a society for relief

Here's the scene: Saturday, September 27th somewhere between 6 o'clock and half past 7 in the evening | Sitting next to my mom sitting next to my sister on a pew in her stake building after eating from a smorgasbord of soups feeling quite full in my mid section | The choir director turns to lead the entire congregation--mind you this is a satellite feed from the great SLC and the congregation includes women across the globe--in Now Let Us Rejoice (If there were to be punctuation after the hymn names, this one would definitely have a ! ) | little sister stands up | mom stands up | woman sitting on other side of sister stands up | I stand up | the rest of the women in the room stand up | we sing the words...

Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation.
No longer as strangers on earth need we roam
Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation,
And shortly the hour of redemption will come,
When all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And none will molest them from morn until ev'n,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Jesus will say to all Israel, "Come home."

We'll love one another and never dissemble
But cease to do evil and ever be one.
And when the ungodly are fearing and tremble,
We'll watch for the day when the Savior will come,
When all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And none will molest them from morn until ev'n,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Jesus will say to all Israel, "Come home."

In faith we'll rely on the arm of Jehovah
To guide thru these last days of trouble and gloom,
And after the scourges and harvest are over,
We'll rise with the just when the Savior doth come.
Then all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And they will be crown'd with the angels of heav'n,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Christ and his people will ever be one.

...and I can barely contain my emotions to the point where I am mouthing many of the lyrics | I'll tell you the reason if you want to know | I love love love the feeling that I get during the annual General Relief Society meeting | the overwhelming sense of sisterhood | renewed realization of purpose | knowing that I am not alone in my love for the Savior--there are millions of women out there who mirror my sentiments | the gentle chastisement for the areas I need so desperately to improve in...

I also LOVED President Uchtdorf's message about creating (which, btw is not online). This last weekend a good family friend was in town for a seminar. We just happened to be garage saleing and I decided to display the jewelry that I make and try to sell some of it. When this friend was over, she looked through my loot and ooo'ed and ahh'ed, which made me feel really good (there's something very validating about having someone else think the things that I think are pretty are pretty) and I mentioned that jewelry making kept me sane through grad school. She then stated that she believes we, women in particular, need creative outlets in order to maintain optimum mental health. And I agree! Not only does creating something from random materials give us some mental stimulation and allows us to work with our hands and is all but mundane, I believe the satisfaction stems from its connection to God, our Creator. I really appreciated Pres Uchtdorf's encouragement to think outside the box when thinking about creating, as creating laughter is in fact creating.

Sometimes in jest I say that I'm glad I'm a woman so I don't have to be married to one. In all honesty, I am glad I am a woman because of all of this and more.