Note: These are the instant, mildly-filtered things that ran through my brain and heart as I watched this session of General Conference. If you are looking for deep, spiritual analysis, this is not the place. Drive on. Please check back later for that, after I have had some time to process.
• The choir starts singing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” My son whispers “Followed by Amore.” I want to hurt him. (If you get the joke, you get the joke. If you don’t, I’m glad for you.)
• I’m not familiar with the good brother who offered the invocation, but he sounds an awful lot like the bad guy from Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. But that’s okay, because Elder Uchtdorf sounds like Hans Gruber.
• The Choir is on their game today. Beautiful stuff for an Easter morning.
• Elder Larry Y. Wilson “It is an extraordinary privilege to have the Spirit as our guide.”(Bachelors in English from Harvard, MBA from Stanford.)
Told an interesting story about a sailor receiving promptings from the Spirit.
We need to be clean to hear the voice of the Spirit. “Sometimes we can’t hear heaven’s signal because we are not worthy. Repentance and obedience are the way to achieve clear communication again.”
Counseled us to avoid broad-based questions and get specific. We also need to be willing to get to work.
“Being spiritually self-reliant is to be able to hear the Lord’s voice through His Spirit for one’s own life.”
• President Reyna L. Aburto (2nd Counselor RS) talked about monarch butterflies. (I’ve always been partial to monarchs, because those are the kind we raised and released in elementary school.)
Compared the monarchs huddling together in a “kaleidoscope” to we as members of the church needing to be united. “If yea are not one, ye are not mine.” (D&C 38:27)
Used the people in the Americas after Christ’s visit as an example of things getting done through unity. The shared common religious experiences with the Savior.
“Miracles happen when the children of God work together, guided by the Spirit to reach out to others in need.”
(She is from Nicaragua, and studied industrial engineering and has a degree in computer science.)
• Elder Massimo de Feo: Son referred to him as “Chief of the Universe.” In reality, he worked for the US Embassy in Rome – he is the first Italian G.A.
“If you are struggling to find the strength to forgive, don’t think of what others have done to you, but think of what the Lord has done for you.”
POWERQUOTE: “True disciples know that the real blessings are not always what they want, but rather what the Lord wants for them.”
“True disciples love to stand in holy places and love to make holy the places where they stand.”
“May this day of remembrance of the resurrection of the Savior, be a day of spiritual renewal for each one of us.”
• Elder Claudio D. Zivic: (CPA from Argentina)
The pat that stuck out to me was the metaphor of a paddling a leaky kayak. “If we persist in our sins, we forget the covenants we have made with the Lord, even though we keep capsizing because of the imbalance that those sins create in our lives.”
Fix the cracks when they are small. They will hold us back until we fix them.
He has a very unique voice. I can’t think of how to describe it other than an “old man warble.”
“The Lord will be at our side, helping us in times of need and weakness, and if we demonstrate a sincere desire and act accordingly, we will make ‘weak things become strong.’”
• I bought a beverage last night and put it in my insulated mug. This morning it is still fizzy and there is still ice in it. It is the modern day equivalent of Manna in the wilderness.
• President Henry B. Eyring: “My simple hope today is to increase your desire and ability to receive the Holy Ghost.”
Retold Easter story and road to Emmaus.
“More precious than seeing with our eyes, or remembering words spoken and read, is recalling the feelings that accompanied the quiet voice of the Spirit.”
“Great ministers have qualified for the Holy Ghost as a nearly constant companion. And they have qualified for the gift of charity, which is the pure love of Christ.”
• Holy Ghost is a recurring theme this year. That is always a good thing.
• President Dallin H. Oaks: Started talking about death/resurrection.
Alma’s teachings to Helaman: “By small and simple things are great things come to pass.”
Small and simple things are powerful over time: Scripture study, prayers, kneeling family prayers, seminary/institute. Though each of these practices seem small and simple, over time each results sin uplift and growth – because each invokes the power of the Holy Ghost.
YES.
“Our own inspired self-evaluation can help us see how we have fallen short and how we can do better. Such repentance should precede our weekly partaking of the sacrament.”
YES.
Quoting Howard W. Hunter: “Frequently it is the commonplace tasks that have the greatest positive effect on the lives of others, as compared with the things that the world so often relates to greatness.”
Seemingly small things: How we use of time, TV, internet, what we read, entertainment.
““We are surrounded by media influences and cultural deteriorations that will carry us downstream in our values if we are not continually resisting.” “Cultural currents are so strong, that if we ever stop paddling, we will be carried downstream.”
“Small acts of disobedience or minor failures to follow righteous practices can draw us down toward an outcome we have been warned to avoid.”
• President Oaks has one of the all-time great, “I am your dad, listen to me when I’m speaking to you” voices.
• President Russell M. Nelson: Personally knew 10 of the 16 previous presidents of the church. All 8 of his great-grand parents were converts from Europe.
Didn’t get sealed to his parents until they were EIGHTY!
“Receiving revelation is one of the greatest gifts God gives to his children.” (And the Holy Ghost theme keeps a rollin’)
Spoke to the blessings we can enjoy form truly receiving the Holy Ghost and learning to understand his promptings. “We will be guided in matters large and small”
POWERQUOTE: “Good inspiration comes from good information.”
“If Joseph Smith’s transcendent experience in the Sacred Grove teaches us anything, it is that the heavens are open and that God speaks to His children.”
“Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!”
“I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation.”
Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of:
- increased purity
- exact obedience
- earnest seeking -daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon
- regular time committed to temple and family history work.
“Regardless of what others may say or do, no one can ever take away a witness borne to your heart and mind about what is true.” (Yes- but we can lose it ourselves if we don’t be careful with it.)
“I’m optimistic about the future.” (Which puts him at odds with most of the world) He acknowledged that the world is a hateful place and we are bombarded by news and social media that makes it tough – we will see the days where we won’t be able to survive without the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
Call to action: “Let this Easter Sunday be a defining moment in your life. Choose to do the spiritual work required to hear the voice of the Holy Ghost.”
(Awesome talk. A talk by a Prophet.)
• One more session. Who is left? Holland and Uchtdorf? Gulp!
I received two Sunday AM blogs, but not Sunday PM – Did I miss it or was there too much excitement from Sunday PM to write about. haha Anyway if you have it I would love to read it. Thanks! Love your insight.
Definitely a focus on the Holy Ghost. But also a focus on making and keeping covenants and staying on the covenant path. I wrote that in my notes over and over. (I’ll admit it was something I was listening for as I am teaching the YW about covenants next Sunday. I live in the Jordan River temple district and we have been encouraged to teach the July and August Come Follow Me lessons to the youth now in preparation for the temple dedication). This conference was so very wonderful!! So much to study, ponder and apply.
And Elder Christofferson.
I liked Elder Oaks comment to this effect: The cultural currents are so strong that if we stop paddling, even for a moment, we will be carried downstream. There is no coasting along in our day.
I love this emphasis on the Holy Ghost. I have often said that it’s the best gift I’ve ever received. If we seek His help, Heavenly Father will give us very personal tutoring on how to use this gift to bless our life and the lives of others.
Fantastic recap. Reminded me of things I had heard, but not paid heed to.
Don’t forget Elder Cook. And then technically, we still have the new guys: Gong and Soares. It is going to be a power packed 2 hours for sure!
Yes! I was just thinking of Elder Cook.
I watched this session with my seven-year-old grandson and his mom told him our church leaders, even President Nelson, must know he’s getting baptized this summer because they all spoke on the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost. These talks will definitely help as I prepare my own talk for his baptism in three months!
Yes, learning to hear the Holy Ghost is the major theme of this Conference. Almost every talk has been centered on the HG as The testifier of Christ and the conduit for personal revelation.
Thank you for your observations. Amazing as always!