Reveling in the Warmth

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I've just participated in a two-day event called General Conference where we hear speakers from the leaders of the church.  There are four general two-hour sessions and an extra session for the men (which the women can view on-line) over the weekend.  This happens twice a year; the first weekend in April, and the first weekend in October.

At the end of each conference, I marvel at the warmth I feel in my soul.  Conference is a time to take stalk of our lives, set new goals, and renew commitments with the Lord.

I've had the privilege the last couple of years to participate in on-line chatter via social media during conference.  We share conference quotes, impressions, thoughts, and ideas.  We make new friends in the process, and strengthen friendships with others. We have conversations with others not of our faith, and more friendships are formed.  I learn a lot from these people.

I don't own a laptop computer, or any fancy cell phone technology.  My computer is not in the same room with the television where I watch the sessions of conference.  So I participate on-line between sessions of conference.  This has forced me to take good notes during conference so that I can go back to the computer and talk about what I've heard.  Do you know how many years I've been told to take notes during conference?  Do you know how many years I ignored that counsel?  Well, I can now say that the counsel is wise.  I learn a lot from taking those notes.  :)

As conference came to a close today, I felt such a renewed commitment to the gospel.  I'm exhausted from two days of "filling my cup" and then talking about it on three different social media networks, but it's a good kind of tired.  It's the kind of tired that says, "you've got your work cut out for you, but it's okay because the Lord is there to help."

General Conference is not just for members of our faith, but for all people.  If you have never participated in a session of General Conference, I highly recommend that you watch a session or two on-line here.  You can watch the videos, listen to the audio, or download the texts.  (Texts may not be available for a few days.) Do yourself a favor and "fill your cup" and enlighten your mind.  Fill your heart with good things.

On Cloud Nine

My husband and I went to the temple this morning to spiritually prepare for this weekend's General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We also happened to have tickets tonight to a Jackie Evancho concert of "America's Got Talent" fame.  My husband had given me the tickets last December for our anniversary, and it just happened that the concert was a few days prior to this weekend's General Conference.  I'm on a spiritual high.  There is nothing like quiet time to ponder in the temple followed by listening to Jackie Evancho sing "The Lord's Prayer" (among other things).  What a way to prepare for General Conference!

I was so impressed by Miss Evancho's charm.  She is a totally unassuming, sweet, amazing young woman.  When she is singing, she is "in the zone," and has this huge adult voice.  Upon completion of a song, she drops her shoulders, flips her hair, and tugs at her shoulder straps like every other kid her age.  She has this tiny speaking voice on the microphone that was difficult to hear when she introduced the young man who is touring with her. At one point, she finished a song and said, "Well, I hope you enjoy intermission," and then left the stage.  She is just a little girl with a huge talent -- a God given talent.  I hope we hear good things from this young woman down the line.  I hope her parents keep her from getting a big head, and that as she grows into a teenager she isn't consumed by the evils that lurk around every corner of the industry because she has a gift.

If anyone in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is listening, Jackie Evancho would be an outstanding guest at a Mormon Tabernacle Concert or "Music and the Spoken Word."

I'm looking forward to General Conference this weekend, and I feel like I'm well prepared to feast on the words of the prophets.  I can hardly wait!

General Conference October 2011

I'm blogging from a hotel in Twin Falls, Idaho, so if someone comes to use the computer, this may be cut short.

My husband and I just attended General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You call us Mormons.  It was an absolutely wonderful conference!  I felt so at peace to be there with thousands of people who share one common goal:  To try a little harder each day to become more like the Saviour.  There were talks from the prophet and President of the Church, President Thomas S. Monson, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other general officers of the Church.  I took great notes, but I won't try to summarize them because they are in one of my suitcases, and I'm not sure which one at this point -- and I'm pretty tired tonight.

The one talk that does stand out in my mind, however, was a talk by Elaine S. Dalton (oh, I do hope I got her name right), the Young Women's General President.  Usually, when a member of the Young Women's Presidency speaks, she speaks to the young women of the Church.  This time, this wonderfully inspired leader spoke to the fathers of the Church.  It was quite apparent that she knows that families are falling apart, and she felt inspired to speak to fathers about keeping their families together, honoring their priesthood responsibilities, and staying close to their daughters (and sons).  It was a powerful and moving talk.

I was also thrilled at the new temples that were announced in Wyoming, the Congo, Columbia, and South Africa, and that the Church is going ahead with plans for a temple in Paris, France.  The historic tabernacle in Provo, Utah that burned down a few months back will be completely restored -- but not as a tabernacle -- as a new temple!

It was also announced that a new fund has been set up to help families who live far away from a temple to make a one-time trip to a temple to do family ordinances and seal their families together for eternity.  What a wonderful opportunity!  I can definitely sink my teeth into that, and will be making my first donation to the fund shortly.

On a more personal note, between the Saturday sessions of conference, I was thrilled to be able to personally meet Kathryn Skaggs (aka LDSNana, aka A Well-Behaved Mormon Woman).  I have been in awe of this woman's talents since I first "met" her on Twitter a couple of years ago.  Kathryn has her own story to tell about conference, and I won't tell it here and spoil her fun.  She's probably already done it, but the hotel where I'm staying doesn't allow patrons to use social media on the hotel computer, so I can't check to see what she's posted to Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ about conference -- that will have to wait until I can get to a more "friendly" computer.  By the way, Kathryn is as beautiful as her pictures -- besides being a completely genuine person.

The main lesson learned from attending conference:  When I was walking back and forth between the hotel and the conference center, I kept telling myself to fight through the pain because my third great grandmother, Ingeborg Mortensen Jensen, pushed a handcart all the way across the country to the Salt Lake Valley, and I shouldn't complain.  As I recall (and my family will correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure), Ingeborg was about 15 years old (or at least a young woman), she was a little bit of a thing (not overweight), and she did not have a metal plate and several screws in her ankle.  Those Vicodin that I didn't take after my surgery and just threw in the 72-hour kit in case somebody needed them someday -- yeah, I should have grabbed them for the trip.  Let's just say that I had two nights of total agony, and I made Danny go find food last night (walking because the whole area around the hotel was a huge construction site) and bring it back to the room.

I'll blog about our trip to Idaho in a couple of days.

Blessings of Modern Times

Corsets are not for me.  I would never have survived them.  I doubt I would have survived a wagon train or pushing a handcart across the plains to the Great Salt Lake Valley.  I certainly would not have survived long dresses with long sleeves and petticoats in desert heat.  I appreciated drugs during childbirth, and the fact that because of modern medicine, my babies survived a variety of life-threatening events at their birth.  I believe Heavenly Father saved me for 1954 because he knew if I'd been born any earlier, it would have spelled disaster.

I feel so blessed to live in these times.  I can't imagine having to follow Moses in the desert for 40 years to hear a prophet's voice, or walk from village to village following the savior to learn about God's eternal plan.  I don't think I would have done very well camping in a tent to hear King Benjamin speak words of prophecy.

On October 1 - 2, 2011, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will hold their General Conference.  This regularly happens every six months; the first weekend in April, and the first weekend in October.  I have always been in awe of the fact that I can listen to the prophets and apostles speak from the comfort of my recliner through the miracle of television.  General Conference can now be seen via cable systems, satellite, and can be streamed via the Internet.  The printed word can be read and studied in the May and November issues of the church publication, the Ensign.

Today I read a guest blog from the prophet, Thomas S. Monson, in the Washington Post.  I find that completely amazing!  A prophet of God blogs!  How cool is that!

Now more than ever before in the history of man, we have the opportunity to hear Heavenly Father's word.  We have been given living prophets and apostles who have technology available to them to reach more people on the planet than ever before.  It makes me think that possibly it is more imperative that we hear what He has to say now.

How well do I listen?  If I lived in Noah's time, would I have jumped on the arc, or would I have played in the rain?  If I had been in Nauvoo, Illinois when the mobs came, would I have walked on the ice and snow and wallowed in the mud to Winter Quarters, or would I have cowered in a corner hoping the mobs wouldn't notice?  If I had been with my 3rd great grandmother in Denmark, would I have been willing to sail to America and push a handcart across the desert plains knowing there was a very good chance I would die in the process?

Just six months ago, I heard the words of inspiration from prophets and apostles during the April General Conference.  President Monson admonished us to attend the temple more often.  He talked about the great sacrifices that others have made to attend the temple, and reminded us how blessed we are to live in such close proximity to temples.  He asked us to be good citizens of the nations in which we live, and to reach out to others of different faiths.  He reminded us that maintaining a strong testimony and studying the scriptures would see us safely through the sin around us.  Others at April's Conference gave us so many more words of advice and good counsel.  I find it interesting to look back over the last six months and evaluate how far I've actually reached for the "arc."  Sometimes I've run up the plank, and sometimes I've clung to a tree and hoped for a life line.

October's General Conference will be exciting for me.  My husband and I are travelling to Salt Lake City to sit at the prophet's feet in the Conference Center.  This is only the second time we've been able to make the trip to Salt Lake for conference.  I pray that I'll be a sponge to soak up the inspiration that will be given.  I pray that I'll be humble and teachable enough to run up the plank to the arc in the next six months -- do not pass go; do not collect $200.  I pray that I'll take advantage of the great blessings available to me in these modern times and not waste them on worldly things.

Sitting at the Feet of the Prophet

Twice a year like clockwork my soul is revitalized. It's like sitting in a hospital bed with an I.V. in my arm pumping nutrients to keep me alive. The first weekends in April and October LDS General Conference is held in Salt Lake City, Utah. I've actually only been in Salt Lake City for conference once, but we're living in the age of technology. Our meeting houses have satellite dishes. Conference is also broadcast on cable television networks, and it can be viewed on the internet. I'm fortunate enough to have satellite television and can watch it in my own home.

The prophet and the apostles, as well as other leaders of the church, speak to us. It's always amazing to me how inspiring conference is, and how it personally touches my life. It gives me the needed boost of energy to keep trying for the next six months until conference time rolls around again. I find myself waiting for the printed version of the talks in the church magazine, the Ensign, the following month so that I can read, ponder, and study the words again.

How fortunate I am to live in a time when it is so easy to sit at the prophet's feet and be taught of spiritual things!

As I watched conference this weekend, I wrote down things that personally touched me. Our beloved prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught that in order to understand the meaning of death, we must understand the purpose of life. He also said that we need to trust in the Lord. He wants us to re-read, study, and ponder the messages from conference. He asked us to look to the lighthouse of the Lord.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught that every person we meet is a V.I.P. to our Heavenly Father. Elder Quentin Cook taught that we should slow down, be quiet, ponder, and pray. Elder Hallstrom said that if we feel wronged we must never give up, but must turn to the Lord. He said never let an earthly experience disable you spiritually. Elder Neil Andersen reminded us to tell our children the stories of Jesus and to teach them the gospel. He said our challenge as parents is to fan the flames of their spiritual core (or glow--I'm not sure I caught the right word).

Elder L. Tom Perry said about ten different ways that parents are responsible for the education of their children and are commanded to bring up their children in truth and light. Elder Christopherson warned us not to fall into spiritual illiteracy because we don't open the books. He said our need for the scriptures is greater now than at any other time.

I have many other things written in my notes, but I think what I have written here gives a taste of the wonderful messages that were given.

If you'd like to "fill your lamp" or receive a spiritual shot in the arm, you can view the sessions of conference here:

http://lds.org/conference/sessions/display/0,5239,23-1-1207,00.html

You can also view the individual messages on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/MormonMessages#g/c/494091103E5880EA

I pray that all will take advantage of the opportunity to sit at the feet of the prophet and apostles and be taught.