In April 1995, I was single and living in Provo. When President Hinckley shared the following thoughts in conference, they resonated deeply with me. I had returned home from a mission over a year earlier, and I was still missing that sacred and special time in my life. My brother had unexpectedly passed away, and I was grieving alone, with my family far away. Compounded with this, few opportunities for marriage and family seemed on the horizon, and so I felt stuck in a sort of "useless" limbo as I went to school.
President Hinckley's words inspired me to make to do more than I was doing, to use what I was feeling to be more compassionate and more helpful to the Church, especially in light of the fact that I had no other family obligations to fill my time. For many years, his words have hung framed on my office wall. If you come to visit, you'll see them in the corner. My favorite line is the last: "We can do better than we have ever done before." Looking back on my life, I know that to be true. A person is constantly developing and can improve in who they are and how they interact with others. I am a better person today because of General Conference, April 1995 (as well as many other General Conferences that have inspired me, of course).
These are the words that inspired me:
"My beloved associates, far more of us need to awake and arouse our faculties to an awareness of the great everlasting truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. We can be a little more kind. We can be a little more merciful. We can be a little more forgiving. We can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world about us, in our homes, in our places of employment, in our social activities. We have work to do, you and I, so very much of it. Let us roll up our sleeves and get at it, with a new commitment, putting our trust in the Lord… We can do it, if we will be prayerful and faithful. We can do better than we have ever done before."
Thank you, Staci! Below is a link to the entire talk.
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