Nov. 28, 2015 -- Last Sunday I had a special experience that I wanted to write about.  We were sitting in church waiting for Sacrament Meeting to start, when one of our stake high councilors who is also in our ward, grabbed me and asked me to come talk with him.  We went to the back of the chapel in the overflow area.  I was very surprised that he had asked me to talk with him and it all went very quickly.  He indicated that he was extending to me a new calling (assignment), one in which I would work with other leaders in a presidency.  He did not mention who the other presidency members would be.  I was shocked because I had not expected to receive a new calling.  We will likely move to a new city next summer and I was very comfortable in my current calling.  In my current calling, I also am able to be with my son, Benjamin, so I was concerned about his well-being as with this new calling, I wouldn't be with him any longer.  However, with some hesitancy, I accepted the call.  

I was pondering these events as Sacrament Meeting began, still a bit unsure about what had transpired.  After the Sacrament was administered, I watched as a brother stood to give his talk.  As he approached the pulpit, I received a distinct impression that I would serve with this brother and that he would be the leader of our presidency.  I knew that this impression came from the Holy Ghost.  

Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day.  We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving meal with this brother's family and a few other families from our ward.  Before the meal, this brother and I were speaking and he asked me how I felt about my new calling.  Apparently, he thought that I had been told whom I would be serving with.  I told him that I had not been told whom I would be serving with but that the Spirit had told me that he would be the leader of our presidency.  He thought that was a wonderful thing.  

This was a choice and timely experience for me.  It reaffirmed to me God's love for me and for all of us.  I felt so happy that He trusted me enough to communicate with me spirit to spirit and that I had recognized that communication.  Like most of us, I often struggle to know if the Lord is speaking to me, and this message was confirmation that He was speaking to me and that I could recognize His timely messages.  Finally, I gained strength and reassurance for a calling that I felt hesitant to accept.  

It was also reaffirmed to me how important it is to be clean: "Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord." (Doctrine and Covenants 133:5).  Also, "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven." (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45).  I believe that we have to be clean, repentant, and seeking for virtue and the Spirit to be ready to receive the Lord's words for us.  

I am so thankful for this experience, one of the most sacred of my life.