General Conference

Wow - what an awesome weekend!  General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held this weekend.  This conference is an opportunity for Latter-day Saints around the world to "gather" to hear the words of the leaders of the Church, the modern-day apostles and prophets whom God has called to serve in our day.  Truly, these men are called of God, that much was so plain from the topics on which they chose to speak, the fervor with which they spoke, and their resounding testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.

General Conference happens two times per year; the first weekend in April and the first weekend in October.  It is comprised of 4, 2-hour general sessions, and a Priesthood session.  I'm the first to admit, this is a lot.  In the past, I have found myself less engaged in the Saturday sessions and pretty sleepy during the Sunday morning session.  This time though, Eddie and I were more dedicated in our desire to hear the words that the Lord has prepared for us.  What a tremendous blessing!

I'm sure one of the talks that many will remember for years was a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in the Sunday afternoon general session.  WOW!  He told it like it is!  He talked of dangers in these last days metaphorically speaking of the heart as the center of our faith, loyalty and values, and then quoting the Savior when He said that in the latter days, men's hearts will fail them.  He explained that our Heavenly Father is so aware of our day, of each one of us individually, and that He has provided a way for us to resist the things that would distract us, or lead us away from the path that leads to Him, that we may overcome all troubles in all times.

Elder Holland expressed his love for and testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of the divinity of Joseph Smith's calling as the Prophet of the Restoration.  He told of the many attempts to defame the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and bore powerful witness of the Book of Mormon as Another Testament of Jesus Christ, translated by the power of God through Joseph Smith, and written for our day.

I also loved the talk on temperance by Elder Kent D. Watson.  He talked of the charge to all of us to be like the Savior and the need for temperance in all things.  I was brought to tears with the words from Elder Brent H. Nielson of prayer, of furthering the work of building the kingdom, and of the Lord's awareness of our needs, our prayers, and that many of the rising generation will be the long-awaited answers to fervent prayers.  I found the counsel from Elder Dale G. Renlund especially moving - that we be not casual in our worship or in our relationship with our Savior.

Of course, I love listening to the prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.  "What have I done for someone today?"  I loved his message on service, especially his mention of warm fuzzies.  If you haven't already, guess you have to listen to understand that one!

What a fabulous weekend!  Isn't it amazing that we can watch and/or listen to these sessions in the comfort of our own homes?  Even more amazing that the audio files are available to listen to the NEXT day on http://www.lds.org/?  I was talking with someone in the temple the other night and she mentioned that she downloads the talks onto her mp3 player so she can listen to them again and again while she walks or does other various activities.  What a great idea!  What a great opportunity to not have this spiritual refreshment only every six months but as often as we want it by listening again and again to the counsel of our leaders?

Eddie - break out the Zunes, we have some downloading to do!

What was your favorite talk and why?