Saturday morning of this past General Conference, when Sister Elaine Dalton was called to be the new Young Women General President, I was so happy. I love Sister Dalton. I’ve only met her once but as soon as she shook my hand, I just knew she was someone I’d like to be friends with. You’d feel that way about her if you met her too. I’m sure of it.
You probably remember her, like my Laurel’s do, as the “marathon runner”. She has talked about her marathon experiences a few times when she’s spoken to us. And, in the recent YW General Broadcast, she shared the story of running up “Heartbreak Hill”. Do you remember that? She was feeling so alone in the Boston Marathon but there were people all along the way cheering her on.
She talked about the importance of standing as a witness. And I started thinking of my friend Pam.
Sometimes it’s easier to “stand as a witness” when you don’t think you’re standing totally alone…when you know you have someone cheering you on.
I remember being at a friend’s house with a bunch of girls from school when I lived in Kentucky. One of the girls found a movie on tv and I knew immediately that this wasn’t a movie I should be watching. But, I sat there (my first mistake) and kind of buried my head in a pillow, feeling sick to my stomach but not knowing what to do.
I finally got up to use the restroom. Well, really, I got up so I could go find a place to say a prayer. I knelt right there at the toilet and told Heavenly Father about the situation. I told Him I knew I shouldn’t be there but I didn’t know what to do…these girls were my friends and I didn’t want to be alone.
I got up and went back into the room (my second mistake). As soon as I sat down, my friend Pam (a girl who was very active in her Baptist church) turned to me and said, “do you want to go play checkers or something?” (Yeah, we used to play checkers!) I have NEVER felt such relief. Together we got up and left the room. And in time, a few other girls came in and joined us.
I think about that experience a lot. I assumed I was all alone in my desire to not watch that movie. Little did I know Pam didn’t want to watch it either. But, I needed her encouragement to stand as a witness that night. She stood first and then I stood with her. And after that, I wanted to be a Pam for someone else.
Next time you need some courage to stand as a witness, be a Pam. You might think you are alone on Heartbreak Hill, but, there are others cheering you on, and more importantly, there are other witnesses waiting to stand up with you. You just might need to be brave and stand up first.