Today’s Talk: Chosen to Bear Testimony of My Name
-David A. Bednar
“I pray that we may all be instructed by the Holy Ghost as we consider together this significant subject.”
When Elder Bednar said those words, I knew that we were all in for something spectacular. I also knew that if I really listened with pure intent and an open heart, that the Holy Ghost would be able to use Elder Bednar as an instrument in the Lord’s hands to teach me what I needed to know. And teach me He did.
I loved every single word of this talk and have had a hard time choosing what to share so I encourage you to listen/watch/read Elder Bednar’s talk again and again; each time asking to learn through the Holy Ghost so that your testimony of the Lord’s apostles and prophets can be strengthened.
During the course of my life, I have been blessed with the opportunity to shake hands with several apostles. The one thing that stands out from each of those experiences is just how calm I felt in their presence. I can only imagine that the intensity of that calm, peaceful feeling will increase beyond my imagination when I am face to face with my Savior. Until that glorious day, I am grateful that the Lord has blessed us with seasoned, “older men of great spiritual maturity and judgment serving in the senior leadership positions of His restored church.” [i] I appreciate that Elder Bednar mentioned that these men are not perfect and that they have experienced hardships and adversity throughout their mortal journeys. They have been tutored by the Spirit and life’s experiences their whole lives. How blessed we are to have these men and women in the leadership positions of our church! I am grateful anytime I can learn from another’s experiences as I stumble through my own mortal journey.
“Some people find the human shortcomings of the Brethren troubling and faith diminishing. For me those imperfections are encouraging and faith promoting.”
In his talk, Elder Bednar included several examples of “powerful lessons of a lifetime” that he has learned from some of the great men that he has served with. Out of all of the lessons that Elder Bednar shared, the one that stuck with me was from Elder Hales.
When I was going through treatments for breast cancer, I found myself in a foreign world. I could not do what I had always done, which was hit the pavement running at 115 mph every morning. Through the course of that chapter in my life, I learned this very important and “powerful lesson of a lifetime”- It was time for me to slow down, BE with my kids instead of just being in the same house with them, and focus my attention on the things that truly matter most. For me those things were my family and my testimony of and relationship with my Savior. Now that I am able to run again, I find that I am able to stop myself before I hit that 115 mph mark. I have realized that I have been given exactly the right amount of time each and every day to do everything that God needs me to do. When I turn my focus to Him every morning and use the Spirit to guide me throughout the day, I accomplish everything that I need to. Usually this is not everything that I WANT to do, and I still have those nights where I let my anxiety take over and worry about all of the things that I didn’t get done that day. But when I can truly “look unto the Savior in every thought” and “doubt not or fear not” [ii], then the anxiety leaves and it is replaced by a sweet feeling of peace in knowing that I am on the Lord’s side and I am doing what He needs ME to do here on earth.
I grew up the oldest of 5 children in the blazing heat of Southern Utah. After high school and some college experience I met and married Mark Ogden and we are the parents of four children. I have owned and operated my own home-based preschool for more than a dozen years, and I consider myself an accidental author as well. When I am not in my minivan transporting children from one activity to the next, I enjoy playing the piano, blogging, speaking about my life’s experiences, and feeding my insatiable crafting disease.