WEBVTT

00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:07.260
Paisley: Hey everybody, welcome
back Paisley imperfect, and

00:00:07.260 --> 00:00:11.700
today we are talking about
President Nelson's talk from the

00:00:11.700 --> 00:00:16.140
october 2018 general women's
session of conference titled

00:00:16.380 --> 00:00:21.020
sisters participation in the
gathering of Israel. I know that

00:00:21.020 --> 00:00:24.140
we've talked about the gathering
of Israel recently, but that's

00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:28.340
not the only thing that this
talk was about. In fact, I'm

00:00:28.340 --> 00:00:33.980
really only gonna, I'm only
gonna, I'm gonna touch on bits

00:00:33.980 --> 00:00:37.040
and pieces of all of it. But the
part that I really wanted to

00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:40.600
kind of focus on is at the very
beginning, he starts off by

00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:44.140
telling a story about a time
where him and sister Nelson were

00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:47.200
in South America, and he was
speaking to a congregation

00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:51.340
there, and he said, as the
mother of 10 children, I can

00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:57.220
tell you, and the interpreter,
who the person that was

00:00:57.220 --> 00:00:59.680
interpreting for him
automatically switched Mother to

00:00:59.680 --> 00:01:03.780
father, but sister Nelson caught
it, and kind of got a kick out

00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:08.040
of it. She pointed it out to him
later on, and then he said this

00:01:08.040 --> 00:01:11.820
about that, about that Freudian
slip, he said, in that moment,

00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.540
the deep longing of my heart to
make a difference in the world,

00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:19.440
like only a mother does, bubbled
up from my heart through the

00:01:19.440 --> 00:01:22.280
years, whenever I have been
asked why I chose to become a

00:01:22.280 --> 00:01:25.940
medical doctor. My answer has
always been the same, because I

00:01:25.940 --> 00:01:31.400
could not choose to become a
mother. Now I know that this can

00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:35.960
be triggering for many people.
This used to be very triggering

00:01:35.960 --> 00:01:39.860
for me too. Before you turn me
off, though, please listen to

00:01:39.860 --> 00:01:45.400
what he said, Next, he said,
Please note that any time I use

00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:49.120
the word mother, I am not
talking only about women who

00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:53.980
have given birth or adopted
children in this life. I am

00:01:53.980 --> 00:01:57.460
speaking about all of our
heavenly parents, adult

00:01:57.460 --> 00:02:03.120
daughters. Every woman is a
mother by virtue of her eternal

00:02:03.300 --> 00:02:11.640
divine destiny, every adult
daughter of our heavenly parents

00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:18.660
is a mother by virtue of her
eternal divine destiny. That

00:02:19.260 --> 00:02:24.740
means you, too. It means all of
us. I wish that someone had said

00:02:24.740 --> 00:02:28.400
that during general conference,
a women's session, or otherwise,

00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:35.120
a lot, long, a lot, a long time
before that, that would have

00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:39.560
helped me a lot. And you know,
maybe they did, and I just don't

00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:42.400
know it, because I haven't read
every single conference talk

00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:48.220
that's ever been given, but I
don't recall anyone ever having

00:02:48.220 --> 00:02:54.400
said all adult daughters of our
Heavenly Parents are mothers,

00:02:54.880 --> 00:03:00.420
just by nature of their divine
destiny. President Nelson

00:03:00.420 --> 00:03:05.280
continues, and he keeps talking
about how important women are in

00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:10.260
the home, in our wards, our
stakes, and in society in

00:03:10.260 --> 00:03:14.460
general. He said, No one can do
what a righteous woman can do.

00:03:14.760 --> 00:03:18.780
No one can duplicate the
influence of a mother. Remember

00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:22.280
his definition of mother, all
adult daughters of her heavenly

00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:29.840
parents, no one can duplicate
their influence. He also says,

00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:33.500
Men can, and often do,
communicate the love of Heavenly

00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:38.240
Father and the Savior to others.
They do. I've met some really

00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:44.680
wonderful men in my life who
have shared the love of Heavenly

00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:51.460
Father towards me. I think of my
patriarchal blessing. I think of

00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:56.440
Bishops that I've had. I think
of one of the young the young

00:03:56.440 --> 00:03:59.620
men's president, the person that
was serving as the young men's

00:03:59.620 --> 00:04:03.120
president when I was 16, and
needed to learn 15 and needed to

00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:06.000
learn how to drive. My dad was
in the Navy. He was on

00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:10.080
deployment. I needed to learn
how to drive, and the young

00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.860
men's President taught me how.
He took me and let me get all my

00:04:13.860 --> 00:04:17.340
practice hours in so I could get
my driver's license. There are

00:04:17.340 --> 00:04:20.540
wonderful men who can
communicate and show the love of

00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:25.400
our Heavenly Father and the
Savior. But President Nelson

00:04:25.400 --> 00:04:29.720
continues, he says, but women
have a special gift for it, a

00:04:29.720 --> 00:04:34.580
divine endowment. You have the
capacity to sense what someone

00:04:34.580 --> 00:04:39.560
needs and when he or she needs
it. You can reach out, comfort,

00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:44.020
teach and strengthen someone in
his or her very moment of need.

00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:49.360
So, you know, as I was going
through and making the notes for

00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:54.400
this, these questions came to my
mind, why are we in such a hurry

00:04:54.400 --> 00:05:00.780
to become more like men? Why is
this gift that. We have been

00:05:00.840 --> 00:05:07.200
endowed with given Why are we so
ready to give it up just to

00:05:07.200 --> 00:05:11.280
become more like a man? And I do
not mean anything negative

00:05:11.280 --> 00:05:16.860
towards men. They are necessary
in the plan of happiness, just

00:05:16.860 --> 00:05:25.460
as women are. I just it makes me
a little sad that we are so

00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:30.140
willing. And when I say we just
women in general these days,

00:05:30.140 --> 00:05:37.280
seem to be so willing and ready
to give up their uniqueness, to

00:05:37.280 --> 00:05:40.520
give up what makes them women
and what makes them different.

00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:46.420
Just to become more like a man,
to be seen as an equal. It's

00:05:46.420 --> 00:05:50.620
also sad that they feel that
they have to. There are places

00:05:50.620 --> 00:05:54.520
where you feel like you have to.
There are I've had friends with

00:05:54.520 --> 00:06:02.280
jobs. I've had jobs in the past
where you feel like you have to

00:06:02.280 --> 00:06:07.740
be more like a man in order to
make a difference. But that is

00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:12.420
not the case. President Nelson
continues. He says women see

00:06:12.420 --> 00:06:16.140
things differently than men do,
and oh how we need your

00:06:16.140 --> 00:06:20.540
perspective. Your nature leads
you to think of others first to

00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:23.480
consider the effect that any
course of action will have on

00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:34.580
others. I had a boss who every
time, every time she needed to

00:06:34.580 --> 00:06:38.420
make a big choice, she would go
through how it would affect

00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:43.300
every single person in the
company every single time it

00:06:43.300 --> 00:06:48.760
weighed on her, and she always
did the best that she could. She

00:06:48.760 --> 00:06:54.280
always, she always ended up
making the right choice. But I

00:06:54.280 --> 00:06:59.320
could tell that it, it was very
carefully thought about, very

00:06:59.320 --> 00:07:07.020
carefully thought out. And the
the effect that any so your

00:07:07.020 --> 00:07:10.320
nature leads you to think of
others first to consider the

00:07:10.320 --> 00:07:14.040
effect that any course of action
will have on others. That is an

00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:18.240
incredible and often paralyzing
ability, because at some

00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:23.000
sometimes you get to that place
where you have to choose between

00:07:23.240 --> 00:07:29.600
two good things, two good and
right things, or the opposite is

00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.880
also true. Sometimes you find
yourself in a place where you

00:07:31.880 --> 00:07:37.460
have to choose the lesser of two
evils. How do you? How do you?

00:07:38.180 --> 00:07:42.760
How do you decide? What do you
do? And President Nelson

00:07:42.760 --> 00:07:48.520
mentions Eve. Now, I don't know
about you, but a few years ago,

00:07:48.520 --> 00:07:53.500
when the temple videos changed,
when they were updated, not from

00:07:53.500 --> 00:07:59.860
the live to the stills, but from
the old live to the new live, I

00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:04.860
got a the very first time I saw
the new video, I just remember

00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:12.420
my perspective of Eve completely
changing, and I felt like I

00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:15.480
understood her in a way that I
never had before. President

00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:19.380
Nelson says this about her. He
says it was our glorious mother,

00:08:19.380 --> 00:08:23.060
Eve with her far reaching vision
of our Heavenly Father's plan

00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:28.520
who initiated what we call the
fall her wise and courageous

00:08:28.580 --> 00:08:33.980
choice and Adam's supporting
decision moved God's plan of

00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:38.780
happiness forward. Now put that
in the context of the title of

00:08:38.780 --> 00:08:42.700
this talk, again, the title is
sisters participation in the

00:08:42.700 --> 00:08:43.900
gathering of Israel.

00:08:44.740 --> 00:08:48.640
Unknown: Put Eve's choice to
further the plan

00:08:48.640 --> 00:08:53.380
Paisley: of happiness by
initiating the fall. In the same

00:08:53.380 --> 00:08:58.840
context of sisters participation
in the gathering of Israel, it

00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:01.740
was up to Eve to make the
decision to initiate the fall.

00:09:02.760 --> 00:09:06.840
Could it be up to us to initiate
the second coming through the

00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:07.860
gathering of Israel?

00:09:08.700 --> 00:09:11.640
Unknown: Could it be okay? I'm
only going to share one

00:09:11.640 --> 00:09:13.500
Paisley: more quote from this
talk. Actually, I'm going to

00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:19.380
share two. But this one, he
says, My dear sisters, you have

00:09:19.380 --> 00:09:23.720
special spiritual gifts and
propensities. Tonight, I urge

00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:27.740
you, with all the hope of my
heart to pray, to understand

00:09:27.740 --> 00:09:31.640
your spiritual gifts, to
cultivate, use and expand them

00:09:31.940 --> 00:09:36.680
even more than you ever have.
You will change the world as you

00:09:36.680 --> 00:09:43.780
do so. Change the world as you
do. So, there's a lot more in

00:09:43.780 --> 00:09:46.540
this talk about how we can get
started in the gathering if we

00:09:46.540 --> 00:09:51.400
haven't gotten started already.
And guess what? None of them

00:09:51.400 --> 00:09:53.980
have anything to do. Well, at
least not directly. None of them

00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:59.080
have none of them say temple and
missionary or sorry, one of them

00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:03.600
does say temple work. Work. None
of them say family history or

00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:10.800
missionary work, and temple work
is number three. So he actually

00:10:10.800 --> 00:10:13.980
offers four, what he calls he
calls them invitations. He

00:10:13.980 --> 00:10:17.400
offers four invitations to help
us prepare our minds and our

00:10:17.400 --> 00:10:21.260
hearts for the gathering of
Israel. Now this was in 2018 so

00:10:21.260 --> 00:10:28.340
six years ago. He is urging us
to do different things now. And

00:10:28.340 --> 00:10:33.140
I say that as I as I share these
first two specifically because

00:10:33.140 --> 00:10:38.420
the first one was a 10 day media
fast. He said, social media and

00:10:38.420 --> 00:10:41.500
any other media that has a
negative influence in your life.

00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:49.360
I'm paraphrasing that But, and I
remember when he gave us this

00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:52.480
challenge, and I remember
thinking, But social media is

00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.740
where I get a lot of my positive
stuff from. So I didn't actually

00:10:56.740 --> 00:10:59.800
go on a social media fast for
those 10 days. Instead, I took

00:10:59.800 --> 00:11:05.340
that opportunity to clean up my
account. Over those 10 days, I

00:11:05.400 --> 00:11:09.060
stopped following and got rid of
people who were posting negative

00:11:09.060 --> 00:11:15.660
things or hateful things,
hurtful things, dumb things. I

00:11:15.660 --> 00:11:19.140
just I didn't unfriend people. I
just stopped following them so

00:11:19.140 --> 00:11:22.220
that their stuff would stop
showing up in my in my feed,

00:11:22.520 --> 00:11:27.920
because I wanted my feed to be
positive and uplifting. So that

00:11:27.920 --> 00:11:30.860
was the first thing he said, a
10 day social media, or a 10 day

00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:33.740
fast from media, social or
otherwise the bring negative or

00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:37.340
impure thoughts into our minds.
Again, paraphrasing. The second

00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:39.860
one was to read the Book of
Mormon by the end of the year.

00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:43.720
So this was in it would have
been the first Sunday wait

00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:48.160
sister session. So it in the
first Saturday of October of

00:11:48.160 --> 00:11:53.260
2018 and he asked the sisters to
read the Book of Mormon by the

00:11:53.260 --> 00:11:56.320
end of the year. I'm not
challenging you to do a 10 day

00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:00.040
social media fast, not
reiterating the challenge that

00:12:00.100 --> 00:12:03.180
again, it was six years ago. I
think times are a little bit

00:12:03.180 --> 00:12:08.280
different now, already in six
years. And I'm not challenging

00:12:08.280 --> 00:12:10.680
you to read the Book of Mormon
by the end of the year. We only

00:12:10.680 --> 00:12:13.440
have, like, what six weeks left
before the end of the year. If

00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:18.540
you want to, by all means,
please go for it. But we're

00:12:18.540 --> 00:12:22.280
finishing up the Book of Mormon
with come follow me. I think

00:12:22.280 --> 00:12:24.800
that counts. We'll finish it by
the end of the year, right?

00:12:24.800 --> 00:12:29.480
Anyway, if you want to go for
it. But so the first one social

00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:32.900
media fast, the second one read
the Book of Mormon. Now this is,

00:12:32.900 --> 00:12:35.540
remember, this is how he is
telling us we can get started in

00:12:35.540 --> 00:12:41.560
the gathering of Israel to fast
from media and read the Book of

00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:45.880
Mormon. The third invitation was
to establish a pattern of

00:12:45.880 --> 00:12:50.260
regular temple attendance. So
while not necessarily directly

00:12:50.260 --> 00:12:54.820
family history related, it is
still temple work and something

00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:58.060
I need to be way better about.
And then the last one is to

00:12:58.060 --> 00:13:02.940
participate fully in Relief
Society. So if we took the first

00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:06.420
two out, we're going to finish
the Book of Mormon by the end of

00:13:06.420 --> 00:13:09.900
the year with Come follow me,
and we take that social media

00:13:09.900 --> 00:13:12.240
one and maybe go clean up your
account. So we clean up our

00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.600
social media accounts. We finish
up the Book of Mormon by the end

00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:19.200
of the year. We start attending
the temple, and then we start

00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:23.660
participating fully in Relief
Society. We are gathering Israel

00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:28.220
and all of those things the
Relief Society one is one that I

00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:33.200
also need to work on. I've been
in young women's and or primary

00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:36.800
or working with the young single
adults or seminary for the last

00:13:36.800 --> 00:13:40.780
20 years. I actually have a
Relief Society calling now for

00:13:40.780 --> 00:13:45.220
the first time in about 20
years. So I'm gonna get an

00:13:45.220 --> 00:13:51.220
opportunity to fully participate
in Relief Society, and I hope

00:13:51.520 --> 00:13:57.520
that I can help the primary
young women leaders feel like

00:13:57.520 --> 00:14:01.440
they should not should like they
can fully participate in Relief

00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:07.080
Society as well. Okay, so what
I'm hoping that you will take

00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:11.400
away from this episode is that
no matter who you are or where

00:14:11.400 --> 00:14:15.660
you are, all adult daughters of
our Heavenly Parents are

00:14:15.660 --> 00:14:22.940
mothers, just by nature of your
divine destiny, nobody else can

00:14:22.940 --> 00:14:27.740
have the same influence that you
can. You are important and

00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:33.020
needed, and Israel cannot be
gathered without us. Here's the

00:14:33.020 --> 00:14:35.660
last quote. This is the last
quote from President Nelson's

00:14:35.660 --> 00:14:40.180
talk. This one's down towards
the bottom. He said, My dear

00:14:40.180 --> 00:14:43.060
sisters, some of this is going
to sound familiar, my dear

00:14:43.060 --> 00:14:46.480
sisters, we need you. We need
your strength, your conversion,

00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.240
your conviction, your ability to
lead, your wisdom and your

00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:56.560
voices. We simply cannot gather
Israel without you, we are

00:14:56.560 --> 00:15:02.940
needed you. I hope with all of
my heart that you believe these

00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:09.720
things, that you know that you
are needed, wanted, loved, your

00:15:09.720 --> 00:15:14.820
heavenly your heavenly parents
love you. Your Savior loves you.

00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:21.920
You are needed, wanted and
necessary. We cannot gather

00:15:21.920 --> 00:15:25.100
Israel without you and your
special gifts and your special

00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:29.060
talents. I hope with all my
heart that you believe that

00:15:30.380 --> 00:15:32.780
thank you for choosing to spend
your time with me today. I

00:15:32.780 --> 00:15:37.100
appreciate it very much. Keep
learning, keep growing, keep

00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:40.160
trying and be of good cheer
until next time you