Sermons and sweaters: General Conference Traditions

Posted by Shelah | October 2, 2009 | 34 Comments

IMG_6699 copy The upstairs hall is crowded with plastic garbage bags, bursting with shorts and flip flops bound for DI. The bedroom drawers are filled with neatly-folded sweaters, footie pajamas, and fleece-lined jeans. It’s the first weekend in October, which means that our house will be filled with the sounds of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the smell of baking apples, and bags of cast-off clothes.

It’s probably just a coincidence that General Conference takes place around the same time that it’s time to retire swimsuits for the season. But for me, the tradition of pulling out sweaters and listening to our leaders as I fold and iron and stack helps me be mindful of the passing seasons. It also gives my hands something to do as I listen, which makes me much less likely to indulge in another age-old General Conference tradition– curling up on the couch and falling into a doze before the opening prayer is over. During the four years we lived in Texas, I always struggled with somnolence during Conference, probably because it was still in the 90s– way too hot to be pulling out my lone sweater.

When I was growing up, picking apples was a non-negotiable family activity. We had a favorite orchard about an hour away, and oohed and aahed over the New England colors on the drive. We’d search for the best picking trees, drink cider, stuff ourselves with cider donuts, and return home with the back of the van dragging from the weight of many bushels of Macintosh and Macouns. I spent many teenage Conference Saturdays peeling apples for pies and grinding them into sauce. I have a big bag of Granny Smiths on my counter, and plan to turn them into something fabulous (a humble crisp? a fancy tarte tatin?), because eating also helps me stay awake when the calming voices of our leaders start to lull me into a stupor.

While the calendar signified that fall started almost two weeks ago, General Conference always feels like the official start of the season, and apples, sweaters and leaves are a big part of the traditions that make the weekend memorable for me and my family. What are your General Conference traditions? Have your traditions changed as you grew from being the kid to having kids of your own? What are your tips for getting the most out of General Conference weekend?

Category: Daily Special

Comments

34 Responses to “Sermons and sweaters: General Conference Traditions”

Michelle L.
October 2nd, 2009 @ 11:02 am

Thanks for this beautiful post, Shelah. I’d better get some apples on my counter today…

My favorite tradition is writing down my spiritual/temporal questions the day before and then listening for the answers in Conference. I ALWAYS get answers.

We always make crepes for the Sunday morning session and all my kids, ages 5 to 17 love our tradition of dumping out the box of Legos so they can create during Conference.

I’ll be checking this thread later to read how everyone else celebrates this weekend.
Michelle L.
October 2nd, 2009 @ 11:11 am

p.s. and we’re especially lucky in Utah this year because it’s UEA weekend and all soccer games and other events have been canceled! Hmm, that might also mean that no one is around to comment on this post.
Strollerblader
October 2nd, 2009 @ 11:19 am

There is life beyond Utah, though.

I’m still thinking, and awaiting more comments!
corktree
October 2nd, 2009 @ 11:25 am

About this time of year I begin to miss New England with a physical ache. But over the last few years away from “home” we have slowly been adding to our traditions for the weekend to make it easier to bear. We’ve actually had to choose to go against some of my own childhood traditions of apple picking on Conference Sunday. My family in California still does it and it didn’t even occur to me as a youth that this wasn’t a weekend “off” from church. Coming from having to actually go to church to see the broadcast in New Hampshire, we are very aware of how blessed we are to have it available in our home now, and we try not to miss a single talk. Not that we pay attention to all of them fully, but we want our children to know that EVERYone on the schedule prepared to speak to us and deserves to be heard.

This year with the last two days coinciding with teacher in-service days, we took off to do apple picking early to prepare for the weekend. So yes, apple baking is a strong tradition for us. But I’m also trying something new this year. I had several experiences with Yom Kippur this year and have always had a special interest in all things Jewish. So in a strange way I am mixing some traditions and trying to teach my children what I love about Jewish thought and culture. Maybe this is the wrong thing to be combining with conference weekend, but since Saturday feels a bit like Sunday already on this weekend, I thought we’d mix it up a bit. So we’re having bagels and Matzo Ball soup and apple strudel, etc. I’m not trying to make light of the Jewish sabbath, but I thought it appropriate to use the differences to teach my children and broaden their perspective of world religions, something that seems to need a more concerted effort when living in Southern Idaho.
jendoop
October 2nd, 2009 @ 11:50 am

We don’t have hardened traditions for Conference Sunday. Other than taking a HUGE thankful sigh to get a break from meetings and leadership responsibilities.

There is usually some type of special food preparation that is otherwise too complicated for a normal weekend. I remember making rolls and listening to conference with my mom as a child. I’ve made pies before. This weekend I’m thinking of homemade tortillas, long slow-cooked beans, and crock pot pork roast. Comfort food that will last all weekend. After running the menu past my husband he made a comment about family togetherness and a cloud of green smoke over the house.

There will be naps. Hopefully the timing will be appropriate. But if not the DVR is a wonderful invention. In any case I am not shaving my legs this weekend.
Blue
October 2nd, 2009 @ 12:00 pm

i don’t have any traditions, but am wishing i was in some of your families about right now!
Faith.Not.Fear
October 2nd, 2009 @ 12:07 pm

I wish they’d make the Monday after Conference a holiday so we can catch up on all we dropped to sit at the feet of the Savior !
April
October 2nd, 2009 @ 12:16 pm

I loved when I was a single adult. We would meet for conference at church, then go to lunch as a giant group, head back for the afternoon session and then get some dinner and while the guys went to the Priesthood session we would go to the movies! On Sundays we would all bring pot luck to eat between the morning and afternoon sessions. We would all discuss which talks stood out the most while we ate. I miss those days.
As a mom of four I’ve had years when I watched all of conference without hearing a word. Now we have satelite TV so we watch at home. My kids love to play conference bingo. We start with m&m’s and then move on to popcorn and cheerios. We usually make a pot full of something yummy and we all sit and enjoy between sessions. Many of our friends still go to church to watch on Sunday. We just aren’t that commited to the Sunday dress code!
I love the idea of writing down questions the day before. I think I’ll do that this year!
Leslie
October 2nd, 2009 @ 12:20 pm

oh I love new england in fall but Utah is alwasy ahead of us- we still have a few weeks to peak- my fall will soon ben macs and macouns and cider donuts- ummm. I do have apples on my counter for the baking illustrated apple pie (perfect tart pie with grannys and macs)- for april conf its coconut cream- we all sit in the office and watch it on the computer- usually legos abound and there are always homemade cinnamon rolls/rolls and veggies and dip. I love conference weekend and so do my boys-esp my oldest who has always loved gen conf since he was a toddler.
Justine
October 2nd, 2009 @ 12:46 pm

It seems like most conference times, some viral email starts going around with kid activities for conference. I haven’t gotten one this fall, and I’m scrambling to find something to do with the kids during each session.

Also, we usually make cinnamon rolls for Sunday morning. Cliche but delicious. And Saturday night girl night at the MIL’s house while the men are gone is a night of hot soup, great bread, and Jane Austen movies.
wendy
October 2nd, 2009 @ 12:53 pm

Before marriage and children, I loved driving around the Mt. Nebo Loop during a session of conference. The fall colors are remarkable and you can hear it on the radio all the way around. I don’t think our toddler will handle that just yet.

I used love having a big pancake or waffle breakfast for Saturday morning conference and having friends over for it . . . fresh strawberries in April. We have them all the time now, so it doesn’t feel like such a treat, and inviting single friends was easier than inviting whole families.

Living near my husband’s family, we enjoy getting together with them on Saturday evening. The men all go to Priesthood session together, while the women & kids play, eat, talk, whatever. When it’s done, the men drop by on their way to dinner to pick up the younger boys. It’s been a fun tradition since I joined their family.

I hope our toddler will show some interest this year. He loves looking through the Ensign and even recognizes Elder Holland’s face. Crossing my fingers! Otherwise, I won’t hear much. He’s a busy boy and naps between sessions.
annie
October 2nd, 2009 @ 12:56 pm

Growing up, fall conference meant a caravan of cars (carrying multigenerations) cruising the Alpine Loop in Provo Canyon while we listened to conference on the radio. I loved watching the other cars on the road during sustainings and would usually try to count how many hands in the air we could see around us. Then a fall picnic and pictures.

We’ve lived on the east coast for 15 years now and have created our own traditions: the first fire in the fireplace, monkey bread (husband’s family tradition), drowsy listening, and staying in pj’s (on Sunday). Now that we have KBYU on our satellite, we can watch it on tv at home–hooray for not having to dress up and go to church on Saturday!

I’m with Justine–even my teenagers like to do the activity packets. I must get looking, stat.
jeans
October 2nd, 2009 @ 1:07 pm

My favorite is that between the Sunday sessions our ward has an amazing potluck supper. Some of our families live 1/2 hour or more from the building, so it’s a nice way to spend the 2 hours in between, and eat fantastic food. Watching at home has its joys, but given the choice I prefer to be in the church building & enjoy the big screen and the comeraderie.
FoxyJ
October 2nd, 2009 @ 1:14 pm

Growing up I really don’t remember watching Conference until I was a teenager. We never lived where it was on TV, and I honestly don’t blame my mom for not wanting to haul 5 kids to the church by herself to watch 4-8 hours worth of it. By the time I was a teenager we would at least go to the Sunday sessions. Some of the wards we lived in had a tradition of having a potluck between Sunday sessions and that was always a lot of fun. During the last few years we’ve just watched it on the internet, but now we’re back where we can get it on the TV and I’m excited because it should be easier for the kids to see and hopefully pay a bit more attention.

My kids are still little-ish, so I don’t expect a lot of actual attention from them. Plus my husband doesn’t watch so that makes things a bit more complicated. I do like to make it a ‘family weekend’ and cook fun stuff like cinnamon rolls and other treats. I let the kids play quietly with stuff like Legos and puzzles, or print off coloring pages from the Friend. My main requirement is that we are together and trying to listen. If I work on cross-stitch or have a note pad handy then that usually helps me stay awake. I think we’re also starting a tradition of getting together with family for Sunday afternoon session with dinner afterwards.
Angie f
October 2nd, 2009 @ 1:25 pm

The biggest tradition that seems to make a dent in my children and encourage listening is to read King Benjamin’s sermon before conference and put up sheet and other indoor tents in the family room facing the TV so the children can watch while in their tents like the Nephites listened to the prophet from their tents. Something about the tent and the scripture correlation has made it better than all previous attempts with conference bingo alone. I have done the pre-conference questions and gotten answers and I have had conferences that flew by me in a wash of child wrestling and frustrations (the worst being my children screaming hateful things at me while Elder Holland was giving his powerful words talk–priceless)

As a child we had to go 30 minutes into the stake center to listen to conference audio only. It was such a blessing when they put the first satellite in so that we could at least see the proceedings in the dark. And then to progress to where we can watch it on the TV or computer, it seems like heaven, true heaven. For many years my parents had the “right” cable that carried conference while many in the ward did not, (different carriers) so conference always meant several friends over to watch with us. Now it’s just our family and it’s a lovely respite from long Sundays without Bishop Daddy. I can hardly wait.
Faith.Not.Fear
October 2nd, 2009 @ 1:32 pm

April – Closed captioning helps with the not being able to hear over the “sounds of Zion growing!”

Justine – Not that it’s great to put your kids on the computer alone, but both the Friend and the New Era have websites with activities — don’t know if they’ve posted Conference ideas.
Karen M.
October 2nd, 2009 @ 2:27 pm

My family always went to the stake center for the morning session of Sunday Conference as a kid. I didn’t even know there were Saturday sessions until I went to college. Now that I live in Utah with my family, we pull out the sofa bed for everyone to sit on and let the kids eat snacks and color and play.
Justine
October 2nd, 2009 @ 2:40 pm

Karen, that’s my childhood memory, too! I had no idea there were so many sessions of conference until I became an adult. We would drive 2 hours to hear the Sunday morning session, and then drive home. My memories are of sleeping on the floor in church twice a year, haha.
Strollerblader
October 2nd, 2009 @ 3:26 pm

My kids have gotten into Conference Bingo over the last 3 years, so that helps us be able to watch/listen to it easier. Other than that, we really don’t have any Conference traditions. I am half-heartedly trying to do some, though. We’re having bake-em-yourself pain du chocolat croissants on Sunday morning. And I may set out a big puzzle for my disinterested dh to work on while he pretends to not listen (or else while he gets fodder for his not-into-the-Church cyberbuddies). Haven’t decided.
Here is a link for a kids’ Conference packet:
http://www.ldsresources.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-october-general-
conference-primary-activity-packet.pdf

I *do* love Conference, though. I like the different pace of the weekend, and I like hearing from the GAs.
Strollerblader
October 2nd, 2009 @ 3:27 pm

Please Note: Make sure you get the *entire* link for the above Conference packet. Only part of it got highlighted.
Justine
October 2nd, 2009 @ 3:32 pm

Strollerblader, you saved me!!! Thanks!
christine
October 2nd, 2009 @ 3:33 pm

I love this post. At my book group last night we were talking about how few “traditions” our church has when compared to other faiths and I realized again how much we need touchpoints and rituals in our lives. Conference is such a wonderful time to be together, create family rituals that can increase our love and faith. All the great food ideas reminds me of a tradition I heard about many years ago from the Jewish faith, when children start school they are given honey cakes to remind them of the sweetness of God’s word. I always think of that when I am preparing yummy treats for conference.
Rosemary
October 2nd, 2009 @ 3:49 pm

There is an activity packet posted by the church on lds.org. It is under Magazines – Friend.

the idea door is also one of many online sources for ideas.
Shelah
October 2nd, 2009 @ 3:55 pm

Annie-

The Alpine Loop was a tradition in my DH’s family. I remember going with them once when we were dating, and we’ve talked about taking the kids up there tomorrow and spending the night up at their cabin. It’s really amazing that you can hear GC wherever you go when you’re in Utah. Almost like it’s Muzak or something.

So no one else ritually cleans their closets? I’m really the only closet-cleaning freak out there?
Sharlee
October 2nd, 2009 @ 6:21 pm

Yup, Shelah. You’re the only one.
m&m
October 2nd, 2009 @ 7:20 pm

and we’re especially lucky in Utah this year because it’s UEA weekend

Hm. We have our break in two weeks. Ah, well.

Our tradition as of the past couple of years includes treats (which I don’t buy often, but they each get to pick their favorite), and building ‘tents’ with sheets and blankets — King-Benjamin-like. We always read Mosiah 2 and talk about the parallels to our day. We usually have one of those packets, but the kids often end up listening in their own way. We’ve had building materials (legos, magnetix, etc.) out before, too.
Amy S
October 2nd, 2009 @ 9:15 pm

That’s funny, I was just thinking about posting about this same thing. For me, our traditions have totally changed since for the first time we can get it on television here. We used to spend six hours at church on those days, and you packed a whole bunch of food and a whole bunch of kid supplies. It’s so bizarre to have conference coming into my family room. I now have to learn to keep my hands busy so I don’t do the doze on the couch as well. But this is Florida, so we definitely are not doing sweaters or fleece-lined jeans. In fact, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen fleece-lined jeans.
Melissa M.
October 2nd, 2009 @ 10:27 pm

I’m enjoying reading about everyone’s Conference traditions. I always associate Conference weekend with good food and cooking, which I enjoy when I’m not in a hurry. There’s something about all of us being together, relaxing, and the yummy smells of good food, especially in the fall. I make French toast for Sunday breakfast; we have roast chicken with goat’s cheese and sage for dinner, or a pot roast and mashed potatoes and gravy. During October conference we always bake an apple pie on Sunday–my husband peels and slices all the apples while I make the pie, and then we enjoy the lovely aroma of pie baking while we watch the afternoon session. We stay in our pjs all day on Sunday. And sometimes we take a drive up the canyon between sessions to see the fall colors. And now that our children are getting older, they all love Conference weekends, and that makes me very happy.
Selwyn
October 2nd, 2009 @ 11:43 pm

I’m the first convert in my family, so there are no long term traditions like some of those mentioned – yet!

Here in Australia stakes get the conference beamed in via satellite, where it’s recorded then played over the Saturday/Sunday a week or two afterwards in the chapels. I’m tempted to start watching it over the internet, though I’m not sure how much my boys would get out of it at home. After reviewing some of the traditions listed, maybe I’ll try the lego and tent options!

One of the traditions I’ve started is giving my boys the Activity packs with lollies for the bingo games. It’s the only food they have at church during meetings, so it’s a big enjoyable deal for them. I try to have something nice for lunch or dinner afterwards (depending on which session we attend) so we can enjoy our food while discussing what we heard.

My tips for getting the most out are to work out a few days beforehand what I really want help/direction with, and write those questions (i.e. who, what, when, where) down in a notebook that I take to conference. I take notes of points that pop out at me from each speaker regardless of if they directly answer my questions, and I refer to my notes afterwards. (My note book is one that lives in my handbag, holding my book lists, shopping lists and reminders – I love my notebook! – so it’s always available to revise what was said.)

I always find at least one talk is just for me (sorry everyone else in the world, they were talking to ME!) that helps me with whatever I’m facing/struggling with.

October General Conference always seems to be screened on a sunny day – I love coming out of the darkened room into a glorious spring afternoon. Makes everything that much more possible and wondrous.
m&m
October 3rd, 2009 @ 2:44 am

Justine, I had a hard time finding the Church’s packet, but just did, fwiw.

http://lds.org/Static%20Files/LDSOrg/General%20Conference%20Notebook.pdf
jenny
October 3rd, 2009 @ 6:56 am

We have many of the same traditions (special breakfast, cozy family time…) as have already been mentioned. Something we started a few years ago is the almighty bribe. Since conference falls around Easter & Halloween, there are a plethora of treats to tempt the kiddies with. Here’s the deal: they take notes/names/etc. of the speakers; if the notes are such that they can tell me what the talk was about and the message, they get to pick from a huge bowl of seasonal treats. Its up to them how many speakers they listen to and make note of. (They usually do most of them– and you should see their notes. Makes a mother proud.) But I don’t have to nag to keep eveyone focused and quiet, and they actually retain some of it, as evidenced by future conversations throughout the year. (My littlest one draws pictures of the speaker, names them and writes key words.) It may be out and out bribery, but it’s what has worked for us lately. The kids even look forward to it. (BTW, this will be our first conference with the ability to watch at home, previously they have listened on the internet and taken notes…bless their little hearts…) Happy listening and watching to all!
m2theh
October 3rd, 2009 @ 10:09 am

We used to do the conference bingo thing–but it was all adults and teenagers. now that I have a preschooler, we’re lucky to catch any conference at all!

But what I’ve been wanting to try is having the same type of foods that you have while watching the Superbowl, because everyone stays awake through that.
m&m
October 3rd, 2009 @ 5:43 pm

Ha. Angie, friend, we think alike (just now saw your 15).
mormonhermitmom
October 3rd, 2009 @ 8:37 pm

Sunday conference in my family was wrestling during the musical numbers.

Now that I’m the mom I’ve tried all sorts of distractions like conference bingo and coloring, but I guess my kids are the stubborn ones. I don’t know if anything is getting through.

Sunday afternoon is the worst for it’s hypnotic effects. Thank heaven for the November Ensign.