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.