Olya Gets it 10/13/09

Olya Gets it 10/13/09
Weather 38 F at 7 PM
Clear with passing clouds Wind 3-5 mph

On Saturday and Sunday the branches watched a DVD recording of the 8 hours of the 179^th Semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints actually held the previous weekend in Salt Lake City. Sister Cindy and I also watched it in English while the members went to their regular meeting places to watch it in Russian.

The Young Adult Fireside meeting was held at our home Sunday night and I was the presenter of what they call the Spiritual Thought, or lesson, for the meeting. After watching all but the Sunday afternoon session, I thought it would be good to review some of the talks and reemphasize what I thought were two themes of the conference; Love and the Holy Ghost.

I began by asking the young folks what they liked best about the talks and which were their favorites. There were a lot of ideas and more responses than I expected. I then asked what two ideas seemed to be the theme of the conference and we all agreed on Love and the Holy Ghost as I had expected.

I took that as my topic for the evening and went as far into how the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost are different and how each works as I could do in half an hour. I explained that everyone born into this world received the Spirit of Christ, which was the influence and power of God flowing through Jesus Christ to us. This is that force that draws us to God. In contrast, the Holy Ghost is a person, not just a force, who carries God’s messages to us as we pray for guidance.

I saw that one young lady was particularly interested in the topic and was hanging on every word; Olya. She has only recently started coming back to church after a period of wandering, and is also in the choir group we are rehearsing each Wednesday night to sing at District Conference next weekend. 

After the meeting, during the refreshments, she came over to me and said excitedly that she finally understood how the Holy Ghost works and that explains what happened to her today.

It seems that instead of going in with the others to watch conference, she stayed downstairs and played the piano. She had been wishing that she had a piano and had even prayed about it, but nothing happened. Suddenly she had the thought that Natalia Gushchina had a piano and would give it to her. Embarrassed by the thought of coveting Natalia’s piano, she was a little startled when another young lady came into the room and asked her what she was doing here instead of watching Conference. She said that she was practicing the piano because she didn’t have access to one except at church and she was just wishing she had one. The girl said that Natalia Gushchina had one that she wanted to get rid of because her daughter Dasha was gone now and the piano was not being used . . . and the lightening flashed.

After my lesson, Olya realized that the impression about the piano was a message from God though the Holy Ghost and that it was a miracle for her. She was so excited to have this flash of understanding. Whether she ends up with the piano or not, she had a complete “aha” moment and got it. The Holy Ghost is a messenger, a comforter, a confirmer of truth, a guide, and she was the recipient of a personal message from God, confirmed by a friend, and now explained by my lesson.

Isn’t God wonderful? He knows us so perfectly and personally. What’s more, he cares perfectly and personally as well. What a wonderful, thrilling experience to be a part of that, to choose a topic that would perfectly nail-down a lesson that God had just taught this young lady who is not sure whether she really believes. What a personal witness to a little no-one in Siberia from the creator of the universe that He loves her and knows her deepest wants, which proves that we are all someone in God’s eyes. We are his children and he is our Father. What a powerful example of that eternal truth, God loves you because you are his child; believe it.

What a God. What a country.

DS