Metaphorical Relationship

I spoke in Sacrament Meeting yesterday.  The topic was "staying in the church," which is something with which I have some experience.

I opened by introducing myself and talking about what I do for a living.  After a brief explanation about what a technical writer does, I mentioned that when I was in college, I studied a lot of literature, which included the basic three-act story structure.  To give a better example of a three-act story, I told the congregation to think about any Romantic Comedy that they had seen, as it would follow that format.  The problem with Rom-Coms, I said, is that they end with the two people deciding to be a couple or get married, with the implication that "they lived happily ever after."

With the introduction complete, I said that our membership in the Church is like a relationship with the Savior -- He's even called "the bridegroom" in more than one parable.  When we're first investigating the Church, that's the Rom-Com part of our relationship with Him.  As time goes on, however, it's easy to become complacent in our relationship.  Just as with real relationships, we need to work hard to keep things going.  The excitement that we felt at the beginning is replaced with dependency; that's not a bad thing and our long-lasting relationships can be very rewarding -- as we help our partner achieve their goals, work to make them happy, and they support us during trials and sorrow, we bless and strengthen each other -- but it's not as easy as when we first fall in love.

Then I shared that I'm in the process of getting divorced.  I said that despite several years together, the divorce was for the best, because for the last three years, I've been the only one working on our marriage and a marriage cannot work if only one person is giving it their all.  Such is the case with our membership in the Church, but difference is that the Lord will always be there for us: the only point of failure in our relationship with Him is us.

I then rhetorically asked what do we do to make our relationship with the Savior last?  The common answers we always use work, though they aren't exciting: read our scriptures, pray, attend our church meetings, etc.  Our membership won't be as exciting as at the beginning, but it will be more rewarding.  I then bore my testimony and sat down.

After the meeting, I had several people come and thank me for my talk, including one visiting sister who came to me with tears in her eyes and told me that I had said exactly what she had needed to hear.  I had worked on my talk, making notes and writing down scripture references, but it only came together right when I stood up to speak.  I know that the words that were given to me to speak were inspired by the Spirit and I'm grateful that I was prepared to receive them.