From Christine A. Tanner and the book “50 Things that really matter to Latter-day Saints”:
I have been fascinated by people’s hands all of my life. How they look, how they feel, and especially by what they can do. If you look closely, our hands tell a story. Different hands have different stories to tell. For example, there are hands that have been carefully trained to thrill an audience with a musical instrument. There are hands that can fine tune a traveled car, or delicately restore life to a failing heart. What fascinates me most about our hands though, is the magnificent story that is told through their touch. The power of one’s touch shares a story as spirit speaks to spirit. It includes stories of peace, obedience, charity, and faith.
I loved holding my grandmother’s hands. I remember them being softer than silk; and although they were weak physically when I came to know her, her touch spoke of strength. Her hands were symbols of hard work through the trials of the great depression, and of faith as she embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ and single-handedly pioneered her family from Germany to America. Her hands shared the stories of trials and endurance, but her touch brought comfort and peace.
My father had big, beautiful hands. I loved the feeling of his hands when he placed them on my head for a blessing. They felt heavy and strong. They represented righteousness and obedience. Through the power of the priesthood, my father’s hands represented two Father’s extending their love to me.
By appearances, I inherited my mother’s hands. The stories I have learned by the power of her touch, however, will forever influence my life. Stories of charity, compassion, and service to others and to family emanate from her hands. I have fond memories of her running her fingers through my hair while I snuggled up to her side. My mother tells me she loves me all the time, but she doesn’t need to; I know it by the simple touch of her hand.
As I remember the “hands” that have touched my life, I often wonder what stories my hands will tell when they touch the lives of those I am blessed to know. I hope my touch will always share love, charity, compassion, and faith. ~Christine A. Tanner, “50 Things that really matter to Latter-day Saints”. (~Leatherwood Press, Deseret Book Distributors, 40 East South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111, 2007), 43-4
