Recently we had a zone training in Great Falls MT. This was my first time at a zone training as an Assistant to the President. We left from Billings and had to get up and hit the road around 5:10am or something to that effect as the meeting started at 9:30am (Mountain Daylight time). We made it there alright and the ride was absolutely breath taking at parts. It was such green beautiful country.
We made it there with no difficulty the meeting commenced; I sat nervously, anxiously awaiting for my turn when it came. I thought of things I might say, or what would the Elders and Sisters like to hear? As I went through it in my head I came to the point that I felt I was prepared and this was going to be a cake walk. I mean come on all I had to hit on was exercising in the morning and companion study. Well soon enough it was mine and Elder Catron's turn to speak. We had planned on being brief and our presentation wasn't going to exceed fifteen minutes. Piece of cake right? More like a piece of pie...very humble pie.
I felt like a frozen deer in the headlights up there! I felt like I was stuttering and going all over the place with my thoughts. I then started to ask an Elder about his work out routine in the morning, this wasn't planned and he looked like a deer in the headlights too. I was so embarrassed with myself, but I think I learned the lesson the Lord was trying to teach me. I may be making more of this than there really is, but I felt like I had butchered it. I think the words President Hinckley shared with someone who did something similar in a different situation, are appropriate. "If you would have went up [to speak] the way you came down, you would have came down the way you went up" Those are the wise words of a prophet! And boy is it true.
