Things I learned during General Conference

I love General Conference.  I have said it before, but it is worth saying again. Even more, I love that my kids love General Conference.  Don't get me wrong, they don't sit angelically and listen to every word that is said.  But we do gather together around our computer screen, with treats of course, and for eight hours, we get to be together as a family, and hear the words of living prophets and apostles.  The Spirit is always there.

Here are some of my personal highlights from General Conference:

President Boyd K. Packer:

Told several stories of orphaned or poverty ridden children.  I couldn't help but cry as I listened, and think of how I would adopt 20 children if I thought I could handle that many.  Isaac was sitting next to me.  He was crying, too. 

"These children of whom I spoke represent all of our Heavenly Father’s children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord: and … happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.”²

"The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is to see a husband and his wife and their children happy at home, protected by the principles and laws of the gospel, sealed safely in the covenants of the everlasting priesthood. Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling—from which they will never be released—is to one another and then to their children."

"One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents. We come to recognize the truth in Isaiah’s prophecy that “a little child shall lead them.”

Elder Richard G. Scott:

"One of the great lessons that each of us needs to learn is to ask. Why does the Lord want us to pray to Him and to ask? Because that is how revelation is received.

"Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously. It may seem paradoxical, but that is why recognizing answers to prayer can sometimes be very difficult. Sometimes we unwisely try to face life by depending on our own experience and capacity. It is much wiser for us to seek through prayer and divine inspiration to know what to do. Our obedience assures that when required, we can qualify for divine power to accomplish an inspired objective."

I loved this talk.  It reminded me that Heavenly Father will guide me in all aspects of my life when I allow it. 

And then there was the music.  I always enjoy listening to the various choirs during General Conference, but to me, the music this conference was especially wonderful.  The Sunday morning session alone featured two of my favorite songs of all time; "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," which I have grown to love over the past couple of months, and "Come Thou Fount," an old favorite from my mission.

And here are the only pictures I took of our family during General Conference weekend.  Dad and Yummy vacuuming up our messes from two days of sitting, snacking, listening, coloring, eating, and just basically living in our front room for two days straight.