Conference Feast

Posted by Leslie | April 5, 2009 | 31 Comments

nconf So what did you love about General Conference?

What filled your soul, prompted you toward change, strengthened or inspired you? What did the talks commit/recommit you to do? Do you have any plans to implement new things in your lives and homes?

Come discuss the richness! Share!

Comments

31 Responses to “Conference Feast”

Tiffany W.
April 5th, 2009 @ 6:05 pm

I absolutely loved the talk about faith during Saturday’s afternoon session. I liked how he said there is no room for doubt. Sorry, don’t remember the speaker. It hit me very hard because a friend of mine just left the church. Other members in my ward are really struggling. I’ve had my personal struggles as well with my faith and beliefs. Seeing these ward members choose to walk away from their faith gave me a tremendous shock. I’ve really had to re-evaluate my own beliefs and feelings. I’ve discovered that I don’t want to walk away. But I have rediscover my faith and belief. That talk gave me a starting point and powerful tools that I need to rebuild my testimony.
Leslie
April 5th, 2009 @ 6:09 pm

I loved Elder Hales Sat. am talk on entitlement, our wants, our needs our motivations, and conusmption. I can’t wait to read it in print. I loved his honest personal stories- his sort of call to action to re-evaluate ourselves.

I was also touched by Elder Scott’s talk on Sat afternoon- his personal adversity, the loss of two babies, and his faith.

Elder Oaks today really was powerful.
cheryl
April 5th, 2009 @ 6:14 pm

The talks I loved:

Elder Hales (what Leslie said above)
Elder Holland (the Atonement has never meant more to me than when I heard this talk)
Elder Oaks (he was speaking directly to me!)
Elder Ballard (“You can’t text message faith!”)

And more and more and more and more…
Zina
April 5th, 2009 @ 6:24 pm

When President Monson talked about the mother losing her husband, three children, and finally her baby daughter, I was sitting on the couch nursing my baby daughter, with my four other young children and husband all gathered around me. I also still have postpartum hormones coursing through my veins, so I think you might be able to imagine the emotional impact.

This was a really enjoyable Conference — my children were quieter than usual and I was actually able to hear most of the talks. I agree with the highlights others have already listed and I’m eager to read what others enjoyed from it.

I liked it when the Primary person (sorry, I forgot to notice her name) said that we shouldn’t be harsh when teaching reverence, and all the mentions of Joseph Smith’s answered plea for comfort from the Lord while in Liberty Jail. (To name a random couple of things I remember.)
Zina
April 5th, 2009 @ 6:26 pm

Oh, and my 9-year-old really liked the talk about avoiding debt and other self-indulgences, and I loved that she liked it.
Sage
April 5th, 2009 @ 7:03 pm

I especially loved how Pres. Monson said our future is as bright as our faith! He knows that so many of us can become fearful in these tumultuous times, so hearing his reassurance of the rock that our testimonies will give us was inspiring.

I also loved Elder Holland’s description of how Christ has to suffer by knowing how it feels not to have His Father with him, so He could fully atone for us. He is always so insightful.

Lots of temple talk and advice to follow the prophet.

A good conference. We live half an hour from church, but like to go on Sundays to watch to help the kids be more attentive. We had a potluck in between which was fun…but I was so full I was so tired the last session. Stayed awake though! Great messages!
anita
April 5th, 2009 @ 7:44 pm

lots of temple talks! (and too many deaths of children.) i thought elder hales was speaking right to me and a ring i want for our anniversary i loved elder bednar’s talk. and elder holland’s. and elder scott’s very personal one. and neil andersen is so humble and wonderful. great conference!
alanna
April 5th, 2009 @ 8:17 pm

I loved Sunday morning’s talk about change.

I came into this conference seeking council on how to deal with change. We’re moving cross-country soon and our whole lives are going to be drastically different. I’ve had really ambivalent feelings about it.

I feel like this talk was given just for me (I wonder how many other people feel that way too?). The speaker (I know, it’s bad that I forgot who) said the 4 keys to embracing change are to:

1. Follow the prophet.
2. Keep an eternal perspective.
3. Have faith.
4. Be of good cheer.

He also identified the reasons why people resist change:

1. Lacking in faith.
2. Being too comfortable.
3. Fear

Um…check, check, and check! I really needed to hear all this council.

I LOVE conference. I have a burning testimony that these leaders are inspired messengers of the Lord. How unique and wonderful that is?!
wonder woman
April 5th, 2009 @ 8:31 pm

The temple. That was definately the theme for me. Between brief mentions about the peace the covenant can bring, to how to get more out of your experience, there was so much about the temple for me to learn and apply. I am making time for the temple this week and NOTHING IS GOING TO STOP ME!!!!
Katie
April 5th, 2009 @ 8:34 pm

Usually I’m the kind of person who enjoys the doctrinal, intellectual type of talks more than the stories. So, I must admit that when President Monson started to talk and said he’d be sharing stories, I was a little disappointed. Then when he was telling the story about the refugee woman who lost her children it hit me right to my core. Not only was I balling, but it really made me think about my own priorities and more than any other talk motivated me to make changes. It also was a bit of a slap in the face telling me that stories are indeed an important teaching tool, and that I ought to listen to be prepared to listen to whatever the prophet has to say.
Kim
April 5th, 2009 @ 9:32 pm

I haven’t been to the Temple in way too long. I was so moved by all of the talks about the Temple. I am going to be making some big changes in my life and making time and priority to get there.
FoxyJ
April 5th, 2009 @ 9:33 pm

For some reason my daughter reacted really negatively to conference this year–she was super grouchy both today and yesterday. I printed off a bunch of ‘fun’ things for her to do, but unfortunately things just didn’t go well for us here and I had a hard time paying attention to the talks and things. I’ve been thinking a lot about the reverence one and looking forward to reading it, especially in light of my daughter’s reaction to conference and her attitude about church (she’s only 5 1/2, but been having a hard time lately for a lot of reasons), so I really want to ponder some ideas from that talk to figure out how to help her feel the Spirit and gain a greater desire to attend church and do other gospel things. I was also touched by all the temple talks; I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t gone to the temple for a few months and realized the other day that my recommend expired without me even realizing. Now I need to get it renewed and get to the temple!
Sue
April 5th, 2009 @ 11:13 pm

Holland’s talk was my favorite. I love the way he began by reaching out to everyone who has ever felt abandoned and alone, then related all the ways Jesus was betrayed and abandoned in the days before His atonement…by the ecclesiastical leaders, by the political leadership, by the citiizenry, by Judas, and by Peter, James and John who couldn’t stay awake at Gethsemane…”his supporting circle grew smaller and smaller.” Then, even the Father withdrew from Him in those last moments, but “the goodness in Him allowed faith to triumph…With faith in the God He knew was there, He said, ‘Father, into Thy hands, I commend my Spirit.’ ”

Then Elder Holland said, “Because He walked alone, we do not have to do so.” But Jesus did walk alone…He took that long walk to Calvary alone, save for the women who were always near Him and John, who stood by his mother at the last.

His isolation was profound. Then Elder Holland says, “Let us never re-enact it. He has walked alone once…May he never see unresponsive onlookers in you and me. May we declare ourselves to be His in all ways, in deed and in courage and in faith…including when the path is lonely and the cross is difficult to bear. May we stand by Him at all times and in all things and in all places that we are in even unto death, for surely that’s how he stood by us.”

Inspired words. Quite simply, the best Easter talk I’ve ever heard, and a lot of it was in the spirit that attended the delivery. I DVRed it and will be watching it again and again, because it moved me. It made me want to do better by Him and give Him more of myself.
Giggles
April 5th, 2009 @ 11:45 pm

I still have two more talks to read over from the October Conference, so I look forward to doing that before starting on the next one next month.

Friday night as I went to bed a bit too late, I prayed to hear what I needed to hear this weekend. I paused during my prayer and mentally listed a few things I wanted to learn and hear about before saying a couple out loud in my prayer. I was moved to tears both Saturday and Sunday as the two I chose from my mental list were so perfectly addressed. One of the talks on Sunday even used the exact verses in the scriptures I’ve really been needing to better understand. My prayer was most definitely answered in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
Selwyn
April 6th, 2009 @ 12:10 am

Being on the other side of the world, I haven’t been able to see it “real time”.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO looking forward to seeing/hearing it!

And you all have given sensational teasers!
m&m
April 6th, 2009 @ 1:38 am

Selwyn,

Have you accessed the online resources on lds.org? You can get all the MP3s now here. Video links are available here.

A good list of the resources can be found here.

I can’t stand the thought of someone not having access to it all NOW.
jendoop
April 6th, 2009 @ 7:52 am

I thought for sure by the time I got here to list my favorite it would already be listed here several times over!! It just goes to show how the Lord answers our individual pleas with the spirit through different speakers.

My favorite by far was Elder Christofferson’s. Much of it went over my head and was left out of my notes as I just sat in awe, trying to take in the heavy doctrinal things he was teaching.

He spoke of the need the world has for strong Christians. We have a special ability to be strong Christians through priesthood covenants.
-As we are obedient = blessings that allow us to act instead of to be acted upon.
-Faith necessary to perservere and do those things necessary knowing that our course is right.
-Our covenants permit His divine influence in our life. When we take upon ourselves freely these covenants we accept the responsibility that comes with added power.

At the end of his talk Elder Christofferson helped me to understand what is meant by the phrase, “the finisher of your faith”. Our faith can never be perfect, it will always be less that what is needed, but through the redemption of Christ it will be made enough.

Oh, I just cannot sum up the change in attitude this talk has given me. In the overwhelming work of the church here, at times I just feel I cannot go on. This talk has taught me valuable things about how to be a stronger Christian in these troubled times.
Jenny
April 6th, 2009 @ 9:25 am

Elder Holland’s talk on the atonement becomes by number one pick from this conference,and there were SO many gems! The fact that Elders Hales and Oaks touched on the recently talked-about subject of entitlement was exciting to me,and I’ve been re-listening to them this morning as I putter about in the kitchen. The honorable mention goes to the brother in the Q of the 70 who gave us a virtual tour through our homes on Sunday… it was a fantastic wake-up call to tidy up the spiritual clutter in our physical homes. LOVED it.
Jenny
April 6th, 2009 @ 9:27 am

The amazing thing about your experience with prayer and prophetic counsel tailor-made for you, is that you were not alone in this experience. The Lord does know each and every one of us personally, and we are given these personal and tender manifestations as often as we seek them. Thanks for sharing yours.
Mommom
April 6th, 2009 @ 9:46 am

Allen F. Packer quoted Dallin H. Oaks “Testimony is to know & to feel – Conversion is to do and become.”

Kevin W. Pearson’s talk on Faith was pivotal – our family talked through the next talk.

Steven E. Snow’s Talk on Change

Elder Holland’s Talk on the Atonement

Honestly I feel I received some very personal revelation during this conference during some of the talks. It was truly an amazing conference that seemed to hold a lot of layers & substance. There was a lot of plain speaking, but at the same time, we were told, “Be of good cheer, for I am in your midst.”

It was powerful.
Karen
April 6th, 2009 @ 9:46 am

I liked this talk also. I liked how he said ‘next time you are tempted to groan, try to laugh instead’!

My notes say it was Elder Steven E. Snow.
Justine
April 6th, 2009 @ 10:36 am

I, too, loved all the talk about covenants and the power of covenants. And President Monson had me crying on Sunday morning.

Oooh, and Elder Scott had me in tears, too. Those heartbreaking stories.

Elder Holland’s talk was the clincher for me. It was so powerful. It was just such an excellent weekend.
Jenny
April 6th, 2009 @ 12:13 pm

This talk ended up being my pick of the weekend… I echo many of your sentiments, and I will be using this talk in FHE tonight to kick off Easter week. Because the rest of this holiday is usually way too sugar-filled and plastic-egg-y at our house, regardless of how I plan to make it more spiritual.
Sue
April 6th, 2009 @ 1:58 pm

Hope your FHE goes well. (How can it miss!) I ended up devoting my whole blog today to Elder Holland’s talk. (I got started here and couldn’t stop!)

=)
Kay
April 6th, 2009 @ 1:59 pm

Iloved Elder Holland’s talk, reminding us about Christ and the atonement. I had never felt it so powerfully. For me, the thing which stood out with this was the theme of the temple. I recently went and did initiatory work for the first time in ages, and I was surprised that I had forgotten some of the wording. It is an effort to travel a few hours to the temple and organise childcare too, but tha tis no excuse for not getting there more often. My husband and I rarely go together as one stays behind with the children. We need to go more often to worship. We need to plan that first and the rest around it. We pay our tithing first then see what money is left, perhaps we should sort out our time that way too, organise our worship time each month and plan life around it instead of trying to fit it in. Also we need to really work on making our home a temple. More peace needed.
Giggles
April 6th, 2009 @ 3:11 pm

Isn’t it amazing though? I jokingly stated that I felt sorry for the other 13 million members of the church since I know so much of it was directed specifically to me.
Selwyn
April 6th, 2009 @ 4:26 pm

G’day M&M!

Thanks for the links – I LOOOOOOOVE lds.org!

I tried Sunday afternoon (my time) to stream it, but it was audio only and disjointed (high demand I guess) so I chose to wait.

But I will be watching/listening this afternoon!

Thanks for thinking of me =) I can’t wait to dive into the deep lake of wise words.
m&m
April 6th, 2009 @ 5:02 pm

Yah, duh, I realized since my comment that just because you can get it doesn’t mean you are in a good time zone to get it live.

What a nice response you gave anyway. Sorry I was kind of dense.
Selwyn
April 6th, 2009 @ 10:30 pm

I think you are an awesome dense – sweet hearted dense goodness… like a fabulous brownie =)
dmar
April 7th, 2009 @ 1:37 pm

i enjoyed general conference. this was both refreshing and inspiring. i am grateful for president monson for warning us about the dangers of pornography on the internet. elder holland gave a poignant testimony about the atonement. elders bednar and stevenson gave important counsel about attending the temple. foxyj and kim, make the house of the lord a part of your lives. when you have that recommend use it well. the temple is important in our lives. other than that, conference was inspiring
Selwyn
April 7th, 2009 @ 11:29 pm

You know, if you were going to be dense.

Which you’re not =)