Hope you saw it.

I am mean and selfish when it comes to General Conference. I know, through years of experience, that if I don't watch Conference the first time it is broadcast, I will never see, hear, or read it. We record it. We subscribe to Conference on CD. We get the Ensign. It doesn't seem to matter. In the six months between conferences I never find the time to 'make-up' lost sessions. So I've developed a mean streak, and I kick the kids into the playroom or outside, and I sit on the couch and partake.

An interesting thing happened in one of today's sessions. Okay, a few interesting things happened. But I'm talking about Elder Wirthlin's talk. If you saw it, you know what I mean. If you just heard it on the internet or radio, you missed out. About half-way through his talk, he began to shake, almost violently. It really scared me. The delivery of his talk did not really change, but his arms and head began to really shake. I thought he was going to fall. Out of the darkness, Elder Nelson appeared and stood behind Elder Wirthlin, probably holding him steady. The shaking seemed to calm a little, and Elder Wirthlin continued on with his address without missing a beat. His topic was love and charity. As Elder Wirthlin continued on, his voice became more urgent, more declarative. It seemed to move from a talk to a testimony. I could hear, and see, how much he believed the words he was speaking.

There are endless lessons to be learned here, but I will share what was personal to me. Watching him, almost physically unable to withstand the assignment given him, taught me that I must always do what the Lord asks me to do. Don't make excuses about too many kids, or not enough time. Don't say I don't feel well, or I'm burnt out from doing other things. Elder Wirthlin's persistence (the talk went on a long time with Elder Nelson holding him up--he did not shorten his talk and sit down) will stand as an example to me to "endure to the end." I must physically give it my all. In my notes, I wrote, "re-read Elder Wirthlin's talk." I know when I do, I will learn many more lessons about love and service--the lessons he wanted me to learn.