General Conference: I'll try this again....

Last Sunday morning, early, I wrote a long post about all the wonderful things I heard in Conference on Saturday and then somehow lost it just as I was about to publish it. I thought maybe Michelle could find it for me so I didn't try to write it again. Turns out she couldn't find it so I am going to try it again.

As I look back over my notes, now, I don't remember all the thoughts I had when I wrote them. Still, I will do the best I can but I am really upset that that can actually happen when you are writing on a computer. Dang computers! I have a love/hate relationship with mine.

So the first talk, right off the bat, set the stage for my thoughts as Elder Richard G. Scott spoke about personal revelation. I was impressed with the suggestion that we need to write down the revelations and strong impressions we receive from the Lord. Then we should thank Heavenly Father for the things He is revealing to us and ask if there is anything more He wants us to know or understand. And then we should respond to and apply what we have learned.

Sister Matsumori said we should "provide a quiet time each day to facilitate the prompting of the Spirit." It reminded me of something someone said about President Kimball's advice that we "lengthen our stride." It was said that he didn't write out a long list of things to do. He started meditating each day as a way of lengthening his stride.

I have tried to include meditation as part of my daily routine of prayer and scripture study. Unfortunately I have fallen asleep each time I've tried it. I still find that I have not yet gotten over the "sleep withdrawals" from getting up at 5:00 a.m. If I don't do something that occupies my thoughts like writing in my journal or writing my notes from my scripture study I get very drowsy and practically fall asleep. Several times I actually have gone in the living room and lain down on the couch and slept for a little while longer. That has happened only a few times in the 7 weeks I've been getting up early so I don't feel too bad about it.
This usually happens after I have been up for a couple of hours already so you would think I would be wide awake by that time. Well, not yet, but I am persevering.

Back to Conference talks....

Elder Ted R Callister's talk said that even something as important as the restoration of the gospel was still only given line upon line, precept upon precept as Joseph Smith asked questions in prayer. So, also, will we receive line upon line, precept upon precept as we ask questions of the Lord in prayer. I realized that I don't very often ask questions in my prayers unless it's something important that I'm fasting about and I need to get an answer about.

I thought Elder Kent D Watson's talk on temperance was good. He said that temperance is a gift of the Holy Ghost, that it's more than just moderation, it's being diligent and patient in pursuing goals. I can honestly say that I would never have thought of that.... Temperance and goals going together? He also said that being temperate will give us increased spiritual strength and self control. Great! I could use more self-control

I loved Elder Neil L Anderson's talk on Mercy; that the arms of mercy are extended to us if we repent and come unto Him, that the Lord will receive us; that his arms of love are extended "all the day long." The phrase "I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands" is beautiful. It is my favorite phrase from a hymn on my Ipod from an album called Sacred Classics. The idea that the Lord's love for us actually is shown in the palms of His hands. The best part of his talk was when he said "don't be discouraged if you have been struggling with he same sin over and over. You won't see your progress without patience" He likened it to climbing a mountain through a forest of trees. That you can't see that you're progressing until you get near the top where the trees thin out, then you can look back and see that you really have made progress. The last note I took from him was that repentance always meant greater happiness.

The haunting rendition of "Oh Divine Redeemer" was so movingly beautiful I could hardly stand to hear it end. It was my favorite song of the whole conference.



And the one talk that impressed me most, above any other of the whole conference, was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's. Given the circumstances of how it was delivered that will cause it to be forever remembered, Elder Holland's POWERFUL TESTIMONY about the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of the Church was astounding. I loved this part:

In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created...tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as impostors and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that!They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

I could see Elder Holland was visibly shaken as he spoke. The feelings of the Spirit could not be denied in watching him. What an AMAZING talk!!! It makes me want to go out and say the same thing to the world. I am glad that he spoke it when all the world could watch and hear it and that it will be recorded forever. Angels will definitely quote from it.

I so look forward to General Conference. I promised myself I would only take one idea from each session to work on for the coming six months . I usually try to work on too many things and then get discouraged when I can't keep up with it all. As it turned out, I found so much in just the Saturday sessions that that is where I am taking my four ideas/goals from.

After going through my notes I've decided I will do the following things - write down my impressions from the Lord, meditate, practice temperance, and not be discouraged by working on the same sin over and over. Writing down impressions and not getting discouraged really aren't the kind of goals that take any actual work or effort so that should be easy. And I've decided that I will meditate on practicing temperance. :)

Practicing temperance is the only goal that I will really have to work at. Meditating is going to take some effort as well (but not as much as temperance) because I tend to fall asleep if I try to do it in the morning. I will have to write myself a note to do it in the afternoon. I am afraid I will forget if I don't have the note to remind me.

What a wonderful two days. I am so grateful that I can watch Conference on TV, what a miracle it is. I can hardly believe I am so blessed in my life with such abundance and prosperity. I do fear for our freedom, though. I must trust in the Lord about that. I wonder why we don't hear about that subject in Conference now days when we are so close to losing it. President Benson would have had a field day with what is happening now and that's putting it mildly to say the least.

Well, Conference was great and I am spiritually blessed to hear from a Prophet the things God would have us know.