Some More Time Out...

You know how it is when you hear a really great talk that applies to your life and then--poof!--it's over and gone?  The talks at last November's Time Out for Women conference were so good that I bought the DVD so I could listen to them again and again.  Yes, they were that good.

Happily, some friends were interested in listening to them too.  So last night we had a mini Time Out for Women conference in our family room.  We watched the 3 talks that I consider to be the best of the weekend, pausing after each one to discuss its applications to our lives.  Rarely have I heard talks that resonated so strongly with me, with the way women think and feel and act, and with such spiritual connections.

The first, by Virginia Hinckley Pierce, was on Forgiveness.  She addresses the topic with logic that I have never heard before--the idea that forgiveness is between you and the Lord, not necessarily you and the person who hurt you.  That person has already been forgiven.  She talks about what a gift forgiveness is...to you and to the other person.  It allows you to move on and it allows the other person to spiritually progress.  Does it mean saying "it's OK?"  or putting yourself in Harm's way again?  Certainly not.  But it is about healing and letting go of your own pride that may be an obstacle in your current "forgiveness project."

The second was by Sheri Dew, an absolute force of nature of a woman who is also the CEO of Deseret Book.  Never married, she addressed the role of women in the LDS church.  Mainly, she addressed the "poor oppressed Mormon woman" as many who are not familiar with the church think exists.  She reminded us that everything that the Lord promises men he also promises women.  That significant events in the Bible and Book of Mormon happened to women and because of women.  Hers was the last talk of Friday evening for those of us who attended in person, and we left feeling very empowered...or should I say...reminded that we are already empowered.

The last talk was by Laurel Christensen, a VP at Deseret Book.  She's a year younger than me, one of the main organizers of the Time Out for Women event, and was single at the time that she gave her talk (she has since become engaged.)  She spoke on the idea of waiting, and living "As If" what you are waiting for and praying for is right around the corner.  She reminded us of the Lord's timeline, and that we are exactly where He knew we would be in our lives.  And that the Lord waits too, waiting to answer our prayers if we would just pray and ask.  Waiting to give us His richest blessings if we would just get our lives in order, or maybe do things in the right order.  The most poignant quote from her talk?  "The Lord values our [free] agency more than our happiness."  How powerful is that?

So that was my Saturday night--sitting in the presence of 5 wonderful women who came over to partake of all that wisdom.  We munched on many goodies strewn across the bar in our huge downstairs family room, we listened intently, and we internalized the amazing messages that these 3 women shared with us.

A really good night.