My Thoughts on General Conference

I love General Conference! What a wonderful thing to be inspired and uplifted all while wearing my pajamas! Really though, conference just keeps getting better and better. I've had an ever present smile on my face since the first session began!

I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Sunday morning session of conference with my best friends and it was amazing! I can't even properly convey to you the things that I felt. Watching thousands of people fill the conference center filled me with joy and wonder. They knew what I knew. They had the truth of the gospel. There was a visible light and an air of happiness all around downtown and you just couldn't help but feel the happiness that comes only from the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Every word that was spoken in this glorious conference was inspired and was no doubt the answer to a heartfelt prayer. Many of the words spoken were answers to my own prayers. There were so many great talks that I couldn't possibly pick one. So here are a few of my favorite quotes from all of the talks.

"The perfect place to begin is exactly where you are right now." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

"In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited." - Jeffrey R. Holland 

"Stay on the Lord's side and you will win EVERY TIME." - Richard G. Scott

"Imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to him but he deals with it. So should we." - Jeffrey R. Holland

"Recognize the good in others and not their stains." - Richard G. Scott

"She understood who she was, and whose she was." - Elaine S. Dalton 

"We need to bear in mind that people can change... We must learn to see them as the Lord sees them." - Richard G. Scott

"The Lord wants to forgive." - Craig A. Cardon 

"Friendship is like the asphalt of life. It fills the potholes and makes the journey smoother." - Richard G. Scott  

"You can depend on the Lord to draw closer to them as you serve Him in faith." - Henry B. Eyring 

"Trust in the Lord and His timing." - Richard G. Scott 

"Heavenly Father has shown us not just a way, but the way." - Stanley G. Ellis 

"Catch the wave of missionary work." - Russell M. Nelson

"Disconnect from technology and reconnect with each other." - Rosemary M. Wixom

"With Christ, darkness cannot succeed." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf  

If you didn't get the chance to watch all 4 sessions of conference I encourage you to watch it! Chances are you will find the answers to your own questions in the words that are spoken, the hymns that are sung, or simply in the whisperings of the spirit. You can watch or listen to the full conference here.

I know that my Redeemer lives and that He loves me. I know that President Monson truly is a prophet of God. I know with all of my heart that I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me more than I could ever comprehend. I am so grateful for the opportunity we have to hear the words of the prophet every 6 months and I'll be counting down the days until I get to hear them again!

6 Tips For Listening to General Conference

The 183rd Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is this weekend and I am so excited! Six months is too long! I can honestly say I've been looking forward to it for the entire six months. That hasn't always been the case though. Sitting down and dedicating 8 hours, 10 if you're a guy, of your weekend to listening to some elderly gentleman speak, no matter how wonderful they may be, isn't a very exciting prospect for a lot of people. Since I know it can be kind of difficult to want to sit down and listen to conference I thought I'd share a few things that you can do to make it a little more meaningful.

1) Be well rested.
     - When you're tired it's a lot harder to pay attention and you are less receptive to the whisperings of the spirit.

2) Take notes.
     - Taking notes forces you to really listen to the speakers and it also gives you something to go back and look at when you need a little uplifting.

3) Fight the temptation to lay down. Watch conference sitting up.
     - We all know the voices of those wonderful men are like lullabies and if you close your eyes you'll be a goner!

4) Write down any questions you have or things that you've been struggling with beforehand
     - This is probably my favorite thing to do because I know it works. One by one you will hear the answers to your questions, either through the words that are being spoken, the whisperings of the spirit, or through the thoughts that come to your mind.

5) Make it a game.
     - Look to see what color of tie the speakers are wearing. Every time the speaker says a certain word, everyone gets a piece of candy. Play Conference Bingo.You can find any number of games and activities on Google or Pinterest that make watching conference fun!

6) Remember who is speaking
    - If you were told God himself would be one of the speakers, you would definitely make time to listen, really listen to what He had to say. God is speaking through these men and women. You don't want to miss what He has to say!

I know weekends are busy and you might miss a session. Don't worry! You can watch the whole thing on lds.org. I love General Conference and I can't wait to watch it tomorrow!

The Day That Changed My Life

October 6, 2012. The day that changed my life and the lives of so many others.

That beautiful Saturday morning I sat down to watch the semi-annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I had written down a few questions hoping to hear an answer in one of the sessions. Among these questions was should I serve a mission? It was written as an after thought. I mean, I couldn't even go until I was 21 and that was 3 years away! Then this happened.

I was so excited that I was laughing and crying at the same time and my roommates surely thought I had lost it. For some, this announcement alone was their answer. I'm a little more stubborn. I knew that I wanted to go, but I needed to know that I was supposed to.

And so it began. I fasted and prayed, I studied the scriptures, I started going to the temple more often. I read every talk about missionary work known to man, and watched every mission-related video on the internet (this is where the addiction to mission call videos started). I even signed up for mission prep! But no matter how hard I tried, I just didn't feel like I was getting an answer.

After 3 months I decided to talk to my bishop. He gave me a copy of Preach My Gospel and a Missionary Handbook and advised me to continue doing all of the things I was already doing. He told me that I was choosing between 2 good things: education and a mission. Heavenly Father wasn't going to tell me what to do. I had to make a decision and ask Him if it was right. Maybe both of them were right and it was going to be up to me. I can't say I loved that idea at the time. I was also given a priesthood blessing in which I was promised that if I studied it out and made a decision and then fasted about it, I would receive a sure answer, and here's the life-changing advice, I was told that once I had made the decision and received an answer, I should stick to it and not look back, just keep going.

I left that meeting confident that I would receive my answer and that it would be something that I could not deny. I think I was expecting something like a vision or a pillar of fire or maybe a nice email from God himself telling me whether I should or should not serve a mission. Unfortunately, none of those things happened. Rather the answer came piece by piece, through some advice from a friend, inspired words in sacrament meeting, a perfect scripture every now and then, the death of a loved one who never had the gospel, and feeling the love of God in any number of instances in my life.

I still wasn't completely sure it was right when I finally started my papers almost 2 months after talking to my bishop, but as I've been preparing to serve I have truly come to know that this is what I am supposed to do. I don't think that Heavenly Father would have minded if I stayed at the University, but He definitely doesn't mind if I go out and teach the gospel to some of his children either. I want everyone to feel the joy and the peace that I feel. I want them to know that they have a loving Father in Heaven and a Savior who atoned for their sins and who knows exactly what they're going through. I want them to know what I know. I have had my doubts, believe me. But every time I think that I might be going down the wrong path I hear the words of my bishop, "Stick to it and don't look back. Just keep going." And so I do.

P.S. My papers will hopefully go in this Sunday! YAY!!!