Fall General Conference

I love the Fall and I love General Conference--what a great weekend. For those of you who tuned in, I'm enjoying the re-caps and reports you're posting to your blogs. We were listening right along with you here in New Jersey!

For those of you who aren't LDS: twice a year (once in October and once in April) all of the leaders of our church gather in Salt Lake City to broadcast six two-hour sessions to chapels and homes worldwide. I have no idea how many people tune in, but it's a lot--it is broadcast in dozens of languages and archived in eighty-six languages including American Sign Language. This year we listened via Internet in our living room for convenience. I'm so grateful for the Internet! It was nice to be able to grab snacks and put babies down for naps and still listen to the talks being given. Here's what our team looked like on Saturday and Sunday:
Though we probably seem pretty casual, we take General Conference pretty seriously. We believe that God still reveals direction and guidance through appointed prophets and apostles just like He did during the thousands of years in the Bible and just as the New Testament shows Christ did when he lived on the Earth. His method for revealing truth has not and never will change. General Conference is an event in which this happens each year. Anyone can listen in real time and full transcripts are available within a few weeks after the conference for anyone to read.

This weekend dozens of talks were given. Many of them focused on things that we can be doing better (personal prayer, serving others, etc.) but one theme that I couldn't miss was that we need to continue forward with hope--things will work out. Heavenly Father is well aware of the crises that we now face as individuals, families, and a nation, and I know he inspired the messages so that we could progress in the face of these difficulties.

While inspirational, these talks are more than motivational speeches--they are literally God's directions for His children. Last weekend President Dieter Uchtdorf spoke of how to find joy. Yesterday Elder Boyd K. Packer spoke of the importance of patriotism to our countries--our membership is worldwide. On Saturday Elder David Bednar spoke about prayer and gratitude. Many more meaningful messages were given. I look forward to studying the transcripts since I really only was able to focus on short sections.