Some Last Words

We had broadcast Stake Conference for Southern California a couple of weeks ago. It was a good day because for the first time ever the boys were good enough that we were able to stay in the cultural hall the whole time (minus several jaunts out with Jack). And it was a great treat that the prophet spoke! He's never spoken at one of those broadcasts before. He looked like he'd lost a lot of weight and like he was really fading, but his talk was one of my favorites I'd ever heard. It seemed so focused and powerful. But maybe that was because he really had my attention. I hadn't woken up that morning expecting to hear the prophet speak.
He spoke about marriage, which is so timely, with people seeming to divorce as often as they buy new cars. He talked about the permanence of the marriage covenant. He repeated a quote: "Love is not blind. It sees more. And because it sees more, it is willing to see less." He said how wonderful to have a partner who forgives your faults and focuses on what is good in you. He said a happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is a sincere concern for the comfort and happiness of the other person.
He'd been asked about communication. He replied simply that communication was talking. That couple should spend a lot of time talking and their talking will be most effective when voices are soft.
He extended that council to parents towards their children. He said that parent's voices in the home should be as God's voice. And as Elijah learned, God's voice was not in the whirlwind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the still small voice.
I think we left that conference a different family. We were touched and changed. And we were so glad we were present and alert and not distracted from hearing what was one of his last addresses. We're so happy for him that he's reunited with that great lady (and one of my personal heroes) Margorie. There's no doubt where they both are.