The Day I Met My Hero

There was a folk dance social thing Saturday night. The girls learned to hula and the boys learned the haka from these legit islanders! And we ate super scrumptious hot dogs.

At the end, they had us all sit down and said a special guest speaker was coming. And then- guess who walked in the door? 

Sister Dalton! 

WHAT?!?!?! Holy cow. I could not believe it. Sister Dalton was called as Young Women General President when I was a beehive and released right as I graduated laurels. She was my general young women leader! I could not believe this was actually happening.

When she came in the door, honestly, I was very surprised. I recognized her face and her smile instantly. But the rest of her- wasn't what I expected. She was wearing a knee-length skirt that exposed some very spidery, old lady legs. There were bags under her eyes. Her belly was bigger than I thought- she had a little pooch. :) Just like any other lady her age. 

Here was the woman I had idealized watching on general conference, and she looked so.... normal. It was actually kind of comforting. I turned on general conference again, and somehow she looks so perfect on the screen.

But I loved what she said. It just perfectly applied to my situation, at college, with lots of challenges. She said what she always says, 

“Smile.” 

“One virtuous young woman can change the world.”

 “You are custom-made and uniquely placed to be where God needs you right now.”

 “Whate'er thou art, act well thy part.” 

"What are you doing on the sidelines? You can dance!"

"Preach the gospel through your life. Through your dance. Let your faith and your testimony of Christ shine through."

I was sitting on the floor in the very front row, only 8 feet away from her. Her message touched me so much at one point I started weeping and looking down at the ground. When I finally brought myself to look up again at her, there she was, looking back straight at me specifically, smiling the warmest smile. And she winked at me. ;) 

Afterwards we sang her God Be With You Till We Meet Again. The spirit was so strong. I loved it.  

I went over to the sidelines to stand by her and talk to her. 

Oh man- I never thought our faces would ever be this close!!!!!

Then she pulled out bubble wrap and said everyone should get the opportunity to dance on bubble wrap. Her husband made her do it with him. She smiled and me and said, "He's rotten, isn't he?"

So, it turns out that sometimes our heroes aren't really all they look like on the screen. 

But- Sister Dalton is still one of mine.