♫ Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag, and smile smile smile! ♫

Dear Mom and Dad,

Surprise! We have been instructed to write to you today to tell you about our experience at Zone Conference yesterday. It was absolutely incredible, I feel so edified and inspired by the things that we were instructed on. 

First of all, it was such a special day to have a Zone Conference, as it was Remembrance Day and we are in Britain. There was a very special spirit with us as we commemorated those that have laid down their lives for our freedom. It was 100 years ago that the war broke out, and so there was a great amount of emphasis on the impact that it has made on our lives. 

We then were randomly selected to give the three minute talks we all prepared on humility and a Christlike attribute of our choice. I was not selected, thank goodness, but I learned so much from those that did speak. President times these talks, so they are absolutely not to go over three minutes. He said something along the lines of, "You will learn now to only take the time asked of you in meetings. There are RM's (and members in general) that take more time than they are assigned, sometimes even leaving an apostle who is visiting with less time than He has been granted." So you can imagine the pressure that accompanies that three minute talk. 

Elder Orr said (or he quoted somebody that said), "Being humble does not mean that we think less of ourselves, it means to think less about ourselves." Also a quote from President Uchtdorf was shared when he said, "It is impossible to be lifted up in pride when our hearts are full of charity." Those two statements had great impact on me as I am still weak in many things and I am striving to be more humble and charitable. 

Then Sister Pilkington instructed us, and this was a highlight of the meeting. She had Elder Mckay play his Ukulele and teach us the song from World War I that goes:

♪♫ Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!

Just think of all the happy times we'll have!

Smile boys, that's the style!

What's the use of worrying?

It never was worthwhile, so,

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile smile! ♪

We all stood and sang it together, and it sounded just as it would have as all of the young men were marching off to war. It was emotional; President Pilkington couldn't sing, I noticed that he was sitting down with his head buried in his hands. 

Sister Pilkington then spoke about how the first battle went. 900 British men went out that first battle, and only 250 returned. She spoke about how the youngest soldier was only 14 years old. 

She told us about how we are a part of a great war, although it is a spiritual one, it is still great. She shared a quote from George Q. Cannon about those who came to this earth and followed Christ, (again, I don't think I have the exact words)

"In the pre-mortal life, we faced the adversary and did not flinch."

President then gave instruction. He told us to never forget how blessed we are to have religious freedom. We need to place on the altar, our hearts. When we devote our focus and hearts, nothing can stand in our way. He told us to remember the experience we had singing this song, and I will. 

He told us the power that comes from humility and a soft heart. That obedience is the very centre of a soft heart. 1 Nephi 2: 16, 18, 19 show that Nephi chose to have a soft heart and he chose to have faith, whereas his brothers, who had the same parents, chose differently. We choose what condition our heart is in. President said, 

"The condition of our hearts determines the level of our happiness." And it is true. He told us, through great emotion, that Sister Pilkington's family reveres the name of the missionary who taught her family, Elder Brockbank. In tears, he explained that this Elder Brockbank was also the missionary that baptised his mother. We never know the impact we have on other people. But we can decide what we shall be remembered for. He said, "Lift up your heads, and fight for Christ."

Later in the meeting, President instructed us once more. This time it was on the scriptures found in 1 Samuel 25. A phrase, or motto, that we use in the mission is "March North". We read the story of David as he protects the shepherds of Nebal, and then Nebal (being wicked) shews them away. David reacts in anger, and his judgement of all of Nebal's household is flawed. He then prepares an army to go and slay his household. Abigail, Nebal's wife, who is a type of Christ, prepares bread, wine, and sheep for David and falls before him. She says that she will take upon herself the folly of her husband. In this, David sees that he should not have reacted in such anger, and her example stopped him from murder and from condemning himself as well.

Are we marching north, or to Carmel? When we are offended, or angered, or even sometimes when we withdraw ourselves (meaning when we give up on friendships, and put up barriers because we believe we're justified etc.) we are marching to Carmel. When your heart hardens, your judgment becomes flawed. President shared a story of when he and his brother were in business together, and his brother wasn't doing what he should have. They then went years without speaking. Then his brother was diagnosed with cancer and only given a very small amount of time to live because of the lifestyle that he had chosen lead. Upon hearing this, President arranged to meet at their mother's home. He said when they saw each other there were not words, they just embraced. Everything from the past melted away and there was a great lesson learned. President also learned that his brother had been doing incredible deeds for those that needed help. Being a man of significant wealth, he had been writing cheques to people who needed money raised to help their disabled children, and he had put up a large sum of money for the return of a child who had been kidnapped. The child was returned home. This among other things, President learned that because of hard hearts, judgement was flawed. 

He told us from this experience that it is so important to not hide behind the letter of the law, but live the spirit of the law. The Saviour requires our hearts. 

So, Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile!

I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and your prayers.

Love,

Sister Lybbert 

p.s. I apologise for the length, but I couldn't leave any of it out, it is all too good!