By Whitney Ransom
At a recent talk given to women in the BYU Third Stake women, Sister Sheri L. Dew gave the secret to victory in the world today.
Sister Dew, who is the second counselor in the General Relief Society General Presidency, began her talk by telling of an experience where she had watching a figure skating event at the Olympics.
The first 18 skaters fell on the ice at least once during their routines.
Watching, Sister Dew turned to her friend and said, 'These are the best skaters in the world. Do you think any skater will get through the program without falling?'
When the skaters come out to practice together, no one falls. When the pressure is on, and they are in the spotlight, one after another, they fall,' Sister Dew said.
The friend responded with, 'Well, that''s the Olympics. The question is, '' Can you do it when it counts,'''
In many ways, Latter-day Saints are similar to the elite athletes, she said.
'Consider the time that we have lived before we came to earth and whatever it means to live forever,' said Sister Dew. 'This tiny little time that we are on the earth, when the spotlight is us, when the pressure is on, can we do it when it counts. Can we do what we have come here to do?'
Sister Dew then gave three ways for a person to get a testimony deep into their heart in order to keep them from falling on the ice in life.
She said there will be times people will slip on the ice. The atonement helps individuals get back up, Sister Dew said.
The first way to keep from falling on the ice is to listen to the prophet, she said.
'In a few weeks, President Hinckley will speak to us again. Have you studied what he said six months ago?,' she said.
Sister Dew said everything the prophet teaches points to the Savior.
'If we don''t listen to the prophet, we may as well not have a prophet,' Sister Dew said.
Studying and seeking to understand the doctrine is the second key to staying up in life, she said.
'Understand what it is we believe as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,' Sister Dew said.
Recently, Sister Dew was traveling and had to have her bags checked before she could board the plane.
A security guard discovered the scriptures in Sister Dew''s bag and said, 'Oh, I do not worry about the people who have this book.'
Dew suggested that the Lord does not worry too much about the people that have and study the scriptures either.
'There is power in the word of God. The Savior atoned for us, so that when we fell on the ice, we could get up, dust ourselves off and keep going,' Sister Dew said.
The third way to gain a stronger testimony is to learn to hear the voice of the Spirit, Sister Dew said.
Learning to hear when the Lord is talking to us is like learning a language, the language of revelation, Sister Dew said.
' If we want to learn Portuguese, we have to learn the vocabulary and grammar of the language. The vocabulary and grammar of revelation is in the scriptures. It tells us how to better hear the voice of the Lord,' she said.