Don't let this title fool you. I didn't know if I would get anything out of this talk since I am already married, and it appears at first glance that this talk is only for those about to get married. Not so! It doesn't matter if you are considering getting married, a newlywed, or married for 40 years. Everyone can get something from this talk. I heard Elia Gourgouris at Time Out for Women and he is a wonderful speaker. In this talk, he discusses how vitally important it is that we define our expectations before we get married in four different aspects of life: Communication, Finances, Spiritual Beliefs, and Emotional, Spiritual, and Physical Intimacy. If you are already married, it's never too late to discuss with your spouse your expectations in these areas. It is also a good idea to periodically examine where your expectations are and how you are doing as a couple. If you have children close to marriage age or that are newly married, getting this talk for them would be a big blessing for them. I wish I had been able to listen to it before I got married.
My husband and I listened to this talk on CD while driving on a recent family trip. About 5 minutes into it, my husband said, "I'm pretty sure I have heard this before." That's when we discovered that this was not a new talk, it was actually done in the 80s, but has such a powerful message that it never gets outdated.
Brother Johnson tells in a compelling way the story of Kent Williams, loved by all, an extraordinary missionary with an extraordinary testimony that gets taken from life much earlier than expected. He tells with such passion the effect Kent had on him and all his peers, leading us to undertsand that each person's influence can be felt and make a difference in many peoples' lives. Nearly 30 years later, his influence is continuing to make a difference as this talk maintains its popularity. Thank you for your example, Kent, and thank you Brother Johnson for telling us his story.
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."
Okay, so I'm not a missionary and I really enjoy this CD. I think the title is deceptive. This is a wonderful 2 CD-set for anyone who wants spiritual, uplifting music. Some of the tracks have a celtic sound, some are instrumental, some with beautiful vocals. This set is a compilation of a variety of artists. I didn't enjoy every single song, but I enjoyed almost all of them. If you're like me and you just want to hear an opinion about whether the CD is worth it, my opinion is that it is.
Near the end of 2007, Mindy Gledhill released her second CD, Feather in the Wind. I am generally very cautious about the music I buy, especially if I haven't heard a lot of the songs beforehand. In this case, I had never heard any of Mindy Gledhill's music before buying this CD. But something about the cover and the names of the songs caught my attention and I decided to take a chance on it.
I wasn't disappointed. In fact, Feather in the Wind is now one of my favorite CDs. Mindy has a very distinctive voice and I love the sound of her songs. Usually, it takes several times through a CD, when I've become more familiar with the songs and their messages, before I really love the songs. That was not true of this CD – I loved almost every song the first time through.
If you haven't heard Mindy's music yet, I'd encourage you to check it out.
I love Merrilee Boyack. I read her previous book, "The Parenting Breakthrough", which I thought was brilliant. If you have read "The Parenting Breakthrough", you will probably want to skip this talk on CD because it is essentially the same information that is in the book. If you haven't read the book, then this CD is a good option to get the great information she has to share. Either way, if you choose the book or the CD, you have a winner. Her information on how to teach your children to be independent, capable adults is invaluable.
This is the first talk by Brad Wilcox that I have heard, even though I know he is a very popular speaker. I was impressed with his style of teaching. The first half of his talk on CD was focused on the question, "What do we get from being Mormon?" This half was entertaining and very interesting to listen to, but I felt it was the last half that was the true gem. He speaks very honestly and openly to teens about the temptations that afflict them in these days and he teaches very convincingly why it is better to choose righteously. He explains these things in a way that teens can understand and apply.
