Change

I have been having a lot of moments lately. Moments where feelings of comfort just overwhelm me; something stronger than I have ever felt before. I had a couple of those today. I was sitting in Stake conference, listening to all the talks. Each one had something that hit me, but its funny how there is always a theme for the meeting. I don't even think they plan it that way, but the Lord does. I felt today's theme was similar to the song I sang in the competition last June, Firm in the Faith. I wasn' t particularly fond of the song at first, but lately that theme has been reoccurring over and over again. Through hard times it is so important to stay firm in the faith. There were a lot of talks that had special messages, but there were a couple that hit me more than the others. I will only touch on one for sake of time. It was given by a woman who is a ward missionary, in which ward I am not sure, but she spoke on the power the gospel has to change lives. She told three short stories. One involving a young girl in Mongolia, another with a town drunk in Brazil, and another of a scientist here in the United States. In each story there were difficulties. For the young girl in Mongolia it was the fact that she was from a family of Nomads, and she had no real place to call home. She was constantly moving around and knew she needed something in her life to help her feel stable. Believe it or not there are missionaries in the area she lived and they found her, taught her the power of prayer, and she was baptized soon after. She was so grateful for the comfort the gospel brought into her life. For the next man it was the fact that he couldn't control his drinking, he had been out of a job for 5 years, and the town never expected more from him. The missionaries found this man and taught him the Word of Wisdom. They brought him faith and hope and love, three things he had never experienced before. The day after the lesson he stopped drinking, the week after he got a job, and a year later he was married in the Temple for time and all eternity. For the last woman, it was the fact that her brain did all her thinking for her. She knew facts, she knew numbers, she knew science, but she did not know the ways of the heart or the power of the spirit. She had met Mormons before but never thought twice about it until two missionaries challenged her brain to prove them wrong, and what smart woman would turn down a challenge? She prayed for a week straight and didn't get an answer, so she prayed for another week straight and still no answer. It wasn't until a month later, after praying for what seemed like a full day that she got her answer. The next week she was baptized. 

The gospel changes lives. Christ changes lives, if only you let him in. I don't have my notes in front of me so I cannot quote directly, but from a talk by President Monson he instructed the Young Adults to seek out the Lord, because when we open our hearts to his blessings, he blesses us more than we can even comprehend. There is always room for growth, always room for learning, and always room for change. I am so blessed. I am so blessed to be here, in this place, being led by someone who constantly picks me up and gives me hope. That's what this gospel is about; hope. Because just when you think nothing can get better, it changes your life to where things can. This isn't the time for fear, this isn't the time for doubt, this is only a time for change. The gospel changes lives, and it is constantly changing mine.