transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:02] Welcome to Inklings. I am Emily Belle Freeman, and I'm so excited to welcome you to a space where you and I get to experience a hint of something more together. This is a community where we lean into discussions that will help us obtain a bedrock understanding of the doctrines of Christ. Not overnight, but every day better. Strength gathered over time. There is a place for you here. Looking forward to spending this semester with you as we embark on a journey focused on becoming His. Good morning, everyone. Happy Thursday. Welcome to Inklings. Such a fun day for Inklings because it feels a little bit cozy. And I love cozy days. Okay, so we're gonna be in the New Testament today. We're talking about Elder Kieran's talk, which is so good. And let me just get our guest. And then we will dive right in. And everybody, thanks for letting me be an hour late today. This worked out a little bit better for my schedule, so thank you. And then we'll just try and get on our friend, and we will dive right in, which will be so good. There are so many things to talk about today as we think about this talk. And it brought so many ideas to me. And did anybody have that experience where you just looked back at your life, and there were so many life lessons learned from experiences that you've had over time? Did anyone else have that experience? A little bit was my experience as I was going through, I was like, oh, this reminds me of this moment, or this reminds me of this moment, and we're going to talk about some of those moments today. I don't know how Elder Kearon did this. But he did the, he had this, hold on, let me try one more time. He had this way of teaching us so many things about supporting people who serve, but also what happens when we serve. And I felt like he just tutored us so well and then brought us into that solemn assembly and the experience that we had that is like just a historic experience that we can learn from and understand. And so we're going to try and talk about a little bit of all of those things today as we go through in this next hour of kind of what that looked like. I loved when you read in the Old Testament, the word for sustain and that it means to maintain, to hold, or to be present. And I kind of wanted to start right there today, and just think about what does that actually look like? Amy, you might have to move to a different spot or go off Wi-Fi. Sometimes that helps when you can't get on. See if going somewhere else or going off Wi-Fi might help. And so, I wanted to just start out from something that happened years ago in our family. We were in sacrament meeting. We were all sitting on this row, and we got a new Young Men's President. This is clear back when the Young Men's President was called. And we all sustained him, and then we went home, and it was interesting because we were looking over our week, what was going to happen that week. And we got to Tuesday night, and it was going to be Young Men's. And both my boys were like, we don't want to go. We do not want to go to Young Men's. We have this. They both had something. And I said to them, okay, let's just for a minute, which of you raised your hands when this new Young Men's president was called? And they both said that they did. And I said, well, do you know what that means when you raised your hand? And they were like, no. And they were like, we just do it. We just do it to say, yes, he can be the one who does the calling. And I said, that's actually not exactly true. That is, I mean, we do say we can support that he's the one who should have the calling. But I said to him, to both my boys, sustain also means you will support them in what that calling looks like. And so that means if he goes to a lot of work to plan something, you're gonna show up for it. If he asks you to bring something, you're going to bring it. No matter what is going on within that young men organization, the fact that you raised your hand and said, yes, I will, means that you show up on Sundays. And it was so cute because my son Josh just got was in the Young Men program. And he told me that he came home from church one Sunday. And he said, that was years ago that this happened. And he said, mom, for my lesson today, I taught my boys what you taught me about when you raise your hand to sustain someone and that it actually looks like something in your life. And I was so grateful that he had... Ah, there you are, yay. I was so grateful that that lesson that had happened so many years ago had left such a deep impression on him, that it also now was being handed down to the boys who he was serving with. And I loved, I loved that. Sometimes I think some parts of church just become so like, this is what we do, this is what we always do, that we don't actually think about what we're doing. And I, Amy, I just want to read one quote, and then we'll introduce you, and I'm so happy you got on just now. But I love when he said this, we sustain each other, this is in paragraph nine. We sustain each other with our prayers, our love, our patience, and our faith. And I would add to that by actually showing up, and being part of whatever that looks like. And I just love that there is more to the word than we might have previously have thought. And this thought about being about our father's business was just such a fun thing to be reading. So we have Amy with us today. Amy, introduce yourself.

Speaker 2:
[08:06] Okay. Hi, Emily. Thank you so much for inviting me to be part of this today, especially I'm so grateful for this talk today. My name is Amy Antonelli. I run a non-profit organization called HXP or Humanitarian Experience. And our mission is to take teenagers all around the world to do humanitarian work in order to help them understand who they are in the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That's so fun.

Speaker 1:
[08:36] I love that name so much, by the way. Such a clever name. So there are so many parts of this talk I'm so excited to talk about. You might have heard me, but I love that there's like three portions of the talk. One is a little bit what it means to sustain. One is what it actually is to like accept the calling and do the calling. And then the last one was this solemn assembly that we all just participated in. And so I love that in just that short time that he had, he taught us so many things. So what would you like to share? Just as you read this talk, what was a lesson you learned or a standout or like what did you ponder as you were listening and learning about this?

Speaker 2:
[09:33] I think actually, I think it actually brought a lot of emotions up to me. I've announced on your podcast last year that I was getting married for the first time at the age of 50. And but that meant I had 50 years of being single in the church. And a lot of my sort of struggle and figuring out what that looked like and what my identity was in the church came from leaders that I had and incredibly inspired people who would give me council and give me ideas and help me reframe the way I was thinking about something so that I had the courage to keep going and to stay. It's when sometimes it didn't necessarily feel like I was, my mission was clear. And I think that to me, it's like evidence of the truth of the restored gospel, that it's not, we're not being asked to follow some like PhD. I mean, actually, President Oaks is pretty incredibly well-learned, but the reason that we're asked to follow him is because that he was called of God to be a prophet, and all those who are called to be leaders of the church. And I can remember a time, I just got out of grad school, and I remember feeling pretty smart. And I was pretty impressed with myself, and I had a bishop who I didn't actually see, is like, I like how Elder Kearon talks about how sometimes he raised an eyebrow at some of the callings. Yes, I loved that part too. I'm way smarter than this guy. And he gave me some council, and I just sort of rolled my eyes at it. And several months later, of really humbling, really humbling experiences, I remembered that council that that bishop had given me, and realized that if I had taken his council at the time that he gave it, I would have saved myself a lot of months of really painful kind of wrestling through it myself. And it just it just taught me that this idea of common consent is really more about me than about anything. It's about me choosing agency to allow this person or these people who have been called by God to do what they're pleading with God to do, which is to serve me. And sometimes I can lean into it. And when I do, especially when it doesn't seem like it makes sense to me or it's weird. When I do that, almost every time, it's created an experience for me that has been like a sea change in my understanding of the gospel and my understanding of what God has in mind for me. Anytime I've leaned away from it, I'm sort of stuck in the place where I am right now.

Speaker 1:
[12:33] Yes, that's so good. And I love that part that you called out, that paragraph. It was one of my favorites because this is what I loved. He said a couple things that you were like, should you say that over the pulpit? I'm just one of them that I was like, I just love that it's so real. And we've all had that moment where I love he says this. I also had the opportunity to sustain many others happily trying to support them as we all learn to serve together. Often the calling was an obvious fit to the person's gifts and talents. Occasionally, I thought, hmm, interesting choice. I was like, I love that that is what is part of being in this church. And being a volunteer organization and this lay ministry that you have to trust that God is doing his work in his way. And sometimes that witness is instant. And sometimes that witness comes like you're talking about over time. And it really is about agency. It really is about just being willing to be led. That is so hard sometimes. But so good.

Speaker 2:
[13:55] So hard. And also, I don't know, it's such a beautiful piece of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It started with a 14-year-old kid being called as a prophet, and people choosing to believe what he had to say. And honestly, ever since then, it's been choosing to believe that imperfect people, and I love that Elder Kearon followed that up. When he said he raised an eyebrow, I love that he followed it up with like, but never more than when it was me that was getting a calling.

Speaker 1:
[14:24] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[14:25] And it's like, I feel like in my own life too, I feel like I have been so grateful that with all of my imperfections and all of my weaknesses that are so visible that I've still been able to be an instrument in the hand of God sometimes to be able to help people come to Christ. And people, I think, who choose to look at my weaknesses and my shortcomings, don't always, I'm not always able to serve them, as well as people that are just willing to give me grace. And then I feel like Heavenly Father can help them through me, which is all I think any of us want when we're serving in the church.

Speaker 1:
[15:07] That is so good. And so true, because we know this from scripture, that it's the job of all of us to build the kingdom. That's, we're all called to the same work at the end of the day. And we're all gonna stand in different places. And I love a quote by Martin Luther. He talks about, we all have our different places to stand. But then he says this, but there is nothing that prevents us from calling out encouragement one to the other. And I feel like that is what sustaining is. It is just that voice of encouragement. You've been called to stand in this place at this time. And we're like, go and do your best. And we're cheering for you in that place. And I love what you talked about with Joseph Smith, because let's just actually think this through. Because again, this is one of those things we're talking about. Like sustaining is so just like this is what we do. And believing that a 14-year-old boy could start a church is just, it's so familiar to us that it's not odd at all. And yet, really, let's just think about this. You work with young single adults. That's what makes up your days. You sit at tables with these men and women that are in their early 20s. And you brainstorm ideas. And don't you want to just sit and be like, and that is who was pulling together. What would become a church with millions of people is just these kids, really, that like Joseph and Emma were barely married. Can you imagine dinner? She's just like making dinner and brings it to the table. And Oliver sits down and they're like, okay, what should we do? You know, and what happened to you today? And they're like, well, these angels came and get into the woods. And then this is what it feels like they were telling us. What do you think? Like, in reality, that is crazy. But that's how the Lord does his actual work. This is not the first time that happened. I love when Elder Karen was like, let's think about how this all started in the New Testament, everyone, with fishermen. That it didn't start with the people who were the scriptorians. It didn't start with the people who had an education. It started with fishermen. He's like, I think this will work. And sometimes I love to think about that and think, okay, well, if he could use them, then maybe he can actually use me for this.

Speaker 2:
[18:01] Absolutely. Oh, I love that so much too, because I feel like it's wild to watch too, the people that, you know, our trip leaders, you're right, they're sometimes 21 years old, 22 years old. And early on when we were first building HXP, we have a mom and a dad who also come on each one of our trips. And early on, we actually had to sort of realize that we had to ask the parents to step back and let the kids, the young single or young adults be the ones to lead the trips, because the power in the teenagers was watching these young adults model leadership. The kids could see themselves better in the leadership. And that was really hard for the parents sometimes because the parents would watch these young single adults and they'd be like, I could do this so much better. They knew a lot more about how to do it. But we found over and over that when they would step back and let the young adults lead the kids, that the spirit would help the kids, would help them and the kids would be able to feel it, and the kids would understand it. And now I think that we're not a priesthood organization, but I think there's a really similar thing that happens in our church too, where sometimes, you know, like someone who has no experience at all is called to be the Relief Society President, and her counselors are two of the most incredibly experienced people. And you watch them step back and you watch them, like, lean into the spirit and sustain. And then you watch that Relief Society President just light the place on fire with her spirit and her love and her grace and her ability to walk next to the spirit. And I just think that, like, Peter calling or Jesus calling fishermen was an indication to every single one of us that if we will lead by, like, leaning into him instead of into our own intellect or our own understanding, inevitably we will learn and the people around us will learn as well.

Speaker 1:
[20:05] That's so good. And someone pointed out the in paragraph 16. There was nothing he's he's talking about his friends. He says there was nothing half hearted about those friends I've talked about. And then this line that is so good. He says, they were living their faith at full speed and it was contagious.

Speaker 2:
[20:29] And I think that I'll just talk about that.

Speaker 1:
[20:32] Okay, let's talk about it for a minute because I think that is part of what is happening like with what you just described or when you think about Joseph and Emma and Oliver or when you think about those fishermen, you know, at the very beginning that every one of those people would be like, yeah, you could have found someone better than me. Like they would have. They all knew right away, I'm actually not equipped for this job, which means they had to be at faith at full speed because they didn't know what they were doing. They had to trust, okay, God is going to know what to do and I'm going to be willing to like do it, even when it sounds crazy, I'm going to just do it. They didn't get all of these facts in front of what they were doing. It was faith at full speed. That's how they were living. And I think all of us probably have been in a calling before where we're like, you might have got the wrong person. And over time, when you realize that calling isn't going away, then you start thinking, okay, I'm for sure not capable of this. And then you really do turn your heart to him. And I think there is that sweet moment of like tipping the skills in his favor where you're like, okay, I'll be the instrument. Use me. Use me. And we're so willing to have it not be our idea or not to have it be our agenda. We know we're not qualified for the moment. But he is. And I think that's what is the most remarkable thing about leaders is the ones that you watch them step back and let the Lord lead. I don't know how many times I've said in a calling, our job right now is not to get in the way of what he's doing. And that's actually hard because sometimes you do want to be like, I don't know if that's a good idea, you know, or whatever. But that I've learned in the moments when you're like, nope, just get out of the way. Let him do his work in his time. He, he always knows what he's doing.

Speaker 2:
[23:03] Oh, my gosh, totally. And I think even in leaning into that idea, too, trusting in that idea that God always knows what he's doing, that this is his church. This is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That idea of contagious is so powerful. And I think as women, especially as women, I think we have to be aware of the power of our voices. Like, I think that when someone is called that everyone raises an eyebrow to, I feel like we can either join in and say, oh, yeah, that guy did something so weird to me sometime, one day, or, yeah, he's so awkward, or I don't know, all the things that people say. And then, or we can say, you know what, I actually saw him one time, you know, at nine o'clock at night, knock on my door and leave me soup or whatever, you know, and we can change the conversation with our voices. And when we do, we actually allow that person to serve us. If we're kind of on the bandwagon of contagion of like that, forget him, he's like the wrong choice, or that was the wrong council, or however we like to like band together as women and judge, we actually limit the power of those things to change our lives, to give us what the Lord is offering us. We heard ourselves, and we have the power with our voices to change that conversation one way or the other. I've seen it so many times with women, especially that we can either help the conversation go one way or the other depending on which we choose to live.

Speaker 1:
[24:42] That's so good. I was talking with some friends like a month ago, and we were just talking about the culture that we live in. And actually it was right after general conference, so it hasn't even been a month. It was right immediately after because we were talking about why are we having this peacemaker talk twice in a row. And someone said the most interesting thing, and I have thought about it almost daily since this conversation. They said, first of all, it's so interesting that we had two prophets that wanted to talk about us being peacemakers. But then they said this, one of the signs of the last days is that the women will be distinct and different in happy ways. And they said, do you notice that conversations around us aren't necessarily happy? They're not positive. They're not filled with peace. Like to actually be those women, we would have to be intentional. We, it would have to be a shift because it doesn't actually match the society that we live in. To be like that, to speak words of peace, to live in happy ways, to be... The reason why we will end up being so distinct and different is because that's actually not how the word, the world is right now. And I have been so intrigued by that every single day of like, what if it is going to be a conscious choice to be distinct and different in happy ways?

Speaker 2:
[26:27] Oh, I love that so much.

Speaker 1:
[26:30] Yeah, why don't we have to choose that? Totally.

Speaker 2:
[26:32] And it absolutely... Oh, I love that so much. Keep going. I don't mean to interrupt you. I just wanted to give you a...

Speaker 1:
[26:36] That's the end of it. But I just was like that I'm so interested that I just thought we would become that. We would just be that. Our life would just be like happy, you know? It is the first time that I realized, wait a minute, what if we actually have to choose that? Like, we will be distinct and different because we're choosing to live in such a different way. Hold on. Let me get Amy back, everybody. But that was such an intriguing concept for me. To just to think about that, live your faith at full speed and let it be contagious is such an interesting thought. So while we're waiting for Amy to come back, I want to be thinking about that faith that was contagious and go back to this idea of fishermen and 14-year-old boys and people who maybe aren't qualified or wouldn't have been your first choice. And I want to dive into the scriptures for just a minute. So I'm going to go into the New Testament because Elder Kearon did something really interesting. And I actually was fascinated by it when I was reading his talk. He put two stories back to back. Let me show you where this is going to come from. So you can actually see it. It's in paragraph 14. And he says, in that paragraph, the paragraph is going to talk about two different experiences. And at first glance, you might have thought it was the same experience. He says, When the Savior called Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow him, they instantly dropped their nets. And then you see a number 13 right there, the footnote. If a call were ever inconvenient or incomprehensible, it must have been this one on the shore of Galilee, yet with faith they followed. And what a feeling disheartened or flagging. Well, even when with all they saw, felt and experienced, those first apostles needed the Lord's gentle reminding and his repeated invitation to feed his sheep. And now I want you to look at footnote 14, right there. Because what Elder Kearon is showing us that is so interesting to me, is that first invitation comes at the very beginning of the Gospels. That invitation to leave their nets, that comes in Matthew 4, like right at the very beginning. But then that second part of that scripture that he's going to talk about, that comes at the very end. He's going to take us into John 21. It is the very end of their ministry together. And there's two important lessons that happen. So the first footnote takes us into Matthew 4. I want to go there first. And it's just 18 and 19 is where, or 18 through 22 is where he told us to go. And he says, And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed him. And going on from thence, he saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, and his ship was Zebedee, their father, mending their nets. And he called them, and they immediately left the ship and their father and followed him. I'm so intrigued by this idea of, again, I don't know why today, but so many of these things that we're talking about, we're so familiar with this story. We are so familiar with those men, seeing Jesus on the shore, dropping their nets and following him, that we're like, yeah, that's just what they did. We sometimes forget that moment of Jesus saying, hey, come follow me meant, okay, but how will we live? How will we pay for the house? Like, if we go with you, how do we have enough time to take care of our kids and the things that are happening there? And like, there's a lot of pieces that I would have to take care of before this would work out. I might need to go talk to my business partner. I may need to like look at my schedule and see if I have time. Where's that in these verses? Where's that like weighing, well, what is this going to do for me compared to if I just stayed and kept doing what I'm doing because I'm actually really successful at the thing that I'm doing? You don't see in any of those verses the tears. You don't see in any of those verses the struggle of like, is this the right thing? You see two words, immediately and straightway. That's what you see. Is these men who were just like, okay, this is like out of my comfort zone. I'm actually not a teacher. I'm actually not great at gathering people. I kind of have lived in isolated life. I fish, you know, this is what I do. And they were so pulled out of their comfort zone in that moment. And they enter into this. And this is the part that fascinates me. Because from Matthew 4, he takes us to John 21. And I love at the beginning that he's like, listen, you guys are going to be great at this because you're fishermen. And all I'm asking you to actually do is, you're still going to fish, but you're going to fish for men. And so those talents that you have, those skills, the things that you have, you're just going to use them in a different way. But you're still going to be using them. And what interests me is when you get to John 21, where he takes us at the end of that sentence, when he says they needed the Lord's gentle reminding and his repeated invitation. And then he says this, to feed his sheep. And this is the question I want to ask. Where in scripture does it say any of those men were shepherds? Where? Like they're like, I know how to fish. I know about worms. I know about hooks. I know about lines. I know about nets. I know about all of these things. OK, so as he's talking to them, they're like, OK, I get it. I get what you want me to do. Where did they learn to be a shepherd? Any of them? Where do we read any of that? And I love that what Elder Kearon is teaching us is sometimes you're going to be given a calling that you feel suited toward, that you're like, OK, this will stretch me, but I'm like equipped for this moment. But when you look at the John 21, and it's when he tells him three times, do you love me? And Peter's like, yes, you don't know I love you. I don't think we realize when he says, then feed my sheep that there probably was a look on Peter's face that was like, I don't actually know anything about being a shepherd. To which Jesus would reply, do you love me? Yes. OK, then I need you to feed my sheep now. But I actually don't even know what sheep eat. Do you love me? Yes, you know I love you. OK, I need you to actually be that thing you never saw yourself as. I need you to step out of your comfort zone. I need you to move into this place that Elder Kearon is talking about, faith at full speed. I'm actually calling you into something you are not equipped for, because I need you to not be in charge right now. I need you to lean on me for what is going to happen next. And I just I love the Elder Kearon was teaching us that. So now when you read, when the Savior called Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow him, they instantly dropped their nets. If a call were ever inconvenient or incomprehensible, it must have been the one on the shore of Galilee. Yet, with faith, they followed. Well, even when with all they saw, felt and experienced, which this is so true of us, because we've had callings where we're like, I that felt crazy to me, but I did it and I learned and it was fine. But then the call comes again. And I love when he says that those first apostles needed the Lord's gentle reminding and his repeated invitation. To feed my sheep and just that thought about how we engage and also realizing he's going to stretch us that thought in paragraph 11. Some callings are highly stretching. That is true.

Speaker 2:
[36:35] It's so true. When he says it even later, he says, We also come to see our callings as having a foundational role in the expansion of our faith. Callings from the Lord are tailor made for our growth. As we humble ourselves, look outward and learn that indeed, when we're in the service of our fellow beings, we're in fact in the service of our Lord. If it's about becoming, if the whole reason we're here is to learn how to become like him, of course he's gonna give us callings that don't make sense, and of course he's gonna give other people callings that may not make sense to us for them. But remember, he's in charge of our becoming. Not, we're not in charge of each other. Well, sort of, but I think, Emily, you help us understand that we can be. But I think especially when God gives us callings that don't make sense, it's like Elder Kearon says, it really isn't about where we serve, but how that matters. And that's how we become the women that we were created to be.

Speaker 1:
[37:33] I loved that line. And that thought that he was balancing with, where sometimes we're going to be highly stretched, and sometimes we're going to have those moments of like, isn't there more I could be doing right now? And we have talked about that before, where there are moments when you're like, the calling that I have within my church building is not utilizing all the resources I could be giving. And I can remember a time like that for me. Greg was serving in a bishopric. I can't even remember what my calling was, but I just remember one day waking up and being like, I have more to give than what I'm giving right now. And I remember the spirit being like, well, what's preventing you from giving? And in reality, what the message was is, what prevents you from building the kingdom? And I was like, that is so interesting. I had never thought of that before. Of like, build, like just get up and build. There's work to be done. And so I just started every morning from after that prompting, I would wake up and just say in my morning prayer, how can I build the kingdom today? And then I would watch for like, what could I do? How could I build? How can I help? You think about the greatest work that's happened in the church. And often it comes from one person asking that one phrase. We have the Relief Society, the greatest women's organization in the whole world. Because Sarah Granger Kimball stood at the window of our house and watched the temple being built and said, how can I help? That's how it started, was with that. And don't you want to be that woman of like, yes, how can I help? And then he's like, oh, I'm so glad you asked, because you think you're going to be working with flannel and a sewing machine. And I'm actually planting the idea of a women's relief organization that will fill the world.

Speaker 2:
[39:49] Oh, I love that so much. I do. I feel like that's actually what happened to me with HXP. I just I didn't feel like I was contributing to the gospel the way I wanted to. And I didn't I kept waiting for somebody to give me permission to do that. And then I just thought, wait, what's stopping? What's stopping me? What's stopping any of us? What is stopping any of us from doing the most important work that we were sent here to Earth to do right now, which is what President Nelson said is gathering Israel. We have already been given permission by a prophet to step up and gather and build and do the things that he's asked us to do. And nobody needs to give us permission to do that. We just, if you lean too much, I think if we lean too much into like, I don't have this calling or I don't, I don't, I'm not doing this instead of just going and doing the thing. I didn't know that that's how the Relief Society was started, but that makes me so happy.

Speaker 1:
[40:42] Yes, it is my favorite story is, if you ever go to Nauvoo, anyone who's going to Nauvoo this summer, there is one house that nobody visits, because it's kind of far away from everything. It's just in the bottom corner, this little white house. It is out of your way. If you're walking around the little city of Nauvoo, it's a little bit of a walk that you're going to have. But every time I go without fill, it's usually the first house I visit. Greg doesn't even ask now. We'll just drive in, and he'll just drive me to that little house. It's my favorite house. It's white, and it has a flower garden all around it, that you will die over the flower garden. And you just go right in, and you stand in the kitchen, and you turn around and look out the window right there. And I have stood at that window one million times. And my prayer at that window always is, how can I help? That is how I leave that house every time is, how can I help? What can I do? And I love that because Sarah Granger Kimball didn't become the president of the Relief Society Organization. But it was her idea. And don't you love that about her?

Speaker 2:
[42:10] Yes, totally. Yeah. That's so beautiful.

Speaker 1:
[42:14] Yeah. It's so good. It's making... Oh, yeah. Say what you were going to say.

Speaker 2:
[42:20] I just wanted to mention something you said that I think is so important. You said when we were talking about this that you pray in the morning and ask how you can help. And I think that there is in my life when I've done that, and especially when I've blocked out like a half an hour during the day, every single day, and it's empty. I'm just like, I don't know who I'm going to need to help today or what I can do to serve, you know, to be like your hands, but I'm going to keep this time open and I'm going to do something. And so, and when I find that I did that, and then I would pray almost every single time, a name would come into my head and I would know exactly what would need to be done. And I think we have to go. I think we have to pray. And then I think we actually have to plan in our day because we just get so busy. We have to plan a moment in our day to just give it to God and give it to each other. And sometimes I really think that's sustaining the leaders that have been called to, like going to our Relief Society president and saying, thank you so much for that lesson. That was beautiful. Or to the guy that cleans the church and then whatever, like acknowledging people's contribution to our progress in becoming in the restored gospel.

Speaker 1:
[43:44] That's so good. And I love this, what he taught about Jesus. This is at the very end, the very last paragraph. He's talking about when Jesus showed up at the temple and his parents came and found him and they were like, what are you doing? And he just has that line, that he was about his father's business. And then I love when Elder Kearon says, every calling, whatever it may be, is his business. When embraced with a humble and willing heart and a desire to lift and comfort his children and share his good news. And I just want to say to that, sometimes that calling comes from a bishop. And sometimes that calling is a whisper from the spirit that is calling you into that moment, into that day of where do you need to show up? And what do you do when you show up? You just bring a willing heart and a desire to lift and comfort his children and share his good news. And all of us can do that. All of us can be about his business today. And don't you love? That's your permission. That's it. It's as simple as that.

Speaker 2:
[44:55] I love that so much. And I just want to testify too that I believe that when we raise our hands, when my family stood in our little living room last and raised our hands and sustained these leaders, that we are giving them permission to serve us and to bless our lives. When we criticize or when we disdain what they say, we hurt ourselves more than anybody else. And when we choose to lean in and embrace and hope that what they might have to offer us is going to be a part of important part of our becoming, inevitably, I think that the people who are called to serve us are blessed by God and can do that. So I'm so grateful to also be part of this whole work. People are just focused on being about his business.

Speaker 1:
[45:49] Well, let's talk about that for just a minute, that moment when we had that solemn assembly. I can remember as we were preparing for conference, my kids were saying, what even is that? And do we need a white handkerchief? And what is happening? And who loves that we live in a generation where we've had so many temple dedications that were like solemn assembly, white handkerchief, I know what to do.

Speaker 2:
[46:15] I definitely break down, I was like, oh no, I don't have a handkerchief.

Speaker 1:
[46:18] Yes, yes, because it's not as common to have the solemn assembly when we sustain a profit. And so I had said to my kids that as they were gathering together, I was like, okay, this is what I want you to be thinking of and I want you to pay attention to is something interesting is going to happen that is going to make sustaining feel a little bit different than as before, because we sustain in every general conference, we do that, where we just it's usually Saturday afternoon and we go through and everybody raises their hands and they go through that list and we kind of all have the list memorized. But a solemn assembly for a profit is different because you watch different groups stand up and say, I will sustain, I will hold up, I will follow, I will listen to the words of this profit. And to watch different groups stand up and do that. For me, it was just such a powerful moment to be watching that. And one of the sweetest moments for me is I wasn't at home with my family. So all my kids were together and all my grandkids were together. And right when conference ended, I looked down at my phone and my daughter, because I had told them, I love this moment. I love this moment. There is just power in unity and all of us saying, I will, I will. And I said there is going to be power in the room when our family each has the turn to stand up. And I had told all my daughters and my daughter-in-laws, pay attention to the power that you feel in that moment. And when I walked out of the conference center, I looked down at my phone and my daughters and daughter-in-laws, I don't know how they didn't realize everyone else was doing it, were taking pictures to show me at every group standing up in our family and raising their hands, even down to the very littlest ones, just right there, some in the kitchen, some by the TV. But that power of just of standing and confirming, and it is a different thing. It's not common in where we live, in the world we live in today, to stand up and say, no matter what comes and where you go and what you do, I'm saying, I will trust you. I'm trusting that you're following the Lord. I'm trusting that you are receiving inspiration. I'm trusting that you're praying and living in such a way that you can actually guide us. And it really is like becoming a little child. It really is that, just that again, faith at full speed. That's what we all just committed to in that general conference moment is faith at full speed. And what's coming? We don't know, but he does. And we trust that through his prophet, we will be prepared for whatever is ahead of us. And I just think that is a remarkable way to live.

Speaker 2:
[50:03] Oh, I feel like that moment for me was just a reminder of what a gift it is to have a modern prophet, to have leaders called by God to help us to navigate the exact world that we're living in, in this moment. I mean, we literally are sustaining a prophet that is so powerful. And so incredibly miraculous.

Speaker 1:
[50:33] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[50:33] That God has given us somebody who can help us navigate that unbelievably confusing world that we live in. When I watched my daughter, my little 13 year old daughter stand up all by herself in that room and raise her a little hand, I just thought, thank heavens that she's been given this because the world that she's walking into is so confusing about what's real and what's not. She's just raised her hand to say, I'm going to follow you and I'm going to lean into what you have to offer to give me. I love that Elder Patrick Kearon's talk, he said, I can't find it. He said it's a mix of unity and agency. I can't remember what the third word was, but I think all three of those things are so powerful together. When we stand up and choose, it's our agency that we're choosing, it's unified together to strengthen and sustain that person and help them to be successful.

Speaker 1:
[51:38] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[51:39] What's the third one? It was so good.

Speaker 1:
[51:40] Yeah. Okay. I think it's at the bottom of paragraph nine, because it comes right after that, common consent is not a mere formality, but a beautiful mix of our agency, unity, and faith. And then he talks about it again right down below, where we sustain each other with our prayers, our love, our patience, and our faith. And then I just love when he's talking about that. There is that unity, there is that element of faith, there is that trusting God. It's interesting because we actually live in a time where we have been able to see the Council of Prophets come to fruition. And I don't know if that's always true for someone, but for us, I think of one in particular that I won't ever forget. And we were camping, and there was someone in our family who hasn't been attending church regularly for years. And this was right after COVID had started. And it was a Sunday, and we were sitting around the campfire, and we were doing our Come Follow Me discussion. And this family member came up, and it was breakfast. And so he was eating with us, and he said, but is it true that your prophet right now has changed the way church works? And I was like, yeah. He's like, how long ago did that happen? I was like, like a year ago. And he's like, and then you kind of got a new way you study your Sunday school. I was like, yes, come follow me. And I was telling him about it. And he was like, yeah. And didn't your prophet suggest at the time a year ago that the most important learning would happen in your house and then it would be church supported? And I was like, yes, you are right. This is all, everything you're saying is right. And then he looked at me and said, do you think your prophet knew about COVID was coming? I had never, like I hadn't yet put those two things together. But it was so interesting to me to be like, oh yeah, a year ago, the prophet changed things and gave us a curriculum that would actually work in our own homes. It was prepared. It was already delivered. We all owned it. We had it. It was our resource. Like it was ready long before what was coming would come. And I think we all watched that schedule change. And we saw what was happening. We were like, oh nice, two hours of church. And we're reading the scriptures and those things. But it was so interesting to see someone else be like, wait, wasn't it a year ago when when everything changed? That for me, I was like, I actually just witnessed prophetic revelation. I just witnessed it. I'm living it. And to think, it's just made me think every time I go to conference, okay, pay attention, pay attention, because he may be, he may be seeing around the corner. And so just, just trust and just go. Because we don't know, we don't know what is around the corner. And he may also not know exactly what it's going to look like when we turn that corner. But he has enough understanding, and he has enough ability to receive revelation. And he has enough trust to act. And don't you just want to be someone like that?

Speaker 2:
[55:40] Yes. And don't I want to follow someone like that?

Speaker 1:
[55:44] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[55:45] Yeah, I really do. Yeah. When I raise my hand, I'm looking at that. I'm looking at God and I'm saying, I trust you. I'm choosing. I'm choosing this and I'm choosing to remember all of the testimonies that I've gotten throughout my entire life of the truth of what this thing is. And every single time in my life that I've ever leaned into the truth of the restored gospel, I have become better. It has changed me and it has changed the people around me. And the prophets that I've chosen to follow have inevitably been the ones that I needed to follow in that time.

Speaker 1:
[56:30] Yes. Yeah, it is so true. So I just think this talk right out of the gates after President Oaks talk, I love that that is what Elder Kearon chose to speak about and that he just confirmed the experience that we had just participated in. But also I think it is an important part of peacemakers is being able to sustain and to sustain well. And I love that you pointed out that doesn't mean we give up our agency. That is our agency.

Speaker 2:
[57:10] Yeah, we choose that. And I love that President Oaks ended conference by giving us very clear direction to read these talks. He was unequivocal about that, that for the next six months, we have to lean into these talks and understand, you know, the Lord to help us understand what they're saying.

Speaker 1:
[57:30] And I love to promise you, we're getting at the end and we'll just maybe can end with this. But this one line, life is better. Everything is better when we are about his business. And I just, I loved the promise, but I loved the call in that. And just as we think about someone just writing in the comments, poor forth love. And that's what we're practicing. That is what we're practicing, is to let everything that we do, our actions and our words be words that poor forth love. And I'm actually so excited to be doing that for six months. So, so good.

Speaker 2:
[58:17] Thank you so much, Emily, for doing this.

Speaker 1:
[58:19] So many good things.

Speaker 2:
[58:20] Thanks, everyone.

Speaker 1:
[58:21] Everybody, have a good week. We'll see you next week.

Speaker 2:
[58:25] Bye. Lots of love.

Speaker 1:
[58:30] Thanks for joining me. This podcast is taken from our Thursday Inklings discussions, which happened live on Instagram at Inklings.Institute. If you loved being here, I'd love to invite you to go even deeper with me, get reminders, and enjoy first access to all our events and gatherings by going to emilybellefreeman.com. Backslash Inklings.