Speaking in church

I spoke in church today and had a great experience. My talk was about 2 Tim 3:16-17 which talks about the scriptures. Here's a summery.

In conclusion, brother and sisters, I’d like to bear my testimony

• that the scriptures are a powerful tool
• that were given to us by inspiration from God.

I know they contain the fullness of God’s gospel.

When we study them,

• they will help keep us on the path to eternal life
• by gently correcting us and perfecting us.

As we humbly allow this process to occur in our life,

• God will shape us into the person he envisioned us to be.
• We will be furnished and equipped to fulfill our chosen work
• and to be a successful instrument in his hands.

I've given 4 talks in probably the last 2 years so I feel I'm getting pretty good at these things :) But, afterwards I had several people come up and share with me how the talk "touched them" and had little "nuggets," and "pricks" that they needed to hear. It was also a missionary farewell and I had a lady come up to me that said she was not a member of our church and was not even a mormon but said my talk was very inspiring. I thought that was pretty neat.

I'm really grateful for the change I felt in my life this last week as I put in the time to prepare for this talk. It truly is amazing the perspective, the strength, and the guidance the scriptures provide when we read them.