The magic word this week is Unity

Saturday night I was preparing for bed when my comp and I got a call from President D (of 2nd branch). He asked to speak to me, and asked me if I would be so kind as to give a talk in Sacrament meeting the following day. The topic was unity, he said. I said I would love to, as we had discussed earlier that day about some issues in the branch and it had been my idea to help the members understand about love and *ahem* unity.


As I sat down at my desk to begin writing the talk, I felt the familiar jitters of apprehension that seem to always come with speaking (at one point they came with teaching, but that was really only at the MTC). I absently flipped through Liahona's and Conference magazines, trying to find something that could give me a good idea of how to start. When I picked up one from May 2011, I saw from the YW broadcast a talk that was called "Remember this: Kindness begins with me". Thinking to myself that it looked promising, I turned to the page. (this is where I invite you all to find this particular talk, as it is powerful!)


After I sat down from sharing my thoughts and ponderings on the subject, I felt calm as I prayed the things I shared would be carried to the hearts of those who heard. It is my witness to you that the Holy Ghost does work in the hearts of the people, as long as they are willing to have an open heart.


I found a really nice scripture on Sunday about missionary work. 1 Peter 5:2-4. I was actually reading through the words of Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd, and I was curious about the matching scriptures. These verses are really nice, and I'm making it my goal to be like the undershepherds mentioned in these verses. Its funny--nobody ever mentioned this section to me when giving me missionary scriptures. Now I can pass it on to others!

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The motivational hymn for the week is Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd (223?). Heavenly Father wants us all to be missionaries as much as we can, and this hymn, as well as the accompanying scriptures, provide some excellent guidelines of how we can do so. I encourage each of you to ponder about the words in the verses, and to apply them to your life where you can. I promise that as you forget about yourself and go out and help others, you'll find a rare sort of happiness (one that I'm still trying to get 24/7!). I love you all,


Sister Adams