Yesterday was the first day of the semi-annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For those of us who are members of the church, it's an opportunity to hear what our leaders have to say, to renew our commitment to following Christ and readjust our course, to feel unified and to hear reports of the progress the church has made in the last 6 months. It engages us and makes us feel like we're a part of the greater body of members, whilst also managing to feel so personal that you're convinced sometimes that the speaker knows your exact situation and is aiming their comments directly to you.
If you didn't get chance to listen to the talks yesterday, there are opportunities to catch up with all of the talks being downloadable in mp3 and text format by Thursday. I would totally recommend that you access them whether you're a member of the church or not - they're a great way to learn a little about the church without any of the pressure that I know people sometimes feel that we might be trying to convert you. Just have a listen or have a read and see what you think - I think you'll find it uplifting.
Here are some of my thoughts and summaries of the talks so far - I don't take extensive notes so someone listening to the same talk may have written completely different things, but these are my highlights so far!
Saturday morning session
President Thomas S. Monson
While opening the conference, President Monson shared with us the news that church membership is now over 15 million; and that we have increased our missionary numbers over the last year from 58 000 to over 80 000. That's 80 000 young people and retired people who are willing to give 18 months - 24 months of their lives to the cause of teaching and learning about the church. I thought that was pretty impressive!
Elder Hales spoke about General Conference itself and in particular it impressed me that he talked about how the General Authorities who are assigned to speak at conference pick their own topics. He said that often it takes a lot of praying and pondering to decide what is the right topic, which is a great example of how we all need to approach questions in our lives. I know certainly that for me I can sometimes get lazy about gaining inspiration and just feel like I can do alright off my own intellect - and maybe I can. But it will only ever be 'alright' if I do it that way, and I know that I have to aim much higher than that.
The other thing I really loved was his reference to a prophet from the Book of Mormon named King Benjamin. King Benjamin spoke to the people in his day from a tower in much the same way that the General Authorities speak to us in conference. His people pitched tents to listen to him, facing the temple where he stood. For the purposes of conference, my tent looked something like this:
Hopefully, it was a setting where the still small voice could be heard and understood!
He also talked of blessings that come after conference as we review the messages we heard. I'm excited to do this!
Elder Soares talked about a subject that I felt was for me. He spoke about being meek and particularly related it to becoming more Christ-like as we develop this quality. Meekness is something that I exhibit in some situations but not in others - I find it easier outside the home than I do at home - which made me realise something that Elder Soares said was SO applicable to me. I can't just pray to be meek and control my temper and get everything right with Ben; I have to choose to do it and put effort in before it will be given to me as a gift. Lots of food for thought!
This talk mainly focused on the blessings that come through the Priesthood and the Ordinances and Covenants that we make through that power. Most of all, what I took from it was a reminder that we have a right to revelation and it made me feel blessed to be reminded that my husband can give me blessings through the authority that he holds.
Look ahead and believe! - this talk was so enthusiastic and I loved hearing his stories and experiences. This is definitely one I'll go back to and read again as it was full of hope!
Elder Bednar set a perfect example of how an apparently dry subject can be revisited and can be given in such an uplifting way. He talked about tithing. Most vitally, he talked about the blessings that we get from paying our tithing that can be so subtle but are significant. For example, instead of giving us a change in circumstances we might be given greater capacity to change our own circumstances.
I'm going to be applying for jobs for next year soon and I will need all the blessings I can get so that I can best improve my chances. I already feel the help that Heavenly Father is giving me to do this - miraculous things have happened and I've found myself in the right places. It's subtle, but I feel it's a blessing because our family has made tithing a priority.
I think President Uchtdorf is my favourite speaker of all time. He reminded us about extending a hand to others to "join with us" so that we exclude no one. Early on in his talk he mentioned a whole list of things that we do as members of the church including 3 hour church meetings every week; 10 hours of conference twice each year; service in the church; family history etc etc etc - we are a very busy people! The reason why we do these things and why we're happy to is because it brings us closer to the Saviour.
He talked about people who have questions and encouraged us to allow people to ask questions. He said, "we respect those who honestly seek for truth" but acknowledged that sometimes people in the church might struggle with being tolerant. "God is perfect and His doctrine is pure, but He works through us!"
He gave the counsel that we should "Doubt [our] doubts before [we] doubt [our] faith."
Saturday afternoon session
Elder Packer gave the opening talk of the session about the family and the safe home. He talked about the world in which we live and how it can affect people, but how we can have hope of defending our families. In particular, he mentioned the solutions to these problems that we find in the scriptures as long as they are part of our regular routine. He reminded us that "Righteous is more powerful than wickedness".
Women were the subject of Elder Christofferson's talk. It was sweet to hear him talk about the ability that women have as part of our divine identity to be able to impart faith.
He quoted the following from a talk about The Joy of Womanhood:
Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.
Due to the fact that Elder Nielsen was an American football player, his talk was about having a Personal Game Plan for missionary work. One to think about!
Elder Valenzuela talked about small and simple things and how great things come to pass through them. Sometimes I forget how the little things help others and strengthen them and I need to remember this!
Elder Dyches talked about the healing and forgiveness of Christ. He talked about this picture and it really hit me that we all have disabilities, weaknesses and grievances like the man cowering under the blanket. We all need Christ to give us that hope of strength and wholeness.
It isn't often that we get conference talks that seem to be on new topics entirely, but I've never heard a talk that so specifically addressed mental health challenges like this one. Elder Holland is a great favourite of many people in the church due to his abilities as an educator and orator. He made the statement this time that I loved, "We are infinitely more than our limitations and our afflictions."
We probably all know people who have, or have personally, been through mental health problems - or who are currently suffering. We are fragile as mortal beings BUT we are children of God and He loves and understands us despite the things that are specific trials in our lives. Elder Holland, speaking as an apostle of the Lord, promised that just as Jesus can fix physical ailments, He can heal broken minds. When he spoke about that healing I cried - it was so beautiful to think of all of the challenges of this mortality being lifted. It made me think of loved ones who've passed on; and children I have seen in paediatrics this week. There was one little girl I saw who was so beautiful but had been born with so many challenges, including Down Syndrome. I cannot wait until, one day, we can see all people as they are perfectly, without any of the physical and mental ailments they have here on this earth.
Elder Ballard returned to the topic of missionary work and reminded us that missionary work isn't about doing "unrealistic" things involving friends and neighbours. For me, I know that I need to be able to answer questions and share things with people around me - not with the objective of 'converting' but in order to allow them to make a choice.
Conference so far has been so inspiring! Bring on the Sunday Sessions!
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