Come Listen to the Prophet's voice...

Okay, in order for you to truly appreciate today's Tender Mercy, I have to make a confession.  I did not read the March Liahona Magazine.  That said, this morning Val and I went to the CCM to role play as investigators for the really brand new missionaries.  It has been fun to be able to interact with them in a different way.  After our presentation, we went to the restrooms to change into our regular missionary clothes - suite, tie, skirt, blouse.  While I was waiting for Val to finish changing I picked up the Spanish edition of the March Liahona.  I then chose a rather short message to read that I thought I just might be able to understand. The title of the story was I recognized the Prophet's Voice. The story talked about a young lady who had recently moved from Mexico to the United States to attend school.  She talked about how one Sunday evening she was searching the radio to find some uplifting music and heard a man talking instead.  She then states "I suspected that the voice was that of President Gordon B. Hinckley, who was President of the Church at the time.  I realized that it was odd for me to be able to distinguish his voice.  I was accustomed to listening to general conference, Church Educational System firesides, and other Church broadcasts through the voice of a Spanish interpreter speaking over the speaker's voice.  Yet somehow I knew the voice on the radio was that of President Hinckley.  I wasn't yet fluent enough in English to understand what he was saying, but I listened to the talk on the radio anyway.  His voice brought a feeling of peace."

Why is this a Tender Mercy?  Our April newsletter that was sent to all of the 30 missions on April 1st had this focus - Come Listen to the Prophet's Voice.  Last October, I was very excited by the announcement that some of the general authorities would be speaking in their own language.  I was thrilled to think I would be able to hear them.  I guess I thought they would use subtitles, but instead they used voice over interpreters.  The impression that came so strongly to me at that time was that most of the young people we talk to about learning English have never listened to the actual voices of the prophet and apostles.  The interpreters do an amazing job, but they cannot convey the spirit in the same way.  I had collected a couple of missionary testimonies to put in the newsletter that mentioned what a blessing it was to know English well enough to be able to listen to the prophet and others in their own voices.  We also share this message when we do our bi-weekly presentations at the CCM. Today I found an article that I can share with the missions that further testifies to the blessing of being able to listen to the prophet's voice.  While she did not talk about having that ability herself, she did mention what I had been telling the missionaries, "I was accustomed to listening...through the voice of a Spanish interpreter speaking over the speaker's voice."  It was a testimony to me that we have been sharing the right thing.