Reviewed by Melanie Lott, LDSFiles.com Staff Writer

Time Out for Women

My sister and I got the wonderful opportunity to take a Time Out from our lives for 2 days and boy did we! It has been so long since I've been to EFY that I kind of forgot that feeling of being completely uplifted, almost elevated, ready to conquer the world. We experienced wonderful speaker after wonderful speaker that lifted my spirit more than I can express. We were taught by Sheri Dew, Wendy Watson Nelson, Virginia Hinckley Pearce, Wayne Boss, Chieko Okazaki, Elia Gougouris, Michael McLean, Mercy River, Hilary Weeks, Mary Ellen Edmunds, Doug Brinley, Merilee Boyack, Jane Clayson Johnson, and Carolyn Rasmus. I haven't felt so spiritually filled in a long while. As I looked around the auditorium filled with thousands of women, I was struck by the thought that the heavens had opened as each woman there was receiving individual spiritual instruction to help them further build the kingdom of God. Amazing. My sister and I were touched and learned from completely different things, making me realize how individual our purpose is.

If you haven't had the experience of going (this was my first time), I recommend it so highly.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes or thoughts from my experience:

Wendy Watson Nelson talked about how to ask effective questions instead of limiting questions and she also talked about false beliefs that hold us back. (one of my favorite topics!) She was giving some examples of how to change our ways of thinking and this was one of her examples: "If you were to believe that your husband really loves you and that his behavior which has irritated you, is actually his best effort to draw close to you and to help solve problems, how would you treat him?" and "If you were to believe that the Holy Ghost really were your constant companion, how would you manage this very difficult situation?" She also taught to "bury our weapons of war".

Wayne Boss: "Your most powerful source of power is the extent to which you can be trusted." and "If anyone has been making your life miserable, you have been giving them your power."

Virginia Hinckley Pearce (who is just as adorable as her parents), "Everyone wants to be interesting, but the vitalizing thing is to be interested."

Sheri Dew talked about having divine influence, how we as women have the power to change the world. She said righteous influence is a spiritual gift and we use it to build the kingdom of God. She talked about how influence works and talked a bit about Oprah and how much influence she has. She prefaced this quote by saying she has no personal beefs with Oprah, but "Be wary of taking counsel from someone who is building their own kingdom."

Carolyn Rasmus: "The gospel of Jesus Christ is NOT insurance against pain. It is a resource in the event of pain."

And probably my favorite quote of the whole thing....Jane Clayson Johnson was talking about how she left her husband home with their toddlers so she could come to speak. He called her and was telling her how he was doing fine "babysitting" the children. She said to him, "Honey, it's not called babysitting, it's called PARENTING."

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