I really loved watching conference! I was in need of the spiritual boost. I had lots of things that helped me personally, that were said, but I think the one I would like to talk about is Elder Sabin's talk, "Stand Up Inside and Be All In". Our first week here we got to meet Elder Sabin, he is in the Europe Area Presidency. He is a special man!
"Our son Justin passed away at age 19 after fighting a lifelong disease. In a sacrament meeting talk he gave not long before he left us, he shared a story that must have resonated with him about a father and his young son who went into a toy store where there was an inflatable punching bag in the shape of a man. The boy punched the inflatable man, who tipped over and immediately bounced back after every punch. The father asked his young son why the man kept bouncing back up. The boy thought for a minute and then said, “I don’t know. I guess it’s because he’s standing up on the inside.” In order to be “all in,” we need to “stand up inside,” “come what may.”
We stand up inside when we wait patiently upon the Lord to remove or give us strength to endure our thorns in the flesh. Such thorns may be disease, disability, mental illness, death of a loved one, and so many other issues.
We stand up inside when we lift up the hands that hang down. We stand up inside when we defend the truth against a wicked and secular world that is becoming increasingly more uncomfortable with light, calling evil good and good evil and “condemning the righteous because of their righteousness.”
Standing up inside in spite of difficulties is possible because of a clear conscience, the strengthening and comforting assurance from the Holy Ghost, and an eternal perspective which surpasses mortal understanding. In our premortal life we shouted for joy at the opportunity to experience mortality. We were “all in” as we excitedly made the decision to be valiant defenders of our Heavenly Father’s plan. It is time to stand up and defend His plan again!
My 97-year-old father recently passed away. Whenever someone asked him how he was doing, his consistent reply was “On a scale of 1–10, I’m about a 25!” Even when this dear man could no longer stand or even sit and had great difficulty speaking, his answer was still the same. He was always standing up inside.
When my dad was 90, we were in an airport and I asked him if I could get him a wheelchair. He said, “No, Gary—maybe when I get old.” And then he added, “Besides, if I get tired of walking, I can always run.” If we are not able to be “all in” the way we are presently walking, then maybe we need to run; maybe we need to recalculate our route. We might even need to make a U-turn. We might need to study more intently, pray more earnestly, or just let some things go so we can hang on to those things that really matter. We may need to let go of the world so we can hang on to eternity. My father understood this."
His dad reminds me of my dad. And standing up inside is a great visual for me. We are living by the GPS telling us where to go and we are constantly making wrong turns. When he was talking about it saying...no idiot...I laughed. If our GPS was human, it would be tired of our mistakes. :) This talk touched my heart and helped me to encourage our missionaries to "stand up inside and be all in".
When we have testimony meeting in the MTC the power of the Spirit is remarkable. It happened to me again this Sunday, the feelings of love and strength, and the feelings that these young, young missionaries are really such great people. They are so young, most of them, yet their desires to do and be good are very strong and mature. I am very proud of them, and I love them with all of my heart! It was a good conference weekend...though I do look forward to being in the conference center again in three more conferences.
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