by Leisa Parsons, Area Media Specialist
“You are known, you are loved and you are needed by the Lord,” was the message that permeated the teachings during a special women’s conference held in Eagle Pass, Texas. General Relief Society President, Camille Johnson and General Primary President, Susan Porter, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had the opportunity to visit, teach and share their love with the sisters in the Eagle Pass District.
Sister Edie Collier, Relief Society President over the Eagle Pass District, which also includes branches in Uvalde and Del Rio and groups from Carrizo Springs, Cotulla and Pearsall, wanted to do something special for her sisters during their Women’s Conference this fall. She had been bold enough to ask if perhaps one of the sisters from the General Relief Society presidency could participate in a Zoom meeting with her sisters. She was told no, they would rather attend in person.
Sister Johnson spoke about the scripture story of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. As she reviewed the well known passage, she illustrated how the Savior knew this woman, “He knew her past and He knew her present…. She had a believing soul. …and because of what she testified to those people, there were many people in the city of Samaria that believed in the Savior.” Sister Johnson said she loves to look at the beautiful picture that depicts the encounter hanging in her Church office and reflect upon the lessons of this story. She said, “For the purposes of this afternoon, I think this story is really illustrative of three points: the Savior knows us, He loves us, and He needs us. He talked to her at the well in a way she could understand. He used an analogy of water, this is a woman whose every day routine revolved around collecting water…. That’s the analogy He used to describe to her what He could offer — the living water or eternal life.”
“The Savior let that woman know that she was known to Him. He knew who she was, about her life, about her past and about her challenges — and she didn’t have to be perfect to receive His attention. The Savior needed her. When the Savior told her who she was and who He was, she ran to the city and the scriptures report that ‘many believed on him for the saying of the woman…’” Sister Johnson continued, “Do you see? The Savior needed her. I testify that the Savior is interested in you. He knows about your challenges, He knows what’s in your heart, He knows about your past, He knows what your goals are … just like He knew the woman at the well. We do not have to be perfect for Him to love us, to know us, and to need us — because we’re perfected in Him.” She said, “I want you to know that He will meet you at your well. He will meet you in the washroom, at the grocery store, on the soccer field, at school, or wherever you are. He will testify to you through the Holy Ghost that you are both known, loved and needed. Will it come in a grand manifestation? Well perhaps, but it’s never come that way for me. The way I have felt the love of God is in small and simple ways.”
Sister Johnson then opened up the discussion to the sisters in attendance, to testify of ways that they knew the Lord loved them, and knew them. One sister mentioned that she had been healed physically, and that it was only through God’s power that she was made whole. Another sister said that just as she was driving to work and looking at how beautiful God’s creations were, she felt His love for her in an overwhelming way. Sister Johnson invited the sisters to be more intentional in seeing evidence of God’s love for them.
Sister Porter, picking up on the theme of how the Lord needs His covenant daughters, continued the discussion of the women at the well. Speaking of that woman, she said: “She’d made a lot of mistakes in her life, she still was, but she could be a witness of Him. She had that desire. As I was thinking about her, and each of us, the Lord and His prophets have invited us to be this light. We all think of ourselves and we say ‘eeeeeh’ I really can’t do that, because I’m not perfect.”
Sister Porter then pulled out a plate that she and her husband had been given years ago in Israel. The plate depicts the miracle of Christ feeding the 5,000 with two fish and five small loaves. When she got out the plate to bring it to Texas, she noticed it had a chip on it. She immediately thought, “I can’t bring a broken plate to Texas” and then she thought, “That’s the whole point. We are the broken plate, it’s not broken, just a little chipped. But each of us have little chips, we’ve had tough stuff happen in our lives. We’ve made decisions that maybe weren’t the best. But what was the whole point of the story of the 5,000? We bring ourselves, what we are, what we can offer, and we say ‘Heavenly Father, can You use me?’ Could He use the little fish and the loaves of bread? He could, and He made it into something great. That is how the Lord can use us. If we bring our chipped selves, ask for His forgiveness, we express that we are trying to live our covenants the best we can. Then we ask, can He use me? I testify that He can.”
Sister Porter related that she grew up in rural upstate New York. Her father was not a member and her mother faithfully took her family to Church. “What a light she was in my life…through her efforts, she was a light.” Sister Porter then asked the congregation, what women in their lives were a light bringing them closer to the Savior. Anika, a primary child, stood up and said, “My mom, she reads the scriptures to help me learn about Jesus.” Sister Porter followed up and asked, “Is that helping you be a light to others, how about in your neighborhood? Anika answered, “Yes, I can be a light to other people, but I still make mistakes.” Sister Porter said, “I am so happy that you shared that with us. I still make mistakes. Anyone here still making mistakes?” All hands in the congregation shot up. Sister Porter, said, “We’re all still trying, and I am so grateful for the gift of daily repentance — like morning and night, right?”
Sister Jennifer Fitzgerald, who is serving with her husband as leaders of the Texas, San Antonio Mission also addressed the sisters. She spoke about being a community of sisters, despite distance. She said, “I love that we can go anywhere in the world and find this same community, and we can feel comfortable because we share this community.” She gave an example from Alma, when he was first organizing the church, and he counseled them to have “…their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.” She held up a small piece of knitted yarn. She said, “Because of the way this is knit, it can be stretched and pulled in any direction… you can see all of those loops connected together. This is the kind of flexibility that we need when we are creating this community of belonging.” She invited all to think about what they can bring to this community of sisters. She listed two Christlike qualities that she felt were important, humility and charity and shared examples of both.
Presidents Johnson and Porter had an early start to their day. Before the conference in Eagle pass, they went across the border and spoke at a Women’s conference in Piedras Negras, Mexico. They shared their love for the sisters and their testimonies that the Lord loved His daughters in Piedras Negras. Sister Johnson said, “Those faithful sisters filled the chapel, all the way to the back of the cultural hall.” She said, “I felt so bad we couldn’t stay longer and take a picture with the sisters, but we had to hurry back because of the border crossing.”
Although, Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras sit very close to each other on either side of the border, it takes, on average, one hour and 40 minutes to cross the bridge. Elder Jorge Contreras, an Area Authority, who presided at the conference in Eagle Pass, testified to the sisters, that they had received a miracle. The group traveling from Piedras Negras were not expected to arrive at the conference until after it had started, and hopefully before the first two speakers were finished. Many prayers for the Lord’s intervention had been made. Elder Contreras said, “We have been planning this conference for quite a while…we wanted everything to go well. About three weeks ago, we made a dry run to cross the border. We went and saw the sisters in Piedras Negras and all indications said, to cross the border, it was going to take no less than 1 hour and 40 minutes. So we had a problem. As we were preparing, President Davidson and I said, ‘we’ve done everything that we can do.’ And then we allowed the Lord to take over and He did. We almost arrived on time.” The border crossing took just a few minutes and Sister Johnson and Sister Porter arrived in time to enjoy the meal provided before the conference and were able to visit with sisters during the luncheon. Elder Contreras continued, “It is one of those tender mercies, against all odds, I guess He parted the Rio Grande. Miracles do exist and I wanted you to know. Those are the small tender mercies in our lives that we cannot miss. And if we have the Spirit we will be able to identify those.”
It was a long day for the General Sister Leaders. After the conference in Eagle Pass, they traveled about an hour to Uvalde. In Uvalde they attended a dinner with the Mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin, and many civic leaders.
The dinner, organized by district president, Ross Davidson, allowed the Sisters and Elder Contreras to ask what the Church could do for the town of Uvalde. President Davidson, said, “This was a very productive dinner. Wonderful discussions were had.” Many of the civic leaders included those who sit on the advisory committee to disperse funds that were taken in after the school shooting to help those affected in the community.
