My Soul Delighteth

Of Distraction, Death, and Driving

2018-12-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

The title of this post might sound like a PSA about distracted driving. A worthy topic, however, this post is about things of more eternal significance.

Today I was driving home from Arkansas, my childhood home state, where I attended the funeral of my beloved Aunt Shirley. This post isn't really about her, although her life would also be a worthy topic. This post is about more about how when people die we tend to remember better. Driving a long distance (5 hours) gives you a lot of time to contemplate life and the important parts of it. Especially after a funeral, and especially when you listen to General Conference talks the entire trip.

These three things together, the funeral for my aunt, the long drive, and listening to the general conference talks, allowed me to refocus and refine my life. It was a transformative five hours. Hence this essay.

My Aunt is an amazing woman. She left a wonderful legacy here on earth, and is joining an equally fantastic legacy among our ancestors in Heaven. What struck me this weekend is how easy it is to become distracted. I haven't thought a lot about my Aunt's life recently. Honestly, until she traveled to Houston to have heart surgery I hadn't really even though much about her. Not that I don't care, but I have been caught up in raising my own family, tending to my own life. Granted, many of my actions and choices are affected by the influence of my Aunt and her children, even if I am not consciously thinking about the cause and effect relationship that exists between my Aunt and my actions and choices.

As I sat with family and friends this weekend to celebrate the amazing miracle that my Aunt has been, I was reminded of so many gospel principles. The greatest principle I was reminded of was faith. My Aunt was a woman of fierce faith. When she endured radiation for Hodgkin's disease in the 70's, doctors told her that she would not be able to bear children. She said, "We'll see" and proceeded to fast and pray and fast and pray, and eventually had four amazing children who today are my heroes in every way.

My Aunt has endured several health challenges, in spite of her impeccably healthy lifestyle. She had breast cancer, diabetes, defective heart valves (all of these were most likely complications from the massive amounts of radiation she endured in the 70s). But through all of these health challenges she has maintained a patient, faithful, joyful outlook on life, and lived a life of selfless service to her children, nieces and nephews, and anyone else who cross her path. She did not make excuses, and she had good reason to make excuses.

I was humbled this weekend with a self-realization of the excuse making in which I engage. I make a lot of excuses for why this that or the other thing is hard for me to do. A lot of "if onlys"...

I always have some kind of excuse for why I don't do more than I am doing. I have an excuse for why I don't study the gospel like I did before. I make excuses for why I don't attend the temple as regularly, I have excuses for why I don't have patience with my husband and my children. Some of them are pretty good excuses.

But what I realized after this weekend is that none of them are valid excuses. There are no valid excuses.

The Savior of the world suffered body, mind, and soul so that there would have to be no excuses. Because of Him and through Him I can be more than I am, and I can do more than I can. Not because I will be amazing or I will work hard, but because through faith in Jesus Christ I can do all things.

I have been distracted from faith these past several years. Maybe the last decade. It is so easy to become distracted from the things that really matter. Faith, endurance, charity, compassion. There are so many things in life that we think are important, and then when someone dies, we have the opportunity to contemplate our lives and our choices and we realize that all of the other things do not matter and what really matters was so simple, and we tried to make it so complicated in the name of philosophy, or deep thinking, or intellectual conversation.

What really matters really is very simple. Christ taught us that. It is in the scriptures. Let's go back to the scriptures and soak up the simple brilliance of the gospel and please let us let go of all the complicated processes that distract us from what really matters.

What things have distracted you from the simple parts of the gospel? What events or things in your life help bring you back to remembrance? How do you remember things without having to go to a funeral?

Nearer, My God, to Thee

2016-10-03T11:17:00.000-06:00

Image Credit: LDS Media Library

General Conference this weekend was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband's talk really penetrated my heart. His reminder to never forget the spiritual experiences we have had struck me. When I was regularly studying the gospel, I had many spiritual experiences that I, thankfully, recorded in my journal. Lately I have been lacking in my study of the gospel, mostly because I went to grad school and spent all of my time on graduate studies. I tried to at least keep up on reading the Book of Mormon, although I didn't have much time to devote to the study of it. I just kept reading. I believe that helped me through what was a very stressful time in my life.

When I mentioned to my husband that I needed to find a time to study the gospel, he mentioned to me that I should spend my lunch period at work studying the gospel and writing in my blog. I have to pump on my lunch period because I am breastfeeding, so I am tied to my desk in my classroom. I have been having a little bit of a pity party about it the past few weeks because I like spending time in the faculty room with my colleagues, and I liked being able to take a break from work. But lately I have been working through my lunch since I am attached to my desk anyway. It is hard to stop and do something else. But this! This, studying the gospel. I can take a break from work for that!

So if you need a little lunch time pick-me-up, feel free to check out my blog around lunch time during the work week. I will likely post something every day. If it doesn't help you, at least it will be helping me!

What messages hit you the hardest during General Conference? What changes are you planning to make in your life because of what you heard? Did you notice any themes?

General Conference 101

2013-04-01T11:39:00.000-06:00

Note: This is a repost. I originally published this post in October, 2012, but I will probably keep reposting it each conference so you can get a little Conference 101. I enjoyed Tweeting General Conference the past two times I have done it, and look forward to joinging #TwitterStake again this year. Tweeting conference led to some really neat conversations in Oct 2012 because of the election - people were really interested in what we had to say. I hope to have some great conversations again this year prompted by tweeting conference. If you want to join in, simply post your thoughts from conference with the hashtag #LDSConf. Kathryn Skaggs from A Well Behaved Mormon Woman is usually at Conference tweeting live from the Conference Center's media room. It's a really neat experience. Hope to see you there!

I wrote up this series in the Spring to help people who are unfamiliar with General Conference get a little background, and to give you a few ideas for getting the most out of conference. In preparation for General Conference this October, Stephanie at Diapers and Divinity is doing a little series about the 14 Fundamentals in Following the Prophet. She asked me if I wanted to join in with some pre-conference posts, and I was excited, but kind of dropped the ball the past few days. I was going to try to make a whole week out of it. You will at least get a few posts. I’m kind of excited about some of the post ideas for this week. And I plan on making a bigger deal out of General Conference in the Spring.

Without further ado, here are links to my General Conference 101 posts, to help you get ready for conference -

-What is General Conference? – a little intro to General Conference, with some brief factoids and links to the available methods of viewing/listening/etc
-Preparing for the Feast – how to prepare for General Conference
-Conference with Kids – how to survive 8 hours of prophetic counsel with children. Yikes.
-note taking and conference – how I take notes at General Conference, and some tips
-What to do when it’s over – well, it’s just that – suggestions for keeping the conference message at the forefront of your spiritual life for the next six months

For your further entertainment, here is the General Conference info graphic the Church published recently and has been sharing all over social media. If you missed it, here it is:

Stay tuned this week for more General Conference fun!

Waiting for More Light and Knowledge

2012-12-20T15:15:00.000-07:00

I was re-reading Sister Burton's talk from the most recent General Relief Society meeting and I loved what she said here:

The part that stood out to me, especially in light of recent events, was her final concern, "we feel [Heavenly Father] would have us work in unity with the other auxiliaries and with our priesthood leaders, striving to seek out and help those in need to progress along the path."
I remember sitting in the meeting and feeling as if Sister Burton understand and sees the struggle some wards have with counseling together, and specifically counseling with the sisters in the ward.
Her topic for the rest of the meeting was fantastic, absolutely needed, and of course the perfect foundation for discussing covenants and unity. But I found myself anxious to hear her speak more. That was when I realized that I hadn't even studied her first talk. How can I want more when I am not appreciating what I have?
So I am going to study Sister Burton's talk multiple times so that I will be prepared for the next time I hear her speak. I think she is going to have some inspiring things to say. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for her counsel!
Patience. That thing I struggle with.
What are you excited to hear Sister Burton discuss? Have you studied her talk from September? If you could hear more from Sister Burton what format would you like to see? A podcast? A blog? Articles in the Ensign?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Of Action Groups and Sunday Pants

2012-12-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

When I first read through the Facebook event description of the Wear Pants to Church Day event sponsored by the action group All Enlisted, I wasn’t particularly alarmed. Really, I agreed with most of their intentions. In fact, just last night I was talking with my husband about how most members of the Church frequently mistake Church culture for Church doctrine.

I have said before (simply echoing Church leaders) that the doctrine of the Church is actually very limited. Anything beyond the true doctrine is policy, policy we believe is based on an understanding of doctrine and revelation. Policy we sustain in General Conference twice a year as we sustain the leaders who we trust to make the policies Heavenly Father feels are best for our time (which means they – the policies – do change).

The Fight Against Cultural Myths: A War Worth Fighting

Back to my first impressions of the Wear Pants to Church Day event. I loved much of what the sisters said on the Facebook page. I think what tempered the whole description for me was their first paragraph, the reading of which almost caused me to shout “Amen! Hallelujah!”

Did you know that church leaders have not discouraged women from wearing pants since 1971? … After many reports of overt or silent judgment, a group of LDS women decided it was time to stop the perpetuation of the cultural myth that there is something wrong with women wearing pants. (emphasis added)

I felt that they were actually acknowledging that the problem in the Church (judgment over women wearing pants/people wearing jeans/tennis shoes/colored shirts/etc to Church) is a cultural myth, rather than some Church policy. And before you start tossing out quotes from General Authorities counseling us to wear this or wear that, let me remind you of Elder Christofferson’s most excellent and timely talk in April 2012 General Conference during which he appropriately reminded us,

…it should be remembered that not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It is commonly understood in the Church that a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, not meant to be official or binding for the whole Church.

So you can erase your comment with a quote from some apostle or prophet that said you should wear a white shirt while passing the sacrament. That’s great, if you have a white shirt. If you want to wear a white shirt. Owning a white shirt or having a desire to wear a white shirt is not a prerequisite to being ordained to any priesthood office, or performing any priesthood duty. If you feel like you should wear a white shirt to perform your priesthood duties, great for you. If you don’t think it matters, good for you. What matters is that you are worthy to perform those duties – which has more to do with the heart than the outward appearance.

The sisters describing their demonstration kept getting more and more points with me as the description went on –

“The Church has not attempted to indicate just how long women’s or girls’ dresses should be nor whether they should wear pant suits or other types of clothing.”--LDS Church Presidency (1971)

“Attending church is about worship and learning to be followers of Jesus Christ. Generally, church members are encouraged to wear their best clothing as a sign of respect for the savior, but we don't counsel people beyond that.” –official church statement December 12, 2012

Why, this is most excellent! Someone is helping educate the masses about how dumb we all are for thinking that cultural norms (even Church culture ones) are somehow what the doctrine of the Church mandates. Or even Church policy. Obviously, women wearing skirts is not Church policy, and I thought these great women did an excellent job explaining that.

The Bait-and-Switch

I must have skimmed through the rest of the description because no red flags went off until I read the post a second time.

This event is the first act of All Enlisted, a direct action group for Mormon women to advocate for equality within our faith. … we do want the LDS Church and its members to acknowledge the similarities [between men and women]. We believe that much of the cultural, structural, and even doctrinal inequality that persists in the LDS church today stems from the church's reliance on – and enforcement of – rigid gender roles that bear no relationship to reality.

Wait a minute! You just told me that your goal was to correct a cultural myth, but you’ve just pulled a bait-and-switch on me! Now you’re telling me that you want “equality within our faith” and you see “doctrinal inequalit[ies]” in the Church, perpetuated by “the church’s … enforcement of … rigid gender roles.”

I had so much hope – this was almost a group I could stand behind. I was excited that someone was trying to address the cultural myths that seems to be endlessly perpetuated in the Church. These cultural myths are not perpetuated by the General Authorities, or by Church policy. On the contrary, I have heard the prophets and apostles constantly hounding us in General Conference, urging us to give up the culture and live the doctrine. It’s the members of the Church falling short of the counsel of the prophets that perpetuates cultural myths.

Stoning People for Their Sins

My thoughts went immediately to the new Church website, Love One Another. Nothing found on that website is news. There are some great personal stories, which I think are very effective in breaking down culture – when people can see what happens in cultures outside their little bubbles, they are more appropriately armed to take down the culture in their own bubbles. None of the doctrine on the Church’s new website is different from anything that has been preached previously. Since Christ walked the earth we have been counseled to love one another regardless of our differences, regardless of the sins of others. It was Christ himself who said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her”, the adulterer.

It is not our place to stone people to death, literally or figuratively, for their sins.

A Misguided Discussion

The purpose of the Wear Pants to Church Day demonstration was not the only thing that bothered me about the entire situation. The comments that have been elicited have been equally as disturbing. Comments such as,

“What if these women have received revelation that this change needed to be enacted?”

“I'm offended you would ask me to wear a colored shirt, one that I shouldn't be wearing while performing priesthood ordinances.”

“maybe … the ones that have left will come back knowing that the church is finally putting action towards attitudes”

“the Lord has told us that dresses are a sign of reverence and he has asked us to wear them..its not a commandment … but we are to listen to the Lord and to our prophets”

“I feel sadness for the sisters that feel hurt and confused enough to feel they need to participate in this, because it means that they have not yet gained a true testimony of the divinity of womanhood in the Lord's plan of happiness, and how ESSENTIAL we are to that plan”

“To me, their reasons are that they don't understand the basics of the gospel. They don't understand the priesthood and womanhood. And that this is the Lord's church. They don't understand the symbolism of the temple.”

I have problems with all of these comments. People are either continuing to perpetuate the cultural myths by spouting their misguided understandings of Church policy (the colored shirt comment) or they are confusing culture with doctrine.

People who are helping to perpetuate cultural myths need to stop it, and people who are confusing culture with doctrine need to stop it.

And all of us need to stop judging each other. I said to my husband that it seems like the people who think you should only wear dresses are judging the women who would like to wear pants, and the women who would like to wear pants without being judged are judging the very women they accuse of judging them.

Let us please apply Uchdorf’s Hammer: STOP IT!

An Action Group For Cultural Change

Where does this leave me?

Wanting to form an action group for women who want to promote charity and the doctrine of the Church. Women who want to break down the cultural myths and replace them with kindness, love unfeigned, boundless compassion, and non-judgmental attitudes.

So I thought to myself “Why not form one?” An action group – dedicated to these very things.

Our motto would be “Charity never faileth.”

And then I remembered – there is already an action group for that.

It’s called Relief Society.

The Savior Himself has organized the women of the Church into an action group. One that should be at the forefront of breaking down cultural myths. A group that should be at the forefront of compassionate outreach to women who feel marginalized and pushed aside.

It is a worldwide sisterhood, but at the same time, it is a grassroots movement. Each ward has a Relief Society specifically and specially equipped to deal with the issues in that particular ward. Why? In my ward, the women in my Relief Society, the women who need my help, are my neighbors. I live, work, and play in the same places as them. I see them on a regular basis. If I am doing my job as a disciple of Christ, I am listening to the pain in their hearts. I can see if they are being ostracized by judgmental skirt-wearers. I should be observant and recognize when they feel left out because their husband is blessing their baby and no one gives them the accolades they deserve for gestating, laboring, and delivering that beautiful baby. If I am doing my duty as a real Christian, I will be reaching out to include the broken hearted, those who are different in whatever way – whether it be homosexuality, divorce, single motherhood, whatever makes them different, I can be the one who reaches out and helps them feel unity and love under the umbrella of compassion and charity.

So I have no need to start an action group. The Savior did that already. But I am renewing my membership. I am gearing up to be the best member of this action group I can be.

Who’s with me?

GCBC Week 26: Young Women General Meeting

2012-09-23T13:25:00.001-06:00

Each spring, the young women of the world have the privilege of hearing from all of their leaders, and the prophet, in a special broadcast tailored specifically to them. I remember after I turned twelve and entered the Young Women program the thing I looked forward to the most was being able to attend the General Young Women’s Broadcast.

I can’t wait until my daughter is twelve and she gets to attend these meeting as well.

But thanks to the Ensign and other church publications and websites, the messages from the Young Women’s broadcast are available to everyone and the messages are excellent and pertinent to any member of the Church, not just the Young Women.

I felt like it was important to study the YW broadcast talks this year in GCBC. I have been listening to them along with the other General Conference talks, and I really felt the messages from the broadcast speak to me. They are timely messages for all Latter-day Saints, and we should all be studying them.

This week we will be studying the messages from the General Young Women presidency. Next week we will study President Monson’s talk to the YW, and the next week will be October General Conference and the start of the next round of GCBC! (which will be held back at Diapers and Divinity! Make sure after next week you head over there for the posts and discussion)

Arise and Shine Forth - Sister Ann M. Dibb

Seek Learning: You Have a Work to Do - Sister Mary N. Cook

Now Is the Time to Arise and Shine! - Sister Elaine S. Dalton

Follow the Prophet

2012-08-15T08:26:00.000-06:00

Note: This blog post was originally posted on our private family blog on October 18, 2010. I first reposted it on this blog on March 23, 2011 so that I could refer to it in another post. I am reposting it today because I want to get some more feedback on these thoughts. How do you sustain our prophets when others seem to attack them from every side - and sometimes might even seem to have rational arguments for doing so?

On Sunday, October 3, 2010, President Boyd K. Packer, whom members of the church sustain to be a “prophet, seer and revelator” gave this talk.

As a prophet, President Packer’s responsibility is to call the world to repentance – much like Noah did in his day as he built the ark, like Lehi in Jerusalem, and like many other prophets in the past.

Unfortunately, as they did with Noah and Lehi, the world has rejected the words of the prophets, and have even gone so far as to petition him to withdraw his statements. This is not a new thing. It has happened again and again throughout history, and God’s word has always remained unchanged. As President Packer so bluntly put it:

...there are those today who not only tolerate but advocate voting to change laws that would legalize immorality, as if a vote would somehow alter the designs of God’s laws and nature...There are both moral and physical laws “irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world” that cannot be changed...To legalize that which is basically wrong or evil will not prevent the pain and penalties that will follow as surely as night follows day.

I respect everyone’s right to an opinion. But I also believe in God’s word, and I firmly believe in God’s prophets who deliver His word to us – especially in these latter days.

Satan is stirring up the hearts of men. A war is waging. “Who’s on the Lord’s side, who? Now is the time to show...” This particular battle hits really close to home for me. I have had to make some really difficult decisions about some people who are very dear to me. All I can think about is how to “love one another” while still being devoted to righteousness, and not “look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” This article, a Q&A with Elder Oaks and a member of the 70, has been particularly helpful. I also read something Joseph Smith said in one of the first Relief Society meetings. He said, "God does not look on sin with allowance, but when men have sin'd there must be allowance made for them." We still need to be caring and compassionate - no matter the circumstance.

In response to the petition I mentioned earlier, the brethren had this to say:

Much of this was not new, but there were a lot of really great things said. A few of my favorites:

“As a church, our doctrinal position is clear: any sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong, and we define marriage as between a man and a woman.”

“None of us is limited by our feelings or inclinations. Ultimately, we are free to act for ourselves.”

“The Church distinguishes between feelings or inclinations on the one hand and behavior on the other. It’s not a sin to have feelings, only in yielding to temptation.”

I believe that people have same-gender, or homosexual, attractions, and that they can sometimes be very strong. But those people are still just children of God to me. I believe that there is nothing fundamentally different between someone who struggles with same-gender attraction, and the rest of God’s children who struggle with something else. We are all children of God experiencing trials and struggles on this earth with Satan tempting us and trying us. We inhabit imperfect bodies with imperfect emotions and chemical make ups. We all face trials. (read more about that here)

God made man and woman. He created them specifically different – to fulfill different purposes. From The Family: A Proclamation to the World, “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.”

As I write this, I realize that I am not writing it to an audience of people who don’t believe in Christ and the atonement. I am writing it in hopes that someone who feels unsure about the word of God on this issue can maybe read my testimony and perhaps feel the spirit and have a little better understanding of God’s word.

It is not easy to stay true to the Savior. Especially in today’s social and political climate. There is so much of the Adversary’s influence in our societies that we can be easily confused by the arguments out there.

Sometimes I get very discouraged because the world is getting more and more wicked – good is called evil, and evil is called good. But I know that there is hope and happiness available to those who live the gospel – for those who earnestly call on God in the name of His Savior, Jesus Christ and ask for a confirmation of that which is true. The Spirit will guide us. I know that because I beg the Lord for His Spirit to be with me as I raise my children - often I feel like I don’t know anything.

If there is one thing I know is absolutely true, it is that God lives and loves us and has given us living prophets on the earth to help guide us when we become confused about how to live in the world and not be of the world.

And I hope and pray that you will try to get that testimony for yourself.

A Needed Break

2012-08-07T08:00:00.001-06:00

My husband travels a lot for his job. All around the world. It isn’t too bad, he’s usually only gone for a few weeks at a time, but that means that when he’s home all he wants to do is… be home. So we haven’t really been on a vacation as a family in… well, forever it seems.

Last week we got news that his most recent assignment that was going to start on Monday and would last two months fell through and he wouldn’t be going anywhere – except when he goes to Germany in September. I had already made plans to drive across the country to visit my home town and my parents for a few weeks after he left for his two month assignment, so instead of canceling my trip, we just added another traveler!

I don’t know how much time I’ll have for blogging while I’m driving across the country and catching up with friends – don’t worry, the giveaway is still on, and there will be another one next week! But I was going back through some of my old posts that I wrote when I first started this blog, and some of them were pretty good, if I do say so myself! And so I’ll be reposting a lot of those older posts, because I just can’t stand all these posts in hiding with no comments and no views! Blame it on my pride.

Also, just to show you that I am a little bit humble and I don’t think I’m the only one with good things to say, I would love to have some guest posts on the blog while I’m away. So email them to me at mysouldelighteth (at) gmail (dot) com and I’ll put them up in the next few weeks while I’m gone.

And guess what!? General Conference is only two months away!! Can you believe it!? I’m a Conference junkie… seriously. I just can’t get enough. It’s like Christmas comes twice a year! Who else is excited!? If you haven’t been participating in General Conference Book Club, you should really come check it out. I will definitely be keeping up on General Conference Book Club. Don’t you worry about that!

I am really excited for the next few weeks on this blog. I hope we can have some great discussions about the scriptures and the gospel – and I hope you all enjoy the giveaways planned! Two CD giveaways, and at the beginning of September I will have another book review with a giveaway – and I’m really excited about that one because it is a collaboration with my husband – I always love working with that hunk of handsomeness.

(can you tell I’m in a really good mood!? Vacations are really good for me!)

What have you been doing this summer? Are you vacationing? Getting ready for back-to-school? How do you keep up on your gospel study while you’re vacationing?

*photo credit: breahn

Multiply and Replenish the Earth

2012-07-27T12:14:00.001-06:00

Do you remember Elder Neil L. Andersen’s talk from October 2011 General Conference? I do. It hit me hard and was actually kind of a thorn in my side for a little while. During October 2008, I was pregnant with our second child, and our first was about 18 months old. I always imagined that we would just have kids one after another, but when October 2011 rolled around, and our second daughter was two and a half I couldn’t help but feel like we had missed something somewhere.

I believe in having children. I believe that is is a personal decision, to be made between a husband, his wife, and the Lord, but I believe in having children – and I don’t believe in postponing childbearing or ending childbearing for selfish reasons. I believe in having faith in following the commandments of God, and one of those commandments I believe in is bearing children.

“THE FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.”

Bearing children is not something we do because we worked hard enough and because we got a good enough job and we have a nice house and we’ll be able to give our children all of the worldly comforts of this life. Bearing children is something we do to raise children to the Lord. It’s not about raising geniuses, raising star football players, raising world class musicians, or anything of the sort. Bearing children is about teaching our spirit brothers and sisters how to believe, have faith, and act so that they can return to live with Heavenly Father some day. How we do that, how they do that is an extremely personal matter, and I believe our Father will help us in that monumental responsibility. Parenting – bearing and raising children – is a sacrifice we make. A sacrifice we covenanted to make. We sacrifice worldly things for the opportunity to bring souls back to Heavenly Father. I’ve written before about the Mission-Motherhood Parallel – just as our young adult brothers and sisters sacrifice up to two years of their lives to bring souls back to Heavenly Father, our job as parents is to do the same thing – the sacrifice is longer, the work is harder, but the payoff is the same – souls are brought to Heavenly Father.

Back to my General Conference thorn (Elder Andersen’s talk). During General Conference I write down directives – things that the General Authorities specifically instruct us to do, and more personally, things I feel prompted to do by the Spirit. After Conference I go through my notes and make a list of those “directives”. This year I put a star next to each directive for each time it appeared in my notes. After “go to the temple” (which had about 5 stars) and “read my patriarchal blessing” and “study the Daughters in My Kingdom manual”, the only other thing I felt multiple times was “have more babies”.

Prior to General Conference I had mentioned having more children (in passing) to my husband. He seemed uncomfortable with the thought – his words, “I feel like I would be ungrateful if I wanted to have more kids, since Heavenly Father has already blessed me with these two perfect children.”

After conference I wrote about Elder Andersen’s talk, and I mentioned that the choice to have babies is not just between husband and the Lord, or the wife and the Lord – it’s a three way decision. That means that just because I felt like we needed to have more babies did not mean that we would have more babies right away. My husband had to feel the same way.

I prayed about having more babies, and I felt an urgency that was hard to ignore. I was hesitant to discuss my feelings with my husband, so I kept the feelings to myself, praying fervently that my husband would eventually feel the urgency that I felt. Weeks passed. Months passed. I couldn’t shake that feeling that we needed to have babies, but every time I mentioned having more kids I got the same response from my husband. Finally, he said, “Well, let me think about it for a while.” (for him that means “let me pray about it” – though he won’t always admit it). More weeks went by, and finally, he told me he was ready – he felt like we should have more kids.

I was so excited. Finally!

But there was one problem. He was gone every few weeks for a week or two at a time, and his timing was impeccable (in the bad way). Those few months were really hard for me, as each opportunity passed for me to get pregnant, and there was no way. When he was home for a few weeks at one point I had an emotional breakdown. Sobbing into his arms I said, “All I want is a house full of children!” When we were dating and engaged and newlywed, my husband used to say we were going to have a hundred children (and he wasn’t exaggerating!). He and I both had plans to foster, adopt, and birth our own children – a hundred of them – as many as we had room for – and we feel like we have room for as many as need a home.

I am a fertile woman, and the past few years since my daughter was about one I have felt guilty for not having more children. This might sound strange, but it was really hard for me to be physically able to bear children and not actually be able to get pregnant for reasons other than physical ability (or even temporal preparedness).

Often, we have endless compassion for women who want to have children but struggle with infertility. We understand that it’s not their choice not to have children. But what about women who would have dozens of children but can’t for other reasons (whatever those reasons may be)? Do we have as much compassion for women like me, who are completely fertile and in a great (temporal) position to have children (healthy, husband has a good job, great health insurance, roomy home to fill with children) but can’t for reasons other than infertility? I’ll tell you – before I had this experience I wouldn’t have had as much compassion for someone like me.

Elder Anderson said,

“We go forward in faith—realizing the decision of how many children to have and when to have them is between a husband and wife and the Lord. We should not judge one another on this matter.” (emphasis added)

I’ve been learning that the experiences in my life have been teaching me how to have compassion for people who I would have judged. Maybe I’m not as compassionate as I thought I am.

And now, if you haven’t already figured it out, I’m writing this post because we’re expecting baby #3! That’s why I’ve been a little MIA lately – morning sickness and fatigue have overcome me, and because I have been wanting this for so long, so I waited a little longer than normal to tell anyone besides close family and friends (I’m one of those tell-everyone-as-soon-as-the-test-is-positive people). I felt like keeping it to myself for a little while this time, enjoying the blessing that it is, and spending lots of time in prayer and thanksgiving for the patience and compassion I was taught in waiting for this.

Have you had to wait for something that you desperately wanted, but was out of your control? Have you had to experience waiting for children – whether because of infertility or any other reason that was beyond your control? Have you found yourself judging others because of what you may have thought was their choice, but you later discovered was out of their control?

Voices All Around

2012-05-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was talking with my friend about the increasingly secular views of the world. In particular, we were talking about homosexuality and how the response to people “coming out” is often “Cool!” or “Good for you!” Not only is homosexuality accepted in today’s world as normal – it is becoming increasingly viewed as “cool” or “good”.

A few nights ago I was reading my conference issue of the Ensign and I read this quote from a talk by Elder Paul B. Piper of the Seventy.

Today the struggle continues. Secular voices are growing in volume and intensity. They increasingly urge believers to abandon beliefs the world considers irrational and unreasonable. Because “we see through a glass, darkly” and “do not know the meaning of all things”, at times we may feel vulnerable and in need of greater spiritual assurances. The Lord told Oliver Cowdery:
“If you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.
“Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?”.
The Lord reminded Oliver and us to rely on sacred personal witnesses already received when our faith is challenged. Like Moses’s, Alma’s and Joseph’s before, these divine encounters serve as spiritual anchors to keep us safe and on course in times of trial.
The sacred cannot be selectively surrendered. Those who choose to abandon even one sacred thing will have their minds darkened, and unless they repent, the light they have shall be taken from them. Unanchored by the sacred, they will find themselves morally adrift on a secular sea. In contrast, those who hold sacred things sacred receive promises: “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day”.

I was struck by his statement that “Secular voices are growing in volume and intensity.” I definitely see this happening. I believe that it is our responsibility as disciples of Christ to make sure that our voices are growing in volume and intensity. Those of the world would stamp out, mute, and deny the voices of those who proclaim to follow Christ.

As if the one witness wasn’t enough, the very next talk was Elder Neil L. Andersen’s talk where he said

President Thomas S. Monson has described our day as moving away “from that which is spiritual … [with] the winds of change [swirling] around us and the moral fiber of society [continuing] to disintegrate before our very eyes.” It is a time of growing disbelief in and disregard for Christ and His teachings.
In this turbulent environment, we rejoice in being disciples of Jesus Christ. We see the Lord’s hand all around us. Our destination is beautifully set before us. “This is life eternal,” Jesus prayed, “that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Being a disciple in these days of destiny will be a badge of honor throughout the eternities.

I am so grateful for the words of the prophets in General Conference, which Elder Andersen referred to as “guideposts from the Lord on our journey of discipleship.” If we will listen to these messengers of Christ and try our best to follow their counsel, we will be able to stand strong in the face of the “winds of change” as the secular voices grow louder in every direction.

My only fear is for my children. I have faith that my testimony will carry me, but I am sometimes so afraid that my children will not have the testimony that I have and they will not be able to stand strong. I worry that my children will grow up in this secular world and will be distracted from the sacred and focus instead on the secular.

As I have been struggling with his fear in the past several days, I have been trying to have faith and take my fears to the Lord in prayer. I have poured out my heart to Him, and I am learning to trust Him to teach me and help me teach my children.

And some days all I can do is cry out to the Savior in tears and say,
“Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

Do you ever doubt your abilities as a mother to raise children who will have unwavering testimonies? How do you increase your faith? How do you feel better about the increasing secular world? How do you make it? How do you keep your children safe?

General Conference 101–What to do when it’s over

2012-05-10T15:13:00.001-06:00

I know this post is a little (okay, a lot) late. I have been procrastinating writing anything on the blog lately. More about that later.

So if you’ve been following the General Conference 101 series this season I imagine you partook of the goodness that is General Conference back on March 31 and April 1, 2012. You probably had a bunch of activities to help your little ones get through the sessions without too much fighting and whining, and if you’re like me, you took lots of notes.

So, now what?

General Conference isn’t meant to be one big meal that you eat once and then don’t taste anything like it for six months. It’s more like Thanksgiving – you know, with its big dinner where you overeat, followed by weeks of seemingly endless leftovers. The only difference?

I never get sick of General Conference “leftovers” - in fact, part of the excitement for me is finding things in the talks during the “break” between conferences that didn’t stand out to me during conference. So here are some ideas for how to partake of General Conference for six whole months.

First, set goals from counsel you received at General Conference. Write your goals out on a sheet of paper and tape them up somewhere you will see them every day. Mine are by my mirror in my bathroom. My goals are usually similar, and most of the time they aren’t actually goals – the are more habits that I want to develop. In fact, this past General Conference I actually divided the counsel I received into two lists: habits, and goals. The habits were things I wanted to develop – like being a better mom, praying more regularly, attending the temple more regularly, teaching my children spontaneously, being kinder to those around me, etc. Some of the goals I made after last General Conference were to read the gospels before this General Conference to learn more about the character of Christ (didn’t quite happen, but I’m okay with that, and I’m still working on it), finish the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, and write down what I want my children to say about me when they are grown. Those are just a few. Yours should be based on the inspirations that you received at General Conference.

Second, listen to the conference talks over and over again during the next six months. You can access downloadable audio files of General Conference either on the Church’s website or on iTunes. I like to run and instead of listening to music I will usually listen to the General Conference talks on my iPhone while I run. It gives me a great opportunity to listen to the words of the prophets over and over again to become really familiar with them. President Uchtdorf shared a story in the Ensign last fall before General Conference about a member of our faith who couldn’t think of anything a prophet had said recently. I want to know what the prophets are saying – it is amazing to me that we have living prophets who can give us the counsel God wants us to have right now. But what good is that counsel if we are ignorant of it?

Third, study the conference talks in depth after Conference. I do this twice, in effect. I get my Conference issue of the Ensign and get started right away reading through the talks, marking it up and writing notes in the margins. Then I participate in General Conference Book Club (GCBC) and I read the talks on lds.org using my LDS Account and My Study Notebook (I can underline and highlight and write notes, etc – and it syncs all the highlights and stuff to my iPhone Gospel Library! Cool, eh?!). Whatever you do – whether it’s online, in your Ensign, or your mobile device, find a way to read and study the words of the prophets. It will bless your life between conferences.

What do you do with the words of the prophets after General Conference?

General Conference Book Club: Week 1

2012-04-01T16:18:00.001-06:00

Well, that’s it! What a great conference!

Image Credit: opencontent

The 182nd Semi-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has come to a close. I feel so inspired! Sometime I wish it could go on and on. It’s a great excuse to be able to neglect all your worldly responsibilities and bask in the Spirit for 8 hours almost consecutively. I get that feeling sometimes when I am in the temple – you know, that “I almost wish I didn’t have kids at home who needed to be fed so I could just stay in the temple all day long.” (but I do love my kids and I am grateful for them!)

But hey, that’s what General Conference Book Club is here for!

If this is your first time checking out General Conference Book Club, the goal is to read one General Conference talk (sometimes two) each week and then discuss the talk in an online book club format here on this blog.

A new talk will be posted each week on Sunday, but for this first week we’ll just share our general impressions of conference – your favorite talks, stories, music. We’ll start next week diving into the talks once they are posted online later this week.

For those of you who have been around GCBC for a while, do you prefer that we do the talks chronologically, or would you like to do them randomly, vote on the next one each week, etc? Include any preferences you have in the comments so I can see if there is a general consensus as to how we proceed with order.

I had the opportunity to “tweet” General Conference with A Well Behaved Mormon Woman (LDSNana aka Kathryn Skaggs) and others in the #TwitterStake. It was a really great opportunity. I was skeptical at first because I like taking traditional notes, but I found that I was more alert through conference and I paid attention more (and I didn’t fall asleep at all! Which is big – I always doze during at least one or two speakers… I know, shame on me…) and I felt like I thought more about what was going on. I also had the opportunity to respond to a few people asking questions about the Church! All in all it was a great experience (although clearly not everyone’s cup o’ cocoa!).

How did you take notes during General Conference? How are you going to share the messages you heard from living prophets?

A few things to get us talking this session:

1.) What were the “themes” that stood out to you this conference? (even though there are not “official” themes) What topics or principles or doctrines were repeated throughout the sessions of conference?

2.) What was your favorite talk? What principles of the talk stood out to you? Were there favorite quotes or stories?

3.) What was your favorite hymn sung? (either congregational or from a choir)

Share your comments below (be sure to use the “reply” feature to reply to each other! Let’s really make this a discussion!)

Thanks for participating in GCBC Week 1!!

Don’t forget to grab the GCBC button on the About GCBC page.

Sunday Study - About GCBC

2012-03-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

Since Sunday is General Conference and I am assuming all of you are going to be watching General Conference I thought I would post this - it's just the "about" page for General Conference book club (see link about - "About GCBC").

I hope you all enjoy watchig Conference today and tomorrow!! Remember to check back tomorrow after the PM Session for GCBC Week 1!! I am really excited!

See you there!!

What is General Conference Book Club
The goal of General Conference Book Club is to read a talk from the most recent General Conference and discuss it together in an online book club.

(If you're not familiar with General Conference or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints you can visit the Church's official pages for more information - here and here)

How do I Join GCBC?
It's really simple! There are two steps to joining and participating in this awesome club!

1.) Read the conference talk that will be announced each week on Sunday
2.) Come back to the blog (at any time) and comment on the GCBC post

Not sure what to say? You can simply say "I read the talk and it was amazing!" or whatever else you want to say about it. Don't feel like you need to say something profound or though provoking. Simply stating you read the talk is good enough. You can go one step further and reply to a comment with something like "Me too!" or "Great insight! I never thought about that before!" or you can get really impressive and write your own dissertation right here in the comments! (no comment length is inordinate for the GCBC posts!) If you feel uncomfortable writing an entire page in the comments, write your own blog post on your own blog and then give us a link in the comments. There are plenty of ways to participate!

That's it! Once you have read the talk and participated in any way in the discussions in the comment section, you have joined the GCBC!

Optional Steps:
1.) Subscribe to the comments (click on the little link below the comment section that says "subscribe to comments")
2.) Come back often during the week (and after the week) and comment and reply - participate in a real discussion
3.) Add the GCBC button to your blog or blog post:

Why General Conference Book Club?

A fine member of the Church was talking with a neighbor who was not of our faith. When the topic of discussion turned to general conference, the neighbor asked, “You say you have prophets and apostles? And twice a year in a worldwide conference they reveal the word of God?”

“Absolutely,” the member replied with confidence.

The neighbor thought about that for a moment. He seemed genuinely interested and then asked, “What did they say in the last general conference?”

At this point the good member of the Church went from feeling excited about sharing the gospel to feeling embarrassed. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of the details of a single talk.

His friend found this troubling and said, “You mean to tell me that God speaks to man in our day and you can’t remember what He said?”

The brother felt humbled by this exchange. He vowed that he would do better to remember the words spoken by the Lord’s servants in general conference.

No Ordinary Blessing, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Where did General Conference Book Club come from?
General Conference Book Club is actually the inspired work of Stephanie at Diapers and Divinity. She started the online book club as a way for Latter-day Saints in the online community to share insights about General Conference talks. Due to her recently acquired gainful employment, Stephanie asked me if I would host GCBC here on My Soul Delighteth. Of course I said yes. I love Stephanie, and I love GCBC, and I love General Conference.

What if I missed some of the talks?
Never fear! Back-linking is here! Check out the links below to find the posts from previous GCBC posts.

GENERAL CONFERENCE BOOK CLUB APRIL 2012:

Coming soon!!

Conference 101–note taking and conference

2012-03-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

Once upon at a time when I attended Especially for Youth – a week long summer camp of sorts for LDS teens – I attended a class in which the instructor told us not to try to write down everything he said, but rather “When the Spirit moves you, write down what you are going to do!” I have tried to take this counsel to heart, and now when I listen to a speaker I try not to get caught up in writing down all the principles they talk about, or the words they say (unless it’s not General Conference and they say something in a way that I want to remember – you know, like a catchy phrase or a particularly clear explanation of something). The thing is – most principles that are spoken of in talks can be found in the scriptures, or in General Conference talks. So I try to concentrate on what the spirit is teaching me rather than what the person is teaching me.

During conference, rather than try to write down what the speaker is saying I try to focus on what the Spirit is teaching me by what they are saying. I usually draw a little arrow before a note if it is something that I feel the Spirit instructing me to do. For example, in my notes from October General Conference, I wrote this:

    Sunday AM Session

    President Henry B. Eyring
    Baptismal Covenants
->study the covenants I have made (baptism, sacrament, temple) Write them down
        * we promised to be charitable
        * we promised to be a witness of God everywhere
        * bear each other’s burdens
->BE FULLY CONVERTED
       endure faithfully (SERVE faithfully) to the end. Press on and live the gospel to the end.
     Steps to FULL CONVERSION – faith, read the Book of Mormon, take Moroni’s promise.
->READ the Book of Mormon and take Moroni’s promise. Read the Book of Mormon every year

That is directly from my notes. Your notes are probably different. I tried to write what I felt impressed to write down by the Spirit. I went back and read this talk and looked for some of those things. What I wrote wasn’t exactly what President Eyring said, although he did talk about covenants (and the list is word-for-word what he said) and he did talk about full conversion. There have been times where I have found something in my notes from General Conference that is so beautiful to me, and I want to share it with someone, but because I am a stickler for sources I will go back and look for that quote in the conference talk and I can’t find it! That’s when I realize that what I “heard” wasn’t what was said, but rather what the Spirit inspired me to write down.

Don’t worry about getting everything down word for word – these days, the videos are available practically the same day with transcripts available within the week. If you hear a phrase that really struck you, write that down and it will help you search that talk later (the “find” function on your browser can be an invaluable tool when searching Conference talks online). Or if there was a talk that you felt particularly inspired about, make a note so you can go back and listen to it or read it after conference.

I really like the counsel given in the General Conference Notebook that is published by the Friend. In the “After Conference” section it says “Write down… what [you are] going to do because of what you learned.” This, I think, is the more important thing to get out of General Conference – what we are going to do because of what we heard.

The March 2012 New Era published an article for teens on getting the most out of General Conference.

“If you decide to take notes, keep them short and simple so you can pay close attention to the speaker and to the Spirit. Consider writing down what the Spirit teaches you or some specific things we are counseled to do, not just the exact words of the conference speakers.”

For those of you participating in #TwitterStake (Mormons on Twitter during General Conference – tweeting conference notes with the hashtag #LDSConf) this is good advice – and probably more easily followed on Twitter (where your notes are limited to 140 characters) than on paper – but it is probably easy to get distracted from the speaker and the spirit if you aren’t careful.

I will be participating in #TwitterStake this year, and I’m pretty excited. I’m not sure how I will like it, but I think it will be a great opportunity.

How do you take notes at General Conference? Do you keep your notes simple? Do you take notes at all? Do you participate in the “tweeting” of General Conference?

Conference 101–Conference with Kids

2012-03-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

If you’re like me, you love soaking in all the beautiful messages shared from our living prophets in General Conference.

If you’re like me, you also have little children who make listening to General Conference like listening for a pin drop at a shuttle launch…

Image Source: Elder Nelson's Apr 2011 Conference Talk

However! There is hope!

Help Your Kids Get Familiar with General Conference

First off, prepare your children for General Conference. When General Conference only happens twice a year it’s hard for small children to understand why the big fuss – it’s just another Sunday, right?

Find ways to make the weekend super special. We drew pictures of the prophets speaking from the podium on the Saturday and Sunday squares on our calendar. Watch talks online of previous conferences. Talk about how excited you are to listen to/watch General Conference. Mention the General Authorities by name frequently and even talk about principles from their talks. For example, “Last conference President Uchtdorf reminded us about how much God loves us!” (You Matter to Him, October 2011) It might even help to show them a picture of the prophet you are mentioning.

Have a special “General Conference” edition of Family Home Evening to prepare. Practice using your conference games (be careful not to wear them out!) and consider playing some General Authorities matching games. (find Jocelyn’s here and mine here) We usually watch the “General Conference Highlights” video from the previous conference and practice naming the apostles as they come up. The video is nice because it is short and has background music so the kids are able to tune in a little better.

Start including a plea for Heavenly Father to prepare your hearts for General Conference in your individual and family prayers. This will help your kids know that General Conference is important to you (my kids know that the most important things are things that we pray about) and I know these prayers will be answered as you prepare for General Conference.

V’s birthday happens to be after General Conference and today he told me, “I am so excited to hear the prophets talk” (cue proud mother smile) “because after the prophets talk it will be my birthday!!!” (cue “mother-fail” face…) So we need a little more work with that one…

General Conference Activities

Your next step before conference starts is to arm yourself with more conference activities than you would ever need. There are a lot of great suggestions around the internet for conference activities. Jocelyn at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ has a lot of great ideas here. I am planning on using several of her ideas, especially the General Conference wall (anything that gets my kids moving during conference is good for them – little kids don’t sit still well for long periods of time!). I also made several writing practice sheets.

A few days ago we read the story of Alma (the formerly wicked priest) and the story mentioned that Alma wrote down all the words of the prophets. A day or so later, following my own advice from the first tip above, I mentioned to my son how excited I was to listen to the prophets. My son turned to me and said, “Will you turn the prophets on the TV so I can write down what they say?” I definitely could not say no to a request like that, so I pulled out some old Conference DVDs from 2005 and popped one in the DVD player. V grabbed some paper and a pen and situated himself directly in front of the TV and proceeded to “write” the words that Elder Eyring was saying. His faith and love of the prophets melts my heart every time.

So I made some writing practice sheets for some things relating to General Conference – “We listen to the prophets speak at General Conference” “Families can be together forever.” “Keep the Commandments” etc. You can print them here from Google Documents (no sign in required). You can also get to them by clicking on the image above.

Here is a sampling of the things I will be preparing for my kids:

General Conference Wall (from We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ)
Word Buckets (from the R House)
Gospel Picture Puzzles (from Bits of Everything)
Writing practice sheets (from My Soul Delighteth)
“Note-taking” station (this is just going to be their journals, and I will help them write down what they hear – we will probably have them listen to at least one of the talks from the apostles or a member of the First Presidency)

Some of these activities (the Gospel Picture Puzzles and the Writing Practice sheets) are going to go into our church bag for Sunday. I am hoping to get the writing sheets laminated so they can be wipe-away sheets.

The Friend publishes several General Conference activities. You can download them from the Friend website. I especially like the notebook. It is set up for kids to take notes either with words or with pictures. This can be a really good pre-writing activity for your kids. We plan on using the Friend notebooks.

Sugardoodle also has a plethora of resources.

We may even let the kids play some of the Friend’s online games during General Conference. The family computer is in the same room with the TV.

I am thinking of having them switch activities with each speaker, so they can realize that a new person is speaking. We will also continue our tradition of having a poster of the General Authorities where the kids can find who is speaking and put a sticker on the picture. They really like putting stickers on the faces of the General Authorities. When you think about them like grandpas it seems a lot more reverent than it appears… right?

The Friend had a cute activity this month with the pictures of the apostles for the kids to set up in their chairs, and a pulpit where they can move the apostle when they speak. I think I am going to make a sturdier version of this with craft sticks. We’ll use it in conjunction with the other activities. The more exposure they have to the faces of the General Authorities the better, I say.

You Know Your Kids Best

Remember to make sure you prepare activities that your kids would be interested in. Jocelyn has a cool “build a Lego temple” activity – but my kids would probably just throw the Legos around the room… Sugardoodle has a bunch of coloring pages, but my kids would probably just rip them into little pieces and scatter them around the room. So not every activity will be appropriate for your kids. I think V might enjoy the Lego temple project some time when he’s a little older, and maybe some day my kids will enjoy coloring – for right now they are really into writing, matching games, and puzzles – you’ll notice those are most of the activities we will be doing.

What activities are you going to prepare for your kids? How do you prepare your kids to be ready to watch General Conference? Feel free to link to your favorite websites and activities for conference for kids!

A Great Responsibility – GCBC

2012-03-25T16:42:00.001-06:00

As you may (or may not) know, I am a huge fan of Stephanie’s General Conference Book Club. I have been studying General Conference talks on this blog for a while, but Stephanie’s GCBC got me really studying them – and gave me the opportunity to hear the thoughts of others on the General Conference talks.

So you may be able to imagine my surprise (shock?) when I received an email from Stephanie asking if I would mind hosting GCBC for a while (enter jaw drop). I wanted to say yes right away, but I made sure to run it by the hubster (who thought it was awesome) and I wanted to pray about it a little (although I completely trusted Stephanie’s judgment – well, I would have completely trusted her judgment if she had asked anyone besides me… so I mostly trusted her judgment).

Well, apparently it’s the right thing for me because I am happy to announce that after April 2012 General Conference, I will be hosting General Conference Book Club here on my blog! I hope that you will all come and join with us as we study the General Conference talks.

If you’re new to GCBC, here is some info from Stephanie’s Website:

“The goal is to read one General Conference talk a week and discuss it together as an on-line “book club.”

(If you’re not familiar with General Conference or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, go here and here and here for more information.)

A new talk will be posted each Sunday.

You don’t have to do anything to “join” the club– You can just visit the Sunday post at any time during the week and share thoughts, findings, favorite quotes, applications, even questions from the talk of the week. Personally, I think it would be a good idea to subscribe to comments from the post so that we can read each other’s insights and have a “real book club” conversation. (One way to do this is to click the link below the comments that says “subscribe by email” – this will sent you email updates when people comment on the post) Or of course, you can just check back often to see what folks are saying.”

My goal with GCBC on Stephanie’s blog was to study the talk and record my thoughts on my blog. Since I will be hosting GCBC I may not write a full length post anymore – I will probably just put my thoughts in the GCBC announcement post each Sunday and then follow up with the discussion in the comments.

Here is the button for General Conference Book Club and sometime this week I will be adding a link in the header that will go back to the information page on Stephanie's blog. Eventually I’ll get around to hosting an information page here. The actual posts for General Conference book club will be here on Sunday evenings!

General Conference 101–preparing for the feast

2012-03-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

(This is the second post in the General Conference 101 Series at My Soul Delighteth)

So now that you know what General Conference is, and how to participate in it, let’s talk about how to prepare for it. Last time in General Conference 101 I mentioned that anyone can find something in General Conference to touch them individually.

President Jeffrey R. Holland said this, “If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you.” (I highly recommend his entire talk as pre-conference reading – I plan on re-reading his talk before conference starts next weekend)

What we find, and how deeply it touches us is largely dependent on our own preparation. “Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.” D&C 9:7 If we are just expecting to turn on our TV at 10:00am Saturday morning and be spoon-fed revelation, we’re probably going to be missing out on the actual feast that is available. You have to prepare for the revelation which is readily available at General Conference.

The first suggestion I would give you in preparing for the upcoming General Conference is to read past General Conference talks. Study the words of the prophets from previous conferences. If you want to value the upcoming conference, learn to value the previous conferences. One of these days I want to start reading conference talks going backward in time until I have read the conference talks from every conference there has ever been. I’ve only got probably 10-15 years of conference really under my belt, since before then I wasn’t really mature enough to sit through 8 hours of conference.

Here are some talks I might start with:

- Until We Meet Again
- As We Meet Again
- At Parting
- It’s Conference Once Again
- Till We Meet Again
- As We Meet Together Again
- An Ensign to the Nations

Also, here is the General Conference Highlights Video from October General Conference:

My next suggestion is to prepare questions you need/want answered. Now, don’t think that by preparing questions you will get word-for-word answers from the prophets to these questions. However, as you listen to the prophets the Spirit can and will help you know the answers to your questions, whether or not any particular speaker specifically answers your question. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s counsel in last September’s Ensign explains it this way, “Answers to your specific prayers may come directly from a particular talk or from a specific phrase. At other times answers may come in a seemingly unrelated word, phrase, or song. A heart filled with gratitude for the blessings of life and an earnest desire to hear and follow the words of counsel will prepare the way for personal revelation.” I would even say to write down the questions you have. Ponder those questions daily for at least a few weeks before General Conference and let the Spirit prepare you to receive the answers.

My final suggestion for preparation is to prepare your children and prepare for your children. I don’t naively mean that you can actually prepare for your children the way you will prepare for yourself. What I mean by this is that you make sure your home (or wherever you will be participating in conference) is going to be a place where your children can get as much out of General Conference as possible – and will be content enough to be occupied with simple games, with paper and crayons, etc so that you are not too distracted from General Conference. I don’t expect General Conference to be perfectly calm at my house with small children, but I know that if I prepare well enough for my kids, they will at least let me listen to a few talks. The next post in General Conference 101 will be resources for enjoying General Conference with children.

How do you prepare for General Conference? Do you have questions that you find answers to at General Conference? How often do you study previous General Conference talks?

General Conference 101–What is General Conference?

2012-03-18T23:33:00.000-06:00

Because I love General Conference (seriously, it’s probably my favorite holiday, after Christmas and Easter – and it even occasionally coincides with Easter! Now all they need to do is move fall General Conference to Christmas, and we’ll be set!) I will be posting “Conference 101” – a series about General Conference and how to prepare and what to expect and how to keep your children focused. I’m pretty excited to gather all these resources – for my own benefit as well as yours!

I figured that the best place to start is with the basics, so the purpose for my first post will be to explain a little bit about what General Conference is.

If you don’t know already, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that God has a living prophet on the earth today, as well as twelve apostles (who are just like the twelve apostles that were called to be “fishers of men” when Jesus lived on the earth). see Article of Faith 6 here This is an amazing blessing, because a prophet is the mouthpiece of the Lord, and it means that if we listen to the counsel of the prophet and try to follow that counsel, we will be following the Lord and we will be blessed. see more about following prophets here

Since it’s so important to listen to and obey the prophets, we should have a way to hear them speak regularly. One of the ways we can “hear” the words of the prophets is to read the First Presidency Message published each month in Church magazines called the “Ensign” and the “Liahona”. This message is usually pretty short (although the magazine typically contains many articles by the apostles and prophets, as well as other Church leaders, and Church members), but it comes every month like clockwork. You can also read it online at LDS.org.

I don’t know about you, but if there were living prophets on the earth today I would not want to only read a little blurb once a month from them. I would want to hear sermon after sermon from them!

And that is exactly what we get at General Conference.

Twice a year, in the spring (usually the first weekend in April) and then again in the fall (the first weekend in October), the entire world (including Church members) are invited to join together to listen to an entire weekend of prophets and apostles speak (as well as other Church leaders).

General Conference actually starts a few weeks before the general sessions with a special session for either the Young Women (in March) or the Relief Society – the women’s organization (in September). Then the first “general” session of the conference convenes at 10:00am (Mountain Time) on the Saturday of Conference weekend. The second general session is at 2:00pm (Mountain Time), and then at 6:00pm on Saturday there is a Priesthood session for all Priesthood holders – both Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood holders (that translates to “all men and young men ages 12+.” Then Sunday has two more general sessions, again at 10:00am and 2:00pm.

Each session is 2 hours long and consists of speakers from the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as well as members of the Quorums of the Seventy, auxiliary presidencies (Young Womens, Young Mens, Primary, Relief Society, and Sunday School), and the Presiding Bishopric.

Total that up and you get 8 hours of soaking in prophetic counsel (not counting Priesthood session and the special sessions for the women).

It may seem like a long time to sit and listen, but I crave it. I can’t get enough of it! And when it is over I can’t wait to get my copy of the General Conference Ensign so I can read the talks over and over again. Above is a picture of my October conference Ensign. It’s not nearly as marked up as my April 2011 Conference Ensign was, but I did most of my study of this conference online using the “study notebook” at LDS.org.

The conference takes place at the LDS Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City, UT. It used to be held in the Tabernacle, but in 2000 the Conference Center was completed and the conference moved there. It seats over 21,000 people, whereas the tabernacle only seats about 7000.

How can you access General Conference? There are a lot of different methods.

Watch it Live
- You can stream live video and/or audio at lds.org
- Bonneville Communications (the company that broadcasts General Conference for the Church) has availability information on their website for cable, satellite, and radio broadcasts across the United States
- You can check BYUtv’s website to find out if your cable or satellite provider carries BYUtv, or you can just watch live streaming on BYUtv
- in Utah you can watch conference on the local station, KSL-TV
- you can even watch General Conference live on Facebook. How cool is that?

Watch/Read it Later
- videos of General Conference are usually available online (on LDS.org and on YouTube) the same day as the broadcast, with transcripts usually available within a week or two. You can find out more about the availability of General Conference materials on lds.org
- the Conference issue of the Ensign is available toward the end of April/beginning of May and can be purchased at any LDS Distribution Center, some bookstores in Utah (and probably Arizona and Idaho) and online at store.lds.org
- audio, video, and pdf podcasts are also available

Participate in the Conference Discussion
- blog about Conference!
- join in the General Conference Book Club at Diapers and Divinity!
- Tweet about conference using the hashtag #ldsconf

No matter how you participate, I am sure you will find something to touch your heart. How much you find, and how much it touches you is up to you, and I’ll share a few tips for preparing to get the most out of General Conference in the next post in this series!

What does General Conference mean to you? How do you participate? Where do you watch? Do you listen to/watch conference over and over again through the six months between sessions, or is it a one-weekend deal for you?

The Opportunity and the Treasure

2012-03-04T22:12:00.001-07:00

(find the talks here – Missionaries are a Treasure of the Church – and here – The Opportunity of a Lifetime)

Over at Diapers and Divinity, we’re winding down General Conference Book Club (GCBC) – finishing up the last few talks in time for April General Conference! Who’s excited?! I am so ready for General Conference again. I think I get this way just before General Conference. It’s kind of the same feeling I get a few weeks before my birthday or Christmas. That excitement in the pit of my stomach that fills me up and makes it hard to think about anything else.

Okay, I know – I’m a Conference nerd. I know it.

Well, one thing I kind of miss when I’m participating in Steph’s GCBC is studying the talks from the Priesthood session as well as from the Relief Society and Young Women General Sessions. So when I noticed the talk for this week was Missionaries are a Treasure of the Church it reminded me of a talk I have been listening to from the Priesthood session called The Opportunity of a Lifetime (which has been on my mind lately anyway). So I decided to study both for this week, and I am glad that I did.

Your Mission – the Best Two Years For Your Life

While I liked Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita’s talk, it wasn’t one of those “Wow, this is amazing!” talks for me. However, Elder W. Christopher Waddell’s? Like candy. Especially because around the time leading up to October General Conference I had kind of got on to my husband for saying things like “On my mission I studied the gospel all the time.” “On my mission I was such a good time manager.” etc etc. Finally I told him, “Well, you know, you were supposed to be learning those things on your mission so you could do them for the rest of your life. For instance… when you became a husband and father.”

Elder Waddell talked about how to apply your mission to the rest of your life. I loved how Elder Matthew Richardson said it was “the best two years for [his] life.” Elder Waddell echoed that sentiment in his talk. He likened missionary service to the sacrifice of the unspotted lamb of the Passover, but how simply sacrificing the animal wasn’t good enough – the blood had to be applied to the door posts. This is where my husband has been struggling to apply his mission to his life now. Elder Waddell said “the ongoing blessings associated with missionary service require application after the sacrifice.” One way he encouraged his missionaries to “apply” the sacrifice of their mission to their lives was to have them “take time to consider the lessons and gifts provided to them by a generous Father in Heaven. They were asked to prayerfully list and consider how to best apply those lessons in a post-mission life”. However, Elder Waddell went on to say that, “there is no returned missionary for whom it is too late to consider the lessons obtained through faithful service and to apply them more diligently.”

The Lord Knows Where He Wants You To Serve

In Elder Waddell’s talk he mentioned that “Prophets, seers, and revelators assign missionaries under the direction and influence of the Holy Ghost.” If you have ever wondered exactly how this happens, I encourage you to read a talk give in the Priesthood Session of April 2010 General Conference given by Elder Ronald A. Rasband called “The Divine Call of a Missionary” – you won’t be disappointed. It is a really touching talk, and if you received a mission call and didn’t think it was where you should go, his talk will definitely remedy that emotion!

If you ever served a mission in a “hard” area with not many baptisms, or felt like you didn’t make a difference in your mission, please read Elder Waddell’s talk. His story of Elder Misiego is poignant and powerful and it is definitely a testimony that “the Lord knows where He wants each missionary to serve.”

I wrote a bunch more about these talks and how they applied to motherhood, but then the post started getting too long, and I am trying not to have overwhelmingly long posts, so I decided to post them separately, and I will probably post the motherhood one later this week.

Did you serve a mission? Did you feel like it was the best two years for your life? Did you feel like the Lord had called you to your specific mission purposefully? How did you prepare for your mission?

Covenant Keeper

2011-11-24T08:26:00.001-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about covenants lately. It is good to do a little self-evaluation every now and then to see how well we are keeping our covenants. After October General Conference, I felt a great sense of urgency to evaluate how well I am keeping my covenants – and to be more diligent and faithful in keeping them.

Sister Barbara Thompson talked about keeping covenants at General Conference, and she talked about her mother’s example. She spoke about cleaning out her mother’s belongings after her mother passed away and that her mother’s belongings were evidence that her mother was a covenant keeper. Suddenly I was filled with a great desire to be a covenant keeper.

We make many many covenants. Most of the covenants we make with God are made in His sacred and holy temples.

President Boyd K. Packer reminds us that “we are a covenant people. We covenant to give of our resources in time and money and talent—all we are and all we possess—to the interest of the kingdom of God upon the earth. In simple terms, we covenant to do good. We are a covenant people,and the temple is the center of our covenants. It is the source of the covenant.”

Our Relief Society lesson last week was on the Millennium. We talked about Satan being bound and how the scriptures teach us that “And because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power”. After reading this scripture we talked a little bit about how we can bind Satan in our own lives by our righteousness. We can never completely escape from Satan’s influence in our lives today because not everyone will live righteously – but if we live righteously, that is, if we keep our covenants, and we surround ourselves with those who keep their covenants, then Satan will be effectually bound in our lives – at least for the most part.

There is so much protection in keeping covenants. Sister Thompson said, “’Lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.’ Keeping covenants is true joy and happiness.This is comfort and peace. This is protection from the evils of the world. Keeping our covenants will help us in times of trial.”

What strength have you received as you “cleave unto covenants”? Think of the covenants you have made. Are you “cleaving” unto them?

Woman at the Well

2011-10-02T21:34:00.001-06:00

This weekend has been one of spiritual nourishment for me.

There comes a point after each General Conference where I find myself eagerly awaiting the next conference. The past few weeks have been like that for me. I have read, studied, pondered, and acted on the April General Conference talks, and I was just itching to receive more light and knowledge.

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, andcontinueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
Doctrine & Covenants 50:24

I really loved what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said in April about General Conference, “If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you.”

I received so many personal prophet epistles I hardly know where to begin! When I was a youth, an inspired instructor told us “When the Spirit moves you, write down what you are going to do!” And it was when I took Teachings of the Living Prophets at Brigham Young University that my instructor taught us to look for instruction at General Conference. That semester she had us write down at least ten things that we were going to do because of what we heard in General Conference, and I have kind of kept up that habit. When I am writing notes during any talk or lesson, I write down the things I am going to do with a little arrow in front of them like this –> Then I can find them easily when I go through my notebook.

How do you record what you got out of General Conference? Do you listen for your own “personal prophetic epistle[s]”?

GCBC and other plans

2011-05-03T17:08:00.001-06:00

I think I will be joining Stephanie (of Diapers & Divinity) in her General Conference Book Club (GCBC).

I studied almost all of the talks from October 2010 General Conference, and I am looking forward to studying the talks from April Conference, but I haven’t actually started yet. I have been a little preoccupied with some other topics, and I have switched a little of my personal plans lately (with the exception of today – but I had to buy plane tickets, and then I got distracted…)

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have decided that I will study my paper scriptures (gasp!) and write in my paper, metal spiral bound scripture journal. It’s really just a little green notebook that fits in my scripture case, but I use it to write basically what I write on this blog. Maybe I’ll start transcribing the entries in that little book onto this blog so when I print out the blog those posts will also be here.

Since I will be studying my paper scriptures on Tuesday and Thursday, I figured that would be a perfect start to a computerless day. I know, impossible, right? Well, I did it last Thursday (failed miserably today – but, I like I said, I had to get on to buy plan tickets, and then… it just sucked me in!)

Since on Sundays I post our Companionship Study, that gives me four other days of the week on which to study. Since I talked about studying the Church Handbook of Instructions, that will take up one day, then General Conference Book Club will be another day. My new schedule will look something like this:

Sunday: Companionship Study
Monday: General Conference Book Club (get me ready for FHE!)
Tuesday: paper scriptures
Wednesday: Church Handbook of Instructions
Thursday: paper scriptures
Friday: Gospel Doctrine Lesson for Sunday
Saturday: Relief Society Lesson for Sunday

For Friday and Saturday, I’ll probably just have to follow my own schedule, because I don’t go to Sunday School or Relief Society due to my Primary calling.

I’m excited to do the GCBC, and I think I may even follow Jocelyn’s example over at We Talk of Christ and start a book club in our ward!

Further Light and Knowledge

2011-04-04T08:57:00.001-06:00

These are the things that I would like to study more because of what I heard at General Conference. I’m writing them down here, because this is most likely where I will write about the things I study:

Study the direction to “be ye an example of the believers.”

Study covenants, covenant making and keeping, and Jesus Christ and covenants.

Learn more about the law of consecration, the United Order, and the Church welfare program.

Study the word “saint” and the history of the name of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Study about love and charity.

What I am Going to Do

2011-04-04T08:54:00.001-06:00

These are the things that I decided to do while listening to General Conference. Goals I have made, new habits I want to form, areas of my life that I want to perfect.

- Wear our Sunday best on the Sabbath day to make sure we are acting in a manner acceptable to the Lord on His day. (this made me think of an article I read over at one my my favorite blogs)
-We need to be more purposeful, deliberate, and particular about the things we do on the Sabbath day.
-We need to sit down and decide what WE believe about and do on the Sabbath.
-We should be more like little children.
-Study covenant making/keeping.
-Give more to the poor and needy through the Church welfare program.
-spend less than we earn so that we can serve others
-SEARCH OUT THE POOR! and needy
-Meet both the temporal and spiritual needs of those we serve.
-I will respond promptly to the whisperings of the Spirit
-TALK about the gospel and gospel truths ALL THE TIME!
-Be the answer to someone’s prayer.
-Remember when it feels like I can’t cope with my trials, the means that Heavenly Father has something for me to learn and grow in that area.
-follow welfare principles more perfectly – be more thrifty, spend MUCH less than we make.
-do my visiting teaching!
-be less judgmental of the poor and needy. Give to the poor and needy regardless of why they are poor or needy.
-work harder to sustain our family so that we can help provide for others.
-give all that we have to those who need it more than we do.
-take care of those in need and listen to the promptings of the Spirit so that we can be the answer to the prayers of others
-keep on keeping on
-attend the temple more often
-when I am facing trials and tribulation, I will think about the covenants I have made in the temple.
-be more willing to give and not think of myself
-seek to serve others; pray for opportunities to ease the burdens of others.
-be willing to accept and conform to divine correction.
-do not resist or resent chastening. Look at it as an opportunity to repent and put on the divine nature.
-pray for Heavenly Father’s love inspired correction.
-be more prompt in praying our tithing.
-I will do more and be more like the Savior Jesus Christ
-ask the child what they learned from the misbehavior
-pray for Christ-like attributes for myself and for my children.
-I will refer to the Church by it’s full name all the time and will refer to myself and members of the Church as Latter Day Saints.
-I will BECOME a Saint – live worth of being referred to as a Latter Day Saint.
-consecrate my life to fulfill my callings and to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
-have faith and stamina like President Monson
-lighten the load of our prophet President Monson and help bear his burden.

The Instruction I heard at General Conference

2011-04-04T08:18:00.001-06:00

These are the things that I heard at General Conference. Like I said, sometimes they are not the same as what the speakers actually said, but they are what I heard through the Spirit of the Lord.

Why do we worship on Sunday? Our attitudes and actions follow our dress. If we dress in our Sunday best on the Sabbath day, we will be on our Sunday best behavior.

Let us act on the Sabbath in a manner that would call down the blessings of heaven.

Children are the greatest example.

When little children come to us, they are thirsty for the gospel, eager to learn, and willing to be righteous.

Children are untarnished by the world.

“Behold your little ones.”

Followers of Christ are loving. Followers of Christ make and keep covenants. Following Christ may mean forsaking many things of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ made covenants with Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ needed baptism because He needed to make covenants with Heavenly Father that he would always remember Him and follow Him.

The power of our covenants is greater than any worldly trial or temptation.

Pain brings you an opportunity to ponder. Pain is everywhere in this mortal experience – sometimes it is simply because this is a temporal experience, sometimes because of the actions of others, sometimes because of our own actions.

There is relief for ANY and ALL pain – through Jesus Christ our Savior from our Father in Heaven.

Jesus Christ suffered ALL things so that He could understand us.

He could have known how to succor us by Revelation, but He chose to suffer all things so that He could understand us.

The United order = the Church’s welfare program.

When we work together, we build spiritual bonds.

Don’t miss out on collecting the little flecks because you are waiting for large nuggets.

The Spirit speaks to us in diverse ways.

God does notice us, and is mindful of us, but it is often through other people that He meets our needs.

The Lord sometimes reveals things to us that are for us only, but He entrusts us with a testimony of truth that we are to share with those around us.

The most effective way to share the gospel is through example.

“Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.”

This earth life is the perfect setting to experience and pass trials. Sometimes it seems that our trials are focused on the part of our lives in which we have the least ability to cope.

Being good is not enough. We want to be like the Savior.

It is our job as ward members to seek out those in our ward who are poor and needy.

Men and women work in a joint effort to serve the poor and needy.

The widow’s mite.

No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelation.

Light from a light switch vs. light from a sunrise. The sunrise pattern of revelation is more common in our lives.

As we honor our covenants and keep the commandments, we will gain confidence in the presence of the Lord.

The temple should fill us with the Spirit and with the covenants we have made there.

As we remember the covenants we have made in the temple, we will be better able to withstand the trials of this life.

A good marriage makes good children.

Heavenly Father is a God of high expectations. “Be ye therefore perfect.”

Divine chastening, repentance, and redirect our course. Divine chastening should give us cause to rejoice because it means we are worth correcting. The experience of chastening gives us more opportunity to help us put on the divine nature.

Parents and can must chasten their children.

Doctrine & Covenants – “when moved upon by the Holy Ghost”

One who does not chasten when he is in a position to do so is thinking only of himself.

Will a man rob God? In tithes and offerings.

The Lord’s richest blessings are spiritual – family, friends, and the gospel.

To be or not to be? What manner of me ought ye to be? Even as I am. To do without being is hypocrisy, to be without doing is void. Faith without works is dead.

Being is more important than doing. You can’t put a check mark on the “being.”

The name of the Church was not chosen by man, but was given by God. We are not “Mormons” – we are “Latter Day Saints”

The way is narrow and the path is laid strait.

God not only lives but HE SPEAKS!

General Conference is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

The summit of gospel discipleship is be ye therefore perfect.

One way or another, the Lord will have His voice heard.