the adventures (& mishaps!) of one lucky gal: general conference

Showing posts with label general conference. Show all posts

Friday, October 5, 2012

"We're sorry we can't come to the phone right now..."

This weekend my family and I will be unavailable for activities or phone calls on both Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to Noon, and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. During those 8 precious hours, we will be eagerly listening to prayerfully-prepared words of wisdom delivered to us from the mouths of the Lord's servants here on the earth.

There was a brief period of time after I graduated from high school that I wasn't making the best choices in my life. And, like many teenagers, I began to question some of the doctrine and principles of the religion in which I'd been raised. And yet I could not fully separate myself from it, because there was one thing that I knew I absolutely could not, and would not, deny: that the President of the Church truly was a man of God, and that the men who serve with him, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, truly were men of God also, set apart and devoted to further His work on the earth. I could not see these men - whether in person (as living and working where I did at the time, I occasionally I would have the pleasure of bumping into one of them), or on a television broadcast, without feeling overwhelming love and an increase of the Spirit. I know that was the Lord's way of saying, "Hold on. Don't give up. The answers will come." And they did. Because I was able to cling to my faith in a modern-day prophet, in time my faith was restored in other doctrines and principles as well. Now I can say that I do not question the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I do not fully understand every little detail of it, but that doesn't bother me. I don't expect to be an expert on it until well after this life is over! I am comforted that I understand all that I need to know at this point in time and that if I continue faithful on the right path, more knowledge, enlightenment, and comprehension will come as I'm prepared for it.

Some say Divine Revelation is an ancient tradition, and no longer applicable to us in these modern days. My heart (and my mind) tell me this is not so. Why would a loving Father in Heaven only speak to His children from days past? I tell you that the hand of the Lord is in our lives today and that He speaks to us - through prayer and personal revelation, scriptures, even beautiful sacred music, and most He definitely continues to speak to us through Prophets and Apostles, just as was done in ancient times. Our God is unchanging and unwavering, and for the great blessing of modern-day leadership, directed by Jesus Christ, I am so very, very grateful!

Monday, October 3, 2011

how we all spent conference weekend...

The kids were excellent notetakers and sticker-putter-onners (they put stickers on pictures of the things the speakers talked about). The dog was extra cuddly and even Brett was super-reverent. Never made a peep. ;)

Sunday, October 31, 2010

General Conference October 2010

As always General Conference in October was enlightening and again amazed me with how so many different speakers' chosen words can come together so well! I was especially interested in how often the "14 Fundamentals of Following the Prophet" came up. Our Conference weekend was filled with munchies and treats (veggie platters, fresh fruit, smoothies, and um...chocolate) and enjoying time in our jammies together as a family while we listened to our church leaders. I even lucked out and got to go to the Sunday morning session, along with a spirit-filled Music and the Spoken Word, with 3 of my young women!

Conference Saturday always starts out deliciously

with chewy bagels and tasty cream cheese from Rich's in Holladay

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I was so proud of all three kids; they were extra reverent this time around, even Carson. I was particularly impressed by Wyatt - he watched all four sessions, even when his big sister and little brother chose to play during some of the talks he stuck around and took notes in his notebook. In his note-taking, mostly he just wrote words or short sentences he heard, but I thought it was a great first-step into really listening and striving to retain the messages from our holy prophets. Some of his notes were so cute, I couldn't resist snapping a picture of them:

Left side: "As he spake by the mouth of His holy prophets who have been since the world began."

Ride side: "Hawaii Temple / Every young man should go on a mission. / You are field our dig. / I've never been a leader. [Remember the talk where the speaker had quoted someone as saying, "I've never been a leader."?] / To all moms and dads."

Left Side: "God's work / Art of Body / God's Temple / And his sons for many years ' run faster / what means 'family'." Right Side: "A brother's truth and trust" [ I love that he did TRUTH as 'CHROOTH' and TRUST as 'CHRUST' ]

Another page I didn't photograph says:
"Take my hand / Lets go down the path / you can start down the path of God / We LISSIN and feel HAPPY NISS / We love the Lord"

To me, the words he chose to write down speak volumes about the sprouting of a mighty testimony. This sounds totally braggy, but I say this knowing we as his parents don't have as much [if anything] to do with it as the Holy Ghost and Wyatt's free agency, which in this case was used very wisely, but I can't help but mentioning how AWESOME and POWERFUL I think he will be as an elder in the church if he continues to make such righteous decisions as he is now at age six. I learn a great deal from my son everyday (someday soon I'll post about Smiles for Service) and am grateful for the opportunity to have a spirit so sweet and so 'filled-with-a-desire-to-do-good' in my home. I am truly blessed to be his mother and to be his sister in the gospel!

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We also played a game as a family that proved to be a big hit, so I'm sure we'll do it again (chocolate is an amazing motivator). To keep the drowsiness at bay, everyone picked a word and each time they heard a speaker say their word, they got an M & M. Brett didn't have anyone fooled when he chose his word to be "THE"...

Halle, goin' for another M & M....

Here are the boys scribbling their notes

Friday, October 15, 2010

"behold, I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord"

Some of us have questions in life we struggle to find answers to. Even questions in the gospel. I'm a believer that everyone owes it to themselves to do their homework, to study the scriptures and words of the prophet, and most of all to PRAY - everyone owes it to themselves to form opinions and know where they stand. Yet there are some areas we mere mortals find to be gray - that's when I have to remind myself that thankfully the Lord has no gray areas. He draws a firm line between black and white. When I have difficulty finding that line, those issues then become "backburner" issues. Issues I'm willing to put on the backburner and wait to receive answers to, because not knowing the answer is not enough to rock my faith or testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ and of His restored gospel. These are the issues I'll ask my Maker about face to face...who knows? Maybe I won't even have to ask...maybe I'll get to the other side and some knowledge or memory might be restored to me and I'll think, "Silly me, of course that's 'why'...it makes total sense now..." Gratefully, I don't have many issues that need to rest on that backburner - most questions I have are answered precisely and clearly. The Lord is wonderful like that...that stuff we absolutely need to know, we get to know, as long as we do our part.

In the hearts of many of our brothers and sisters, there seems to be a controversy surrounding a talk given by an apostle of the Lord at the recent General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I was lucky enough to be present when President Boyd K. Packer gave this address, and let me tell you, being there in person I will witness 'til the day I die that there was the Spirit of the Lord in that room and that love, yes LOVE, was there. As he spoke, you could literally feel the love and compassion he has for all of God's children. However, I realize not everyone is feeling that love, and since I do not qualify myself as someone who has the right to offer my opinion on this subject (other than to say I agree with President Packer's talk and wholeheartedly offer my support of it), I did come across a blog post from a fellow member of the church who is striving to overcome feelings of same-sex attraction. My heart goes out to this brother, who should be admired for his honesty and faithful ability to see beyond himself, recognizing that the Lord's plan truly is the Plan of Happiness and that trusting in his standards is the path to true peace. He has given permission for others to repost his words, so I want to include THIS LINK so that others might read the perspective that comes from someone who has a testimony of the gospel and has courageously acknowledged that in order to reach his full potential and receive all blessings that are promised to him, he can and must refrain from any thoughts or activity that goes against the Lord.

Our temptations might be different from his, but in all other ways we are the same. We're all imperfect people striving to do the right thing. Each of us has our demons, our vices, we're struggling to control and destroy. We are all held to the same standards - just because we as mortals are drawn to certain feelings, whatever they may be, does not mean we, as children of God with a divine inheritance, have the right to indulge in those feelings or desires. Resisting the "natural man" that is in all of us and eventually overcoming ourselves is what will refine us and help us reach our Divine Potential.

What this man says on his blog is not "gospel". He is not an authorized mouthpiece for the Lord nor is he an authorized representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But I feel his point of view is eloquent, humble, and valuable. President Packer is not perfect. He is a man, a mortal. However, he is an apostle of the Lord, therefore whatever he or any other apostle says, those baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who have commited themselves to accept these men as men of God, should consider prayerfully and with a willing heart. If you have struggled to reconcile yourself with President Packer's words, I encourage you to read this man's perspective.