Saturday night was the annual Relief Society General broadcast. It’s always the week before the October General Conference. Then in April it’s the Young Women’s General broadcast.For a satellite broadcast, these are always pretty good meetings. And I’ve noticed that how much I get out of the meeting definitely depends on my mood. I suppose this is true not just for this meeting but church in general.
If I’m tired or feeling rushed or distracted the meeting never seems as inspiring but it’s likely just my own temperament. When I’m focused and enthused about any meeting or class (church or otherwise), I usually raving about the messages I hear.
Sister Julie B. Beck spoke about the patterns of discipleship and framed her talk around the theme: What I hope my granddaughters will know and understand about Relief Society. Sister Beck also introduced the new book getting distributed worldwide: “Daughters In My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society.”
Sister Silvia Allred talked about charity. While she was speaking we looked up her bio and I have to say that when I read that she has eight children, I was quite impressed. Then Sister Barbara Thompson talked about cleaving unto the covenants we have made. Keeping covenants brings happiness and joy.
President Uchtdorf’s talk was the usual home run. He is one of the best public speakers in the church! He noted the beauty of Forget-Me-Not flowers and then used the five petals to symbolize five things women should ‘forget not.'
The first thing we should 'forget not' is to be patient with ourselves. Heavenly Father is fully aware that we are not perfect. And he added: “God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.”
Next, we should 'forget not' that some sacrifices are better than others. Furthermore, a good sacrifice in some instances may not be a good sacrifice in another. President Uchtdorf said: “An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of greater worth.”
The third thing we should 'forget not’ is to be happy now! He used the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket to illustrate how people get caught up waiting for their Golden Ticket and sometimes miss out on their life as it is happening.
The fourth 'forget not' is the “why” of the gospel. Sometimes we get sidetracked over the “whats” and the “hows” and forget the “why.”
Finally, the fifth is to 'forget not' that the Lord loves you! President Uchtdorf has a great style and has genuinely helped women collectively feel more pride in who they are and find less guilt over things they aren’t. He’s definitely one of my favorite speakers!
“My dear Relief Society sisters, you are closer to Heaven than you suppose. You are destined for more than you can possibly imagine. Continue to increase in faith and personal righteousness.” -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
