April was the first time I have ever been involved in
every session of the General Conference.
Staying immediately opposite the Conference Centre was no
guarantee of actual entry, and my ticket was only for the one session on
Saturday afternoon. That was fun,
sitting with many other missionaries, and seeing the vast number of people in
attendance. There was a wonderful choir
of young people from the Orem Institute of Religion. Sitting with my friend Sr Young, I was able
to chat with two young people who were each a fiancée of a choir member, and
let me say, ‘That really gives you a connection!’
It was interesting to be in the same room with all the
General Authorities as we sustained them to continue leading the Church, and I
loved all the talks in this session.
My favourite talk was the sweet and gentle message by
Elder Hales. Under the title of ‘If ye
Love me, Keep my Commandments’, he said,
“Spiritually mature
obedience is ‘the Saviour’s obedience.’
It is motivated by true love for Heavenly Father and His Son. …
“Using our agency to obey
means choosing to ‘do what is right [and letting] the consequence follow.’ It requires self-mastery and brings
confidence, eternal happiness, and a sense of fulfilment to us and, by example,
to those around us; …
“… the words of Alma express the feelings of my
heart …
‘And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and
gentle; … being diligent in keeping the commandments of
God at all times’.”
After leaving the meeting I was very surprised to see the
performance in the streets by a few who had declined to accept the invitation
to join the conference. Some were
arguing in favour of certain doctrines, and others against. One even took the remarkable step of
dressing as Satan!
Other than Saturday 6th April, the meeting
with which I had the closest encounter was Saturday evening 29th
March, the General Women’s Meeting. For
the first time it featured women of all ages, including Primary girls from 8
years, Young Women up to 18 years, and mature Relief Society sisters to 80 and beyond.
Not scoring a ticket to the actual event, on this
occasion I was invited to join other women from our Stake, at the centre with
the remarkable address of ‘corner 2nd and ‘A’ streets!’ The refreshments preceding were delightful,
and as I may have already commented, I adored the combined ages choir, and
speakers. I was delighted with the theme
‘Covenants’, and enchanted to be taught how well this theme applied to each of
the participant age-groups.
Almost equally remarkable to me was the foot traffic on
the sidewalks surrounding the Conference Centre. So many women, and so impenetrable to my
companions and me, both coming and going.
Warning, never to try to swim against the tide of Relief Society sisters,
on a mission!
My enjoyment of the other Conference sessions may have
been in more remote locations, but it was still completely inspiring.
Still in my nightware, and through mouthfuls of cereal,
the delights of Sunday morning included frantically trying to restore sound to
the speakers, after visiting children had ‘adjusted’ the settings the evening
before. Finally succeeding only minutes
before the closing hymn, I spent the lunch break trying to move off the LDS
Family advertisements, to the Sunday Morning talks. I think it may have been days before I
finally heard the Choir’s wonderfully original rendition of ‘A Child’s Prayer’.
Sunday afternoon was much more demure, spent with a
couple of other Sister Missionaries and a real television set, in one of their
apartments.
But in terms of sheer luxury and enjoyment, by far the
‘best’ session for me was Saturday morning, because at this time I was not only
out of bed, fed, dressed and calm; I was also able to adjust and mend my clothes
at the very same time as enjoying the Conference session!!
The following Sunday, our Relief Society President shared
her six favourite ‘Gems of Thought from April General Conference’, as follows:
The
family is the pattern of heaven
Elder Lawrence E.
Corbridge (of the Seventy)
Even if everyone is
doing it, wrong will never be right.
Elder Russell M
Nelson
Christ-like love is
the greatest need we have on this planet.
Elder Jeffrey R
Holland
Always be ready to feel the gentle tug of the Spirit.
Elder L Tom Perry
Set aside the bottle of bitterness and
lift instead the goblet of gratitude.
President Dieter F
Uchtdorf
Blame keeps wounds open. Only
forgiveness heals.
President Thomas S
Monson
Have you already chosen your Conference favourites?
Good opportunity now that the ‘April Conference’ edition
of the ‘Ensign’ has arrived.
Don’t forget to click on www.lds.org/general-conference/music/2014/AChildsPrayer go to the General Conference, and make sure
you click ‘show music’. And of course to
listen to Pres. Monson’s talk on the same topic.
I also particularly enjoyed Pres. Uchtdorf’s Sunday
morning comments on ‘Gratitude’. He
said,
“Being grateful in
our circumstances is an act of faith in God.
It requires that we trust God and hope for things we may not see but
which are true. By being grateful we
follow the example of our beloved Saviour, who said, ‘Not my will, but thine,
be done.”
‘True gratitude is an expression of hope and testimony. It comes from acknowledging that we do not
always understand the trials of life, but trusting that one day we will.”
