19:13,000 Holy Ghost that that's who it was. 352 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:18,480 So I know that sounds a little bit interesting and perhaps odd to some people, but the name 353 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:19,600 came to my mind. 354 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:21,240 And as soon as it came, I said it. 355 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:25,640 And it was kind of like when you bear your testimony, when you say those words out loud, 356 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,080 the Holy Ghost confirms it to you and it's like locked in your heart, like you know, 357 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:31,080 right? 358 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:32,080 And so that's kind of how it was for me. 359 00:19:32,080 --> 00:19:35,760 So I've kind of followed that pattern of I would love to know who is helping me. 360 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:41,000 I would love to know because I feel like that forms a stronger bond. 361 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:42,860 Think of your ministering sisters. 362 00:19:42,860 --> 00:19:46,840 You probably would like to know when they acknowledge something that you do, it's the 363 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:47,840 same thing. 364 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:49,760 They're like our ministering brothers and sisters. 365 00:19:49,760 --> 00:19:55,040 And when we are able to thank heavenly father for dispatching them on our behalf, it grows 366 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:56,040 that bond. 367 00:19:56,040 --> 00:20:04,920 Absolutely, there's so many thoughts in my mind, but let me ask you one more question, 368 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:05,920 okay? 369 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,520 Because I do feel like we could talk for hours on this, but we're not going to. 370 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,160 One more question through the lens of family history, Elder Bowen relayed a beautiful story 371 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:19,760 about his own grandpa talking about healing. 372 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:25,080 What you just said, and this question that I'm asking is, what tips can you give listeners 373 00:20:25,080 --> 00:20:31,120 on how better to know who's present, who you're calling on? 374 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:33,040 How can we make that connection? 375 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,200 This kind of feels like the action item for the talk. 376 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:37,200 I agree. 377 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:38,200 It's such a foreign thing. 378 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,760 And some people are going to be like, I'm shutting this office. 379 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,120 It's feeling very weird, but it's such a beautiful thing. 380 00:20:44,120 --> 00:20:45,120 It really is. 381 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:46,520 And it can be so very simple. 382 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,740 I do love just, I would love to draw your attention to one thing quickly. 383 00:20:50,740 --> 00:20:53,360 He first shares the story of his grandfather. 384 00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:58,400 And if you think of it, he had the same spiritual gift that Elder Bowen had. 385 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:01,980 So how would he know that this gift of healing that was even part of it, how would he know, 386 00:21:01,980 --> 00:21:06,540 how would it even come to his mind when it was time for him to raise his daughter? 387 00:21:06,540 --> 00:21:10,620 How would that even come to mind had that not already been planted by someone in his 388 00:21:10,620 --> 00:21:12,580 family who had this gift of experience? 389 00:21:12,580 --> 00:21:14,580 And who had recorded it for him to read later. 390 00:21:14,580 --> 00:21:18,840 So that's another reason, like get to know your family, jump onto family search and click 391 00:21:18,840 --> 00:21:22,340 on if there are any stories, read the stories. 392 00:21:22,340 --> 00:21:25,520 If you don't have stories, just looking at dates, when did they die? 393 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:26,520 When were they born? 394 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:28,400 Did they lose parents at an early age? 395 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:32,540 They lose a spouse or a sibling or a child. 396 00:21:32,540 --> 00:21:34,920 You can also see where did they come from? 397 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:36,580 When did they come to the US? 398 00:21:36,580 --> 00:21:37,720 What was their occupation? 399 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:41,160 All of these things are available and it just helps us to get to know them a little bit 400 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:42,740 better. 401 00:21:42,740 --> 00:21:46,840 And then the last thing, this is just something personal that I've done in the past four years. 402 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,480 I've actually compiled a kind of a family, it's an ancestor playlist. 403 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:52,840 So I have favorite hymns. 404 00:21:52,840 --> 00:22:00,240 I've asked my parents what hymn reminds you of your grandpa, of your parents who've passed. 405 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:06,920 And then I've also, if I've had them accessible, I've looked at funeral programs and on there 406 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:11,680 I put those lists on there, you know, those hymns on there too, because that's their favorites. 407 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:18,320 And then I've also just like opened up the Christian hymns, you know, on Spotify for 408 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:19,320 me. 409 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:20,320 And I've just kind of like done- 410 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:21,320 What feels right. 411 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:22,320 What feels good. 412 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:23,760 What resonates and I add, I add, I add. 413 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:28,680 And what I do is I just listen to this as I do laundry, as I prep dinner, as I drive 414 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:30,840 my kids from place to place. 415 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:37,000 And for me what it does is it first invites the Holy Ghost to be there and it's a comfortable 416 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,240 place for the Holy Ghost to be. 417 00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,480 And then also wherever the Holy Ghost is, that's where ancestors are. 418 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:46,440 So if maybe sometimes a song comes on that just resonates a little bit more, I'm like, 419 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,200 oh, that was kind of a nod or a wink for my great grandma. 420 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:50,760 Like she sees what's going on. 421 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,640 She saw this hard thing that happened today when I was crying in the corner, whatever, 422 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:54,760 you know what I mean? 423 00:22:54,760 --> 00:23:04,420 And it just, it opens up, I guess it's a small effort that we can do to let the heavens know 424 00:23:04,420 --> 00:23:09,800 that we're listening and let the Lord know that we're looking for His hand in our lives. 425 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,180 And the best that we can, you're in like the thick of motherhood right now when you share 426 00:23:13,180 --> 00:23:16,680 those experiences and point those things out to your kids, it's going to make a difference 427 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:18,920 in their lives through experience. 428 00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:25,620 Like anecdotally, I had a daughter that turned old enough to start doing proxies baptisms. 429 00:23:25,620 --> 00:23:31,120 And so we specifically took family names the first time that she went and she very felt 430 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:34,760 close to the Spirit and the experience was great for her. 431 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:39,640 And then another time, pretty shortly after we went and I think we did some names for 432 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,600 somebody else, which there's nothing wrong with that, but we get in the car and she's 433 00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:44,540 like, it felt a little bit different. 434 00:23:44,540 --> 00:23:48,520 And I was like, well, it's still beautiful and you still did service, but it does make 435 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,560 me feel like she's already recognizing that when you're linking yourself and you're doing 436 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,320 work for your ancestors, it's changing the temple experience. 437 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:56,360 So we got that at 11. 438 00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:57,360 Yeah, there's that connection. 439 00:23:57,360 --> 00:24:00,360 She might have been 12 because her birthday's in February, but you know, her first experience 440 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:01,520 was as an 11 year old. 441 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:08,080 So there's so much power when we get to know our people and maybe have an idea of who. 442 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:14,080 We don't pray, I don't say grandma, wolf, like mom to me. 443 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:15,080 Right. 444 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:20,200 So whatever random name, like you're praying heavenly father for assistance. 445 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:24,880 When you're open to those ancestors being the ones to be the ministering angels, then 446 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:25,880 that's right. 447 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,200 You ask him to dispatch someone on your half, just like your ministering sister might call 448 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,320 you when you've had a horrible week and say, Hey, I'm going to bring dinner. 449 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:33,720 It's the same thing. 450 00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:35,320 They are also on the other side. 451 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:39,680 They opt in to minister to us amid the other things they have going on. 452 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:43,000 I love that. 453 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,040 So in closing, just get to know your people. 454 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:47,400 Who do we think our angels are? 455 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:50,720 There are army of ancestors on the other side of the veil. 456 00:24:50,720 --> 00:24:55,060 The heavens are open because priesthood keys are restored on this earth. 457 00:24:55,060 --> 00:25:00,760 We have access to these blessings as we walk the covenant path in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 458 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,600 We're so happy you were here with us today. 459 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:07,180 We hope that you have some food for thought and ponder on these things and see where they 460 00:25:07,180 --> 00:25:08,180 fit into your life. 461 00:25:08,180 --> 00:25:09,180 Have a great one. 462 00:25:09,180 --> 00:25:13,160 Catch you next time.