Sister Neill F. Marriott: Yielding our hearts to God

Sister Neill F. Marriott (Mormon Newsroom)

Sister Neill F. Marriott of the Young Women General Presidency shared her family’s motto, “It will all work out,” while speaking about trusting in the Lord.

“As our trust in Him grows, we open our hearts, seek to do his will, and wait for answers that will help us understand.”

She recounted how her search for God began when she was 12-years-old. She was living in the Deep South and only knew the Lord’s Prayer.

Sister Marriott began praying to God personally into her teens, and said she sometimes saw glimpses of the reality of Christ. She had to wait 10 years before having the opportunity to learn about the Atonement and the plan of salvation. The experience led her and her family to adopt the motto, “It will all work out.”

Her family motto was invoked when her daughter was hospitalized in critical condition at the age of 21 after a biking accident. Sister Marriott’s daughter, Georgia, passed away hours before Sister Marriott was able to reach the Indiana hospital on an emergency flight from her mission in Brazil.

Despite not reaching her daughter in time, Sister Marriott and her husband still had faith that, in the end, “it will all work out.”

“Faith in our Redeemer and his resurrection, faith in His priesthood power, and faith in eternal sealings let us state our motto with conviction.”

Sister Marriott emphasized that her family motto is not, “it will all work out now,” but rather, focuses on an eternal outcome that might not be apparent in the present. She also described how positive and negative things work together for good under the Lord’s timing.

Part of yielding our hearts to God, according to Sister Marriott, is by asking Heavenly Father if there is something more that we need to change in our lives, especially when refusing to change limits the ability to gain spiritual guidance, healing, or help.

She described how true worship of God and the Savior begins when our hearts are turned to them, which might mean having our heart break before them.

“With a growing understanding of the Lord’s grace and mercy, we find that our self-willed hearts begin to crack and break in gratitude.”

“Then we reach for Him, yearning to yoke ourselves to the Only Begotten Son of God. In our broken-hearted reaching and yoking, we receive new hope and fresh guidance through the Holy Ghost.”

Sister Marriott concluded by saying that though we may feel that we are too weak to change sinful acts or have failed too many times, if we appeal to God, he will make us more than we could ever imagine.

Other General Conference news:

LDS Church announces three new apostles

Three new apostles to represent Christ throughout the world

English only at LDS General Conference

LDS Quorums of the Seventy now called General Authority Seventies

Slideshow: General Conference Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015

Women’s general session:

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Now is a part of eternity

Sister Carol F. McConkie: The Lord’s agents

Sister Linda S. Reeves: Rewards will come

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom: Divine nature within you

Saturday morning session: