This Sunday I gave a talk about testimonies. I haven't spoken in front of this big of a congregation in forever. As I sat on the stand during opening exercises, I was so nervous. I wondered why I was nervous. I had prepared well for this talk; I had studied the subject almost exclusively for over a week. Why was I nervous then? Then I wondered if the high councillors and stake presidents and bishops ever got nervous when they spoke. I wondered if President Monson and the Apostles trembled a little bit in anticipation of their time to speak. I wondered if the Savior felt the pangs of anxiety as he knelt down in the Garden of Gethsemane. I think so. I prayed for God to ease the butterflies in my stomach. Once I stood up to speak, it wasn't so bad. The nervousness left once I opened my mouth, and the talk went quite well.
After church, a member drove Louis, Elder Wheeler, and I down to a fireside in Toronto. It was a fireside put on by the mission president and was targeted towards investigators and recent converts. The stake center in Toronto is gigantic! It's about the size of your average temple. I suppose that land is hard to get a hold of in such a big city, so the church built a huge 3-story building with a parking garage underneath. There are a ton of congregations that meet in it. They even have a Mandarin-speaking ward there. All of the missionaries within an hour of the stake center were invited to attend this fireside if they brought an investigator or recent convert, so there were a lot of missionaries there. I saw a lot of old faces and a lot more new faces. To our surprise, Edgar's mom showed up! She said she really enjoyed it. Louis loved it and said he wants to come again next month.
Well, that was the gist of my week. Have a good one!
--Elder Wade
