Speaking in Church

I was asked last week to speak this past Sunday in my church meeting. My topic was obedience I was to speak for about 10 minutes. Now if you know me you know I don't have a problem with public speaking at all. I was well taught in my elementary and high school years how to speak well in public, plus it is something I actually enjoy doing. Ask me to speak to a room full of strangers or friends on a subject that I can research and I love it... but ask me to walk into a roomful of people and do small talk with them and I get terrified! Anyways...back to the subject at hand...the talk. I never give the talk I write, I always write one or fifty, but rarely do more than refer to the scriptures, quotes and stories I found mainly because as I listen to the hymns we sing or if there are others speaking before me their talks I change mine up. I usually don't have much of a problem though writing that talk I can focus on one aspect and get the talk done...not so this time. As I wrote on one aspect another would creep in. I found myself writing a talk that was about, oh, two hours long. Very frustrating for me! But then it all came together! I had had the quotes and stories and the basic angle I was taking on Obedience from the beginning. I used a talk from James E Faust from the conference in April of 1999 he was speaking to the Priesthood session. He spoke on obedience being the true path to freedom and liberty. But it wasn't until I went to the movie on Saturday night that it all starting coming together. Yup! The Bourne Ultimatum made it into my talk at church in sacrament meeting with the high counselor speaking!!!!! Oh I fought it! Which is why the talk just would not be written. It wasn't until I was up and speaking that I I finally submitted to the will of the Lord and then I had my talk. So what does the Bourne Ultimatum have to do with obedience? Glad you asked! :) *side note here I miss my smileys and fun things * There is a scene in which Jason is trying to save a reporter Simon from the asset and those who would have him dead. Simon a couple of times chooses not to listen to the voice of experience Jason) and to the one who sees everything that is going on ( Jason) and goes off on his own once because he panicked and saw things that weren't sinister as sinister and once because he thought he could make it on his own in his own way almost as though he lost patience that time it cost him his life. How like that are we? We are given instructions sometimes we listen no problem, but then something happens and we doubt or we think ourselves more knowledgeable, or smarter, or capable so we make up our own way or instructions. Now if we are lucky it doesn't end in our death (spiritual or physical) and we will be able to be instructed back to the safety of the right path again like Jason was able to do for Simon the first time. BUT if we are unlucky or we just don't take the opportunities placed before us to repent and get back on the correct path it can end with us not where we want to be. the whole point is whether we are talking gospel related or work related or whatever there are those out there who give us instructions, directions on how we should go once we decide which path we want to be on it is up to us to listen to, read and find the correct instructions to keep us on that path. those directions, instructions come from someone who has been there, who sees the bigger picture or who just plain knows. We need to trust them and obey!
I still can't believe I used a modern movie analogy not even just a modern movie analogy but one from an action film! But thing is it works.