Our stake had a "special meeting" last Sunday in which Elder Jeffery R. Holland came to visit. There was a lot of speculation as to why he would be coming to our stake. Most thought that our stake would be split. That was not the case. He came to be among the saints and what a blessing it was for all who attended the meeting. I usually don't sing in the stake choir due to the 40 minute drive it takes to get to the stake center, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be in the choir for this. Singing for special programs such as this has its advantages! There were about 100 other people who felt the same way. I was one of the lucky ones that got to sit literally feet away from an apostle. As I have taught gospel doctrine this year, we often discuss scriptures such as 3Nephi 6:20 "And there began to be men inspired from heaven and sent forth, standing among the people in all the land, preaching and testifying boldly.....testifying unto them concerning the redemption which the Lord would make for his people, or in other words, the resurrection of Christ; and they did testify boldly of his death and sufferings." I would pose the question how do we testify boldly without being overbearing? Elder Holland gave us a great example of that. His testimony struck me like no other testimony has before, it was very bold, unshakable, indisputable, truly a witness of Christ and His divinity. I will remember his testimony and the spirit in which I felt as he testified for years to come. He talked mainly to the youth ages 12-14. He wanted them to make a commitment that they would stay close the gospel of Jesus Christ for the next ten years and encouraged parents to create a millennial home, a safe haven, a place where Satan has no power.
Watching general conference I tend to put these apostle and prophets on a spiritual pedestal so far reaching how could they ever be "real"? It was nice to see how real Elder Holland was. He has quite the sense of humor and made us laugh. He was very down to earth and relateable. He knows what we go through and it was refreshing to see that first hand. I know that these people are truly called of God and when they say they love us, and they are concerned about us, they are. I saw it first hand. He cared enough that he stayed to shake hands with us. My grandma lives down the hall from Elder Holland and she told my mom that we just had to introduce ourselves. Since I was sitting so close I was able to shake Elder Holland's hand and introduce myself. "Ahhh, my neighbor, I'll have to tell her I saw you!" he said. Then I went to find my mom, dad, and sister who were further back in the line and stayed with them until they got to shake his hand too. It was a really neat experience, one I'll remember forever.
Watching general conference I tend to put these apostle and prophets on a spiritual pedestal so far reaching how could they ever be "real"? It was nice to see how real Elder Holland was. He has quite the sense of humor and made us laugh. He was very down to earth and relateable. He knows what we go through and it was refreshing to see that first hand. I know that these people are truly called of God and when they say they love us, and they are concerned about us, they are. I saw it first hand. He cared enough that he stayed to shake hands with us. My grandma lives down the hall from Elder Holland and she told my mom that we just had to introduce ourselves. Since I was sitting so close I was able to shake Elder Holland's hand and introduce myself. "Ahhh, my neighbor, I'll have to tell her I saw you!" he said. Then I went to find my mom, dad, and sister who were further back in the line and stayed with them until they got to shake his hand too. It was a really neat experience, one I'll remember forever.
2 comments:
It sounds like an awesome experience. Elder Holland has always been one of my favorites!! His talks always hit home to me.
That's really neat. Thanks for sharing!
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