Although all of us could see that President Monson was struggling to finish his talk during the Sunday morning session of General Conference this past weekend, one member took to Facebook to share what most of us could not see.
Michelle Cope, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, happened to be sitting near the front of the conference center, where she could clearly see President Dieter F. Uchtdorf prepared to help, if needed.
Uchtdorf was “on the edge of his seat, almost half way standing up, with his arms stretched out, ready to catch the Prophet at any moment if he fell,” Cope stated in her post. “You could see the worried expression on Uchtdorf’s face as well as focused determination.”
Cope continued to explain that as soon as Monson said “amen,” Uchtdorf rushed to Monson’s side and, with the help of a security guard, helped the prophet back to his seat. Cope’s account of what happened Sunday morning has received more than 37 thousand likes and nearly 10 thousand shares on Facebook. This outpouring of love for the prophet inspired Cope to post another message to Facebook, perhaps even more touching than her first.
In her second post, Cope explains that she had been struggling with her testimony for months. “I almost up and quit,” she wrote. “Everything. My doubt was strong as was my bitterness and hopelessness.”
These feelings of doubt—spurred by things she had heard, read and seen—extinguished almost every desire to watch General Conference. However, having received a ticket to the Sunday morning session, Cope convinced herself to drive to Salt Lake to attend the session. It was during this session that Cope witnessed the brotherly love between Uchtdorf and Monson, and received a little speck of renewed hope.
After the morning session ended, Cope explains that she wanted to find a ticket for the next session but was quickly deterred after seeing the number of people on the sidewalk asking for tickets. Cope continues her Facebook post, stating that as she realized she would not be able to attend the next session, she began to find herself lost in her doubts again. Just as she was asking herself if she would ever find faith again, a sister missionary began talking to her. Before Cope could respond, a group of women walked by and handed her a ticket to the afternoon session.
Feeling grateful, but also guilty, Cope began to look around to see if someone else wanted the ticket. Then, noticing that her first name was on the ticket, Cope was shocked. The sister missionary responded, saying,
That’s not just a coincidence. Someone wants you in there. God works in mysterious ways, Michelle…. Go on, get in there.
Cope continues her post explaining that the Sunday afternoon session re-converted her to the gospel, erasing her doubts.
“I don’t care anymore about my doubts or the things I could not reason away before,” Cope posted. “I can’t believe how blind I was before. And I would have sworn to you that I was blind to nothing and was only seeking ‘truth’ and ‘facts.’ But now… I SEE. For the first time in a long time, I SEE and I FEEL more light in my being.”
This night, I now reflect back to the sister missionary yesterday. Yes dear sister…. God DOES work in mysterious ways.
