My testimony of the gospel has been strengthened by many experiences, but one particular experience here in the Rochester Stake taught me in an undeniable way that the Lord has placed his power with the priesthood of God.
I grew up in a family that was wonderful, but the priesthood was not exercised in my home. After my father died when I was fourteen, it was not present. I thought I had faith in the gospel and believed in the church but it was not until I served a mission that I really began to feel the Spirit in my life.
After I was married, I experienced the blessing of a husband who honored his priesthood and would always be ready to use this priesthood on my behalf. I was very fortunate to have great health and rarely needed a priesthood blessing except for those times when I was ready to deliver our children. I did feel then that the Lord was with me and did bless me.
On September 3, 1998, I needed to have some surgery performed. All seemed to go well enough. We had scheduled this surgery at this time so that I would be recovered enough to participate in our stake working at the Chicago temple. Charlie and I had been asked to be coordinators for several of the shifts. We were very excited to be able to be a part of this great event for our stake. We had been training at the Chicago temple since January to be ready. We had met with the stake presidency and had prepared to “take over” the temple for 24 hours.
Two days before the time for our trip to Chicago, I began to have some complications with the surgery. I went back in to see my doctor, and ended up having another emergency surgery to correct the problem. I needed to have a drain in my side and was still very sore, tired and in a lot of pain. My doctor did not feel it would be wise for me to travel or be standing for any length of time. I was so disappointed and felt like I was letting everyone down. I notified the stake of what had happened and they were in the process of trying to find a replacement.
I felt prompted to ask Charlie and my brother-in-law Clay Watkins to give me a blessing. In it I was promised that I would recover fully and quickly. Immediately I began to feel at peace. I rested that afternoon and when I woke up I could not believe how well I felt. I knew that I could do what I had been asked to do. I knew that my recovery was from the Lord and he had honored the blessing that had been given. I traveled to Chicago with my husband and we were able to complete all that was asked of us with very little pain or discomfort. It was such a rich spiritual experience to be working together in the temple with so many people that we loved.