Saturday, October 26th driving around general authorities for conference in Hillcrest Stake in Durban

Today is our day to drive around the General Authorities. We drove to the hotel where they are staying to pick up three of the wives and take them to Pinetown Ward for the Women's Conference with the wives speaking. We were supposed to take Sister Curtis, Sister Jones and Sister Zackrison. The others were in another van. Sister Curtis is the wife of the Executive Secretary to the Area Presidency in Joburg. She and her husband are going home soon, so Sister Jones is the wife of the new executive secretaty and of course Sister Zackrison is the wife of the Mission President. Sister Zackrison chose to drive on her own, so we just had the two. Sister Jones and I got to visit in the van while we were waiting for Sister Curtis. She told me that her husband has a serious disease that was very touch and go for awhile, but it is in remission and his 'team' of doctors said he could come on this mission. We see such amazing sacrifices from people who have all kinds of issues and yet they are here. It is just amazing.

Elder Kyle did a great job of driving us to the conference and waiting around for us while we listed to some pretty great talks. Sister Christensen, wife of Presidency of the Seventy spoke about how important a testimony of the Book of Mormon is in our lives and the significance of it's pure testimony of Jesus Christ. She quoted Enos 1:16-18: "And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time. And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest. And the Lord said unto me: They fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine."

She also quoted Isaiah 55:11: "So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Then Sister Christensen said that the Book of Mormon was saved for us, so we can get stronger. It was meant to succeed, to bring about many souls unto Christ. It cannot fail..."It shall not return unto me void." Pray about the truthfulness of the Gospel. Revelation is given to us individually and blesses us through our prayers. In Alma, Chapter 8 it talks about wrestling with God. I can imagine a little boy actually wrestling with himself to know if these things are true. As you ponder the things you want to know, do you put forth the effort and exhort faith? President Monson works in the temple and prays for hours for his revelation. Then he studies it out in his mind. President Christensen said he saw him pray for hours and study it out in his mind when he thought about lowering the missionary age. Finally he went to the temple and the Lord Spoke. God loves us. Ask him to fill us with the Holy Ghost. Ask if Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. D&C 8:1-3, God spoke to Oliver Cowdry in response to his question about receiving revelation,  "...verily, verily, I say unto you that assuredly as the Lord liveth, who is your God and your Redeemer, even so surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart...Yea, behold I will tell you in your mind and in your heart by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground."

So what if there is an absence of an answer when you pray? What would Heavenly Father want us to do? Go forward as if the answer is 'yes' and you will get it confirmed. The Book of Mormon teaches us how to live our lives. I used to wonder why all the wars were in there. I now know that it helps us to see how God responds if we live by His teachings and how he responds if we do not. The Book of Mormon also testifies of Jesus Christ in a clear way. The Bible testifies of Christ, but the Book of Mormon provides us with more information and a confirmation that it is true. Alma 8 is another testimony of Christ's birth, foretold by the prophets before his birth. It is a second testimony that he is the son of God. Most religions believe in Jesus Christ being born and living a good life and doing miraculous things, but they do not believe he is the Son of God. The Book of Mormon is a second testimony of who He is and the importance of that fact in our lives today. Pray often to get a confirmation of the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of the Gospel. If you do not feel like praying, that is a perfect time to pray. If you do not feel like going to the Temple, it means that you must go. Do a family name. As we prepare by doing these things, we will be ready when Christ comes again.

Sister Hamilton, Sister Christensen and Sister Cook then bore their testimonies. They are wives of the Area Presidency counselors.

Sister Bednar talked about how she grew up in a small town in Afton, Wyoming. She then spoke about how she met Elder Bednar at BYU when their two Family Home Evening groups met to play football. David threw a long pass (He had been a quarterback in high school), and she was on the receiving end. He was impressed with her catch, but he didn't know that it was the only one she could ever remember catching. She says of her husband: “People who know him well would say that he’s tough but tender. He’s competent and compassionate. He’s driven yet discerning. He’s faithful and fearless. He has a great capacity to lead and the wisdom to follow.”  They got married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1975, while he was still working on his bachelor degree. In 1977, he got his masters degree and then went on to get his PHD from Purdue University in 1980. He joined the business faculty of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Sister Bednar spoke fondly of their time in Arkansas, as they were raising their boys. he was called as a Bishop and then Stake President at age 32, so he was gone a lot. Their Stake covered a very large area, so he would have to drive long distances to visit the people in the stake. He still made it a point to be home for the important things in the children's lives.

He has a knack with speaking and teaching. Sister Bednar said she is not comfortable speaking in front of people. When he was appointed President of Rick's College (soon to be BYU Idaho) in 1997, she realized that he was always going to be the head of something and that was fine as long as she didn't have to do anything; however, one night he came home and told her he was thinking of starting a once a week get-together FHE type night for the students and he would like her to come. She told him she would go but did not want to participate. He told her he would like her to participate. She did not want to do it, but he kept being patient with her and encouraging her (would not take no for an answer). On their way to the first meeting, she burst into tears and said, "I cannot do this." He very gently asked her if she wanted him to take her back home. She said 'No' and then went on with him. When they arrived and the lesson began, some of the students asked questions. Every once in a while he would turn to her and ask if she wanted to answer the question and she would say, "No." Then, she knew she was in trouble when he was called to be a Regional Representative and then an Area Authority Seventy. She said that if she knew that he was going to be an Apostle, she never would have married him. She had to speak in all sessions they attended from Friday to Sunday and the they were off to other areas of Africa after that. She had a point. Ha.

She talked about the trials that women face no matter where they live or who they are. She talked about losing loved ones, having financial problems or a spouse that leaves you. She was very sweet when she talked and you got the distinct impression that she really did know and care what the women were going through. Because she started her talk telling them about her challenges, they seemed to find her more approachable and believed that she does care
about them. She talked about the importance of working on an eternal marriage. Many years ago, we were busy trying to meet the countless competing demands of a young and energetic family—and of Church, career, and community responsibilities. One evening after the children were asleep, we talked at length about how effectively we were attending to all of our important priorities. We realized that we would not receive the promised blessings in eternity if we did not honor more fully the covenant we had made in mortality. We resolved together to do and to be better as a husband and a wife. That lesson learned so many years ago has made a tremendous difference in our marriage.

We drove the women back to the hotel and then went back home. That night we were to drive the Cooks and Christensens to the Single Adult Fireside at the Hillcrest Chapel. Elder Bednar and Elder Hamilton and their wives would be speaking to the Young Single Adults at the Pinetown Building.

Elder Christensen

When we picked them up the weather looked like it might rain. While sitting in the front with Elder Kyle driving, we could hear their conversations in the back about how tired they were and how Elder Bednar is so spiritual that you feel that you need to be on your toes all the time, because you never know when he will call on you. They talked about whether anyone would show up or if they would all be over at the other building to hear Elder Bednar. Elder Christensen suspected that they would be. We got to road that leads to the chapel and as soon as we got close to the church, the skys opened and we had torrential rain fall...the most rain we've seen since we've been here. We pulled up on the sidewalk to try and keep everyone as dry as possible. We were met with guys carrying umbrellas. Elder Kyle parked partially under the eaves on the sidewalk and when he opened his door on that side, the rain was pouring off the eaves all over him, the van and the driver's seat. He tried to help them into the building using his umbrella and got completely soaked. When he came into the chapel, his suit coat weighed a ton because it was so full of water.

Sister Christensen spoke for a few minutes and then Elder and Sister Cook bore their testimonies. Elder Christensen was the lead speaker. The turnout was not good (as they feared), but there were about 30 people there. More probably would have come if it hadn't rained. When it rains here, people seem to stay home, especially if they need public transport.

The speakers all seemed wiped out, but gave it a good effort. The microphone equipment was making a buzzing sound, which was driving me crazy, but no on else seemed to be bothered by it. I apologize for not bringing anything to take notes on, therefore not remembering what his talk was about. They finished the meeting early. He did a good job, but I remember thinking it would have been better if he had addressed them and their problems instead of just giving a general talk that could apply to anyone. It was mostly women that were older and single in attendance. He could have given them an inspiring talk about how important they are to Heavenly Father and how they will have a mate in heaven if they stay worthy...and maybe addressed some of the problems they face as single adults. But having said that, those who were there seemed happy to be there, but one sister made a comment that she hoped they would have answered a question she has. I told her that perhaps Heavenly Father wanted her to work it out on her own, so she would learn more by doing it that way. She seemed to consider this and said she hoped to see us again.

When we left the rain had temporarily stopped. We took them back to the hotel and headed back home after a long but good day.