Paisley: Hey everybody, I'm here again as Paisley imperfect, and
today I'm going to do something different than I have done so
far. Of course, I just started this two weeks ago. So we'll
see, maybe this will be different. Maybe this will be
the norm. Quite a few times in the last few weeks, I have been
told that I have a strong personality. And I've been told
that as though it's a bad thing. It can be, it can be a bad
thing. But when I was reading and getting ready to talk about
being still, I read this devotional from elder Ballard
back in 2014, called Be still and know that I am God. And in
it, he says, so sorry, just a little bit of background. It's a
young single adult, it was the young single adult broadcast
devotional that he did down here in San Diego, actually.
And he starts, it's Be still and know that I am God is the name
of the devotional. And he's talking about how he's heard
that church leaders live in a bubble. And so he kind of burst
that bubble. And then he says something about how he about how
they've heard that they're just too old. They don't get it,
right. And so he burst that bubble, too. And then he says,
There, he talks about their individual and obtained wisdom,
as a combined group of the 12 and the First Presidency. And he
talks about how that combined wisdom helps. Then he says, Let
me also observe that none of the 12 are shrinking violets. We
each have strong personalities. So when we are unified in a
decision, you can rest assured that we have counseled together
and come to that decision after much prayer and thoughtful
discussion.
I read that sentence, we each have strong personalities. And I
was like, yes. Okay. Finally, somebody with a strong
personality, that is claiming a strong personality other than
me, okay, to be clear, a strong personality does not give me or
anybody else, the right to be little people, or to use that
strong personality to make someone else feel less. So I am
by no means claiming that that is okay. I am not claiming that
that is okay. on any level. What I am saying is having a strong
personality is okay. And a good thing. And then it reminded me
of this talk from President Nelson.
This was in October of 2015. And this is my most favorite talk of
all time. He talks about how in 1979. So I was born just before
this, I was maybe six months old, when President Kimball made
a profound prophecy. This is quoting from from President
Nelson, that President Kimball made a profound prophecy about
the impact that covenant keeping women would have on the future
of the Lord's church. And this is what President Kimball said,
he said much of the major growth that is coming to the church in
the last days will come because many of the good women of the
world will be drawn to the church in large numbers. This
will happen to the degree that the women of the church reflect
righteousness and articulate pneus in their lives. And to the
degree that the women of the church are seen as distinct and
different in happy ways, from the women of the world. So
strong personality in happy ways. That's my struggle.
But he also President Nelson goes on and he quotes President
Packer. And then he gives us as women he gives us some more
things that we can work on to help further the work, so to
speak, right to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to help
bring people to Jesus. He gives us other things that we can work
on with our strong personalities. He said that we
where is it
My dear sisters. You who are our vital associates during this
winding up seen the day the President Kimball for saw is
today you are the women he foresaw. So I was six months
old. And I was one of the women he first saw your virtue light,
love, knowledge, courage, character, faith and righteous
lives will draw good women of the world along with their
families, to the church in unprecedented numbers.
And then he goes on to say what the church needs What our
brethren need from us and our strong personalities. He says we
need your strength, your conversion, your conviction,
your ability to lead your wisdom and your voices. The kingdom of
God is not and cannot be complete without women who make
sacred covenants and keep them. Women who can speak with the
power and authority of God. And then he quotes President Packer.
He says President Packer declared, We need women who are
organized and women who can organize. We need women with
executive ability, who can plan and direct and administer women
who can teach women who can speak out. We need women with
the gift of discernment, who can view the trends in the world and
detect those that, however popular are shallow or
dangerous. And that's where he, he stops quoting President
Packer right there and then he adds his own.
Today, let me add that we need women who know how to make
important things happen by their faith, and who are courageous
defenders of morality and families in a sin sick world. We
need women who are devoted to shepherding God's children along
the covenant path toward exultation women who know to
receive know how to receive excuse me, personal revelation
who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment,
women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect
and strengthen children and families, women who teach
fearlessly.
There's a lot to unpack in those three quotes. There's a lot from
President Kimball just in being distinct and different and happy
ways. There's a lot to unpack from President Packer, who is
calling upon our organizational skills, people who can teach
women who can teach and speak out. And then from President
Nelson, who can make important things happen, women who can
make important things happen because of their faith. Women
who are devoted to shepherding God's children know how to
receive personal revelation and then act upon it.
I am here to tell you that sometimes when you act on that
personal revelation, it feels crappy. It feels horrible. That
is the refiners fire. That is all of our impurities coming
out. He says President Nelson keeps going he says, My dear
sisters, whatever you're calling, whatever your
circumstances, we need your impressions, your insights, your
inspiration. He doesn't say, when you're in a good mood, he
doesn't say temper your personality, he doesn't say rein
it in. He says whatever you're calling, whatever your
circumstances we need your impressions, your insights, your
inspiration. He keeps going, we need you to speak up and speak
out in Ward and stake councils. We need each married sister to
speak as a contributing and full partner, as you unite with your
husband and governing your family. married or single you
sisters possess distinctive capabilities and special
intuition you have received as gifts from God, we brother and
cannot duplicate your unique influence.
And then, towards the end of this talk, again, called a plea
to my sisters. He says My dear sisters, nothing is more crucial
to your eternal life than your own conversion. It is converted
covenant keeping women whose righteous lives will
increasingly stand out in a deteriorating world, and who
will thus be seen as different and distinct in the happiest of
ways. The happiest part is the hard part for me, because of
this resting face that I have been blessed with my resting
face does not always does not always allow for other people to
see that I actually am happy to be a daughter of my heavenly
Father. It doesn't. Even in these videos, I've gone back and
watch these videos, and I'm either expressionless or just
look mad all the time. And I'm not. That's just the way I look.
The happiest part. That's the part that I struggle with the
most and the part that I'm working on. He says today I
plead with my sisters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints to step forward. Take your rightful and needful place
in your home, in your community, and in the kingdom of God. More
than you ever have before. And this was in 2015 this was almost
10 years ago, you guys. almost 10 years ago. He was asking us
to step forward and take charge in our lives. I plead with you
to fulfill president Kimball's prophecy.
And I promise you, I love it when they have promises. I
promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that as you do so the
Holy Ghost will magnify your influence in an unprecedented
way. I don't know about you guys, but I feel I find that to
be very uplifting and encouraging and coupled with
elder Ballard's Comment about a strong personality
my personality will help me step up and speak out. I just need to
work on the happy part. And I am working on that. But a lot of
these things in here are hard. A lot of these things in here are
hard things to do. Women who are organized and women who can
organize. I can, it doesn't mean that I always do. When women
with the gift of discernment something i, i Gosh, I wish I
had just been given that gift. But something that I need to
work on. There are so many things in here to work on. So
many things that we can, that we can make better. The things that
he's talking about in here. The qualities, the personality
traits, characteristics, whatever you want to call them.
These are the things that are going to change the world. And I
don't know about you, but I kind of want to be a part of that.
So it's the happiness part, I got to work on the happiness
part. Which one of these things are you working on? What can we
work on together? Let's work on these things together. Anyway,
this again, it's a little bit different than what I've been
doing. I've been coming prepared to talk about a talk that fits
within a theme. But this week, as I was looking for the next
talk, I got to this, we each have strong personalities, and I
just couldn't pass it up. I couldn't sit on that one. The
stillness, in a strong personality is hard to find.
Coming from somebody who has a strong personality, that
stillness is hard to find because you know that you offend
people when you open your mouth. I can walk down the hallway at
church and offend people just because I have a resting grump
face. But I'm doing my best. And my heavenly father is calling on
me and he's calling on all of us to be a strong personality in
the happiest of ways. Stand up and speak out. Okay, I'll stop
now.
Thank you for listening to this. I would love to hear what you
guys think. I would love to hear what you think. You can comment
on YouTube. You can comment on Instagram, Facebook, any one of
those places, send an email. I would love to hear what you
think about this, and especially what it is that you're working
on. Let's work on it together. Let's look into it together.
Thank you so much again for being here. And until next time,
enjoy the rest of your week.