Saturday

Elder Pace

• We can’t receive too much counsel
• Melchizedek Priesthood quorums are lacking because they are failing to tap into the power of the quorum
• our leaders try to prime the pump of revelation, but we need to receive the revelation from deity

Elder Ballard

• Q) how we do combat pornography
• A) we draw a line in our minds over which we will never step
• stop, repent, quit, draw the line
• make a resolve and commitment with the Lord that you will not step over into the devil’s playground
• pornography will destroy your spirituality
• if this is an issue, stop it today
• be careful on other sites as well (like Facebook)
• stay on the Lord’s side
• Matthew 25 – do not be a goat

President Uchtdorf

• he has lived more of his life in districts than in stakes
• don’t wait to make an impact in the lives of our children
• in today’s world, don’t trust the compass the world is offering
• trust the Holy Ghost
• spoke of compass ambiguity as he traveled in northern Canada (has been to Frobisher Lake and Goose Lake)
• use the time you have in your calling
• don’t dare say “if only I was the…”
• 1 Samuel 10 – the Lord will turn us into another man
• there is no small calling in the Church

Sunday

• 111 downlink sites
• 10 + languages
• my son asked if there was another episode
• Elder Pace on both days called Elder Ballard by the name Russell M Ballard
• President Uchtdorf was very fidgety
• Truly a united nation of the Church
• 800+ missionaries
• President Uchtdorf said that sometimes we have to look for something different to see the true identity. Bald Eagle, golf balls

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Anyway, this past Sunday the concluding speaker was speaking about the role of parents (tied into Mother’s Day) and he shared a quote from President Faust. I called what I described above as “parental hypocrisy”:

When parents try to teach their children to avoid danger, it is no answer for parents to say to their children, “We are experienced and wise in the ways of the world, and we can get closer to the edge of the cliff than you.” Parental hypocrisy can make children cynical and unbelieving of what they are taught in the home. For instance, when parents attend movies they forbid their children to see, parental credibility is diminished. If children are expected to be honest, parents must be honest. If children are expected to be virtuous, parents must be virtuous. If you expect your children to be honorable, you must be honorable.

James E. Faust, “The Greatest Challenge in the World—Good Parenting,” Ensign, Nov 1990, 32

As is often the case, someone else comes up with a better way to explain the way that I feel. We really do need to practice what we preach. Our kids know when we are genuinely concerned about their exposure to something, and when we are just making excuses. If we want our children to trust us and our decisions, we need to be honorable in all things. It isn’t always easy, but it will make a different in the long run.

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• When we speak of qualifying for the blessings of eternal life, we mean qualifying for the blessings of eternal families. This was Christ’s doctrine, and this is some of what was restored that had been lost—understanding and clarity about family. Without these blessings, the earth is wasted…
  The promises of the children made to the fathers was that their hearts would turn to their fathers. Their hearts would be turned to the blessings of eternal life that they could have. This is talking about temple blessings—temple ordinances and covenants without which “the whole earth [is] utterly wasted.”
  So, if we teach about what is in every section of the Doctrine and Covenants, if we teach so that our students know all the rivers in the Book of Mormon, if they can name all the prophets of the Old Testament, if they can describe to you the pioneer trek and the history of the Latter-day Saints in the restored times but they don’t understand the promises made to the fathers and their part in it, it is “utterly wasted.” I would submit that all of our teaching is utterly wasted if they don’t understand the context that all of this is taught within.
• Korihor was an anti-Christ. Anti-Christ is antifamily. Any doctrine or principle our youth hear from the world that is antifamily is also anti-Christ. It’s that clear. They need to know
  that if it’s antifamily, it’s anti-Christ. An anti- Christ is antifamily.
• Teach the students so that they don’t misunderstand (3 times she used the phrase)
1. Let’s go to the question “What is it we hope this rising generation will understand and do because of what you will teach them?” Teach so they don’t misunderstand that every doctrine, every principle, everything you’re teaching leads them to the fulness of the gospel.
2. So, what I submit to you as one of your responsibilities—besides teaching those doctrines so your students don’t misunderstand
3. Your role in this is to teach them so they don’t misunderstand, to be very clear on key points of doctrine, which you find in the proclamation on the family.
• When speaking of Isaac and Rebekah, she said: She needed to see that her righteous son got the blessings. Rebekah used her influence to see that the priesthood blessings and keys passed to the righteous son. It’s a perfect example of the man who has the keys and the woman who has the influence working together to ensure their blessings.

Powerful, but great, stuff!

Note: If you would like to read the talk, you can download a PDF of the talk here.

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O the depravity of my people! They are without order and without mercy. Behold, I am but a man, and I have but the strength of a man, and I cannot any longer enforce my commands.

And they have become strong in their perversion; and they are alike brutal, sparing none, neither old nor young; and they delight in everything save that which is good; and the suffering of our women and our children upon all the face of this land doth exceed everything; yea, tongue cannot tell, neither can it be written.

And now, my son, I dwell no longer upon this horrible scene. Behold, thou knowest the wickedness of this people; thou knowest that they are without principle, and past feeling; and their wickedness doth exceed that of the Lamanites.

That line “past feeling” reminds us of what Nephi said to his brothers in 1 Nephi 17: 45:

Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.

That phrase “past feeling” is great. You can look at it in so many ways. The student manual for the Book of Mormon institute course had a great quote about this from President Packer:

“The world grows increasingly noisy. Clothing and grooming and conduct are looser and sloppier and more disheveled. Raucous music, with obscene lyrics blasted through amplifiers while lights flash psychedelic colors, characterizes the drug culture. Variations of these things are gaining wide acceptance and influence over our youth. . . .

“This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless.

“The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.

“Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit”

President Boyd K Packer in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 28; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 22

When I read that, it totally made me think of the Internet. The Internet is so distracting for people. There is definitely “less restraint” and “less dignity” in the way many people communicate with each other. It can definitely be a tool of Satan to distract us from better things. I found it interesting that the quote is from the fall of 1991, about 3 years before the Internet started to be accessible by vast numbers of people. I guess that is yet another reason why we need prophets, seers and revelators!

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There was lots of eternal truths spoken during the conference, but one of the “truest” things said was just an unscripted throw-away line. Brother Adrián Ochoa spoke during the Priesthood Session. The talk was called Aaronic Priesthood: Arise and Use the Power of God. About halfway through the talk, he mentions that the Church has a section of their web site where you can hear stories about youth. The official transcript records it this way:

You can find some of these stories and many others like them on the Church’s youth website, youth.lds.org. By the way, the Internet, social media, and other technologies are tools the Lord has placed in your hands to help you exercise your priesthood duties and extend the influence of truth and virtue.

However, that’s not what he said exactly. If you watch the video of the talk, you’ll see that he says the following (it starts at about 8:45):

You can find some of these wonderful stories and many others like them on the Church’s youth web site. Just Google it. Be careful. By the way, the Internet, social media, and other technologies are tools the Lord has placed in your hands to help you exercise your priesthood duties and extend the influence of truth and virtue.

Google it, and be careful

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I could probably do hundreds of posts about what I learned, but I’ll start with this…

As we finished the Book of Mormon, we read Moroni 9: 3. This is part of one of the letters that Mormon wrote to Moroni. He mentions the wickedness of the people and the destruction of the people around him. The verse reads:

And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up continually to anger one with another.

We talked about anger for a bit, and I shared this great quote from Elder Robbins of the Seventy about anger.

“A cunning part of his [Satan’s] strategy is to dissociate anger from agency, making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control. We hear, ‘I lost my temper.’ Losing one’s temper is an interesting choice of words that has become a widely used idiom. To ‘lose something’ implies ‘not meaning to,’ ‘accidental,’ ‘involuntary,’ ‘not responsible’—careless perhaps but ‘not responsible.’

“‘He made me mad.’ This is another phrase we hear, also implying lack of control or agency. This is a myth that must be debunked. No one makes us mad. Others don’t make us angry. There is no force involved. Becoming angry is a conscious choice, a decision; therefore, we can make the choice not to become angry. We choose! To those who say, ‘But I can’t help myself,’ author William Wilbanks responds, ‘Nonsense.’

“‘Aggression, . . . suppressing the anger, talking about it, screaming and yelling,’ are all learned strategies in dealing with anger. ‘We choose the one that has proved effective for us in the past. Ever notice how seldom we lose control when frustrated by our boss, but how often we do when annoyed by friends or family?’ (‘The New Obscenity,’ Reader’s Digest, Dec. 1988, 24)”

Lynn G. Robbins in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 105; or Ensign, May 1998, 80

I love this quote. It is so true. We used this is the basis for our Family Home Evening this past week, and my family has tried a lot harder not to be angry with one another. It’s a slow process, but it seems to be helping.

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Portrait of the Prophets (Temple Prophets) by D O Christensen

That was the title of the first article in the March 2012 Ensign. The first article is the one we are to use when home teaching. I reviewed the article before going out a couple of weeks ago, and it definitely got me thinking. I understand the theory of why we need prophets… they are God’s representatives on the Earth… it is the way God communicates with His people, etc. However as I thought about how prophets affected me on a daily basis, I thought of them more as inspirational speakers. I thought to myself that my life is generally in line with the teachings of the Church. I read and pray and the Holy Ghost guides me. So why do we need prophets? Is it just for the “big” revelations?

As we discussed this topic while home teaching, one of the people we visit said she sees one of the most important reasons is so that there is a consistent message to the world declaring what the standards of God are. I thought this was a good point. But in my mind I wondered if prophets had a greater role for non-believers than for me, since I know what the standards are.

Let me interrupt here and say that I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t know the role and importance of prophets. I do. But it was an interesting question for me to think about. Before thinking about this question, I don’t know if I would have been able to explain clearly why they are important to me.

We visited three people that one night, and I had the question in my mind for 4 days and then General Conference came along. There was nothing new taught at General Conference, but I felt the Spirit consistently throughout every session. It was perhaps the most inspiring conference for me. It became very clear to me that our prophets, seers, and revelators are NOT just inspirational speakers. They are not a version of Tony Robbins or Jim Fannin. They are speaking for God. They are the watchmen on the towers. They speak of love, kindness and compassion. The talk of Christ and preach of Christ. They do inspire people, but it is not just a feel-good seminary. Our spiritual intelligence increases as we are enlightened by the Spirit.

Why do we need prophets? We need prophets so that we will always have an authorized representative from God who warn the people of the consequences of not following His commandments. We need prophets to help us have hope in the atonement of Jesus Christ. We need prophets so that all of the keys of the priesthood, with the associated ordinances, can be on the Earth. We need prophets so there are always those on the Earth who will speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. We do indeed need prophets. We thank thee, O God, for a prophet!

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A few random thoughts as the conference comes to an end:

• I say this after each conference, and I think I will say it forever… I have a hard enough time staying awake for 10 hours, how do these men in their 70s and 80s?!?!
• General Conference was fantastic. I always enjoy it, but there was something different this year. I’m not sure why, but I welcome it. I felt the Spirit through many of the talks, and loved the music.
• We are so blessed to hear from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir regularly.
• In between sessions on Sunday I watched The World Report. It’s always interesting. I like seeing some of the “behind the scenes” activities around the world.
• I’m sure other goofy people have thought this before, but I noticed that Elder Malm offered the benediction of the Sunday Morning session. We have a dresser in one of our dressers from Ikea that is called Malm.
• I can’t get over how great Elder Perry looks. He’s going to be 90 this year!
• Before I die I hope to make it to Temple Square to hear the choir sing in person
• More than half of births to American woman under 30 occur outside of marriage. Nearly half of marriages end in divorce.
• Elder Ballard spoke powerfully to both male and female YSA about marriage
• I’ve never heard of Elder Wilson before, but I really enjoyed his style (as well as substance)

It was a long, but enjoyable 10 hours. I’m grateful that we have prophets, seers, and revelators and other Church leaders who can help us feel the Spirit in this way.

Read the recaps and other notes from the 182nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

• 182nd Annual General Conference – Pre-conference notes
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Saturday Morning General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Saturday Afternoon General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Priesthood Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Sunday Morning General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Sunday Afternoon General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Post-conference notes

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Well, here we are at the last session. I didn’t go into the conference with any particular question in mind, but wow, I have felt the Spirit through so many talks, and especially during the music in the session this morning. It is going to be tough to top Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing!

President Dieter F Uchtdorf conducted

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang On This Day of Joy and Gladness

Elder W Craig Zwick offered the invocation

The choir sang Come unto Jesus

Elder L Tom Perry (Note: Can you believe Elder Perry is 89 years old, turning 90 this year?!?! Wow! I hope I look that good at that age)

• the Book of Mormon is the most correct book
• it is important for the world to have both the Bible and the Book of Mormon
• we can be delivered from evil by turning to the teachings of the scriptures
• “It’s a great book”
• much of the greatness comes from its harmony with the Book of Mormon

Elder M Russell Ballard

• the Liahona was a ball of curious workmanship
• compared it to a GPS
• 100 years ago Joseph F Smith connected happiness and the family. There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home
• when people make the family and religious commitments to gospel principles they being to do better spiritually and often temporally as well
• commitments to family and values are the basic cause. Nearly everything else is effect
• society at large is strengthened as families grow stronger
• prioritize… put everything outside your own in subjection to what happens inside your home
• do things in the right order… marriage then family
• to the YM bachelorhood carries to the superficial mind the idea that it is desirable because it brings with it a minimum of responsibility.
• to the YW you must also not lose sight of this responsibility. No career can bring you as much fulfillment as raising a family
• husbands and wives are equal partners… no one owns their spouse or children
• use the family resources of the church… the church is the scaffolding with which we build eternal families

Elder O Vincent Haleck

• where there is no vision the people perish
• we must see ourselves as the Savior sees us
• focus on the things that matter most

The choir and congregation sang Hope of Israel

Elder Larry Y Wilson

• we must lead with principles of righteousness
• compulsion builds resentment
• women too may exercise unrighteous dominion
• if parents hold onto all decision-making power they severely limit the growth and development of their children
• prepare children to get along without you

Elder David F Evans

• what can I do to build up the Lord’s church?
• the most important work is within our own home and family
• we must be faithful ourselves so our children can see our joy in the gospel
• it is the worth of souls, no matter their condition, that is great in the sight of God and our Savior
• was it worth it? Was all the effort over all the years worth it to have just one baptism. The answer is yes!

Elder Paul B Pieper

• our experiences with the diving may not be like a prophet, but our strength to endure faithfully depends on holding sacred that which we receive from above
• finding things to be sacred takes an act of agency
• we can’t be affected by secular things
• the sacred cannot be selectively abandoned in life
• those who chose to abandon sacred things will have their minds darkened

Elder Neil L Andersen

• what think you of Christ? what thinks Christ of me?
• being a discipline in these days of destiny will be a badge of honor throughout the eternities
• we receive customized direction from the Holy Ghost
• discipleship is not a competition, but an invitation to all
• wherever you are on the road of discipleship, you are on the right road
• whether in this life or the next, all will be made right

President Thomas S Monson

• he thanked everyone who helped make the conference possible
• the gospel gives our lives meaning, purpose and hope
• settle contentions now

The choir sang I Need Thee Every Hour

Elder Jairo Mazzagardi offered the benediction

Read the recaps and other notes from the 182nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

• 182nd Annual General Conference – Pre-conference notes
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Saturday Morning General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Saturday Afternoon General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Priesthood Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Sunday Morning General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Sunday Afternoon General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Post-conference notes

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The Sunday morning of General Conference is the best! I’m in the Eastern time zone, so General Conference starts at noon. We got up late, had a nice breakfast, and then relaxed for the rest of the morning. Nice!

The family is gathered together now, and we’ll watch the session together. The other sessions we ask the kids to watch the first half hour, but they watch the entire Sunday morning session with us.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang Come, Ye Children of the Lord (I love this hymn)

President Henry B Eyring conducted

The choir sang Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (my wife loves this hymn… she attended a meeting where she first felt that the Church was true and this song was sung at the meeting, so it has a special place in her heart)

Elder Brent H Nielson offered the invocation

The choir sang Teach Me to Walk in the Light (a beautiful arrangement)

President Dieter F Uchtdorf

• everyone has been affected by resentment
• we feel hurt, angry or envious and judge other people
• Christ’s atonement is infinite and eternal
• The Lord will forgive whom he will forgive, but we are required to forgive all (that includes ourselves)
• If you are gossiping, criticizing, judging, just STOP IT
• He saw a bumper sticker that said “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you”
• We need to forgive others, as we want to be forgiven
• the pure love of Christ can remove the scales of resentment from our eyes
• the merciful will receive mercy
• let us be know as a people who have love one to another
• there is enough heartache and sorrow in the world than to have us add to it

Elder Russell M Nelson

• are we like fish, and are oblivious to the source of our food (the bread of life)?
• our degree of gratitude is a measure of our love for him
• we are not required to have a perfect body in order to achieve our divine potential
• could an explosion in a printing shop create a dictionary? It is remote, but it couldn’t heal itself if the pages were torn (Note: What a great analogy!!)
• just as the body needs food, our spirit needs nourishment

Elder Ronald A Rasband

• he spoke of his grandson who is missing a chromosome
• some people are born with physical ailments
• with infinite love and ever last compassion God loves your afflicted one and he loves you
• this life is training for eternal exaltation
• trusting in God’s will is central to our mortality
• the worth of souls is great in the sight of God
• do we offer to help a drowning person, or do we jump in to save them?
• The offer of “let me know if I can help” is really no help at all

The choir and congregation sang Rejoice, the Lord Is King!

Sister Julie B Beck

• the Relief Society increases faith
• the Relief Society strengthen families and homes
• the Relief Society seeks those in need
• faith, family, and relief have come to express the vision of prophets for the sisters of the Church
• Relief Society is not a program, it is part of the Church
• there is no other organization to match the Relief Society

Elder D Todd Christofferson

• we’ve seen a growing interest in the Church as of late
• there is still some confusion with our doctrine and how it is established
• establishing the doctrine of Christ is not done through scholarship
• the Lord communicates with his servants by personal visits, but messengers, by voice, and by feeling
• the prophet is a prophet only when acting as such
• the fundamental principles of our religion are the testimonies of the prophets and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ

The choir sang Let Us Oft Speak Kind Words

President Thomas S Monson

• he will speak of eternal truths
• we are so busy, and often are worried about the trivial things of life
• we get caught up in the race of life
• we need to reach heavenward for assistance
• the prize belongs to him who belongs to the end
• we enter mortality not to float with the current of life, but with the power to think and reason and to achieve

The choir sang Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Elder Per G Malm offered the benediction

Read the recaps and other notes from the 182nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

• 182nd Annual General Conference – Pre-conference notes
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Saturday Morning General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Saturday Afternoon General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Priesthood Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Sunday Morning General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Sunday Afternoon General Session
• 182nd Annual General Conference – Post-conference notes

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