Mind the Gap

I hope that next week, we will be able to start in on a whole new set of conference talks! Before I share the last talk we'll use from the October 2009 conference, I want to share how much reading these talks has helped me. I so appreciate the opportunity you have given me, and I have given myself to really feast on the words of latter-day prophets and apostles. So many parts of my testimony have been strengthened:

• Our prophets and apostles are watchmen on the tower, and can see the danger coming a long way off!
• Each of us has a work to do in the kingdom that on one else can do for us.
• We need each other, sometimes desperately and profoundly, if we are ever to get through this life in one piece!
• The love and Atonement of Jesus Christ are real! They can reach deep into our souls and teach us how to improve.
• Each of us is a beloved child of God.

I love Sister Thompson, for a lot of the same reasons I love Sister Dew. I appreciate the perspective on womanhood and Relief Society they give me. Much of the time, we let our value as women be governed by our perception of our efforts to be good wives and mothers. While these works are certainly important, we are each so much more. We are also daughters, sisters, friends, and warriors in the cause of Christ! These wonderful, powerful women who have not yet been blessed to be wives and mothers give me a broader vision of my purpose and power as a righteous daughter of God. They show me how much we have to gain from each other in our associations in Relief Society. They expand my view of what it means to be a mother. I love their teachings and their lessons! Sister Thompson's talk at last fall's Relief Society General Meeting was, "Mind the Gap." She speaks about 3 gaps in our lives we need to be mindful of: the gap between believing and knowing we are daughters of God, the gap between YW and Relief Society, and the gap between believing in Christ and being a valiant testifier of Jesus Christ.

I was especially touched by her plea to me to allow the Spirit to testify that Heavenly Father is pleased with the work I'm doing. We all have days (or weeks, or months, or years) when it feels like our lives are just a futile effort to do work that never gets done. We compare ourselves to others, we see mostly shortcomings not strengths, we feel like we aren't much good in the kingdom. But sisters, I have a renewed and refreshed testimony that we are all vital to the success of our homes, our wards, our community and the Kingdom of God. I know that the work we do is valuable, no matter how menial it may feel. I know that if you're doing the best you can, it is enough. We all fall short, we all wish we were more, but what we are doing right now to the best of our limited abilities is accounted unto us for righteousness. I know He believes in me, even when I don't. I know He sees what I will be, and He gives me what I need to reach my potential. I know that because Christ suffered and died that I may be blessed with grace, even when I fall short, I am enough. I know that you are too!