At the conclusion of Elder Ballard's talk, he asked if he could give the closing prayer and a blessing. The following is a transcript of that prayer/blessing:

Our beloved Heavenly Father, as thou canst see, from thy throne above, we are assembled here together, a group of thy sons and daughters, members of thy Church, in this far off land Kuwait, we plead with thee now, dear Father, to reach down from thy throne above, and touch the hearts and the lives, of these dear brothers and sisters, bless their families in their absence, grant unto them Holy Father, every righteous desire of their hearts, let them have peace, and assurance in what they are doing, for the country and for, defending the interest, of the base of operation of thy Church, and Kingdom, United States of America, is a very sacred and important service they're rendering. Heavenly Father bless this land, bless the leaders of this land, bless the leaders of this region, grant somehow, by the authority of the Holy apostleship vested in me, that somehow, Father, it'll be those leaders who will rise up and there'll be some conclusions and some answers, and some solutions to bring about the, to bring about an opportunity for, the gospel, of thy beloved Son, to be shared with those who are honest in heart. We pray thee Heavenly Father for their safety, for their protection, in their travels, and whatever assignments they may be given now and in the future. Watch over them please. Grant to them those blessings that they stand in need of. We pray Heavenly Father for the leaders of nations, who, must have, thy spirit touch their minds, and be able to see that there is, can be some answers, to the challenges of this day. Bless the Latter Day Saints wherever they are in the world, that they'll stand tall, and that the values and the teachings of the Church, will be radiated through their lives. And if it so be Holy Father that we are in a time, when, the world will continue to spin out of control, we pray thee to grant us individually, the power of testimony, the testimony and knowledge of thee our Father and thy beloved Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ, that our testimony will be so strong and so firm, irregardless of what the circumstances of the future may hold, we will be anchored, solidly to thee and to those things that we know through the restoration of the gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith. Together we unite our faith and our prayers on behave of President Hinckley. We're grateful for him. Pray that you will extend his life, as long, as you deem possible, and for his counselors, Quorum of the Twelve and all the men and women around the world, that lead the Church, we pray that you'll bless them. And now Father as we're about to leave, please let the spirit of thy Son and the power of the holy ghost, fall upon each and every one of us, that we may know, that we are thy children, and we are loved and that we have the most precious pearl of greatest price, when we have our testimony of the restoration of the gospel. For these and all other blessings Holy Father that would be appropriate, we pray for. Ask thee now to dismiss us that we may go back, to our various assignments and duties, and carry thy spirit with us always, for which we now humbly pray, in the sacred, and in the beloved name, of thy Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.

The following is a wonderful synopsis of the night's events, written by Lt Col Andy Williams:

Tonight (27 February 2007) we had a historic meeting in our base chapel. According to our special guest, it was the first visit ever made by a Latter-day Apostle in Kuwait. Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was accompanied by Elder Jon M. Huntsman Sr. of the First Quorum of the Seventy. They arrived by motorcade from the Embassy escorted by the acting Ambassador who is also LDS. Our chapel was about two-thirds full of servicemen and women from the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. We had an Army one-star general in attendance. Before the meeting I was surprised to learn that the Army Staff Judge Advocate was also LDS and a Lt Col.

As we waited for our guests to arrive, we sat and visited, and kidded each other. The Army members I sat near remarked that our new Air Force uniforms were very blue compared to the desert camoflage uniforms we were then wearing. I replied that they would help us blend in the clear blue sky. They asked what we would do if the sky were cloudy and gray. I replied that in such a case we would push the Army out of the airplanes. In fairness, they got a few good digs in on us.

When our guests entered the chapel, we were instantly silent and stood at attention, as is customary on such occasions. We were then invited to be seated.

Our first speaker was Elder Huntsman, who remarked that his son was the governor of Utah and that the governor sent his greetings and admiration to members of the Utah National Guard. Elder Huntsman told us that he himself did not have an opportunity to serve a mission, but that he joined the Navy and was out at sea 18 months out of the first 24 months of his married life. His ship landed troops in Vietnam where he served as a group leader. He vowed he would read the scriptures and underline them. When he served in Korea, there were only 5 members in the LDS group. By the time he left, there were 50 members, including native Koreans. He then stated that the Lord would use us in ways we cannot comprehend. He stated that the Lord will protect us and watch over us and has a plan for each of us. He then quoted Doctrine and Covenants 84:88: "…I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." He stated that this time of separation from our loved ones was but a small moment of life and that we should make the most of it and be good examples. He charged us to accomplish great things, and to serve with honor and distinction, and to always remember the great blessing it is to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Elder Ballard spoke next. He looked like an Apostle. He radiated and had a wonderful glow. He wanted us to know that in their Temple meetings on every Thursday, they always prayed for members of the military and their families, and, of course, the missionaries. He stated that without men and women like us, we would not be the great country that we are. He quoted the Prophet Joseph Smith as stating that the Constitution is a glorious standard and a Heavenly banner, and that its principles would be as a cooling shade in a thirsty land. He then noted that the land in this area looked thirsty in more than one way. (Personal note: I have recently read the Iraqi Constitution, and it lacks separation of powers and meaningful checks and balances, the distinguishing feature of our Constitution). Elder Ballard stated that according to Brigham Young, the general Constitution is good and the Lord moved upon Columbus as He did upon the ancient prophets, and also upon the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and also upon General Washington, inspiring him to fight. He quoted from Abraham Lincoln who was asked, "On whose side is the Lord?" Presiden Lincoln replied that he was not concerned with this question as the Lord is always on the right side, and his constant prayer was that, "I and the Nation would be on the Lord's side." He asked us to take every opportunity to share what we know is true, and that our greatest sermon will be the way we live our lives.

Elder Ballard mentioned the example of his daughter in high school when he was mission president in Toronto, Canada. A friend told her that she had watched her the past two years and knew she had something she wanted. She asked if she could come to Church. The missionaries taught and baptized her and some of her brothers and sisters. Elder Ballard noted that, in many places throughout the world, the Gospel has its beginnings and is spread by military members. He then stated, "I don't know what the Lord has in mind for this part of the world." He related that a man had come to J. Reuben Clark, then a member of the First Presidency, with a list of ten questions. To each question, President Clark answered, "I don't know," adding, "The Lord has not revealed that yet." And so it is here. He stated that someway, somehow, good would come out of what we are doing here.

He told us the Church is enjoying quiet success in China where we have 16 little groups. Because we go in the front door to each country and are "up front" in all we do, the Chinese authorities permit members who joined the Church outside of China to meet together when they return to China. They are also allowed to share the gospel with their relatives. All of the Chinese groups are led by native Chinese leaders. He stated that he returned to Toronto, Canada, to reorganize a Stake. When he called the new Stake President, he had the unusual impression to also call the First Counselor, Brother Chaw (sp?). When he set apart Brother Chaw as First Counselor, he spoke words that were almost stunning. He blessed him that the Lord was preparing him to do a mighty work in the PRC and that in time he would have business opportunities there. He charged the new Stake President to train him in all things. Brother Chaw's company later transferred him to Beijing where he serves as a Seventy and regularly visits all the little groups. He stated we never know what the Lord has in mind and what kind of influence we may have.

Elder Ballard then stated that, because this was the first visit by an Apostle in Kuwait, he wanted to give the closing prayer and invoke a blessing on us. After we bowed our heads, Elder Ballard asked our Heavenly Father to look down from His throne upon our gathering and touch our hearts with the Spirit. He blessed the leaders of the region to rise up and find solutions to the present conflict. He also asked the Lord to bless world leaders to also seek solutions. He blessed us for our service in protecting the United States of America, the home base of the Church's operations throughout the world. He asked the Lord to watch over and protect us and our families, and that, if the world grew more and not less chaotic, we would individually have peace in our hearts. He also blessed us (Personal note: this one was important for me) that we would have peace in our hearts concerning our mission and purpose here.

At the conclusion of the prayer, we took a group photo, and Elder Ballard and Elder Huntsman went to the door at the rear of the chapel where we shook their hands as we departed. As we each took turns to shake his hand, Elder Ballard looked at each of us and said, "The Lord bless you." It was about 7:30 p.m. when we walked outside, so it was dark. A few of us walked to the dining hall for dinner, we noted that we had the Spirit with us, a holy feeling, as if we had just spent the day in the Temple.

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