Time Out for Women

This weekend there was an event in Cincinnati called Time Out for Women. It's put on by Deseret Book. This is the invitation from the President of Deseret Book:

"During recent years, it has been my privilege to meet hundreds of thousands of you throughout the world. And you are, very simply, spectacular! I know something of your goodness, your virtue, and your strength. I also know something about the intensity of your lives. It's not necessarily easy to raise happy, righteous families and live as a woman of God in the 21st century. No doubt there are days when your clear perspective about life dims a little and you long for someone to remind you why you're here and who you are.

If you're like I am, on those days you might have wished you could just call "Time Out" long enough to regroup, and catch your physical and spiritual breath. As a result, Time Out for Women: Celebrating Life, Love and Learning was born.

It is our hope that during this day filled with messages of inspiration from respected authors and music artists, you will learn, you will laugh, and your spirits and sights will be lifted. It is Deseret Book's great pleasure to invite you to catch your breath, take a break from daily pressures, "huddle" with your sisters and friends, and feel rejuvenated for the days ahead.

We look forward to taking a Time Out with you!"

Sheri Dew
President and Chief Executive Officer, Deseret Book Company

Sheri Dew is one of my personal heroes. At one point in my life when I was facing some hard challenges a friend of mine invited me to go to a conference where Sheri Dew was speaking. Her words of encouragement and inspiration changed me forever. I'll never forget that and I will always be grateful to her. She is the reason I really wanted to attend this particular event.

My sister Staci came out from Indiana to join some friends and I at the conference center in Northern Kentucky. I had a lot of people who couldn't go ask me to take notes and tell them about it. So here are my notes and what I got out of Friday night's session ( I could not attend Sat). Most of the following is in my own words and is not intended to be a direct quote from these women:

Sister Nelson was the first speaker. She asked, "What do you know to be true? What is something you'll never change your mind about.......

In (1 Peter 5:8) it says this: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

The adversary is stronger than ever now and whatever strength we thought we had to fight him, it is not enough now. We need to do more, step it up. We have the opportunity as sisters, mother's, wives, and friends to encourage, uplift and teach. She said women have a spiritual superiority over men and it's important to recognize this in order to take some initiative in the home. We can't be blaming our husbands for not calling everyone together for family prayer, FHE, ect. We need to take the initiative if our husbands are not doing this, get the family back on track.

She believes that each of us made premortal commitments. That we had a so called to do list, for when we came to earth. She invited us to think about it and pray about what was on our personal to do lists. And to let God know we are willing to get to work on it. She talked about a time when she was on a road trip and she noticed a sign that was on the rood of a barn, in huge letters it said: NOT EVEN ONCE. She didn't know why it said that or what it was referring to but she made a spiritual parallel. She told us to ask ourselves this question, "What am I willing to commit to the Lord that I will never do again?" Not even one last time.(In terms of not committing sin) And then the next question, " What am I willing to commit to the Lord that I will never miss an opportunity to do the next time it comes around?" (perhaps a chance to serve or testify)

2 Ne. 32: 3 states:

1. Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."

She invited us to take 1 question to the scriptures. Any question that we might have and pray that the Lord will answer it, open the scriptures and read until you find the answer. She has done this many times and every time she has found that answer she was searching for. She said, "What would I be able to do that I cannot do now if I believed God would help me to achieve that goal?" She admonished us to look unto him in every thought. To doubt not and fear not. Obedience accesses God's power to help us.

Sheri Dew: Started her talk by saying that we each have a mission to fulfill. The Lord know who we are,where we are, and what we need exactly to perform it. She had the scripture on her mind that says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Children who are faithful are those fruits. Monson said," Serve as though the entire future of the church depended on you or me. She talked about the influence of women. And asked us to focus. The ability to nurture is a gift from God given to Women especially. Satan knows our influence and he does not like it.

(Revelations 12:17) And the ^adragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make ^bwar with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony Jesus of Christ.

We know from gospel scholars that the woman in the verse represents the church but Sheri Dew asked us to look at it literally. She believes that Satan put most of his efforts into fighting women. She brought up this quote:
Elder Christofferson: "We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can lift others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism."
She asked, "What is the key to being a person like this? To gaining spiritual strength?" The simple answer is to receive it. The Lord will pour down knowledge on us as we study the scriptures. The words of Christ will tell us all things that we should do.

She talked about Satan's tactics, the ways he will try to break us down and keep us from fulfilling our missions on earth:

1. He will confuse us about our identity. He wants to confuse us about our spiritual selves, our relationship with Deity, even our gender. We are all children of God. She invited us to walk into any bookstore and look on the magazine shelves for any representation of what a woman of God represents. She said, You won't find ONE.
   
2. He will keep you from knowing what the Savior can do for you now and how you can use the Atonement in your life. Invited us to look for His promises to us in the scriptures.
   
3. He will keep you from learning from personal revelation. Do you believe the Lord can speak to you? He can and he will. Satan would not want you to know that or believe it.
   

She then invited us to read D&C 138 and ask the Lord about what we have to do with these verses.

Those were just the speakers from Friday night, and that is just a small summary of some things that were said. By listening to them I did receive personal revelation as to what things I need to do in my own life to be a better Mother, Wife, and friend. I hope that I was able to convey a little bit of the messages that were given and that you will each get something out of them. It was a great opportunity to go and hear these women speak and share their testimonies and I'm so grateful for them and their awesome examples to me. I know they love the Lord and that he is the driving force in their lives. He is the one who makes them so great and brings out the good qualities in all of us. It was nice to have a little time out. Where I could just sit and listen without tending to the kids and be with some friends. I would encourage you to go if it comes to your city.