I Have Found My Calling in Life: Teaching the Young Women

This morning I had the incredible pleasure of teaching the young women in our ward. I'm in a young single adult ward at BYU, so you may be wondering which young women I am talking about. Well, the bishop and his counselors bring their wives and children to our sacrament meeting every fast Sunday, so those of us who have the callings of young women teacher or Primary chorister have the chance to interact with these kids once a month.

Unfortunately, I don't have a calling that would involve me with the youth program. Usually I would just go to Relief Society for third hour and sit towards the back and stare at the rough, tan wall about the whiteboard, not really listening to the lesson. However, I received a text message from the girl I visit teach last night telling me that her sister had just gone into labor and she wouldn't be able to make it to church the next day to teach the young women, and neither would her roommate, with whom she shares the calling. She asked me to take over and I accepted, even though I knew I wouldn't be home until very late to prepare the lesson. I was able to read over the lesson when I got back, but only briefly because I was soon fast asleep. I set my alarm to wake me up an hour before church, so that I would have time to make a cute handout with a scripture on it or something.

Church starts at 10:30, so you can imagine my utter panic when I woke up at 10:10 and had to be at church in 20 minutes! I am actually quite proud of the fact that I got dressed (in a cute outfit) and got there with 2 minutes to spare after running through the freezing cold onslaught of fresh snowfall, my computer in tow. I walked into the young women's room for third hour to teach the lesson and was confronted with three beautiful, shining, young ladies. Seriously, these girls were almost intimidating, especially once I realized that two of them were only one or two years younger than me. What can I teach these girls? I thought to myself. I decided we'd start off with a prayer and I'd get to know the girls a bit before I really started the lesson. We were to talk about the worth of souls and how everyone is a treasured son or daughter of God.

After the prayer I had an idea... I'd still ask the girls about themselves, give them a chance to talk a bit and tell me about their weeks, but I would relate it to the lesson. After all, I believe that lessons in church are so much more meaningful if I can relate it to my own life. I asked them to tell me about something they had done for themselves and something they had done for someone else. We went around the circle and I heard everything from reading three books that week alone, to reconciling differences with Mom. I was able to relate everything they did back to God and show them how He had His hand in their lives that week. Each one of them had performed great services without intending to, and each one of them had bettered themselves that week. These inspiring young women were moving in the right direction, a direction in which I am not sure I have been traveling in quite some time.

Rather than follow the outlined lesson and tell the provided stories, I chose to relate personal stories from my own life. I described experiences in which I learned to humble myself before my Heavenly Father and my fellow beings. I told about my service trips to both India and Peru in past years. I was able to give advice to Emma, who had been having issues with her mother, because I had had the same problems with my own mom earlier this year. As the lesson progressed and my stories kept coming, time seemed to fly by, for both myself and the girls. There was a point when all four of us were tearing up, and by the end the girls were bearing their souls to me.

Miriam even said," I know you're a complete stranger but I feel like I can tell you anything."

I was touched. These girls and I had really connected and I realized that I had made a small difference in their lives. They thanked me for the lesson and we stayed and talked until we were evicted from the room for tithing settlement. Later, the Bishop and one of his counselors, Brother Bay, approached me and thanked me for teaching their daughters. Both men had been attacked by their daughters and heard all about the "best lesson" they'd ever had! I was happy to help and glad I was able to have this opportunity to teach.

These are the two scriptures we read in class, and I was impressed when Miriam recited both of them from memory, the second being her absolute favorite.

D&C 18:10
Remember the ^aworth of ^bsouls is great in the sight of God;

Ether 12:27
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them.

The girls I taught today were special young women. I could see the light in their eyes and the love in their hearts. They helped me realize that it's about time I started to get back on that path. It's never too late to start trying and the best thing I can do is swallow my pride and humble myself before God.