Pres. Elaine Dalton, general president of the young women spoke to the missionaries in Veracruz Mexico telling them about a choice she made in her youth. This is her story.
She said that when she was about 15, she was not attractive and not popular. She wanted so much to be popular like other girls in her high school. One day a group of seven girls approached her at school. They were among the most popular in the whole school. They invited her to a party on Friday night. She could hardly believe it! She was so happy! That night she went home after school and asked her parents permission to go. There was only one problem. The party was a sleepover. The party included spending the night at the home of one of the girls. Her parents did not allow that.
She talked about it with her parents. They told her that they would love her to go but that the rule was not to sleep at other people's homes. She pleaded and begged, but the anwer was, "No." So, she did what any normal teenaged girl would do. She went to her bedroom, slammed the door shut, and cried and screamed. Finally, her father came into her room.
He said the he and her mother had talked about it. They decided that Elaine should pray about it. If Heavenly Father said it was okay, then they would let her go. Elaine was so happy! She said that she offered the shortest prayer in history and then reported to her parents that it was alright with Heavenly Father. So, she went to the party.
When she got there, it was obvious that the parents of the hostess were not there. After a few minutes, all the girls went into the kitchen. Little glasses were lined up on the kitchen counter. Then, one of the girls brought out a bottle of whiskey and filled the glasses. Elaine counted and saw that there were eight girls and eight glasses. She didn't drink, never had, and never wanted to. As one of the girls filled the glasses with the alcoholic beverage, she prayed in her heart asking Heavenly Father what she should do. A voice came to her mind. "Go home."
"But," she argued, "I want to be popular. This is very important to me. One little drink won't hurt me." The voice said, "Go home, NOW." So, she did. She left the party. She walked home crying. She got home and her parents asked how the party was, She said, "Oh, just fine," and went to her bedroom and cried herself to sleep.
At school the next week, the girls were mean to her. They never let her forget and always treated her horribly. She was never popular with them. But, she was popular with her Heavenly Father. Her patriarchal blessing says that she would lift her voice in testimony to the nations of the world. Now, she knows what that means. Her patriarchal blessing is being fulfilled because she made the right choice and obeyed to the voice of the Spirit all those years ago.
May you obey the voice of the Spirit all the days of your life.
