Seeing friends and family come and do sessions is amazing, and some of the connections that you make are wonderful as well. I was helping an older lady out to the foyer from the restrooms. I was talking to her about serving a mission. She looked at me and said that she had a granddaughter recently leave for Honduras. Something came over me and told me I should ask her what the name of her granddaughter was, for I recently had a friend from BYU report to Honduras. I asked her the name of the girl I knew, and she jumped out of her chair! She couldn't believe that I knew her "grand baby." There was pure joy and happiness in her eyes, she was close to tears. While waiting for her husband to come out, we talked non-stop about her granddaughter for 15 minutes. It is times like these where I know I am living up to my motto of, "Where e're thou art, act well thy part."
Where ever I am, it is my responsibility to be a friend to all. A leader, an example and most importantly a daughter of God. Being Latter-day saint women, we all have a light that shines within us that the world needs to see. We can all be missionaries whenever and wherever. We can always be an example and be the first to offer assistance when we see others need help. We can act well in our part by being who we are, and standing for what we believe in. The Young Women's theme reads,
"We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we love him. We will stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things and in all places. As we strive to live the Young Women values, which are Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity and Virtue..."
When I was in Young Women's, I often just stood up and recited the theme and then sat down without any further thoughts about it. But really what does it mean to be a daughter of our Heavenly Father? How can we be witnesses of God? How can I live each value every day? These questions now are often pondered. Being a daughter of God is a blessing, and it means you are royal. You are a princess that is destined to become a queen. You have purpose here on this earth and Heavenly Father has a plan just for you. You are special. Being a woman in the church, it is important to live with virtue, for that is our strength and power. It is important to also root yourself in the gospel and to not be easily shaken. When the world is shoving everything against you, you must remember who you are and where you come from and most importantly where you are going.
In a beautiful talk given by Sister Dalton in the April 2013 session of conference, she uses a quote that I love. "She understands who she was and whose she was." We must each remember that we are different from one another in the best way possible. There is no 2 of us alike. But we all have a loving Heavenly Father who we can proudly call our father. Being a woman in the church, has brought me many blessings. With the responsibilities, I have been able to assist others, learn to cook meals for families that need food, learned to sew, learned how to do things around the house as well as in the garage and many other tasks. I have learned the true sacrifice of service and the joy and happiness that comes from charity, or the pure love of Christ. I have also learned how to be a friend.
To finish, here is a popular scripture, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
So remember who you are and whose you are. You are a daughter of Heavenly Father.
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