# Chateau de la Tobler

## Sunday, January 15, 2006

### CJ's Talk

CJ Olsen got home a week or so ago, and today he spoke in sacrament meeting. Brad, Ezra, Mercy and I were able to go (despite very snowy weather), and I'm so glad we did. CJ was the last speaker, and he spoke about spiritual preparation.
He started by telling us it wasn't until 3am that he even had an idea what he was going to talk about, and how funny that was to be unprepared to give a talk on spiritual preparedness. Abraham came to his mind early this morning, and so he started to think a lot about the kind of spiritual preparation Abraham had experienced. He talked about the difficulties Abraham faced, and how much harder (or impossible) it would have been without the faith that he had cultivated throughout his life. Then CJ talked about how we must be prepared, and that means working everyday to have the kind of faith we will need to face the spiritual storms that are coming (or are already here).
He talked about how he had been told that the success of his entire mission would be shaped by how he spent the hours of 6:30 to 9:30 in the morning. Originally, he thought, well, that's silly, I'm not even tracting or teaching to talking to the people then; I'm just in my apartment studying and getting ready. But as he looks back on his mission, he realizes that it was a true statement. The more obedient he was in studying and praying, the more successful he was. And then he closed by saying that the success of our lives depended on that fifteen minutes (or whatever) in the morning or evening (or whatever) that we prayed and read the scriptures. And he bore his testimony.
It was one of the best talks I have ever heard from a returned missionary. He was very straightforward, earnest, and humble. I really felt the Spirit, and learned some things that I want to remember to do better in my life. It was so wonderful to see him up there, so confident and comfortable in the Gospel. I'm so glad I got to see it.

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