Sunday Inspirations September 13, 2009

Youth hold a very special place in my heart. Several years ago when I was first asked to serve over our local young women group (girls 12-17) I was terrified...for a few weeks. Ever so slowly as I got to know them and they got to know me, an extraordinary change happened - I grew to love them as my own children.

It's a bit surreal, knowing some of those young women I've known since they were quite younger, and now many of them are in college. Yet I can't help thinking of them even now as "my girls."

In 2005 Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke to the young women of the Church, a talk I recently had my daughter and a few of her friends listen to during an activity I was in charge of. Though I can't know for certain if they really got anything out of it, I do know we all felt something of a special spirit as we listened to his words.

I'd like to share his talk with you today. Though it's directed to young women, I think women and men of any age can glean some very precious truths from his words about just how precious the daughters of our Heavenly Father are to Him, and how hard Satan works to keep us from fulfilling our divine callings.

I'll be posting a link to the talk, which I truly hope you'll read. And let me simply add my testimony of how truly extraordinary women are, even those who have a ways to go before they grow into adulthood. To any of you out there reading this who know of a young girl, are the parent/guardian of a young girl, or are friends with one, please share this talk with them. Our Heavenly Father loves us more than we can ever possibly know. He knows of our potential, our dreams, and our heartaches, and every one of us means the world to Him. I hope you never doubt that!

To Young Women

I pray you all have a wonderful Sabbath Day.

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We had our stake conference meeting today, and something a brother spoke about rang true with today's post, and I'd like to share it with you.

He was inactive in church during his teenage years, much to his mother's dismay. "When will you start coming again?" she would ask time after time. His lifestyle left much to be desired, though it never bothered him...until one night as he prepared to go out with his friends. For some reason he sat down on his bed and took a good, strong look around him. His mother's words resounded in his head. Posters on the walls, pictures hung around, music on his desk, all at once he realized their influence drove the spirit right out of his room, and his life.

Suddenly overcome with the need to get rid of it this brother took everything down that did not feel "right," tossing it all in the garbage. Once again he sat on his bed and took a look around his room, this time overcome with a feeling of cleanliness at the sight. The immediate desire to make himself just as clean was powerful, and so he began the very next day by attending church for the first time in years. From there he read the Book of Mormon and took Moroni's challenge at the end to pray. Indeed his life turned around, and he is so much happier for it.

I suppose my purpose for putting this in is to say, if you're life has taken a wrong turn, if the things around you deprive you of God's Spirit, it's not too late to turn around. It's never too late.