Alysa and I got home from 'saleing' just as the MoTab started singing. Traditionally, garage sales are always good on conference Saturday. This week was no exception. But it was worth leaving all those great sales to get home in time, because the talks that were given, and the beautiful music proved to be exactly what I needed to hear, and what the church, and the world needed to hear for that matter.
President Monson started out by talking about temples and when he announced that Rome, Italy was getting a temple I thought that was very exciting (I am such an Italiophile!) I thought of how wonderful that will be for the saints there. I hope it is right across the street from the Vatican. (When we went to Italy we saw water fountains flowing freely everywhere - except at the Vatican. All fountains near St. Peters were broken or barely trickled. The further away you got from the cathedral, the better the flow from the fountains. You know, "fount of living waters." Just saying. I bet our new temple will have abundantly flowing fountains.) I asked Dennis if we could attend that dedication, but got no answer.
Elder Perry's talk on living a simplified life was so good, and had many points I need to share with my YW- points on the word of wisdom, modesty, debt, and storing up spiritual fuel. This talk is just so important for our day, and proof to me that the Lord speaks through our prophets the council that we need today. There was so much of that in this conference.
Sis. Allred's talk on missionary work was so good too. This is something I definitely need to work on! I loved the quote from Pres. Hinkley that "When we save a girl, we save generations." How true is that. That really made the weight on my calling seem that much heaver, but it is right on. The work that we do with those girls has untold consequences or blessing for countless people.
Elder Anderson spoke about spiritual storage now for moments of difficulty. I have an idea that a lot of us are going to be facing times of difficulty real soon, if not already, and our testimonies might be the only thing we may have to get us through. Oil for our lamps.
I loved Elder Aidiakaitus's talk about how his father joined the church, and the Book of Mormon. He said that when we have a Book of Mormon, and don't read it we are like a child that receives a letter from his beloved and distant father, and doesn't even bother to open the envelope. Or like a spoiled child who refuses to even take a bite of the lovely meal that was carefully prepared for his by his mother. I really don't want to act like a spoiled child. The Book of Mormon really is a personal letter sent just to us from our Father in Heaven. As the world changes, I am amazed how the Book of Mormon addresses our needs more and more precisely. I have never said "wow, that describes our world right now" as much of I have said it this last year. Its all in there.
Elder Oaks' talk on sacrament meeting was great. I kept asking my kids "Are you listening to this?", especially the stuff about the Aaronic Priesthood and the sacrament.
Favorite Talk: President Uchtdorf talking about the principle of hope. We always hear so much of faith and charity, and not so much about hope. But hope is the third leg on the three legged stool of the gospel. Hope is critical to both faith and charity. Hope is a simple trust in the Lord's promises, that all things really will work together for our good. It is manifest in our patience in optimism and patient perseverance. He talked about things we hope for and things we hope in. He teaches that the things we hope for are future blessings, like eternal life. Things we hope for lead us to faith. Then there the things we hope in - the blessings the Lord that are more immediate. The things we hope in lead us to charity. Hope fulfilled leads to greater hope, and when we put hope into action, through good works, then our present circumstances give way to future blessings. It was all pretty deep, and I will have to hear it several more times before I really get it. Because of hope, we have a reason to rejoice when all seems dark. Talk about pertinent to our day. There are so many dark things looming on the horizon including the failing economy, that these are exactly the words we need to hear. That there is hope, and that hope is Christ - the light in the darkness. We have reason to REJOICE! I have been in a funk all week and I have to keep listening to Pres. Uchtdorf's talk each time I feel that way. With the way things are going, I'll have that talk committed to memory in no time. Please read it if you haven't, and then read it again.
1 comment:
Elder Uchtdorf's was my favorite talk too, of what I saw anyway. Now it will be awesome to read it all. Dayna
Post a Comment