Eyring Training Hope

 About two years ago, I was able to attend a leadership training meeting in my area.  Typically it is a meeting for Bishoprics and stake presidencies but this particular time, ward and stake RS Presidents, EQ Presidents and YM and YW presidents were invited to attend.  It was such a wonderful meeting. The spirit was so strong and I learned a great deal.  The meeting was focused on helping those who were less active return to activity.  Elder Eyring spoke about a family that President Nelson had talked about in April 2018 conference. Here are President Nelson's words given in his talk Ministering with the Power and Authority of God:

An experience I had more than 60 years ago in Boston taught me just how powerful the privilege of ministering one-on-one can be. I was then a resident surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital—on duty every day, every other night, and every other weekend. I had limited time for my wife, our four children, and Church activity. Nonetheless, our branch president assigned me to visit the home of Wilbur and Leonora Cox with the hope that Brother Cox might come back into activity in the Church. He and Leonora had been sealed in the temple.⁸ Yet Wilbur had not participated for many years.

My companion and I went to their home. As we entered, Sister Cox welcomed us warmly,⁹ but Brother Cox abruptly walked into another room and closed the door.

I went to the closed door and knocked. After a moment, I heard a muffled “Come in.” I opened the door to find Brother Cox sitting beside an array of amateur radio equipment. In that small room, he lit up a cigar. Clearly, my visit was not all that welcome.

I gazed about the room with wonderment and said, “Brother Cox, I have always wanted to learn more about amateur radio work. Would you be willing to teach me about it? I’m sorry I can’t stay any longer tonight, but could I come back another time?”

He hesitated for a moment and then said yes. That was the beginning of what became a wonderful friendship. I returned and he taught me. I began to love and respect him. Through our subsequent visits, the greatness of this man emerged. We became very good friends, as did our dear eternal companions. Then, with the passage of time, our family moved away. Local leaders continued to nurture the Cox family.¹⁰

About eight years after that first visit, the Boston Stake was created.¹¹ Can you guess who its first stake president was? Yes! Brother Cox! During subsequent years, he also served as a mission president and a temple president.

President Eyring also knew Wilbur and Leonora Cox at this same period.  He shared that while many people ministered to the family, including President Nelson, what he wanted us to recognize is that for years Leonora had been a faithful member of the Church.  She honored her covenants.  She had a quiet but profound influence on her husband. 

Elder Ballard, President Eyring and the members of the 70 that were there all emphasized the role that women play on a family.  And in the church.  But especially in a family where some may have wandered.

But finally to get to the part that impacted me so much.  The meeting was nearly over.  President Eyring was giving his final testimony before opening up for about 15 minutes of question and answer period and maybe I'm mistaken but it felt like he looked right at me.  I don't remember his absolute exact words but they were very close to these:  Don't give up hope!  Don't ever give up hope, especially on those you love.  Keep praying for them.  Keep hoping they will change.  It may not happen in the timetable you would wish, but don't EVER give up hope.   And it was both a surge of confidence and a moment of chastisement.  Because it can be painful to keep hoping that a loved one will choose to be active in the church.  It can be painful to wonder if things will ever be the way you want them to be.  And so I had stopped really hoping for change.  I had stopped praying about Alfredo returning to full activity in the Church.  And in that moment I knew that whether President Eyring was in fact looking at me or not, the message was for me from my loving Heavenly Father.  I was not to stop hoping and I was not to stop believing and I was to continue (or begin again) to pray for Alfredo.  

LESSONS LEARNED:  Never give up hope.

The influence of a righteous woman cannot be accurately measured.