WEBVTT 00:00:07.530 --> 00:00:09.609 Welcome to Closer to Christ, the General Conference, 00:00:09.769 --> 00:00:12.070 where two friends who love Jesus share our own 00:00:12.070 --> 00:00:13.970 approach to studying the most recent General 00:00:13.970 --> 00:00:16.890 Conference talks. This is Abby. And Amy. Let's 00:00:16.890 --> 00:00:31.940 jump into it. Talk Joy Through Covenant Discipleship 00:00:31.940 --> 00:00:34.859 by Elder John A. McCune of the Seventy. I'm excited 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:38.700 to discuss this one with you, Amy. Thanks, Abby. 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:40.399 The title of the talk, it kind of says it all. 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:42.960 Elder McCune focuses on our personal relationship 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:44.780 with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and how 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:46.880 covenants and perspective make it possible to 00:00:46.880 --> 00:00:49.320 experience joy even in the trials of our life. 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:52.240 First story of his talk is about a woman who's 00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:55.979 named, beautiful name that I'm not going to destroy 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:58.820 here on radio. Uyanga. Oh, see, you're good. 00:00:59.179 --> 00:01:01.399 Who was at work in the northern Mongolian city 00:01:01.399 --> 00:01:03.359 of Darkin when the Mongolian mission president 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.079 entered a workplace? And she immediately notices 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.819 a light in his countenance. And he was very kind 00:01:08.819 --> 00:01:10.840 to her. And she asked a few questions before 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:12.799 he left. And then a couple of days later, he 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:14.659 came back into her workplace and asked if she 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:16.780 wanted to attend church with him. And she accepted 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:19.500 the invitation, thinking of her children's future 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:21.700 and about her uneasiness of, you know, what was 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:24.780 happening in the world currently. And here are 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:26.799 the words that she said. Before I joined the 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:28.659 church, I watched General Conference and listened 00:01:28.659 --> 00:01:30.959 to President Russell M. Nelson speak. He announced 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:32.700 new temples all over the world and said that 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:35.780 a new temple would be built in Mongolia. I rejoiced, 00:01:35.780 --> 00:01:38.019 shed tears, and even though I did not understand 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:40.980 why, with this joy, I could tell that my faith 00:01:40.980 --> 00:01:44.140 and testimony were growing. It's always interesting 00:01:44.140 --> 00:01:47.239 to hear in people's own words what they feel 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:49.469 like when the Holy Ghost... pricks their hearts 00:01:49.469 --> 00:01:51.670 something she didn't even know anything about 00:01:51.670 --> 00:01:53.870 temple in mongolia she hears her country name 00:01:53.870 --> 00:01:56.370 for some reason she doesn't know why but it bears 00:01:56.370 --> 00:02:00.890 like a it pierces her heart and she knows something 00:02:00.890 --> 00:02:03.090 something's different and unique about this experience 00:02:03.090 --> 00:02:07.230 um i agree it's witnessing truth to their soul 00:02:07.230 --> 00:02:11.870 exactly Elder McKeown touches on both Jesus Christ 00:02:11.870 --> 00:02:14.889 and also Heavenly Father, and he breaks down 00:02:14.889 --> 00:02:17.969 why we worship them and also why we are disciples 00:02:17.969 --> 00:02:21.270 of Christ. He says, Jesus Christ declared, I 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:22.810 was in the beginning with the Father and I'm 00:02:22.810 --> 00:02:25.389 the firstborn. Because of who he is and what 00:02:25.389 --> 00:02:28.069 he has done, we worship him. We revere him. We 00:02:28.069 --> 00:02:30.289 give glory to him and we follow him, meaning 00:02:30.289 --> 00:02:32.750 we are his disciples. Christ has redeemed us 00:02:32.750 --> 00:02:34.810 and we are forever grateful for his infinite 00:02:34.810 --> 00:02:38.129 and atoning sacrifice. Heavenly Father loves 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:56.930 us. I like it in this talk. He makes a big distinction, 00:02:57.050 --> 00:03:00.110 and it's a great reminder for each of us. It's 00:03:00.110 --> 00:03:02.889 in our quest to understand what we do, not... 00:03:04.860 --> 00:03:07.819 know. We might sometimes rely on our familiar 00:03:07.819 --> 00:03:10.319 mortal experiences or the things we do know. 00:03:11.020 --> 00:03:15.979 So he goes on to explain it in this way. He says, 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.520 we can learn somewhat of God the Father through 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:20.900 our own parenthood and mortal family relationships. 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:24.159 However, we should be careful in applying these 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:26.340 comparisons too far in our attempt to understand 00:03:26.340 --> 00:03:29.139 our Heavenly Father. So the attributes of God 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:32.039 the Father transcend any less than perfect attribute 00:03:32.039 --> 00:03:35.280 of like a fallen man so you might say like what 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:38.060 do i know um of heavenly mother well the motherly 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:41.000 instincts that i have but not like not all two 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.560 mothers are exactly alike so to attribute every 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:46.879 exact thing that you do to be the characteristic 00:03:46.879 --> 00:03:51.340 of that heavenly being needs to also be paired 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:53.639 with the spirit testifying that that's a true 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:56.460 thing like it gives us a glimpse of of who they 00:03:56.460 --> 00:03:58.879 are but it would have to be an absolute perfect 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:02.840 example to be an actual attribute of the Father, 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:04.979 right? That checks out. He's perfectly loving, 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:08.439 kind, patient, understanding, and perfectly glorious. 00:04:08.580 --> 00:04:11.139 Like I would say as a parent, I have glimpses 00:04:11.139 --> 00:04:13.180 of perfection. I have glimpses of what it feels 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:15.430 like. You know, like sometimes you're just sitting 00:04:15.430 --> 00:04:17.069 there and you're like, man, it's so great. This 00:04:17.069 --> 00:04:19.689 is so, so great. I think they probably have that 00:04:19.689 --> 00:04:21.889 opportunity more often than not. But, you know, 00:04:21.889 --> 00:04:23.750 then it's paired with the fighting and then me 00:04:23.750 --> 00:04:25.410 having to yell and me feeling bad that I yelled. 00:04:25.490 --> 00:04:28.410 That probably isn't part of it. Well, Heavenly 00:04:28.410 --> 00:04:30.490 Father must yell too, because I had the instinct 00:04:30.490 --> 00:04:33.009 to yell when my kid did something bad. Not accurate. 00:04:33.209 --> 00:04:34.910 The spirit's not going to testify. That's true. 00:04:36.139 --> 00:04:38.360 We can trust him perfectly. The love of Christ 00:04:38.360 --> 00:04:41.079 reflects the love of God the Father and is a 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:43.240 representation of his love. So basically what 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:45.459 he's saying, whatever our relationship may be 00:04:45.459 --> 00:04:48.199 with our Father, it's not perfect because our 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.639 Father's human. So we'll leave that part of your 00:04:51.639 --> 00:04:53.620 heart open for a perfect relationship with the 00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:55.560 perfect Father figure or with Father in heaven. 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:58.019 We can have a glimpse of what it's supposed to 00:04:58.019 --> 00:05:00.600 look like, a glimpse of what perfect could look 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:04.560 like, but do plan on the relationships, you know. 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:09.579 Being even better than that. I love that. It's 00:05:09.579 --> 00:05:11.480 interesting because I have a few priesthood blessings 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:13.720 that talk about my relationship with my Heavenly 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:18.379 Father and Heavenly Mother. And that when I am 00:05:18.379 --> 00:05:22.839 with them again, that that will make up for every 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:25.740 lack that there ever was in my... in my parents 00:05:25.740 --> 00:05:27.959 now, which I thought was really awesome because 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:29.879 I don't even feel like there is much lack. Yes, 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:32.100 they're human. But I was just thinking, man, 00:05:32.199 --> 00:05:35.439 I just feel like he exceeds my expectations at 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:37.240 every turn. And it's just amazing. I know he 00:05:37.240 --> 00:05:40.139 does that for every single person. as disciples 00:05:40.139 --> 00:05:42.079 when we make and keep sacred covenants we are 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:44.199 blessed with spiritual power we are connected 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:46.639 to christ and god the father in a special relationship 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:50.519 and can experience their love and joy in a measure 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:52.980 reserved for those who have made and kept covenants 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:55.939 this next phrase shows how our relationship is 00:05:55.939 --> 00:05:58.759 reciprocal to our efforts Our ability to sense 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:01.319 a full measure of God's love or to continue in 00:06:01.319 --> 00:06:04.399 His love is contingent upon our righteous desires 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:06.699 and actions. I feel like the importance of this 00:06:06.699 --> 00:06:11.040 can't be stressed enough. As we choose God, as 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:13.259 we choose to put Him first, we have more experience 00:06:13.259 --> 00:06:15.720 with Him, and then I feel like we get to be more 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:18.420 familiar with His perfect love. So it makes sense 00:06:18.420 --> 00:06:21.860 that, number one, it's an ability. to feel God's 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:24.899 love. And with any ability, our individual practice 00:06:24.899 --> 00:06:27.100 and experience heighten that ability, right? 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:29.639 So it just extends, it just makes it more. I'll 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:31.720 read that one more time. Our ability to sense 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:33.920 a full measure of God's love or to continue in 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.620 His love is contingent upon our righteous desires 00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:39.379 and actions. Let's look deeper into the phrase, 00:06:39.579 --> 00:06:41.699 continue in His love. Abby, what do you have 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:45.560 for us on that? Let's go. John chapter 15, verse 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.060 9 reads, As the Father hath loved me, so have 00:06:48.060 --> 00:06:52.160 I loved you. then we're given an invitation, 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:57.500 continue ye in my love. So if we love like Jesus 00:06:57.500 --> 00:06:59.480 loves, he loves because of the way the Father 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:02.180 loved him. It's a great cycle to repeat. In the 00:07:02.180 --> 00:07:04.519 next verse, we're given the way to continue in 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:06.560 his love. If you keep my commandments, you shall 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:08.759 abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:12.879 commandments and abide in his love. So I love 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:16.089 that reminder. Making covenants and keeping His 00:07:16.089 --> 00:07:18.329 commandments is our way to show and demonstrate 00:07:18.329 --> 00:07:21.649 the love that we have for Him. We then see the 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:23.410 purpose of keeping the commandments, which is 00:07:23.410 --> 00:07:25.569 what verse 11 is about. It says, These things 00:07:25.569 --> 00:07:27.949 have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain 00:07:27.949 --> 00:07:33.769 in you, and that your joy might be full. So fullness 00:07:33.769 --> 00:07:37.980 of joy comes from covenant relationships. Crazy, 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:40.060 right? It's awesome. Would that be the first 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:42.160 thing that your thought was? It's not the first 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:44.079 thing, but the more that I'm getting into the 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:47.180 covenant making and the importance of it, it's 00:07:47.180 --> 00:07:50.699 so much less of a shackling chain and so much 00:07:50.699 --> 00:07:53.259 more of a way to elevate myself and my relationship 00:07:53.259 --> 00:07:55.139 with Jesus Christ and everything that I want 00:07:55.139 --> 00:07:59.300 for my life. Yes, I agree. And I feel like making 00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:02.879 covenants with... God feels more like a warm 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:04.680 blanket of comfort rather than, like you said, 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:06.860 the shackling chain, which you may look at earlier 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:09.100 in life. It's interesting, too, that the scripture 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:11.120 is teaching us that our capacity, here we are 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.279 again, for joy is expanded as we keep commandments 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:16.860 and make and keep covenants. And the opposite 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:19.220 message is trying to be shared by the adversary 00:08:19.220 --> 00:08:22.079 saying, you're going to miss out on things that 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:25.589 bring joy. But really what we've discussed in 00:08:25.589 --> 00:08:27.470 other podcasts, it's temporary happiness. We 00:08:27.470 --> 00:08:30.269 could say it does feel good. It's fun. It feels 00:08:30.269 --> 00:08:33.850 good for a time. But lasting joy and eternal 00:08:33.850 --> 00:08:37.590 happiness and joy, it's definitely linked with 00:08:37.590 --> 00:08:41.070 covenants that we're making. Through true covenant 00:08:41.070 --> 00:08:43.029 discipleship, we can begin to understand better 00:08:43.029 --> 00:08:45.590 the nature of God and the joy he wants all of 00:08:45.590 --> 00:08:48.330 his children to experience. And we can also begin 00:08:48.330 --> 00:08:50.330 to understand some principles that first might. 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:52.639 feel confusing here's a question you might ask 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:55.360 yourself how can god have a fullness of joy when 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:58.399 some of his children are suffering so much and 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.299 it comes down to two things one his perfect perspective 00:09:01.299 --> 00:09:05.000 and two his perfect plan he sees us from the 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.080 beginning of our glorious potential future he 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:09.100 has provided a way through his son jesus christ 00:09:09.100 --> 00:09:13.159 for every one of his children and what he's overcome 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:16.279 is a way to get over pain and suffering sins 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:19.370 guilt loneliness Things that are a consequence 00:09:19.370 --> 00:09:23.350 of mortality. And he's provided for us the way 00:09:23.350 --> 00:09:26.730 he's shown us, which way he'd prefer us to choose. 00:09:28.009 --> 00:09:31.309 He lets us make our own choice inevitably, but 00:09:31.309 --> 00:09:33.149 still we have been given the perfect example 00:09:33.149 --> 00:09:35.429 of what would be the best choice in a situation. 00:09:35.809 --> 00:09:38.629 I love this thought. And I learned an important 00:09:38.629 --> 00:09:40.750 truth during this talk as I listened to it during 00:09:40.750 --> 00:09:43.210 conference of the day of. Have you heard the 00:09:43.210 --> 00:09:45.909 phrase that we are only as happy as our most 00:09:45.909 --> 00:09:49.059 unhappy child? Definitely that. Yeah, I've heard 00:09:49.059 --> 00:09:52.539 this all of my adult life from some in the older 00:09:52.539 --> 00:09:54.860 generation. And it always made me a bit nervous, 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:56.659 number one, to have kids in the first place. 00:09:56.700 --> 00:09:58.700 And then also later in life to have grandkids 00:09:58.700 --> 00:10:00.460 because my chance of misery would be expanded. 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.320 This was an idea that was being perpetuated as 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:05.419 truth. This is what Elder McKeown says about 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:07.779 it. I have seen that this does not need to be 00:10:07.779 --> 00:10:10.879 the case. My 94 -year -old mother has over 200 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:13.809 living descendants. At any given point, at least 00:10:13.809 --> 00:10:15.929 one of them is going to be, the 200 is going 00:10:15.929 --> 00:10:18.789 to be unhappy. If this statement were true, my 00:10:18.789 --> 00:10:20.970 mother would be in a perpetual state of unhappiness, 00:10:21.070 --> 00:10:24.169 which she isn't. Those who know her know how 00:10:24.169 --> 00:10:26.730 joyful she is. My heart leaped out of my chest 00:10:26.730 --> 00:10:28.490 when I heard this, coupled with the Holy Ghost, 00:10:28.570 --> 00:10:30.250 like you were saying before, who spoke truth 00:10:30.250 --> 00:10:34.110 to my heart about this. idea. I'm not sure if 00:10:34.110 --> 00:10:36.169 it was because it was the only time I'd ever 00:10:36.169 --> 00:10:38.750 heard it spoken with the Holy Ghost or from the 00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:40.750 pulpit or both, but my heart recognized truth 00:10:40.750 --> 00:10:43.289 and I felt the biggest sigh of relief over this. 00:10:43.730 --> 00:10:46.210 And then the Spirit taught me this, that I do 00:10:46.210 --> 00:10:48.490 not share most of the same views on life and 00:10:48.490 --> 00:10:50.870 misery as this person does. So why would I adopt 00:10:50.870 --> 00:10:52.669 an idea or just take their word for it because 00:10:52.669 --> 00:10:54.490 they're older than me, right? But I had been 00:10:54.490 --> 00:10:57.409 doing that. I can have my own experience and 00:10:57.409 --> 00:11:00.070 I can partner with God and adopt His perspective. 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:03.340 on the matter. I loved his way of correcting 00:11:03.340 --> 00:11:05.620 the view of a false tradition of our fathers 00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:07.700 and mothers, or you could say a limiting belief 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:09.539 either way. I don't know if they had anybody 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:12.259 else who was listening to this podcast. If it's 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:14.399 not this particular view, was there something 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.139 that did stand out to you? Go ahead and share 00:11:17.139 --> 00:11:18.820 it with a friend or a family member and start 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:20.899 a discussion about this. Or you could leave a 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:22.860 comment on the podcast. We would love to hear 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:25.059 what you have to say and have you be part of 00:11:25.059 --> 00:11:27.970 the discussion. Yes. That was an awesome story. 00:11:28.269 --> 00:11:30.409 And then, you know, he shared another one. He 00:11:30.409 --> 00:11:33.029 said in January 2019, he and his wife, Debbie, 00:11:33.149 --> 00:11:34.509 had a personal meeting with President Nelson. 00:11:34.909 --> 00:11:38.250 At this meeting, he warmly extended the current 00:11:38.250 --> 00:11:41.029 calling that Elder McEwen has and offered comfort 00:11:41.029 --> 00:11:43.029 and reassurance because obviously these callings 00:11:43.029 --> 00:11:44.990 come with a lot of heaviness, a lot of pressure, 00:11:45.110 --> 00:11:47.509 and spent time making them feel valued and loved 00:11:47.509 --> 00:11:49.230 like they were the only people in the world that 00:11:49.230 --> 00:11:52.190 needed his attention in that moment. And they 00:11:52.190 --> 00:11:53.850 left the meeting feeling joyful and supported, 00:11:54.049 --> 00:11:55.629 even though it was a heavy calling they just 00:11:55.629 --> 00:11:58.710 accepted. Now, the following Monday, they learned 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:00.870 at the very time of their meeting one of President 00:12:00.870 --> 00:12:02.809 Nelson's daughters had passed away from cancer. 00:12:03.049 --> 00:12:05.309 And the news left them stunned, and they reflected 00:12:05.309 --> 00:12:08.129 what a contrast it was between how really kind 00:12:08.129 --> 00:12:10.690 he was to them and he was experiencing his own 00:12:10.690 --> 00:12:13.570 deep sorrow. And it led them both to feelings 00:12:13.570 --> 00:12:16.649 of mourning for his loss, but also gratitude 00:12:16.649 --> 00:12:19.309 for his compassion and attention to them. In 00:12:19.309 --> 00:12:21.690 his own words, he pondered on how President Nelson 00:12:21.690 --> 00:12:24.169 had any part of joy in him after this devastating 00:12:24.169 --> 00:12:26.740 news. Right. He answered the question himself 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:29.940 by saying, because he knows. He knows that Christ 00:12:29.940 --> 00:12:32.240 has been victorious. He knows that he will be 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:34.379 with his daughter again. He will spend an eternity 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:36.820 with her. Joy and eternal perspective come through 00:12:36.820 --> 00:12:39.299 being bound to the Savior by making and keeping 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:41.799 covenants and through Christlike discipleship. 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:45.120 I feel like President Nelson has taught me so 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:49.100 much on this specific. topic. He said, just as 00:12:49.100 --> 00:12:52.259 the Savior offers peace that passeth all understanding 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:55.820 in Philippians 4 -7, he also offers an intensity, 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:58.840 depth, and breadth of joy that defy human logic 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:02.600 or mortal comprehension, which again is mirrored 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:04.720 in what just happened, right? For example, it 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:06.659 doesn't seem possible to feel joy when your child 00:13:06.659 --> 00:13:08.759 suffers with an incurable illness or when you 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:10.700 lose your job or when your spouse betrays you, 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:14.019 yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. 00:13:15.259 --> 00:13:18.059 What this shows me again, is that President Nelson 00:13:18.059 --> 00:13:21.039 practiced what he preaches or he walks the walk. 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:24.320 We've heard before in a quote that he has said, 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:26.679 the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances 00:13:26.679 --> 00:13:29.679 of our lives and everything to do with the focus 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:32.200 of our lives. I think he made that pretty apparent 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:34.460 with this personal story shared by Elder McCune 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:38.279 when he was able to give so much of himself to 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:41.059 someone else at the time when he was experiencing 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:46.240 a deep personal loss. Abby, do you have any other 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:50.159 thoughts to add before we close? This talk is 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:53.460 just kind of bringing to memory a couple of things. 00:13:53.539 --> 00:13:55.759 One, when I was really worried about my children 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:59.159 and like, what can I do as a mother? And it was 00:13:59.159 --> 00:14:00.720 kind of going into a general conference and the 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:02.580 impression came to me that I needed to spend 00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:05.440 more time in the temple. What does my attendance 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:07.679 to the temple do for my children? you might ask. 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:11.019 And what I'm finding is that if I have questions 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:12.980 on my heart about them, I can take that to meet 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:16.000 with the temple with me. They get to see me practice 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:20.600 the faith that I preach at home. I maybe leave 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:22.580 the temple like a little lighter than I go into 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:24.320 it. So some of the heavinesses of the world I 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:26.659 leave behind. Anyway, answers to questions. I'm 00:14:26.659 --> 00:14:28.740 finding that the answer to why that's important, 00:14:29.039 --> 00:14:32.039 I find little pieces of that, you know, years 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:35.240 gone by since I asked that question. I don't 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:37.340 do it saying, okay, well, I've given you the 00:14:37.340 --> 00:14:39.659 temple time, so make sure that my children choose 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:43.039 the gospel and choose to carry this on. I'm definitely 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:45.440 letting it be an opportunity to say, regardless 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:48.320 of the decisions my children make, this is what 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:51.000 I can do for my children now. That's what I was 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:52.960 prompted to do. And then the other thing that 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:54.820 came to mind as we were going through this talk 00:14:54.820 --> 00:14:59.580 was, I feel like I learned more about... what 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:03.080 it like true characteristics of a good a good 00:15:03.080 --> 00:15:05.639 parent kind of happen after i've really blown 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:08.519 it as a parent what do i mean by that a kid does 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:14.860 something i react in a certain way and um i i 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:17.159 go and i think on that kind of reflect on the 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:18.679 day and i realized that's not how i would have 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:20.919 liked to have responded to it and i let the spirit 00:15:20.919 --> 00:15:23.679 impress me that there wasn't the right way So 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:26.259 he teaches me, the spirit teaches me, you know, 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:29.220 how to make it right. I go, I make my apologies. 00:15:29.340 --> 00:15:31.519 The next time a similar scenario comes along, 00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:33.919 I may be a little bit more inclined to do a better 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:37.179 way. So I'm not a perfect parent because I was 00:15:37.179 --> 00:15:39.779 born to be a perfect parent. I'm perfect. I'm 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:42.100 becoming a perfect parent because the spirit, 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:44.600 through the spirit, I'm allowed to correct the 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:46.820 imperfections that I have. In perfect timing. 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:50.220 yeah right the time because i want him to be 00:15:50.220 --> 00:15:53.240 involved in that process and i want to be better 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:56.320 at this job that have no handbook for each kid 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:58.500 so different it just doesn't play out quite the 00:15:58.500 --> 00:16:01.000 same every time and i don't know that's kind 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:02.700 of the thoughts that have been going since we 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:05.240 talked about like oh you know i do it this certain 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:06.860 way so that must be the way heavenly mother does 00:16:06.860 --> 00:16:12.340 it That's not as accurate to me as, you know, 00:16:12.340 --> 00:16:13.600 you're kind of having these perfect peaceful 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:15.659 moments and like you're teaching something or 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:17.240 your kids teaching you something. You're having 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:19.039 these moments and then it just feels kind of 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:21.679 like out of worldly, like you get some of those 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:25.399 moments. Like a piece of heaven. Yeah, there's 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:28.419 a piece of heaven to it. So still learning on 00:16:28.419 --> 00:16:30.340 this, still kind of getting an idea of it. I 00:16:30.340 --> 00:16:32.840 mean, I just had a reunion, a 20 -year college 00:16:32.840 --> 00:16:34.480 reunion, and everybody's kind of going around 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:35.840 the table and kind of talking about where their 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:37.480 lives are at. And a lot of them have been losing 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:40.200 their fathers. And Emily, she mentioned how her 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:42.480 dad passed in March and, you know, how it just 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:44.919 really brought a lot of grief. And she's not 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:46.759 married, and so she and her mom and dad did a 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:48.679 lot of holidays together, aside from the siblings 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:50.259 who have their own growing families and stuff. 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:52.519 And her mom's kind of like, eh, she doesn't cry 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:54.559 much about it. Emily cried, you know. I think 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:56.940 tears are good. In the talk before last, Jesus 00:16:56.940 --> 00:16:59.059 wept. There's a place for tears, whatever. But 00:16:59.059 --> 00:17:02.600 our friend Jody said, Emily, you should be proud 00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.019 of those tears because my father died and I didn't 00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:09.089 have one single tear to shed for him. Anyway, 00:17:09.089 --> 00:17:11.289 everybody's just kind of sharing their experiences. 00:17:11.289 --> 00:17:14.509 And sometimes we duplicate the way that we were 00:17:14.509 --> 00:17:16.809 raised. And you have a lot of great things to 00:17:16.809 --> 00:17:18.630 say about your parents when you said in a blessing 00:17:18.630 --> 00:17:20.109 that things were going to be made right with 00:17:20.109 --> 00:17:22.869 parents. And you're like, I have a great, great 00:17:22.869 --> 00:17:25.349 childhood. What needs to be made right? Everything's 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:28.309 awesome. Some people live their life to try to 00:17:28.309 --> 00:17:30.150 duplicate what their parents did for them. And 00:17:30.150 --> 00:17:32.430 some have to take the example of the parents 00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:35.529 they were born to and say, I need to do everything 00:17:35.529 --> 00:17:38.690 completely opposite of that. reconcile a quarter 00:17:38.690 --> 00:17:40.670 of it yeah and they're going to pick up examples 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:43.009 from other people in other places but those those 00:17:43.009 --> 00:17:45.049 godly attributes do exist and we can't see them 00:17:45.049 --> 00:17:47.250 in people and when we do see people parenting 00:17:47.250 --> 00:17:49.250 like we want to parent or when we've been parented 00:17:49.250 --> 00:17:51.910 the way that we want to be parented we we know 00:17:51.910 --> 00:17:54.529 our spirit speaks to us in a way that says like 00:17:54.529 --> 00:17:58.490 duplicate that do that again and again this is 00:17:58.490 --> 00:18:00.930 true my last thought i love those abby thank 00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:04.930 you for sharing that um i appreciate another 00:18:04.930 --> 00:18:09.539 level of of this and i will close with his testimony 00:18:09.539 --> 00:18:12.319 he says as we bind ourselves to act as covenant 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:15.579 disciples in whatever our level of capacity our 00:18:15.579 --> 00:18:17.799 relationship with the father and the son is enriched 00:18:17.799 --> 00:18:20.400 our joy is enhanced and our eternal perspective 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:24.119 is expanded we then are endowed with power and 00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:26.619 can feel joy in a measure reserved for god's 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:29.279 true covenant disciples in the sacred name of 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.710 jesus christ amen Amen. We hope you find joy 00:18:32.710 --> 00:18:36.390 in your covenant relationship with God this week, 00:18:36.390 --> 00:18:38.650 and we'll catch you next time. See you next time.