General Conference

Dear Friends,

I really enjoyed General Conference this April. This was the first year I completely watched all five sessions; I usually watch the first session of the day and fall asleep during the second session. ;) However, this year I decided to sit down and watch it opposed to watching it from the comfort of my bed. I took twenty-three pages of notes in my journal, and I really feel that I learned a lot. We are extremely blessed to have General Conference weekend twice a year. It is pretty cool to realize that next time General Conference will literally be weeks before my mission. :)

I really hope that everyone took the time to listen/watch as much of conference as they could, and I hope everyone learned and felt the spirit just as much as I did.

My favorite talks from each session:

A. Saturday (Morning Session)
1.Sister Lifferth's talk on respect and reverence. She mentioned, "Reverence for God is strengthened as we have respect for others." It is so true! She also said to truly feed the Lord’s sheep we “must always cultivate respect for each other and reverence for God.”

2.President Eyring's talk on always relying on the Lord to overcome Adversity. He advised, "Do all that you can to be worthy of God's help." He also states, “Tragedy should test our faith—not erode it.”

B. Saturday (Afternoon Session)

1.Elder Ballard's talk on learning from the past. He taught, "If you are open to the Spirit, you will understand the lessons of the past." He also explained that each generation is supposed to get more righteous as they learn from the mistakes that their parents and grandparents made.

2.Elder Nelson's talk on prayer. I loved how he talked about all of the Lord's prayers in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon; I found that especially interesting! Elder Nelson taught, "If we really care for others, we should pray for them." He also added, "Our prayers can be enhanced by fasting."

C. Saturday (Priesthood Session)

1. President Uchtdorf's talk about "The Story of The Light Bulb." President Uchtdorf taught us that we should "focus on what matters most--not on what matters at the time." Heavenly Father is seeking for those who can say the following with convidence, "I am doing a great work and cannot come down."

2. President Eyring's talk about being brave and bold. President Eyring taught us to "be brave and bold in Priesthood service." He added, "This is not a time of peace. The war will become more violent and the Lord's casuality will mount...Our comrades are being harmed all around us; it is our job as Priesthood Holders to help these brethren."

D. Sunday (Morning Session)

1. Elder Snow's excellent talk on change. Elder Snow observed, "Too often we are reluctant to begin the next challenge." He then gave us the following advice: (1)follow the Prophets, (2)keep an Eternal perspective, (3)have faith, and (4)be of good cheer! He explained, "Through these four things, you can overcome life's challenges."

2. President Monson's talk on focusing on the blessings of the Gospel. President Monson gave us the following advice: "Turn your thoughts away from the digressing world; rather, focus on the blessings we receive from the Gospel. Faith in the Gospel, along with the Savior, will give you the strength you need." He ended his talk by saying, "Our knowledge of our Heavenly Father will comfort us and sustain us. The future is as bright as our faith."

E. Sunday (Afternoon Session)

1. Elder Oaks's inspiring talk on unselfish service. He reminded us of the word's of President Hinckley's father: "Forget yourself and go to work!" He reminded us that "life is about what we can become. If we do unselfish service, Christ promises us Eternal Life." He also related the following advice to us: "When you go to church, don't only go for yourself; go to make a positive difference on other people's lives!"

2. Elder Watson's talks on our wonderful Latter-Day Prophets. He talked about what the last few Prophets of the Church have accomplished and what they have taught us. He also advised us to "be strong, never give up, and endure to the end!"

-Benjamin David Nelson