I could go on for pages about the brilliance of Lawrence's arrangement, but what I would like to instead briefly focus on is how he strengthened his credibility.
I don't know about you, but during general conference, I tend to be more excited about hearing familiar speakers, such as members of the first presidency or the quorum of the 12. I wasn't expecting to get anything life-altering out of Lawrence's comments, but that attitude was quickly changed. With his confident and wise demeanor and discussion of how important it is for us to undertake the journey of discipleship, I was quickly comforted and captivated as he explained how the Holy Ghost "is an ideal traveling companion". The overarching subject of this talk was achieving perfection--but it wasn't intimidating, because Elder Lawrence emphasized that "our direction is more important than our speed"--and that he too was on that same journey.As Elder Lawrence shared promptings received by others and by himself, I was struck by how real he was. I think that I often put apostles up on pedestal, and sometimes it's hard to imagine them ever making mistakes. Lawrence shared personal promptings that he had received, such as "don't raise your voice", "take better care of your body by eating more fruits and vegetables", and "be patient when driving. Don't exceed the speed limit....I'm still working on that last one". For me, this showed me that he knew where we were at, and that he had been there too. This built his ethos by making me want to listen to this man who was also working on navigating life and had answers on how to do it successfully. This technique even drove home the message of his talk: I'm not going to be perfect in this life, and that's okay. But I can improve as I ask the Lord "what lack I yet?"
I wonder if it was easier for you to not view him as intimidating because you didn't know him previous to the talk. While you would distinguish those in the 12 as higher and more esteemed, you wouldn't have known the difference if Elder Lawrence were to give a talk in your home ward this Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI loved what you said about his talk in class. You mentioned that he started with the story and ended with the same analogy like book ends. i noticed that Elder Rasband also did that he started with words from a hymn and then added words from the hymn to his talk in a way that was completely his own testimony. it was amazing!
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