April Conference Thoughts

What an amazing conference!  Last week, I stated in testimony meeting and my blog post that having conference during Easter weekend was a cool thing, but wow.  There were a bunch of talks that really stood out to me this time around.  It’s not that I’m not touched in some way by all of the talks I hear, but, usually there are three or four that stand out a little bit more than the others.  Since taking on this blogging endeavor, I’ve mentioned my conference thoughts  here and here.  But this time, what a feast!  I don’t know if I was more in tune with the Spirit or that these talks were what I spiritually needed to hear at this point in my life (probably both).  I liked my format from October, but I’ll try (key word) to be briefer to keep from turning this into a 3000 word post. J

“We’ll Ascend Together” – Linda K. Burton:  I was quite touched by her tribute to “husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and uncles who know who they are and who are doing their best to fulfill their God-given roles as described in the family proclamation, including righteously presiding and providing for and protecting their families.”  I needed to hear what she had to say.  I’ve struggled at times over the last nine months to a year as we’ve dealt with Ben’s situation and the trials that have come with it.  I’ve tried to do my best, but sometimes it’s felt like I’ve been running in quicksand.  Jennifer has been a huge support and has been an example of “the proverb ‘Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.’”  (full talk here)

“The Parable of the Sower” – Elder Dallin H. Oaks:  Elder Oaks expansion upon the parable of the sower was wonderful.  Two main points: 1) while new converts to the Church may be described as the seeds falling in stony ground if they are rooted to the missionaries who taught them or to the various programs of the Church, this ground can also describe “long-term members” if they do not have a “firm and lasting conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”  Also, if “we are not rooted in the teachings of the gospel and regular in its practices, any one of us can develop a stony heart, which is stony ground for spiritual seeds”; and 2) in order to be the ground that yields a good harvest, it is “up to us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful. We must seek to be firmly rooted and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”  What I get from this is we get we focus on consistently.  If we are striving to keep our focus on the Savior, we will to the things necessary to keep our spiritual soil fertile.  If our focus is somewhere else, we are in danger of becoming the type of ground from which the Lord cannot yield a spiritual harvest.  (full talk here)

“Choose to Believe” – Elder L. Whitney Clayton:  Using the true story of Sailor Gutzler, a 7-year-old girl who was the only survivor of a private airplane crash and who walked to safety, picking her way through blackberry briars, creeks and ditches in the dark, by following a light from a house located about a mile away as a backdrop, Elder Clayton taught us that as we “traverse our own spiritual wilderness and undertake our own rugged emotional journeys …  there will always be a spiritual light that beckons to us, giving us the hope of rescue and relief. That light shines from the Savior of all mankind, who is the Light of the World.”  When we “choose to open our hearts to the divine reality of the Savior”, putting belief into action, and never giving up, we will find “that believing in Him and in His redemptive power is the true path to ‘peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.’”  Quite a powerful message.  (full talk here)

“The Music of the Gospel” – Elder Wilford W. Andersen:  With his use of the music metaphor, I had to wonder if Elder Andersen was a former music teacher (his bio indicates not).  Regardless, his talk about the importance of not only teaching our children the “dance” of the gospel, but, more importantly, teaching them how to “hear the music” was very good if for nothing else but a reminder that "it takes diligent practice to perform beautiful music."  We can't forget that in order to play beautiful music, we need to consistently practice.  This is true with the gospel and definitely true with our families.  (full talk here)

“Latter-day Saints Keep on Trying” – Elder Dale G. Renlund:  I liked the way Elder Renlund used the quote from Nelson Mandela: “I’m no saint—that is, unless you think a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying” to frame his talk.  His message was very good, but sometimes I think people laugh in the strangest places.  As Elder Renlund came to the end, he commented: “If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites.”  For some reason, there was laughter from the audience with the first two statements, but, thankfully, the last one elicited none. (full talk here)

“The Lord Is My Light” – Elder Quentin L. Cook:  The final address of the Saturday afternoon session.  It was quite timely based on the vocal opposition expressed during the sustaining of the general officers of the Church (I’m not going to say much about that—maybe some other time).  Sometimes the voices of the few who oppose seem louder than those who sustain and keep trying.  Elder Cook addressed that when he stated: “Some have asserted that more members are leaving the Church today and that there is more doubt and unbelief than in the past. This is simply not true. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never been stronger. The number of members removing their names from the records of the Church has always been very small and is significantly less in recent years than in the past. The increase in demonstrably measurable areas, such as endowed members with a current temple recommend, adult full-tithe payers, and those serving missions, has been dramatic.”  This comment reminded me of what Elder Golden said back in November and served as an interesting juxtaposition from what had happened earlier in the meeting.  It was a message to me that the Lord knows how to inspire His servants to say what is necessary minutes, days, weeks, months or even years before the thing happens.  (full talk here)

“Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet” – Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:  Wow!  To take the story from the letter written to him and weave it into a discussion of the Fall and the Atonement was amazing to listen to.  We are not “just hanging in a cold canyon somewhere in an indifferent universe”.  Because of the fulfillment of the Atonement, Jesus “unconditionally grant[ed] resurrection to every person … [and] provide[d] forgiveness for the personal sins of all”.  Our Elder Brother’s sacrifice—His ultimate service to us—“constitutes the most consequential moment, the most generous gift, the most excruciating pain, and the most majestic manifestation of pure love ever to be demonstrated in the history of this world.”  What an amazing gift He has given us!  (full talk here)

“The Gift of Grace” – President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:  On the heels of Elder Holland’s talk came this gem from President Uchtdorf.  I hope the principle of grace is understood more by Latter-day Saints now than it used to be, but sometimes I wonder.  One day I’ll approach this topic more fully, but I am so grateful for an inspired institute teacher at Cal State Fullerton (Brother Green) who first truly opened my spirit to the concept of grace.  Sometimes I think we as members get so caught up in the idea of being “saved by grace after all we can do” that we forget that all we can do is really very little in the economy of God.  As President Uchtdorf declared: “Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God. Thinking that we can trade our good works for salvation is like buying a plane ticket and then supposing we own the airline.” (full talk here)

Random Thoughts: In the six months that has passed since I last saw President Monson, he has aged.  He looked better and sounded stronger Sunday morning, but seeing him like that was a bit surprising to me.  Speaking of this, I have feelings of melancholy as I watch these good brethren age.  They are definitely sustained by our faith and prayers and the Lord’s blessings, but they truly are “wear[ing] out [their] lives” in the service of God (D&C 123:13).  I’m beginning to think that only the release of death would stop President Packer from delivering an address at conference.  I mean that in a good way.  I had to really pay attention to him to hear what he was saying, but you can’t beat the winning combination of “a cookie and a kiss.” J  Wonderful as always.  I love the two day spiritual feast and look forward to reading these addresses again to glean more from them.