Today Mason and I gave talks today in sacrament meeting on...chastity. Yes, chastity. We were quite surprised with the topic, seeing that it normally isn't spoken about from the pulpit (unless it's General Conference).
I was suuuuuuuper nervous. We had a month to prepare, and while writing my talk I felt guided in what I was going to say, I still felt like it was too harsh and direct. I was worried in how it would come across in my delivery. But this year I decided to live by the motto "Be Not Afraid," so I trusted in my promptings and went with it. (Inspired by a blog post I recently read about choosing a word or phrase each year to exemplify and live by).
And an amazing thing happened. For every talk I have given in sacrament meeting, from the time I was a teenager, I have had that pounding heart and shaky legs for the duration of my talks. But not today. For the first time I felt calm and at peace, and spoke much more confidently than I ever had while addressing my ward. I knew the Spirit calmed my soul to help me deliver the message I knew I was suppose to give.
Afterwards, sooooo many people came up to me and Mason to tell us what a wonderful job we did with such a difficult topic. I was glad that I had followed my promptings, and that the Spirit did help me when I needed it most.
Great Sunday all around.
