I Wonder What Their Home Life Is Like

This is the thought that kept running through my head at a fireside that Sister Kristen Oaks spoke at (and Elder Dallin H. Oaks made some comments at) tonight.

Sister Oaks spoke at a CES fireside late last year, and I really began to love her then. I love her even more after being in the room with her and feeling her incredible spirit.

First things first, they were running a wee bit late. Why, you ask? Well, because they had gone to Costco before the fireside and Elder Oaks "thought he was being sneaky wearing a hat", but he was found in the detergent aisle and was complaining that he wasn't able to get his hot dog because he got caught. Too funny. 

Sister Oaks had a lot of really great things to say about living the gospel. She recently wrote a book called "A Single Voice", which prompted the invitation to speak to our ward. Here are some of the spiritual highlights of my evening:

• If Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will always be there for us, then we must always be there for each other.
• She mentioned a talk that Elder Holland gave to the missionaries and mission presidents this past June in which he said, "Missionary work isn't easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Why would we think it would be easy for us when it was never easy for Him?
• We should treasure feelings of distress during this earthly experience because we are on our way to something celestial.
• "The things I thought were my greatest deficit were actually my greatest strength"

Elder Oaks counseled to keep learning, but to be selective about what we choose to learn. He also stated that when the veil is lifted, we will not be disappointed with what our church has taught us.

Now, to the lighter side, and my question. First of all, Elder Oaks sat back behind the pulpit sometimes shaking his head and laughing at the things Sister Oaks said. Things like, "A good vampire is hard to find", along with mentioning the reason why they were late. When Sister Oaks asked Elder Oaks to come up and say a few words, he first said, "Following you is very different than following a general authority." When she asked if that was a good or a bad thing, he simply said that for the sake of their marriage, he wasn't going to answer the question. He also poked a little fun at all the education Sister Oaks has (she has her PhD) saying, "You know what B.S. stands for, right? Well, M.S. means more of the same and Ph.D. means it's just piled higher & deeper." Can an apostle say things like that over the pulpit? I guess so!

These two seem to really love each other. It's nice to see that side. I sometimes forget that our apostles are human, too. The difference being that they listen to the Lord a little (or a lot) better than I do.

Also, Sister Oaks handed out testimony gloves to everyone who wanted one. Aren't they cute? She takes them with her wherever she travels. She mentioned that in parts of Africa, the children didn't actually receive the gloves because some of the mother are illiterate, but they would still like to teach their children the gospel and use the gloves to do so. Pretty incredible, huh?