Monday, October 4, 2010

General Conference

Last weekend, Ben and Meilani drove to Salt Lake City, Utah to see General Conference in person. They attended the Saturday morning session. I was apprehensive about the trip, but Ben really wanted to go, so I agreed, remembering the first (and only) time I've seen the prophet in person. When I was at BYU-Provo, I attended a devotional where President Hinckley, the prophet at the time, came to speak. When the prophet walked in, and the entire hall sang "We Thank the Oh God for a Prophet," I was overcome with emotion, and testimony, that he was in fact, Heavenly Father's mouthpiece on the earth. I knew the words he spoke, and the council he gave, were true, and I hoped that Meilani might have a similar experience by attending Conference. The night before they left, I prayed that Meilani would get to hear President Monson speak. Even when I uttered the prayer, I felt like it was sort of a silly thing to pray for, especially because all of the Conference speakers were chosen long before I said my prayer. Now, there are 8 hours of Conference, with four different sessions, and the prophet doesn't speak at all of them, so it wasn't entirely likely that he'd speak at the session Ben and Meilani attended. So you can imagine my delight when, watching Conference in my family room Saturday morning, President Monson, our prophet, was the first speaker. The fact that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet" after his talk was just "icing on the cake." It seems like a small thing, maybe a coincidence even, but I know that God answered my prayer. When I talked to Ben after Conference, he informed me that Meilani slept through most of the session (they had had an early morning and late night the day before to make the drive). Actually the only talk she did hear was President Monson's. I know God hears our prayers. Tender mercies they're sometimes called. Little winks from heaven, reminding us that our Father hears us, loves us, and wants us to know that He's always there, wanting to grant us the righteous desires of our hearts. We simply need to ask.


So, she slept through most of it, got blisters on her feet before they could visit any church landmarks, and Ben got a ticket on the way home, but hopefully the feelings and memories will stay with her.

Meilani's favorite part was getting to stay with her best bud Sierra. Sierra and Meilani were inseparable as toddlers and took ballet and hula classes together when they were 2.

Here they are at 2. They look so much the same!

4 comments:

Farley Smiles said...

That is such a neat experience, I've always planned on doing that with each of my kids, but I'm thinking about doing it the year they turn 12.

April said...

That is so neat that he took her! What a special memory for her and for Ben. I love the picture of them in the conf. Center.

The Trumpsters said...

We LOVED having them stay!!!! So glad they could visit us. I have a couple pictures that turned out better, I'll have to send them to you. Too cute, I just came across that same picture, then last night Sierra found their hula pictures with their baby dolls! MISS YOU!!!!

Stephanie said...

That's so awesome, even though she fell asleep, I am sure she will have memories of her trip with Dad. Next time you guys are in the area, we'd love to have you stay with us...we're in Eagle Mountain.