" There is not one of us but what God’s love has been expended upon. There is not one of us that He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us that He has not desired to save and that He has not devised means to save. There is not one of us that He has not given His angels charge concerning. We may be insignificant and contemptible in our own eyes and in the eyes of others, but the truth remains that we are children of God and that He has actually given His angels … charge concerning us, and they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”
President Henry B Eyring quoting George Q Cannon, Sunday October 6, 2013
This is my favorite week-end, twice a year, when we get to hear from our dear prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, the apostles, and auxiliary leaders of the church. I love this week-end and look forward to it for weeks - well, months really! Sister J. T. in our ward gave a wonderful talk in Sacrament meeting about preparing for the upcoming General Conference. She said it "is our own personal Liahona." I really liked that and feel that as I take notes during conference, there are things that I specifically need to work on , things that touch my soul and strengthen my testimony.
So, what little * did I have in my notebook? President Monson began by reminding us of the importance to reach out and share the wonderful news of the gospel with others and as we do so, we will be assisted as we act in faith. He told us to Listen and Learn from the Spirit. This was a recurring theme throughout the conference. He also taught us to make the Lord the center of our lives and if we do, we will emerge victorious. To try each day to become better than what we were the day before, to fill our homes with love and courtesy.
*Pray for opportunities to share my love and testimony of the Savior
Elder Robert D Hales taught us to how to get the most from General Conference. He told us how each speaker is not assigned a specific topic, but each one fasts, prays, and ponders about the message he/she should give and follows the spirit's direction. Then as we listen with the spirit, pray to understand and ask how to apply that specific message to our lives, the spirit will teach us. He said that when he is taking notes at conference, he doesn't write down what the speaker is saying, but the directions the spirit is giving him.
*The Living Christ - memorize it!
Brother Soares talked about working on Christlike attributes each day of our lives, recognizing our weaknesses and and working to improve and make them strengths.
*Try to be a little better each day. Convey feelings with love and patience.
Sister Carol Stephens talked about the importance of priesthood ordinances and how we need these covenants to fulfill our divine desitny. She reminded us how generous Heavenly Father is with this divine power and personal revelation and that we all may benefit from these wonderful blessings.
Elder Dube taught the importance of going forward with faith, to learn from the past but to not live in it!
Elder Bednar talked about significant but suttle blessings in our lives that are sometimes overlooked such as contentment, increased capacity to do more with less.
*Cori has mentioned several times that it would be good to do a family blog about Tender Mercies . . . that came to my mind quite forcefully during Elder Bednar's talk - it would be nice to share those Windows of Heaven blessings with the family and since we are pretty spread out, that would be a great way to share things that strengthen and help us.
President Packer talked about the only safe place to raise children in tody'a world is in a gospel centered home. He taught that the scriptures hold the keys to spiritual protection.
*Renew my effort to read the scriptures daily
Elder Jeffrey Holland gave an amazing talk about Hope and depression - Never lose faith in Heavenly Father , His love never changes, He is simply, always there.
Some common themes running through the conference: Strengthening marriage and family as well as the importance and influence of good women in the world, and the power and blessings of the priesthood and the strength that comes through covenants and ordinances.
Elder R. Maynes talked about the strength we need to endure life's challenges and how our ability to endure is connected to the depth of our testimony.
*Attend the temple more often
Elder Richard G Scott talked about the strength that we gain through the Atonement of the Savior. He talked about the fathers of the Stripling Young Warriors and how they desired to protect their families, but because of past choices and covenants they had made, were unable to do so. He talked about the power of the atonement, the humility of those fathers, the faith of those mothers and the courage of the young men to go forward in faith and miracles happened.
*Fill your life with service to others.
Elder David McKonkie gave a wonderful talk on teaching with the spirit. He said it all begins with a testimony of the restoration of the gospel, then we need to seek revelation through prayer, scripture study and by living the commandments, and listening! (To the spirit and to our students) Prepare and let go and follow the guidance of the spirit.
So, I have my own personal Liahona for the next six months . .. .
I've set my goals and I'm going forward with faith.
An Older Woman Ahead of You
A few weeks later, sitting with some friends, one of them said she had been thinking a lot about being "Gracious" and asked us what we thought that meant. We all chimed in and then the discussion changed. A few weeks after that we were all together again and Paula told us that being gracious was still weighing on her mind and it was something she was working on, then she turned to me and said, "Sandy, I think of you as being someone who is gracious." Well, after I pulled myself up off the floor, I remembered a prayer a few weeks prior to that and realized that Heavenly Father, was answering a prayer, just letting me know that I am at least headed in the right direction, even if I still have a long ways to go . . .
