My Favorite Parts of General ConFerence Weekend

Aside from spending the first part of General Conference weekend in Iowa (which was for sure in the “favorite” category), I had some other favorites as well. Because General Conference is a pretty special weekend. It’s when we listen to hours of wisdom from church leaders. And we can listen from anywhere in the whole wide world, thanks to modern technology.

I loved the talks that filled me with hope and God’s grace. So grateful for all the prayer and effort all those men and women put in to uplift and inspire. As I listened I just felt so lucky to for church and for all it teaches me to help me try to be more like Jesus. To forgive. To keep turning to Him.

I am so grateful for my “God of Second Chances.”

And that there is growth in the messiness of life.

We just need to choose it. And open the door for help from Above.

My Favorite General Conference Talks

My favorite was Sister Runia (above on the right). She talked all about what a gift repentance is:

It saddens me to admit this, but I used to measure my relationship with the Savior by how perfectly I was living. I thought an obedient life meant I would never need to repent. And when I made mistakes, which was every single day, I distanced myself from God, thinking, “He must be so disappointed in me.”

That’s just not true.

I’ve learned that if you wait until you’re clean enough or perfect enough to go to the Savior, you’ve missed the whole point!

What if we thought about commandments and obedience in a different way?

I testify that while God cares about our mistakes, He cares more about what happens after we make a mistake. Are we going to turn to Him again and again? Are we going to stay in this covenant relationship?

…We don’t stay on the covenant path by never making a mistake. We stay on the path by repenting every day.

And when we’re repenting, God forgives without shaming us, comparing us to anyone else, or scolding us because this is the same thing we were repenting of last week.

—Sister Runia

I also loved Elder Ricardo P. Giménez’s talk called My Love for the Savior Is My “Why” and for some reason the song Come, Come Ye Saints really, really hit me. Of course, President Nelson’s talk really made me think about how to develop Confidence in the Presence of God by striving to gain more charity and virtue.

So many good things to think about, and so many other good talks you can listen to or read if you feel so inclined. I still need to listen to some I missed while traveling. But I felt inspired and rejuvenated.

Conference Cinnamon Rolls

Lu and I are creatures of habit and felt compelled to make our traditional cinnamon rolls, along with a hodge-podge dinner made from anything we could find in the fridge.

Also, we enjoyed my last “harvest” from my flower garden:

Eyre Fortnightly Discussion

We had our Eyre Fortnightly discussion that night talking through our favorite talks as well as the new essays the church has released. Particularly the three my brother Josh chose to use as the topic of our discussion.

• Race and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Women’s Service and Leadership in the Church
• Religion and Science

Loved Josh’s discussion prompts and everyone’s thoughts.

Grateful for the opportunities to make Jesus more “my” Jesus as I come to try to know Him and follow Him better.

Art by Caitlin Connolly