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I love the feeling of giving a good talk in Sacrament Meeting.

I, by no means, mean to toot my own horn. But, it’s satisfying to fully prepare a talk and then give it the way I planned, being able to say everything I wanted and feel like the message I prepared was given.

I give talks fairly often, I think. I’ve had more than 10 speaking assignments in the 4 ½ years I’ve lived here. Granted, we’ve been in two different wards, and we’ve been in different leadership callings that make my husband and me an easy target, especially for certain topics. Not counting any Sunday lessons, it’s still quite a few.

Don’t tell my bishop, but I do enjoy giving talks. I get the usual nervousness of worrying that I’ll make any sense at all. Sometimes I speak too fast or too loud. I love the gospel and can get a little excited in speaking about it. Some topics are more difficult to prepare than others. Not all talks are as enjoyable as others. But, I don’t mind public speaking, and I’m not intimidated standing up in front of everyone.

I had two full weeks to prepare this talk. I thought I only had one week. So, I prepared most of the talk the few days right after the assignment was given before my husband clarified that we had an additional week. That left me with a good week to let it simmer. I felt to add some things and remove others. Mostly, the extra time helped make it more cohesive: transitions, order, flow.

So by last night, I went to sleep not worried about my talk, only if my son would behave long enough for me to give it.

There have been times that I have adequately prepared, but failed in execution. The effort was there, but the results fell short of what I wanted.

This talk was not one of those times. It may not have been the best, but it was my best. And that is a great feeling.

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  • the emily says:

    It WAS good. Really good. I haven’t enjoyed a talk that much in ages. I was really impressed with what you and your husband did with your topics–I’m never that creative.

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