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Marie Osmond: Working for Our Faith

Wed Sep 29 10:00:57 EDT 2021
Episode 148

When Marie Osmond was a little girl, her mom told her that she could gain a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon for herself. The witness she received in answer to her prayers has carried her in the 50 years since. She has spent her life in the spotlight and it has not been a life without challenges or mistakes, but Marie has stood by her faith again and again. On today’s episode, Marie reveals how her faith, a knowledge of the Atonement of Christ, temple attendance, and an understanding of eternal families has carried her throughout her life.

Let God be God and always be humble enough to follow.
Marie Osmond

EPISODE REFERENCES:
To see the BYUtv special, “An Evening with Marie Osmond,” download the BYUtv app, or access their website here: byutv.org.

Marie’s Instagram account: @marieosmond (Could be cool if we could embed?)

1978 Interview where Donny and Marie are asked about race and the priesthood: Donny & Marie Osmond On Why Blacks Can’t Hold Priesthood in Mormon Church

Joy Behar Interview: Joy Behar Talks Mormonism with Donny & Marie Osmond

Piers Morgan interview on her son’s suicide: Marie Osmond on the power of her faith

The painting Marie saw at Deseret Book: “Journey’s End”

Journey's end

SHOW NOTES:
3:26- Putting the Gospel to the Test
6:31- “What is Normal?”
9:18- Family is Everything
11:47- “Be Ready Always to Give an Answer”
15:11- The Only Failure in Life
18:38- Living Longer Than a Child
24:47- Falling in Love Again
27:02- Why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
28:35- Working in the Temple
31:43- Getting Answers from General Conference
33:42- What Does It Mean To Be All In the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Transcript

Morgan Jones 0:00
Remember last week when I said we had an exciting interview for you this week and an announcement? Well, if you can see the title of today's episode, you now know why I was very excited about this interview.

But what you may have missed is the announcement on social media that this Sunday, October 3, between sessions of General Conference, there will be an All In television special, hosted by yours truly. And while I'm a little bit nervous about my TV debut, I'm really excited for you to see three incredible all new interviews with a former NASA engineer, an NFL player, and a successful CEO. It airs at 1pm Mountain Time and you can watch live on KSL or if you live outside Utah, you can stream live on the KSL TV app.

Okay, now on to an interview that I think you will absolutely love. Marie Osmond has been quoted as saying, "The good Lord made us all out of iron, then he turns up the heat to forge some of us into steel." Marie is certainly no stranger to adversity, but it is clear that her faith has been refined and strengthened in the process, much like steel.

Marie Osmond’s debut single, "Paper Roses" reached the number one spot on two Billboard charts, a feat that not only placed her among an elite class of musical royalty, but instantly catapulted her into international superstardom. She is a multiple gold and platinum selling artist and CMA winner, garnering numerous Billboard chart topping singles and albums and three New York Times best-selling books. She has entertained millions throughout the world through television, radio, literature, live concerts and Broadway performances. As a philanthropist, she co-founded Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, which has raised over $7 billion for children today.

This is All In an LDS Living podcast where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be all in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I'm Morgan Jones and I am honored to have Marie Osmond on the line with me today. Marie, welcome.

Marie Osmond 2:15
Morgan, what a sweetheart you are, and I am honored to be here. I have no idea what I can offer but I love the Church, I love these podcasts by the way, I listen to them and you're awesome.

Morgan Jones 2:27
Oh, thank you so much.

Marie Osmond 2:29
Thank you for inviting me to be on it today.

Morgan Jones 2:31
Well, this is such a treat for me, I actually want to start in a little bit of an unconventional way. My family are huge fans of you, and my aunt in particular, and so I sent them a message when I found out that I would have the chance to interview you, and I said, "Do you have any questions for–" and my aunt sent this back, and I just thought that it was so sweet that I had to share it with you.

She said, "I don't have a question yet, but please tell her that when I was little the Donny & Marie show was my favorite show. Daddy had a VCR before most people and we recorded it and I still remember the episode where they threw Donny into a giant pie. I watched that over and over." And then she went on to talk about other memories that she had from this show.

And then at the end she said, "They were such amazing role models in a world where most celebrities aren't. Just thank her for us, tell her how much we appreciate her." So for you, what does it mean to you, Marie to have represented the Church to so many people all over the world, many of whom, that you're their only touch point with the Church?

Marie Osmond 3:38
Well, you know, Morgan, it's complicated. I'm moving into my sixth decade of performing now, and I'm only 29. But to me, representing the Church–I think everybody does that who are members of the Church. That's not like–I never felt special about it. I just represented what I believe to be true. And, you know, my family–so here's, you know, kind of my story.

My family were very vocal about their beliefs in God. And I remember that when I was about nine years old, ten years old, I was like, well, if I'm going to do this, then I'm really going to do it. But I can't tell a lie because that's how I was raised. And so I said, I have to put this gospel to the test. And I've always spent my life–I was always an analytical type that had to research everything and do things. And I remember, I read the Book of Mormon every night, as much as I could every single night. I will never forget. I could draw you the room and everything else and I got on my knees.

And with the absolute sincerity of heart, Moroni's promise, you know 10: 3 through 5–because I have that marked three through five, a lot of people leave out the three–but it was so important to me to know and I remember my mom telling me that you had to know for yourself, it was a hard concept I think, that–how does God know you out of all the people in the world? But she said, "I want to tell you, God knows you as well as I know each one of my children."

And so I, I put it to the test and the spirit bore truth to my soul, that the Book of Mormon–here I am, it's doing it again–but it's true. And that feeling was so overpowering to my little 10-year-old soul–because it was right before I was 10. It was like nine and five eighths or whatever. But my soul knew that the Book of Mormon was true. And I knew because I knew the Book of Mormon was true. And there was no way that a kid with a third-grade education could have written that, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of our modern dispensation and the Restoration happened. And I felt the spirit and the thing that I tell people all the time, look, you can study all you want analytically, and all those things, but you can talk yourself out of it. That's called debate team in school, right?

But you cannot talk yourself out of a feeling. And I knew at that time–do I know what I know now about the gospel? No, I had a very innocent testimony, but I will never deny what happened to me on my knees as that little girl and that was the beginning of my testimony.

Morgan Jones 6:22
Marie, that's amazing. And I'm so grateful to you for starting us off on that note because I think once we've had that witness, that's what everything starts to build on. So it was around, you've been in the spotlight your whole life. And so when we're talking about you as a 10 year old, we're talking about somebody that was already kind of in the limelight. Do you ever wish that you could go back and have had a more normal life?

Marie Osmond 6:52
Well, let's see if this is normal, but when I was 12 years old I met Harold B. Lee, and he said, "You have two choices as you go out into the world. You're either going to do it or you're not going to do it. Always make the choice that will take you to the celestial kingdom."

Morgan Jones 7:05
No pressure.

Marie Osmond 7:06
And I'm like, Okay, well, that's, that's a normal thing to have the Prophet tell you that. But it was, it's kind of interesting, because . . . normal, what is normal? I felt I had a normal life. I thought everybody did what I did and sang on stage and toured on a bus and lived in a hotel and traveled around the world.

But, you know, I guess my mother knew that I didn't have a normal life. I've told this story before, but you know, mothers are powerful. And I promise you, it's the greatest calling on earth. I've done all the other things and I'll tell you, it's the most difficult job we'll ever have.

But I remember once I was a little full of myself, I think I was about 16. And the Donny & Marie show that you were talking about was dubbed into 17 languages worldwide. And, you know, I was thinking I was kind of the hot stuff and maybe the Taylor Swift of my generation, you know, and I came home–and I worked hard, don't get, I mean, we had to memorize 350 pages of script in two and a half days, whatever and I put it in 15 hour days, pretty much and I was you know, not only learning all of that, but I was going to school.

And so the next day was taping I said, "Mom, I'm so tired. I'm going to go to bed, I have to look good tomorrow, you know, we're taping," and she goes, "Wait, whoa, wait a second. You haven't done your chores." And I went, "Excuse me? Hello? I'm like, you know, Marie Osmond?" And that was like the dumbest thing I could have ever said. And she goes, "Really? Really? Okay well now you're going to clean toilets and if you give me any more sass I've got a million other things that I can have you do."

And she said, "Marie, you have a job. You remember that's a job. But this is reality, this is life. And you need to learn to be a functioning human being and get to work." And because of her I'd come home and she'd go, "We're going to learn to can fruit," "We're gonna learn to make bread," you know. "You're going to go out and learn to catch a fish with a bow and arrow," I mean, "Now you're going to gut it and clean it and cook it," and I'm like who is this woman, she's the best. So my normal wasn't normal but man she tried to make me as normal as possible.

Morgan Jones 9:09
I love that so much. I loved as I was prepping for this interview reading how many times you've brought up your mom and the influence that she had on you. There are nine kids in your family, eight boys and you. What have your brothers–and Donny in particular, because the two of you have done so much together–what have your brothers and Donny meant to you over the years?

Marie Osmond 9:34
Well, we were in an industry where we grew up very close. Probably closer than most families do, and you know, I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. I mean, I don't know–would you want to, you know, work with your brother your entire life?

Morgan Jones 9:51

No comment.

[Laughter]

Marie Osmond 9:52
Right? But the one thing I can tell you that we were taught by our father is you can choose your friends, but you don't pick your family. So if you can get along with your family, you can get along with anyone. And it's not always easy. But the one thing I can say is, I know they love me ferociously.

And . . . like Donny, for example. You know, I had a very odd childhood, there's only one other person I know that had it with me and that's him. And that is a common bond. There's something about that Vulcan mind-meld. For example, I've told this story, but just to give you an idea, after years and years and years of working together we were in Vegas, if you don't have the curtain come down at a certain time you have to pay so much in union and everything else.

So we were down, we for some reason, the show went 20 minutes over, I think there was a technical problem. We didn't even know how we're going to bring that show and cut 20 minutes, all we did is just look at each other, and then would do a cut and he'd look at me, and then he'd do a cut and did it. And we didn't even say one word. And when the curtain came down, I think it was like 13 seconds, 12 seconds left, until the time was over, it went down, we were bowing, he came up and he goes, "Man, we're good." And it's just that sibling, just the communication through the years of working to have that kind of relationship that develops this kind of love. And I tell my children–I have eight children–my children are eight of the most different kids you'll ever meet on the planet, but they love each other. And it doesn't matter what their differences are. They have learned and figured out that family is everything. There's just nothing like that bond.

Morgan Jones 11:36
I completely agree. I say, "No comment," about working with my brothers, but then I'm like, that actually wouldn't be that bad. I really love my brothers too. So, Marie, as I prepared for this interview, the thing that I was most impressed by is how much you and Donny in particular–and I'm sure your other brothers as well–have had to stand up for the Church and for your beliefs.

I watched an interview from 1978, where you and Donny were being asked about Blacks and the priesthood, and then more recently, I saw an interview with Joy Behar and she was just like, grilling you all about polygamy and the Book of Mormon musical and every single time you both stood up for the Church. And I wondered, has that been hard? And how has constantly being asked about the most difficult aspects of our faith strengthened your faith?

Marie Osmond 12:35
Well, okay, that's a loaded question. You know, Elder Uchtdorf, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." And one of the things that I have learned through my life is the word, "Work," you get nothing for nothing. If you want a free ride in life, you're just going to have a life that's empty and shallow and really without purpose. You have to work for it.

So one of the things when you say are–you know, to be prepared. Always be prepared. My brother Alan would say that, "Let the spirit speak through you. But first, be prepared and then follow the Spirit." And so, you know, you know that people are going to ask you those questions, you know, when the Book of Mormon musical came out, and I know, she said that, too. And I told her, I said, "You know what? I know a lot of people love it and that's great. But I don't really want to hear a song that, you know, says terrible things about God and His name.” And I said, “It's not me."

Never demeaning to people who ask those questions just to try to give them answers that, you know, are faith filled, logical, and common sense, you know. Everybody's struggles. Everybody struggles with their faith. How do they get through it? You just have to remember that after the trial is the blessing. And some things that we live don't always make sense. But when you stay alert and you keep God always first, for example, in my home is the parable of the 10 virgins. I think that's what you have to do every day.

So when you're asked these questions, everybody's going to be asked these questions. You want your lamp full. And to be full, it's not, "Go fill it up," and "Oh, He'll have an answer for you." But it's that drop by drop, that daily diligence, that effort reading your scriptures, saying the prayers that you need to commune with the Holy Ghost to have him with you.

And then you're not afraid. And to remember to always do it with faith, faith as a positive attitude, always do it, and be humble enough to listen to the Spirit. And don't be contentious. There's no reason in that whatsoever, you know?

Morgan Jones 14:38
Absolutely. And I think that message–

Marie Osmond 14:40
Does that answer the question? I don't know.

Morgan Jones 14:42
That's amazing. And I think that's so needed in the world that we live in, because you're right, I think everybody is facing that. We're all answering tough questions and being contentious about it. And I think that's something that struck me about the way both you and Donny handled yourselves in those interviews is that you answered the questions with grace. But also, it was totally clear where you stood on it, which I think is what the world needs more of from all of us.

Marie, you once said, "Bad things happen. And you can either medicate it or you can learn from it. Move on from it, say, 'I made a mistake.'" And then you said, "I've made many mistakes, but it's only a mistake if you stay there." And I love that quote. I wondered how you've seen God's hand in helping you overcome weaknesses and move past mistakes.

Marie Osmond 15:34
Okay, so I have always said that justification is just another word that you're just full of crap. To me, medicating is part of that, or rationalization or just justifying why you're in a bad place. There's no growth in that and it's pride. And I . . . hey, there have been a lot of things in my life that I've been through that I could have medicated.

There's a lot of things and choices that I've made that have not been great. There's been mistakes that I have made. Don't ever think that I have had a perfect life, because I do not. But I'll tell you, what I do know is that we have to be faithful. And faith, my mother was from a teacher background, all of them were educators. And she said, "Faith, if you take it down to its least common denominator is having a positive attitude."

And you have to realize that we are here–God knew we were going to make mistakes, why do you think he provided the Savior for us? And only the adversary–who I call "Scratch," I won't even say his name because he doesn't, he's not worthy of me calling him by his name, and I call him Scratch because he's an irritant. He's a rash to our soul that just wants to make us bothered.

And he wants us to feel like we can never be forgiven. He wants us to feel like we have made so many mistakes, that it's impossible, and that is not our God. Because our God is a loving–we have loving parents. And just like I knew, no matter what I did, my parents would love me. And no matter what my children do, I'm an unconditional mother. So why would we think God isn't that way?

And, but you have to remember that we have to be patient with ourselves. And we need to say, "Boy, that's a tough one." And you go to the Savior and you sob and say, "Help me." And then you let his love fill you, and that is–people think that going in and confessing sins or sorrows, or things like that are terrible things to do. Are you kidding? It's the most beautiful process on the planet to lift that from your soul.

And you just have to be so careful of that inner voice. So just remember, if you're hearing those negative voices from Scratch, think, would . . . would your mother ever talk to you that way? Would your best friend ever talk to you that way? Absolutely not. And neither would God. So you know where those thoughts are coming from. Dismiss them. Get rid of them. Move forward with positivity and faith.

And remember, the only failure in life are those that fail to try. That's the only failure in life is by not trying. Just get up, keep going. And when you look back, you'll go, wow, look what I have been through. And you realize you get stronger and stronger and stronger. And that's the purpose of this life.

Morgan Jones 18:34
That was profound. Thank you so much for sharing that. Marie, you mentioned being a mom and that being a mom is the hardest thing but that also you are an unconditional mom, and I love that. Many listening mourned with you over the loss of your son who struggled for years with depression and ultimately took his own life.

You said of that experience as a mother, "I don't know how people get through it unless they have a strong faith in God. I don't know how the Atonement works. All I know is that when I couldn't breathe and I begged for relief or help, it came. And it was a miracle to me that I could take a breath and breathe again and move forward. And I think that's the beauty of God." And you said that on a national interview, which I think the way that you have this ability to bear your testimony and bring people into your life and your faith is remarkable. But how did you see God's hand in your life during that season following your son's death?

Marie Osmond 19:33
Well, loss is . . . birth and death are the only two absolutes in life, but boy, it's just not right to live longer than a child. It's just awful. And there is no way that you can live through something like that without the Savior's help. When it–you know, when you go through these things. And besides, it wasn't just his depression, but my son was bullied.

He had gone into sobriety. And many of his, the tormenting when he was at college, I believe was part of it too. And I've spoken in that I think. I don't think we realized how things we say hurt people to the core. Words are invisible knives, and they're awful.

So, as I went through that, you know, I literally, I just got off the phone with a friend right before this interview–I have four girlfriends who just lost their husbands, and they're my age and younger. And it was like, within three weeks, six weeks, you know, immediate, whatever. And loss is loss. And so they called me up and said, "You lost your son, how am I going to deal with the loss of this?"

Look, there's no joy in any of this. You know how we're told that there's joy in sorrow? There's no joy in sorrow. But I will tell you, this, joy does come. And they can look at you in the eyes and say, "Nobody knows. But I know you do." That's the joy and the sorrow. And so, to me, one of the greatest things you can do is pick yourself up, have faith in God, and serve.

And when I lost my son, I went back to work because I wanted to shake hands with people and see them at those shows in Vegas. And I knew that they had seen from me an example that they had to keep living, because it was devastating to my children.

And, you know, you just–you just have to keep going and God will give you respites. He will. He'll help you walk along the way and help you move forward. I have to tell you though, it was his 10th anniversary recently. And I have not talked about this, but I literally had to go to my . . . I'm gonna cry, sorry. I went to my doctor and I said, "This is worse than the day it happened." And I said, "I know depression. And I know that I can never go back to that place that I had it with postpartum,"–by the way, having postpartum was so awful, but yet it gave me understanding to understand what my son's depression was and what he was going through before that I would have been one of those people that said "Snap out of it," you know, but, you know, depression is depression. Until you understand it, do not judge it.

And so I talked to him and then I said to, "God, you gotta help me. Because I'm really struggling." And it was so amazing to me, Morgan, because I felt impressed to go to all places Deseret Book, I walked in, I had my mask on, I don't think anybody knew who I was.

And this woman walked up and she said, "I've been sitting here praying for help, and you walked in, can you help me?" And I said, "Sure." And she said, "My girlfriend just lost a child. And I feel prompted to get them a picture for a bookmark or whatever. Would you help me pick one out?" And she says, "I don't even know you, but could you help me?"

And I walked around the corner, and I looked at these photos, and . . . Oh gosh. . . there was a boy about 18, hugging the Savior, and he looked just like my Michael. And I felt my son. . . Sorry, I don't . . . But I felt him say, "Mom, I'm with the Savior. And I have His love and I'm okay." And feeling–that feeling of service to help her when I was so down instead of feeling sorry for myself, and her following the spirit, blessed my life.

And I have that picture framed in my library where I read, because to me, it's those tender mercies where God said, "Yes, it hurts. But he's okay. And you'll be okay, too." And I say that to everybody out there who's lost somebody, just remember, He's in our Savior's hands, and He's in His arms. And they're okay. We just have to know that they're okay, so we can be okay too.

Morgan Jones 24:07
Marie, that is beautiful. And I think it's so neat how God uses all of us to help each other. And so in that process of you helping that lady, she was also helping you and I think that's a powerful example.

Marie Osmond 24:23
It's like the Aspen tree. You have to remember all those roots are connected, and we are too. And if we will just put our faith in God and be positive, we can bless each other. Do we go–will we continue to struggle? Absolutely. But I believe that if we are faith filled, we will find each other and connect and bless each other's lives.

Morgan Jones 24:45
So well said. Marie, you have a pretty incredible love story in that you've remarried your ex-husband after over 25 years of divorce. So yeah, 25 years apart, and then you re-married him. And what have you learned about marriage and what it takes to make a marriage work?

Marie Osmond 25:05
Well, if you asked him, he would say, take 25 years apart, and it'll for sure work.

[Laughter]

No, can I tell you that is–it really is the most incredible thing in my life. And he's always been my true love, he's always been my best friend. And I believe that maybe it took time to figure out this principle of loving and growing up. And this unconditional love and appreciation for who he is as a human being, and how he honors me as a woman, and how he honors me in the things that God has asked me to do in this life, in my work and things like that.

And my children–I mean, come on, I mean, he has put all the pieces back together from a very broken home. I really believe after all that we go through, look for those tender mercies in your life. Look at your spouse, and say, "I loved you.” And if you have fallen out of love, fall back in love. It takes work. Marriage is work, its faith filled. And I think the one thing that I have learned over that time is find somebody and make it work and be humble enough.

That's the big thing is I think it took 25 years for all of that to happen to be humble enough and be appreciative enough of each other. And let God be that miracle in your life and He will bless you. He can make–I am a perfect example that God can make a marriage come back together. Oh my gosh, we weren't–that's the furthest thing I had in my mind was to get married again, and him too, you know. And look what can happen when you put your faith in God.

Morgan Jones 27:00
Amazing. Marie, one thing that struck me as I was watching some of these old interviews that you had done is that you talked about how you enjoy studying and learning about other religions. And so I wondered, having studied about different religions, and certainly having met people of different faiths all around the world, why are you grateful to belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Marie Osmond 27:26
Well, I do study many religions but the one thing that I can tell you about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Restoration, is that God speaks today. And the heavens are not closed.

And you can see it in everything from the literature that was printed before COVID to teach in the homes, to just everything that is given to have us be prepared. He loves us that much. God loves his children. And He said–you know, the first one is to love God with all your heart. I hear people question and things like that. And I'm like, is really the Church designed for you? Or are you designed to follow God and love Him first above everything else that you love?

And to me, that's what the Church is. It's for those that are willing to sacrifice and learn and work hard, daily, to have that relationship with God. But mostly, I just love that the heavens are not closed and if there was ever a time we needed God to speak to us, boy–today's the day.

Morgan Jones 28:32
Absolutely. I could not agree more. So Marie, I heard–and you tell me if this is true–I heard that you used to work in the Las Vegas temple, and that you would wear a wig so people wouldn't recognize you. Is that true?

Marie Osmond 28:46
Yes, but it didn't work.

[Laughter]

Marie Osmond 28:52
I had posted on my social media too many times with me with blond hair and red hair but you know what, I really did it initially because I didn't want to cause any commotion. I was there to give service. You know, I wasn't there to be me.

And I don't know, you know what? It was the most peaceful time of my life. I've been through a lot of things. There are a lot of things people don't even know about. I have struggled greatly over the last 30 years with my health. And when I got that calling to go to the temple, I would go there to find peace.

I remember one day I was in the laundry, and a worker came down and said a couple just came to the celestial room. Their son was two weeks away from going on his mission. He was hit by a car and he died. And the first thing they felt prompted to do was to come to the temple.

And she said, "I feel prompted to tell you you need to go out there and talk to them." And we spent two hours together and I shared things with them. And several years later, my husband I went to Hawaii and of all people who were running the restaurant there, it was them. And she said that–it's amazing. Once again it's like that thing where do you find the joy in the sorrow is sharing that love.

And she said how she had shared our story with other people who had lost, and it keeps going on. But it was the temple–the temple is this workplace for us to feel His spirit and to learn and grow. You know, for me, when I was set apart, he said that I would–my health would be restored, the temple president, and it was the beginning of a tooth breaking. My tooth broke that week, he didn't know I was sick. How did he know that? Right?

And it was a process of what five or six years, I guess, of finding out that every tooth in my mouth was feeding poison into my body and brain.

Morgan Jones 30:37
Oh, my goodness.

Marie Osmond 30:38
And that all these things that I had been suffering with for 30 years were stemming from my teeth. And I never would have known that unless I had broken that tooth and put a cap on it, and my whole face blew up. And so I'm still in the process of healing. I've been through–I've been through a lot, everybody does, right? But I know that the temple is where we will receive answers and symbolisms and thoughts and peace, and we continue to grow, not the way we want to learn, but the way God wants us to learn.

And it is truly one of the greatest callings that I have ever had. And I covet people who work there continually. My husband actually still works there. But I'm on the road too much to be there all the time now.

Morgan Jones 31:19
Yeah, it's quite the commitment. I had the chance to work in the temple for like 10 months and I loved it. But it is, it's a huge commitment and so many sacrifices being made by people all over the world. I love that though, so much. And I thothink–to think that you made that sacrifice in the middle of all that you have going on and can see how it's blessed your life is remarkable. This special on BYU TV is going to air conference weekend, I wondered, why are you grateful for general conference?

Marie Osmond 31:53
Oh I've been catching up on all my talks from the last one. Isn't it beautiful that there's two times in the year that we can receive revelation from our God and to hear His words and our prophet, and to hear these messages that uplift and cause us–if we set our hearts correctly and we truly pray before to receive answers, I don't know anybody who hasn't done that sincerely that hasn't gotten something from every conference.

And whether it's, you know, to look in a different direction or to fix maybe it's like a graph, you can think you're off just a little bit but if it goes on for years and years, you can find yourself way out there and need to be called back, you know. And so it's just a time of gathering and love. I know my children look forward to it and my grandchildren. For my kids I used to take pictures and have them scrapbook during it. So at least they had something to do, so than sit there and try to listen to it, you know.

Morgan Jones 32:49
Yeah, that's like the role of every parent during general conference.

Marie Osmond 32:54
Right? But you know what, it's a time to realize how magnificent the gospel is. And once again, the plan of salvation and why we're here on this earth and where we're going and these wonderful relationships that we build will continue on and on and on. And the world would try to tell us and break families apart and to take all that away from us and to give us no hope. And conference week is the time of filling ourselves with hope and love from our Savior, Jesus Christ and knowing that we have each other. We all have each other's backs, if we just look to service always in our lives.

Morgan Jones 33:36
Well, Marie, this has been so fun for me, and I so appreciate you taking the time. My last question for you, is what does it mean to you to be all in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Marie Osmond 33:53
Drop by drop, daily. You know, I once talked to President Eyring. And I remember talking about something about mysteries. He goes, "Do you want to hear one of the greatest mysteries?" And I said, "Oh, yeah, I do." And he said, "Pray. It's so simple, but it–that's why it's a mystery." The power of prayer is huge.

He says, "Want to hear another one?" I'm like, "Yeah, sure." he goes, "Read your scriptures. There's so much power in it. It's a mystery, because it's just a simple thing–read every day. But you–the things that come from it are so powerful. It's mysterious power is so beautiful."

To be all in is to work. Every day. I learned to work hard as a kid, and I'm so grateful, because I work hard at everything I do. And the thing I work the hardest at is my faith. And I know this, that no matter what I think, I love God first. Let God be God. And always be humble enough to follow. And that is being all in to me. The same reason people fall out of–fall away from the Gospel is the same reason they fall out of bed, they're just not in far enough.

Morgan Jones 35:03
I love it. Marie, thank you so much. And best of luck with everything that you have going on, you're remarkable

Marie Osmond 35:10
No, you know what you're so sweet. This has really been interesting, it's the first time I've really been asked to sit down and just talk my faith, and it's been a wonderful blessing.

You know, I just–I write these Sunday posts for social media and share my love of Christ. And the one that I wrote recently was, "You don't–" my dad would say, you know, "You don't know your testimony. People don't know what your testimony is until you say it out loud." And so thank you for allowing me to say some things out loud. I know the Church is true. I know it with every fiber of my soul. And I'm so grateful that I had parents that taught me to work hard for that understanding and knowledge.

Morgan Jones 35:52
Thank you so much.

We're so grateful to Marie Osmond for joining us on this week's episode of All In. Be sure to watch "An Evening with Marie Osmond" this Friday, October 1 at 7pm Mountain Time on BYU TV.

Also don't forget about the All In television special airing between sessions of General Conference on KSL, Sunday October 3 at 1pm Mountain Time. If you don't live in Utah, you can still stream the special on the KSL TV app. Until next week. Thank you so much for listening and enjoy general conference.

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