"General conference is a semiannual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." There are four two-hour sessions where anyone can listen to the prophets and apostles teach and testify of Christ.
All of the talks were wonderful but two really stood out to me.
The first was For Peace at Home given by Elder Richard G. Scott. I really liked that he focused on making our home a place of refuge. Being away at college I only have my small dorm room to call home but it can still be a place of refuge. "Be certain that every decision you make, whether temporal or spiritual, is conditioned on what the Savior would have you do. When He is the center of your home, there is peace and serenity. There is a spirit of assurance that pervades the home, and it is felt by all who dwell there." I love this. We can't just let some of our decisions reflect what the Savior would have us do, every decision should be centered around Him. Then right at the end of his talk he said "There will still be plenty of challenges or heartaches, but even in the midst of turmoil, we can enjoy inner peace and profound happiness. I testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the source of that abundant peace". That is my favorite quote from this general conference. There will be trial. There will be heartaches. There will be times when it feels like nothing is going right. BUT, we can still find peace, we can still find joy and happiness and KNOW that everything is going to be okay. That is the wonderful message of the gospel. That is why I am going on a mission. Because everyone deserves to know that there is a way to be happy. True happiness comes only through Christ.
The second was "Lord, I Believe" given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. I would encourage you to watch this one. It is so powerful. I have watched it several times since general conference and EVERY time I feel the spirit, EVERY time I tear up. The story from Mark 9 may be familiar to you but if not you should go read it. I really loved the whole thing but this is one of my favorite paragraphs so I thought I would share it with you. "Be kind regarding human frailty... Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work. As one gifted writer has suggested, when the infinite fullness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all. Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving." Isn't that just great! It can be hard to remember that we aren't perfect, but when we do we will be so much happier.
So if you can't tell, I love General Conference. I would encourage you to watch the talks or read them, whichever you prefer. I know that we have living prophets on the earth today who love us and want us to come to Christ.
Love,
Lexy Smith
P.S. I got to go to downtown Salt Lake that Sunday and watch both sessions in the Tabernacle.
