"One of the Most Inspiring Sessions"

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the October 2013 General Conference.

President Monson said it best (and first), "In my journal tonight, I shall write, 'This has been one of the most inspiring sessions of any general conference I've attended. Everything has been of the greatest and most spiritual nature.'"

I listened to this session on a drive to Minnesota to see our daughter for a weekend. Each talk was wonderful; each talk deeply spiritual and inspiring. President Monson's especially so.

I think the loss of his wife humbled him in a way nothing else could. He sounded more serious, less full of himself. And what he said can resonate with everyone.

Brothers and sisters, it may be safely assumed that no person has ever lived entirely free of suffering and sorrow, nor has there ever been a period in human history that did not have its full share of turmoil and misery.

Amen to that! At my original reading of the talk I wrote in the margin of my Ensign magazine, "We realize this when we visit and get to know each other." At the time I was a Relief Society president visiting each sister getting to know them.

President Monson counsels "We become impatient for a solution to our problems, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required. The difficulties which come to us present us with the real test of our ability to endure."

Recently I wrote in my journal after remembering and pondering something people said to me after our son took his life. 

"People would say, 'No mother should have to go through this.' And I would think, 'Why not?' It was as absurd as saying no one should have to suffer injury or illness. No one should have to be single when they desire marriage, or childlessness when they desire children. This life is a test to see if we will be faithful to God through all our trials.

Like Peter leaving the boat we must keep our focus on Jesus lest we sink and drown in our adversities. No, we must hang on to and focus on the Savior who will walk with us on top of our adversity and calm the storm. 

I know the my Redeemer lives, what comfort this sweet sentence gives."

When people comment on what a strong woman I am I have to correct them, I am not strong, but I am yoked to someone who is. He pulls the heavier portion of my load. I could not make it without Him.

President Monson reminds us,

Whether it is the best of times or the worst of times, He is with us. He has promised that this will never change.

My brothers and sisters, may we have a commitment to our Heavenly Father that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. . . . We truly need Him every hour, whether they be hours of sunshine or of rain.

The most important persons in my live are my Heavenly Father and my Savior. Not my family. Because my Heavenly Father and my Savior can give me an eternal family, but my family doesn't have the power to give me salvation and exaltation. This thought has guided me through the times when I felt my family falling apart. Holding on to my Savior feels more secure to me than holding on to my family because His arms are bigger, more encompassing than mine. HE can hold on to my family while I'm holding on to Him. 

The title of President Monson's talk is "I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee". It is my testimony too.