Not FINNISHed Yet: Sustaining our Leaders

April, 7th, 2015
Rakkaat ystävät,

This week was a little slow. Part of that was, of course, that we spent nine and a half hours watching GeneralConference and the General Women's session. The Easter holiday (which in Finland includes Long Friday, Easter Sunday, and the second day of Easter on Monday) was especially slow because so many people were out of town or with family, but luckily, we were able to meet with quite a few members earlier in the week, then had General Conference to look forward to over the holiday weekend.

One particular appointment of note was on Saturday with an older less-active woman that we visit regularly. I've noticed recently that she seems to be opening up to us, and when we met with her on Saturday, we brought her a little Easter basket and she was so happy. We sang to her songs about Christ and talked about the strength she can find from the Atonement. Sisar Lafferty and I have both started keeping a prayer journal, and we thought this sister would like one as well, and when we gave it to her she lit up a little. She was so grateful and I could tell that she felt a lot of love. I felt more love for her in this meeting than I ever have before.

For Easter, we had dinner with the Melbys, and after the dinner, we went to the school to watch the Saturday morning session of Conference. No one showed up to watch in Finnish, so we (Melbys, Elders, us and a recent convert) had the whole auditorium to ourselves. It was great.

On Easter Sunday, after our studies, Sisar Lafferty and I dyed eggs and delivered secret Easter baskets to the Elders and to the Melbys. We then spent pretty much the whole afternoon and evening with the Melbys to watch Conference. We watched the Saturday afternoon and the Sunday morning sessions, then on Monday we came again to the Melbys to watch the Sunday afternoon session to cap it all off.

I've thought about a lot of things because of Conference, and I thought especially of how critical it is that we support our leaders. We sustain the prophet. We support him and have faith in the things he says, for he is truly a mouthpiece for the Lord. When we oppose him, we are really opposing the Lord. Obviously, we do need to be careful and not follow blindly, for our leaders are men and prone to imperfection. But thankfully, we can turn to God to ask and know for ourselves whether or not the prophet is truly a prophet. I'm grateful that I have my own testimony of this. These men are inspired. The messages we heard are inspired. My prayers were answered. Were yours?

I hope you were inspired and uplifted this weekend as we had the chance to not only watch Conference but also to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. I know He lives, and because He lives there is always hope. There is always peace. There is always truth. There is always lights. And there is life again.

Stay shiny!

Rakkaudella,

Sisar Hillerbant

#BecauseHeLives