President Kimball wasn't able to speak at this conference, apparently (it sounds like he was present, but not well enough to speak?), but Elder Marvin J. Ashton gave a talk about President Kimball's life and example which I really liked. One thing that struck me was this:
Very often the Twelve and the First Presidency pray together. When President Kimball takes his turn to be voice, he generally includes this phrase in his prayers: “Bless our enemies. Help us to understand them, and them to understand us.”I don't know that I have ever prayed this in my life. But it seems like a great idea! And I like the humble way he says it—asking for both sides to have more understanding. If anyone could have been righteously sure of his own high ground, he could have been! But he allowed room for God to increase his own growth and perspective as well. I could definitely learn from that. Theoretically, I KNOW my own certainty is no guarantee that I'm right in any given instance. I can't even count the number of times I've been SO SURE I put something somewhere. 100% sure. I'll send one of my kids to get it for me—"It's just sitting there right on my nightstand!"—and then get mad at them when they can't find it. And then an hour later I'll find it somewhere else and remember sheepishly, "Oh yeah. Now I remember. I DID move it there." So I should be well aware that feeling "100% sure" doesn't mean much. But it's hard to transfer that humility to things that you feel really deeply!
And, even when you ARE 100% sure you're on "God's side" in a dispute (which I assume President Kimball was, nearly all of the time)—I love this reminder that praying for increased love and understanding of those on the other side isn't a weakness, but a strength.
Other posts in this series:
Stories are the best sermons—by G
Pleasing Heavenly Father by being more good—by Jan Tolman
Understanding is HARD . . . but a worthy pursuit!
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