Education Conference with Elder Holland

This past weekend the Boston Young Single Adults hosted a regional Education Conference. Our guest speaker was Elder Holland, and it was such an amazing experience. First of all to be able to have an apostle of the Lord in such close quarters, and second of all to have everything that he's talking about be directed to my circumstance in life. As I listened to the speakers in the different classes, I realized a couple of things. One being, that our Heavenly Father truly loves us and shows that love in tangible ways. I was in a room at the beginning of the conference with 600-800 other people in the same place in life that I am. I'm not alone in my worries and anxieties about the future, and more importantly, those concerns don't go unnoticed by the Lord. As Elder Holland commented on this, I felt completely certain that he was carrying a message for us, specifically for us, from Father in Heaven.

As he spoke of our relationship with the Savior, he recounted the story of Peter walking on the water. Here are the disciples of the Lord on a ship in the middle of the sea. They are far enough away from port that they cannot get there, and there is nothing they can do. The Lord comes to them on the water and we all know the rest of the story. He beckons to Peter, Peter starts to come forward and then looking around him, starts to fear and falls in the water. Elder Holland focused on a part of the story that we don't often look at. While His disciples were on the ship, Christ was on mountain praying. He wasn't there when the storm started, but he sensed that His disciples needed Him. So he went to them. Christ is described as one who succors his people. Elder Holland pointed out that in Hebrew the word 'succor' literally means - "to run to". With this in mind, Christ went to succor his disciples, He ran to them in their hour of need. When we are in our own areas of distress, when Christ comes to succor us - he doesn't mosey over, he runs to our aid. I loved that imagery.

I know that my Savior lives and that His sacrifice and love are real and tangible. I can experience joy because of these things, no matter what my circumstance or situation in life. I have just as much access to his atoning love as everyone else, and that means so much to me.