At the end of April, our stake had a women's conference. A couple months before the event, I was asked to portray one of the women from the scriptures: Hannah. I was told to prepare a 3-5 minute talk about her from her point of view. It needed to include the lines, "I offer you the gift of [gospel principle]..." and "My prayer for you from the past is..."
I put a lot of thought into my talk (read it here) and came away learning a lot not only about Hannah, but also about how her story applies to me. I was again reminded how really studying scripture stories in depth can lead to a deeper understanding of the people and lessons involved.
The day of the event, all the women participating in the pageant arrived early to get into costume and run through our entrance. The place was decorated beautifully!
The stake Relief Society president wanted us to really get into character and have fun. She was hoping we would dance during our procession into the hall. I was the only one besides her who did. I tried finding a musical instrument to use, but there were none. At the last minute, I thought to grab an extra scarf and twirled it and myself around. She later thanked me for dancing.
The sisters who spoke before me were inspiring and brought the Spirit in. I was nervous, which is funny because I love public speaking, but this was more akin to acting. I had memorized my part, though there were printed copies we could read from. When I had practiced at home and in the car, I always got emotional. Yet when performance time came, I was all smiles. I felt as if I had ruined the spiritual streak with my unemotional delivery. The women after me were also emotional, though the ones after them were more lighthearted. However, the audience enjoyed when I held up my toddler's church sweater as a prop; I think they thought I made it, just as Hannah made Samuel's coats!
After my part, we had a musical activity. The stake president's wife played her guitar and taught us "Hava Nagila." The RS president threw in some simple dance moves, of course. It was fun.
After the second set of sisters, another woman and I sang "His Plan for You." When I was first asked to sing, I thought there would be multiple numbers. I realized I was wrong once I got there and read the program. The only other number was by a professional harpist/singer. I was confused why I was asked to sing a duet when there are many talented sopranos in the stake! I was afraid the audience would be expecting something spectacular. I have never taken a singing lesson in my life. I'm a self-taught alto who inherited the Latin voice range instead of the Italian one. We sang our best, though, and I was overall happy with it.
After the stake RS presidency's turn, the stake president spoke and shared this talk on womanhood by Elder Ballard. Then, we said our scripture name one last time into the mic and walked back the way we came. Hors d'oeuvres and honey-themed desserts followed the closing remarks.
I was very impressed with the writing talent in our stake. Those sisters did an astounding job capturing and representing the thoughts and feelings of the courageous women from the scriptures: Eve, Sarah, Ruth, Rachel, Esther, Hannah, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Elizabeth, Tabitha, Sariah, King Lamoni's wife, Emma Smith, plus pioneer women and all the other nameless women whose righteous acts we honor. I was so grateful and blessed to have been a part of this inspired program.
Sharing Time: Who is your favorite woman from the scriptures?
I put a lot of thought into my talk (read it here) and came away learning a lot not only about Hannah, but also about how her story applies to me. I was again reminded how really studying scripture stories in depth can lead to a deeper understanding of the people and lessons involved.
The day of the event, all the women participating in the pageant arrived early to get into costume and run through our entrance. The place was decorated beautifully!
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| Each table was assigned a tribe of Israel |
The sisters who spoke before me were inspiring and brought the Spirit in. I was nervous, which is funny because I love public speaking, but this was more akin to acting. I had memorized my part, though there were printed copies we could read from. When I had practiced at home and in the car, I always got emotional. Yet when performance time came, I was all smiles. I felt as if I had ruined the spiritual streak with my unemotional delivery. The women after me were also emotional, though the ones after them were more lighthearted. However, the audience enjoyed when I held up my toddler's church sweater as a prop; I think they thought I made it, just as Hannah made Samuel's coats!
After my part, we had a musical activity. The stake president's wife played her guitar and taught us "Hava Nagila." The RS president threw in some simple dance moves, of course. It was fun.
After the second set of sisters, another woman and I sang "His Plan for You." When I was first asked to sing, I thought there would be multiple numbers. I realized I was wrong once I got there and read the program. The only other number was by a professional harpist/singer. I was confused why I was asked to sing a duet when there are many talented sopranos in the stake! I was afraid the audience would be expecting something spectacular. I have never taken a singing lesson in my life. I'm a self-taught alto who inherited the Latin voice range instead of the Italian one. We sang our best, though, and I was overall happy with it.
After the stake RS presidency's turn, the stake president spoke and shared this talk on womanhood by Elder Ballard. Then, we said our scripture name one last time into the mic and walked back the way we came. Hors d'oeuvres and honey-themed desserts followed the closing remarks.
I was very impressed with the writing talent in our stake. Those sisters did an astounding job capturing and representing the thoughts and feelings of the courageous women from the scriptures: Eve, Sarah, Ruth, Rachel, Esther, Hannah, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Elizabeth, Tabitha, Sariah, King Lamoni's wife, Emma Smith, plus pioneer women and all the other nameless women whose righteous acts we honor. I was so grateful and blessed to have been a part of this inspired program.
Sharing Time: Who is your favorite woman from the scriptures?
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