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VIEW PERSONAL BELIEFS
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POSTED BY:
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arbnmp
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DATE:
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24.11.2008 |
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SUBJECT:
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The Best Thing Thats Happened |
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LOCATION:
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Fort Drum, United States
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I watched the movie "The Game Plan" starring 'The Rock' last night with my wife; it was a very touching story. The movie is based on a self-centered professional football player who inadvertently winds up with his daughter who asks lots of questions, one of which is "What is the best thing that has happened to you?"
I usually don't get choked up over chick flick parts in movies--perhaps it is because I am heading to Iraq--but it brought to mind a talk by Elder David B. Haight entitled All is Well.
Here is a direct quote from the General Conference talk by Elder Haight, "When I was a young boy, about 12 years old, I loved to play baseball. The only piece of athletic equipment that we had around our house was an old baseball mitt. We didn’t have footballs in those days. We didn’t have a lot of other things. I thought the great moment in my life would be that I would be playing baseball for the New York Yankees, and this was back in the days when the Yankees were a great team. I would be playing for them in the World Series, the games tied 3 and 3. Now in the deciding game, guess who would get up to bat? As I stood at the plate, the pitcher would pitch the ball exactly where I’d want it, I’d knock it out of Yankee Stadium, and I would become the hero of the World Series. I thought that would be the great moment of my life. But I want you to know that that isn’t true.
A few years ago I sat in the Los Angeles Temple in a little sealing room with my wife, Ruby. We had our sons there with their wives—they’d been married just for a short time—and our sweet daughter was kneeling at the altar, holding the hand of the young man she was to be sealed to. And as I looked around the room I then realized that this was the great moment of my life because I had in that room everything that was precious to me—everything. My wife was there, my eternal sweetheart and companion. Our three children were there with their eternal companions. And I thought, David, in your youth you had things all wrong. You thought some worldly event of some kind might be the great event of your life. But now, I was witnessing that great event. I was there, I was feeling it, I felt a part of it, and I knew in that little white sealing room—clean, sweet, pure in that room—with all of my family there that this was the great moment of my life."
The movie made me drift back to over ten years ago when I was a struggling single LDS young adult trying to find my eternal companion and living as well as I could as an enlisted guy in military barracks.
I had been given council when leaving the mission field by my Mission President to "date like you're tracting" and I had. I had dated over several hundred girls over the course of a couple of years and had even been engaged to one (which I had broken off after I discovered that I had rushed into things). I was discouraged, wondering will I ever find the one? But I remained faithful, keeping the commandments and trying my best to be a faithful member of the church in a not-so-conducive environment.
I had been invited over to my Branch Presidents house for dinner--what single soldier will turn that down huh?--and little did I know what awaited me. My Branch President had also invited over two women from a different ward that were visiting the branch that weekend. While I was eating my spaghetti dinner and joking around with everyone at the dinner table, a voice came into my head saying, "she's the one" and I thought 'what?' and was kind of stunned. My mouth must have dropped open, because there was also a missionary couple at dinner and the Sister was looking intently at me--she realized that something was occurring in the clamor of the feast. The voice came again, "she's the one, the one you've been looking for." I knew then within my heart that Heavenly Father had answered my prayers and had shown unto me the girl whom I should marry.
Although it took several weeks to convince her of what the Spirit had spoken, we became engaged and married in the Washington D.C. temple several months later for time and all eternity. The movie last night had reminded me of the best thing that has happened to me--my temple marriage to my beautiful wife Anne and the eternal family we have created. I hope I can remain worthy to always be with them and spend the eternities with them.
I testify that our Heavenly Father lives, that He loves us, and that our concerns are His concerns--as he is the Father of us all. He lives and answers our prayers. If we will but remain faithful and trust in Him, He will direct our paths and work for us in His own due time. Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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