This past General Conference was seriously fabulous. I'm just going to share a few [okay...maybe there are a lot but it was soo good! I had a hard time narrowing down] of my favorite talks/thoughts that I heard during that weekend.
President Boyd K. Packer - "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them"
This was the first talk of conference and of course it hit home for me because he spoke about children and the importance of eternal families. My favorite quote of his was, "One of the greatest discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents."
He also said ....
"Family time is sacred and should be protected and respected..."
"Next time you cradle a newborn child in your arms you can have an inner vision of the mysteries and purposes of life. You will better understand why the Church is as it is and why the family is the basic organization in time and all eternity."
Sister Cheryl A. Esplin - "Teaching Our Children to Understand"
Another talk about children! "What a sacred responsibility Heavenly Father places upon us parents to partner with Him in helping His choice spirits become what He knows they can become."
Elder Donald L. Hallstrom - "Converted to His Gospel through His Church"
This was an interesting talk about the difference between the gospel and the church. He said we can be active in the church and not in the gospel. Going to church every week is great, but it's not all that we need to do.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland - "The Laborers in the Vineyard"
Elder Holland is one of my favorites. His talks are always wonderful and hit ya right in the gut. He spoke about the parable of hired laborers who all received the same wage although working different hours. I never really liked this parable and always thought that it wasn't quite fair - well, I has chastened during this talk....
"So don't hyperventilate about something that happened at 9 o'clock in the morning when the grace of God is trying to reward you at 6o'clock in the evening..."
"His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not for the hour of the day in which you got there"
This was a great one.
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - "The Merciful Obtain Mercy"
President Uchtdorf is also a favorite. He talked about forgiveness and mercy - very inspiring talk.
"When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it."
"Sometimes, of all the people in the world, the one who is the hardest to forgive...is the person looking back at us in the mirror."
Elder M. Russell Ballard - "That the Lost May be Found"
Elder Ballard also talked about families [notice a pattern here?], particularly using the Holy Ghost to guide your family. He listed many statistics that suggest that prosperity and education are connected to a better chance of having traditional families and values [the sociologist in me loved this part].
he said, "do some sectors of our society have stronger values and families because they are more educated and prosperous, or are they more educated and prosperous because of their values and strong families? In this world-wide Church we know that it is the latter."
Oh man - It was a great General Conference!!
Also - Pictures of my two loves :
