pete's 1st primary talk...

Pete gave a talk in Primary on Sunday for the first time. I admit that I was more nervous than he was. I wrote the talk and helped him practice for a few days prior. He knew the stories from looking at the pictures, but I wasn't confident enough to let him do it on his own, so I planned to do the stand-by-and-whisper-in-the-ear talk. I didn't know what to expect from Pete who can be a little bit goofy at times.

If you've ever seen a 3 year-old give a talk you'll know that they are prone to several talk-giving faux pas, namely:

1. Yelling into the microphone and no one can understand you.
2. Whispering and no one can hear you (often a result of the fact that the adult is whispering in the ear and encouraging the child to repeat EXACTLY what they say).
3. Looking down and/or becoming shy of the spotlight and unable to finish the talk. Usually the adult finishes it for the child.
4. "Eating" the microphone while speaking and no one can understand you (this one in particular seems to be an urge that no 3-year-old can resist!).
5. A mix between yelling and "eating" that causes a lot of confusion among the adults and gets us trying really hard NOT to laugh hysterically (because it would be so very traumatizing for a 3-year-old to be laughed at while giving a talk!).

On Sunday morning he was so excited to give his talk. When he got to primary, he sat in his seat holding his church bag and looked so cute. When they called his name to give the talk, he looked at me and went right up! And, long story short, Pete did great! He did not yell (very much), he never looked down, only whispered once (how can you blame him, when I'm whispering in his ear!), and he resisted that oh-so-tasty-looking microphone! He spoke so clearly and seemed to be enjoying the spotlight. We only encountered two hiccups during the talk. When I whispered the line, "Nephi obeyed his father, Lehi, by leaving Jersualem.." Pete looked at me and said, "I don't know that word." The other was when he was distracted by the pictures of some children that were left on the podium. He turned to me and asked "Hey, where's my picture?" I quickly re-focused his attention and repeated what his next line was.

Way to go Pete! And here's the talk as I whispered it to him and he repeated into the microphone: (I held up the pictures as he said the words.)

Book of Mormon Stories teach me how to live the gospel.

Nephi obeyed his father, Lehi, by leaving Jerusalem and building a boat to cross the ocean. Nephi taught us to obey the prophets and to honor our parents.

Samuel the Lamanite told the Nephites to repent. The Nephites wanted to kill him, but God protected him. Samuel taught us to choose the right and repent, even when it is hard to do.

The 2000 Warriors of God were young men who fought against a great army and not one of the them was killed. The 2000 Warriors taught us to put our trust in God, and He will help us.

Jesus came to visit the people of Nephi. He healed their sick and blessed their children. Jesus taught us to help those in need and to serve others.

Heavenly Father saved the Book of Mormon for us so that we could learn about Him, and Jesus Christ, and how to return to Them. We can learn how to live the gospel by listening to the stories in the Book of Mormon.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.