WEBVTT

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Paisley: Hey everybody, Paisley
imperfect here and today, we're

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going to talk about something
that's been on my mind for a

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while. You could say it's been
on my mind for years. Excuse me,

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but it's come up again in the
last couple of days, and so I

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just kind of wanted to talk it
out. I think I've mentioned

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before, I'm the oldest of four
kids, and I was a pretty good

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kid. My parents might tell you
otherwise, I'm sure I gave them

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some grief, but in general, I
was a good kid. I didn't go to

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parties. I got perfect
attendance in seminary. I went

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to seminary even when I didn't
go to school. I got good grades

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in school. I wasn't like an AP
student or an honor student or

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anything like that, but I got
good grades in the classes that

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I was in. I studied hard, I
worked hard, I went to church on

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Sundays, like I did all the
things that I was supposed to

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do. I never tried any kind of
drugs, not even alcohol. And I

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just, I did what I learned to do
in primary and Young Women's

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because I believed that it would
I believed that it would provide

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the blessings that people told
me that it would provide. I You

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could say that I have been
blessed with the gift of faith.

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I believe things I wouldn't
consider myself gullible. I

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still pray about them and make
sure that that the way that I

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feel about them matches the way
that people tell me to feel

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about them. I don't just blindly
follow that's not how I roll

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anyway. I just I was generally a
pretty good kid, and I'm not

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telling you these things to
boast about it. I'm telling you

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so that hopefully you can
understand this thought process

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that I'm going to kind of go
through here in just a second at

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some point in my very late
teens, like 17, 1819, or very

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early 20s. So somewhere between
like 17 and 21 ish, I remember I

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was starting to learn more and
more about the atonement and how

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it works and what it's for and
things like that. I remember

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learning about how when people
repent, they get all of the

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blessings that have also been
promised to people who don't

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make the mistakes in the first
place. And at first, I remember

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feeling a little jaded, like,
Wait, so I kind of just wasted

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my time. Like I could have gone
out and had fun and done like

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these super fun things, but
instead, I chose not to. And now

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all of the people who did but
say they repent, they get the

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same blessings that I get. And I
remember just feeling kind of

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like I didn't I didn't like the
way I felt about that one I but

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I also remember how people kept
referring to the people who had

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wandered off as lost sheep. They
would always point out how Jesus

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would how he loves all of His
sheep, but he would leave the 99

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to go find the one. And this one
time I got kind of angry, is a

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strong word. I got kind of
offended. Offended is probably a

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good word for it. I got kind of
offended by that. Like, wait a

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second, I've worked really hard,
and I had to say no to a lot of

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things that sounded like a lot
of fun. I had to not go places

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where I knew that bad things
were gonna happen. I had to say

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no to a lot of friendships and
walk away from people, and I had

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to do a lot of hard stuff, and
he's just gonna leave me. And it

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just it didn't sit well with me,
because I knew that I was one of

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the 99 I knew I wasn't the
lawsheet, or at least that's how

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I understood it. At the time,
what I didn't understand is that

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being that one, being quote,
unquote lost, doesn't just mean

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that you've went inactive or
apostate. The one could mean a

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lot of different things, but at
that time, I didn't understand

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that I was pretty young, and I
didn't know all of the things I

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thought I knew, um, because I
didn't understand that I felt

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for a minute or a few days or a
few months. I don't remember how

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long that feeling lasted. But I
felt like I had been abandoned,

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abandoned, that all of those
goody two shoes choices that I

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had made were all for nothing.
Thankfully, that experience

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didn't last forever, but it did
last long enough to leave a very

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deep impression on my heart. I
don't know if I would consider

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it a scar. We had a talk in
sacrament meeting on Sunday this

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week about scars, the visible
scars and the invisible scars.

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And anyway, I don't know that it
would. I don't I don't know if

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it left a scar or just a really
deep impression on my heart

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about being one of the 99 and
what it feels like, or what it

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can feel like to be one of the
99 it's not and the more that

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I've grown, the more that I've
learned, I have learned that

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being one of The 99 is not easy
and it's not automatic. And the

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people who are the 99 they still
have feelings. They still feel

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hurt, sometimes they still feel
depression, they still feel

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abandoned, disappointment,
discouragement, all of those

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things I had been blessed with,
the knowledge of the reality of

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my Savior, and as part of the 99
I learned at this time in my

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life that it was not my job to
go after The one, my job, my

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lifetime assignment, if you
will, is to look after the 99

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retention, try and help hold on
to the 99 we all have different

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talents. We all have different
gifts. We all have different

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abilities. And some of for some
of us, that means that we are

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capable, capable, capable and
able of going after the one and

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succeeding and bringing them
back. That's not one of my

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strengths. So when we talk about
gathering Israel, for me, and it

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may be different for you, it
likely is. There has to be

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people that go look for the one.
But for me, my job when it comes

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to gathering Israel is to help
retain and do temple and family

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history work that's gathering
Israel to me. So this past

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Sunday, I was in a stake meeting
about temple and family history

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work and the going after the one
came up again, and I realized

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that most of the people who
listen to this don't actually

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attend church with me. So you
don't know that I have a hard

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time keeping my mouth shut.
Maybe you do. Maybe you can tell

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I don't know, but I have a hard
time keeping my mouth shut when

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I feel like there's something
that needs to be said that

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nobody else is saying. Sometimes
it's a blessing, not all the

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time, not everyone appreciates
that I can't keep my mouth shut.

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Anyway, I asked a question
during this meeting, and I posed

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it as a rhetorical question,
because I don't know, I don't

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think that I have the answer to
the question. We're going to

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talk about it a little bit
today, because I think that the

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answer is starting to form a
little bit in my brain, but I

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also don't think that I have the
full answer yet. But the

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rhetorical question that I
posed. I asked the group how we

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could use temple and family
history work to help retain the

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99 we talk a lot in the church
about going after the one, and

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there was a lot of focus on the
one. Somebody else had brought

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up in the meeting, how they had
visited another ward somewhere,

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and in this other Ward, they
were having their elders quorum.

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What do they call it? Council,
the elders quorum. Council right

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before elders quorum meeting.
You know, we're supposed to do

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the 10 minutes or whatever at
the beginning of every meeting

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to just counsel together, talk
about what we need, what we can

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do, those types of things. So he
was participating in this other

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Ward's discussion, and they were
talking about the question that

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that came up in this discussion
was, how can the ward better

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support the 99 and so it had
already come up. And so I was

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like, Well, how can we I'm going
to because this meeting is

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temple and family history work
focused. I'm going to

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change the question a little bit
and say, how can we use temple

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and family history work to
retain the 99 let's focus that

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in a little bit so the. Remember
the Stan presidency that was

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presiding over the meeting. He
talked a little bit about it in

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his closing remarks, and he
mentioned that, when it comes to

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the 99 maybe it's a good idea to
have a plan. He wasn't claiming

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that this was the best answer,
either. He just was like, this

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makes sense to me, kind of a
thing. Maybe it's a good idea to

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have a plan. So again, this is
all very specific to temple and

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family history work, but it got
me thinking, because he's right.

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Then I started thinking about
administering, because that's

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the plan. Right. To have a plan
is to administer. Get the

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administration together. There's
an order in all things. Make

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sure that things are being run
the way that they're supposed to

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be administering versus
ministering. Administer

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minister, and in my pragmatic
brain, carefully executed

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thoughtful plans keep people
engaged. That's the

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Administering part. We pray
about our plan and we come up

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with a good plan to help keep
people engaged. And engagement

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in the church, in professional
life, to keep your customers

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engaged, to keep your audience
engaged, however you look at it,

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keeping people engaged is what
keeps people coming back, what

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keeps people wanting more,
learning more, growing more. But

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in order for you to get the
engagement, it takes more. It

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takes different skills than
ministering. Ministering is to

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go and to love and to encourage
and to support and help and

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provide that is ministering
administering is having the plan

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in place to make all of these
things possible. That's how it

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works in my pragmatic brain. So
but there is a limit to how much

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administering and even
ministering we can do to keep

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people engaged. We can come up
with the super thoughtful plan

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that allows us to go and love
and care for and encourage and

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provide and try and keep people
engaged, right? We can do both

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of these things, but there's
only so much that we can do.

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There was a talk given in the
April 2022, General Conference

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titled Do what mattereth Most.
It was by Rebecca l Craven, and

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she talked about this. She
shares a story about this young

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woman that she she sat down and
she talked to and the young

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woman asked her a question. The
young woman's question was, how

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do you know anything about the
church is true? Because I feel

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nothing if one of my young
women, if one of my young women,

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sat down and and said that to
me, my heart would break, and

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then my pragmatic brain would
turn on. And I love how she

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responded to this young woman,
because she responded with

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questions of her own. And she
asked her three questions. She

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said, Tell me about your
personal scripture study. Open

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ended question. She asked if the
young woman studied, come follow

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me by herself or with her
family, and she asked what she

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felt, what the young woman felt
when she prayed? So she asked

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her those three questions, and
the young woman, turns out,

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didn't study her scriptures,
wasn't studying Come follow me

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by herself or with her family,
and she wasn't saying her

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prayers. And so sister Cravens
response, which is fantastic.

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She said, if you want to know
anything, you have to do

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something. Heavenly Father does
not just force stuff on us. He's

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not going to force this young
woman or any other young woman

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or young man, old man, middle
aged man, middle aged woman, he

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is not going to force any one of
us to believe anything. We have

00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:10.920
to go and get it ourselves.
That's agency. That's part of

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the plan. That's how it works. A
bit later, she says it takes

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effort to stay focused on what
is truly essential for lasting

00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:25.040
joy. As one of the 99 remember
that the other 98 are not

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responsible for your conversion.
They're not responsible for my

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conversion. I'm one of the 99
one of the 99 there are still 98

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other sheep out there who all
need similar things to the

00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:45.580
things that I need, we are
responsible for our own

00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:49.300
conversion, and once we have
become converted, it then

00:14:49.300 --> 00:14:53.560
becomes our responsibility, and
frankly, our desire to help

00:14:53.560 --> 00:14:58.480
those around us and helping
those around us may just mean

00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.280
helping them feel the love. Of
Jesus Christ. It may mean

00:15:02.280 --> 00:15:06.000
helping them find their
testimony again. It may mean

00:15:06.420 --> 00:15:11.640
within the other 98 it may mean
that somebody needs a hug, and

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that's it, a smile, a friendly
word in the hallway. Help with a

00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:19.500
lesson on a Sunday could be a
lot of different kinds of help.

00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:25.460
Sister Craven said, we know the
parable of the one lost sheep.

00:15:25.640 --> 00:15:28.940
Of course, a shepherd will leave
the other 99 sheep to find the

00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:33.680
one who has strayed. But, and
here's the kicker for me, and

00:15:33.680 --> 00:15:36.740
something that has been taking
me, taking me since my early

00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:41.200
20s, late teens, to figure out.
She said, but can you imagine

00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:45.820
the joy that those who choose to
be the 99 bring to the Good

00:15:45.820 --> 00:15:49.180
Shepherd, the ones who stick
together and help each other

00:15:49.180 --> 00:15:53.080
live their covenants? Can you
visualize what the world or your

00:15:53.080 --> 00:15:57.340
school or your work or your home
would be like if obedient was

00:15:57.340 --> 00:16:02.160
the popular thing to do? It is
not about doing life perfectly.

00:16:02.520 --> 00:16:06.420
It's about finding joy while
doing our best to live the

00:16:06.420 --> 00:16:10.140
covenants we have made with the
Lord. Finding joy while doing

00:16:10.140 --> 00:16:13.800
our best. I feel like I'm
talking about the same thing

00:16:13.800 --> 00:16:17.880
every day, but that's it.
Finding joy while doing our best

00:16:17.880 --> 00:16:22.100
a little bit better every day.
Okay, we don't have to be

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perfect tomorrow. Recognize that
you are one of the 99 be okay

00:16:27.380 --> 00:16:31.520
with being one of the 99 our
savior is off trying to save the

00:16:31.520 --> 00:16:35.240
one, and we are here to help
each other. And we're fine. We

00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:38.300
will be fine. And he will come
back, he will bring that one

00:16:38.300 --> 00:16:41.500
sheep back, and then we can hold
on to that sheep, and he will go

00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:46.180
find the next one, and it will
be okay. It is about the simple

00:16:46.180 --> 00:16:49.360
things. Sister. Another quote
from Sister Craven, she said,

00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:53.080
the more we do to stay firmly on
the covenant path, the more our

00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.440
faith in Jesus Christ will grow.
The more our faith grows, the

00:16:56.440 --> 00:17:00.160
more we will desire to repent,
and the more we repent, the more

00:17:00.160 --> 00:17:06.600
we will strengthen our covenant
relationship with God. I just

00:17:06.600 --> 00:17:10.560
lost my place. Where did it go?
Sorry. Okay. The more we repent,

00:17:10.560 --> 00:17:13.260
the more we will strengthen our
covenant relationship with God.

00:17:13.260 --> 00:17:16.260
That covenant relationship draws
us to the temple, because

00:17:16.260 --> 00:17:20.100
keeping temple covenants is how
we endure to the end. As we

00:17:20.100 --> 00:17:23.060
center our lives on Jesus
Christ, we will be guided to do

00:17:23.060 --> 00:17:26.420
what mattereth Most, and we will
be blessed with spiritual

00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:30.560
strength, contentment and with
joy. Those are the things that

00:17:30.560 --> 00:17:34.700
we are supposed to feel as part
of the 99 but we are all human,

00:17:35.180 --> 00:17:37.940
and we're going to feel
discouragement, frustration,

00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:40.600
depression. We're going to feel
these feelings from time to

00:17:40.600 --> 00:17:43.600
time, and that is okay. Feeling
those feelings does not mean

00:17:43.600 --> 00:17:47.440
that you are suddenly not one of
the 99 it might mean that you

00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.020
have something to work through,
but that's what your bishop is

00:17:50.020 --> 00:17:52.480
for, that's what your Relief
Society president is for. That's

00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.240
what your ministering brothers
or sisters are for, that's what

00:17:55.240 --> 00:18:00.100
your friends are for, that's
what the other 98 sheep are for.

00:18:00.220 --> 00:18:06.240
That is literally our job to
help each other stay as part of

00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:12.060
the 99 the 99 are never
abandoned. We are never left

00:18:12.060 --> 00:18:16.320
alone. Jesus would never leave
us to go after the one unless he

00:18:16.320 --> 00:18:20.280
knew that we were being taken
good care of. We are always

00:18:20.280 --> 00:18:24.020
protected, watched over and
cared for, but only to the

00:18:24.020 --> 00:18:27.860
extent that we are willing to
watch over, protect and care for

00:18:27.860 --> 00:18:34.400
each other. It's okay, and it
will be okay, because remember

00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:37.340
that quote from Brother Wilcox
that we talked about last week,

00:18:37.580 --> 00:18:41.200
you've got this, because Jesus
Christ has got you. We've got

00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:46.420
this. We can do this. We are, we
are the 99 we can handle it.

00:18:46.900 --> 00:18:52.480
We'll be okay just a little bit
at a time. You don't have to be

00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:58.480
a perfect 99 tomorrow or today,
or by Friday or by next Friday,

00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:04.260
or even by January 1. You do not
have to be a perfect 99 just do

00:19:04.260 --> 00:19:07.200
your best today and be a little
bit better tomorrow, just a

00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:10.620
little bit better, and only in
one thing, 1% better. I saw a

00:19:10.620 --> 00:19:15.180
lady wearing a t shirt the other
day that said 1% better, and I

00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:19.440
think I need to buy myself that
T shirt 1% better, even if

00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:23.600
you're only 1% better by the end
of the year. It's okay. It shows

00:19:23.600 --> 00:19:29.360
progress. It shows effort, and
the Lord loves effort. Remember.

00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:32.720
All right, my friends, thank you
so much for being here today.

00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:36.800
Keep learning, keep growing,
just keep trying. And be of good

00:19:36.800 --> 00:19:42.980
cheer. Thank you so much. Until
next time you