A Prayer of Faith

This will be the last article we will have from Téa for a while, as she has decided it is time for a sabbatical. We will miss, you Téa! Thank you for your contributions!

Saturday morning, 5 April 1997, began like any other morning in my pregnancy–I woke up, stretched slowly, nibbled on crackers and did my best not to vomit.

When my nausea abated, I continued my morning routine and we headed down to the parking garage. We’d accepted an invitation to spend the day watching General Conference with my husband’s brother and family who lived south of Salt Lake City.

As my husband drove our little Mazda truck north on I-15, the engine vibrations and occasional bumps sent my stomach churning again. I found it harder than normal to hear to the radio between the crackling speakers and my queasiness. We were listening to the already underway morning session of the conference—late again, I thought as I looked out at traffic.

The choir sang, someone offered the invocation, and the choir sang again. President Gordon B. Hinckley began delivering his preliminary remarks, “May We Be Faithful and True” (Ensign, May 1997, p.4).

“We welcome you wherever you may be throughout the world,” he said. I wondered how many other people were driving and listening as our little truck motored along on the freeway.

My ears perked up when he said he intended “to briefly mention three or four matters that I hope will be of interest to each of you.” He spoke first of the upcoming groundbreaking for the building now known as the Conference Center. “[S]peak[ing] of construction projects, we remind you that we are moving forward with the building of new temples.” He then mentioned two temples nearing dedication and the status of fifteen other sites. The next item dealt with the release of the General Relief Society presidency

The final matter concerned changes to the Quorums of the Seventy.

“The Lord made provision at a general level for a First Presidency, a Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Quorums of the Seventy, and the Presiding Bishopric. At a local level the revelations speak of stake presidents and bishops. We have had in between the general and local authorities for a period of time the Regional Representatives, now more recently these Area Authorities. We have determined to present to the conference the names of these Area Authorities to be ordained Seventies. They will then have a quorum relationship presided over by the Presidents of the Seventy. They will be known as Area Authority Seventies, to serve for a period of years in a voluntary capacity in the area in which they reside. They are called by the First Presidency and will work under the general direction of the Quorum of the Twelve, the Presidents of the Seventy, and the Area Presidencies in that part of the world in which they live” (emphasis mine).

As President Hinckley announced the formation of these additional quorums and explained their responsibilities, the Holy Ghost witnessed to me of the reality of his prophetic vision and leadership. “He surely is a prophet sent by God.”

I pondered on that addition to my testimony as we continued our journey, grateful that the Holy Spirit can reveal truths to us no matter where we are. Even in a little red Mazda pick-up truck.

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