I take a lot of notes; it helps me to pay attention better and remember more. Then I type them up here mostly as an easy reference for myself. I never really expect anyone else to read them all (there are A LOT!) but anyone is welcome to read and reference them if they'd like.
I placed an * (or two) next to the talks I especially enjoyed. And if there is an * in the notes of the talk, it is where I'm asking myself a question as I listen to what is being said. And I used bold for statements I LOVED!
Saturday Morning Session
President Thomas S. Monson
128 temples in operation, including 3 new temples dedicated in the last 6 months (Brazil, Panama, and Twin Falls, ID)
President Monson is an advocate for cultural events for the youth to participate in.
Next month Mexico City temple will be rededicated (renovations), other temples to be dedicated in the next few months.
5 new temples announced!: Calgary; Argentina; Kansas City; Philadelphia; Rome, Italy!
Pray for areas that are currently closed to the church to be opened. Countries will open as we pray in faith.
Heavenly Father is mindful of our needs. The conference talks are inspired. Listen to them.
Elder L. Tom Perry
Patterns of life's tests. Cycles of good and bad times.
The challenge is to not allow the stress and challenges get the better of us.
Remain optimistic!
"The best is yet to be" - Faith and Hope
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true.
When things were difficult, he and his wife would go to Walden's Pond to pause, reflect, heal.
Thoreau determined that the only things a man really needs are: Food, clothing, shelter, and fuel.
Spiritually speaking: Food - The law of Health, Word of Wisdom
Clothing - Modesty, it will be a shield and protection. Casual dress is often followed by casual matters.
Shelter - Live within your means, stay out of debt, be thrifty and frugal.
Fuel - Spiritual fuel - Store sufficient fuel. Acquire knowledge of God's eternal plan. Live righteously.
Simplify our lives.
Someone once asked Thoreau, "Have you made peace with God?" To which he responded, "I was not aware we ever quarreled."
Sister Silvia H. Allred
We have a responsibility to preach the gospel to the world.
She told of when she was being taught by the missionaries, she and her sister would race home - the first one home could read from the Book of Mormon first.
After she was baptized, she wanted to be a missionary. She was called to be a part time missionary and later served a full time mission.
*Is missionary work a part of who and what I am?*
When we save a girl, we save generations.
Missionary work is the life blood of the church. It blesses the lives of all who participate in it. God loves all of His children.
The message of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel is the most important gift we have to give.
Be good neighbors/friends. Set examples. Smile. Live gospel-centered lives.
Prepare yourself and your family for missionary service.
Invite. Accompany missionaries. Give referrals. Share your testimony. Befriend investigators and new members. Support, encourage, and pray for missionaries.
This is the Lord's work and He will help us do it.
*Elder Neil L. Andersen
We are a great family of believers.
Somedays are full of the spirit and inspiration.
Some days are full of feelings of inadequacy, we may feel we are losing our spiritual footing.
"You don't know everything, but you know enough."
Conversion comes step by step, line by line.
The Book of Mormon is powerful spiritual nourishment.
"Faith is not only a feeling, it is a decision."
Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts - are all part of mortality.
Fear and faith cannot coexist in our heart at the same time.
Christ said, "Be not afraid; only believe."
We come to know what we already knew.
Told a story about a little girl named Hadley who was born deaf. She had gone through surgeries to allow her to hear. One day in the grocery store when she was about four, she saw a boy behind them who was in a wheelchair and who had no legs. She asked her mom why the boy didn't have legs. Her mom carefully explained that Heavenly Father loves all of His children and makes them each different and special. Hadley went to the boy and told him that Heavenly Father had made her so she couldn't hear and that made her special. Heavenly Father had made the boy with no legs and that made him special too. She then told the boy that when Jesus comes again, she will have her hearing and he will have his legs. She said, "Jesus will make everything alright."
Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis
How do we make good decisions in the presence of so many unfavorable situations?
Pays tribute to his father who joined the church even amidst great opposition: his mother had threatened to disown him, his wife had not decided to join the church, there were few members, not even a meeting house, etc. But he had read the Book of Mormon and knew it was true.
The Book of Mormon is true - it is the most powerful source in conversion.
When you know the Book of Mormon is true, you know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel, that he saw God, the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, that we have a prophet of God on the earth today who holds all the Priesthood Keys, that God lives and loves us, the Plan of Salvation is perfect, etc.
God reveals the truth when people follow Moroni 10:4-5.
Read, pray, have real intent to act upon the answer you receive.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
We live in perilous times with detours and distractions.
How do we live amid it all? D&C 59:9-10. As we attend Sacrament Meeting and partake of the sacrament, we will always have His spirit with us, it will be a compass to guide us.
The sacrament is the most important and sacred meeting in church. It is the only meeting our entire family attends together.
How can we prepare to partake of the sacrament?
Bring a broken heart and a contrite spirit, be seated well before the meeting begins, prayfully meditate as the prelude music plays.
Elder Nelson has said that each member bears responsibility for the enrichment that comes from Sacrament Meeting.
Dress appropriately - it is like going to the temple. Our manner of dress indicates how much we understand and honor the importance of the meeting.
Don't violate the covenant in the very meeting that you're making it! (The covenant to "always remember Him" - don't read books/magazines, talk, text, etc.)
Sacrament meeting music is for worship, not performance.
Joseph Fielding Smith said to "Assemble in spirit of prayer, meekness, and devotion."
3 Nephi 18:11-13
Bishopric must always authorize the sacrament.
**President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The infinite power of hope.
Faith, charity, and hope are a 3 legged stool, stability.
Hope has power to fill lives with happiness.
The absense of hope leaves us feeling sick.
Hope in the Savior is a principle of promise and a commandment.
We have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives.
Hope is the foundation of our faith and the anchor to our souls.
Without hope, we cannot receive an inheritance in the Kingdom of God.
The opposite of hope - despair, doubt, failure to care. Forfeits blessings, drains all that is vibrant and joyful, kills ambition, advances sickness.
Hope is like a beam of sunlight, it pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn.
Hope that transends the trivial - The Hope of Israel.
Believe and expect your prayers to be answered.
Hope that if we live righteously now, we will be blessed later.
With hope comes happiness, patience to bear our afflictions.
There is hope FOR things - future events, better times.
Because of the Atonement, we can be cleansed.
Because of Jesus Christ's life and sacrifice, we can reside in peace and have ultimate joy.
There is hope IN things. It will sustain us during our daily walk, uphold us during our trials and sorrows.
Hope in the restored gospel - principles we hope in carry us.
Prayers are heard, God will keep His promises to us, things will work together for our own good.
Hope in God and His goodness refreshes us with courage.
Hope leads to good works.
Cultivate our hope one step at a time.
Against hope, believe in hope. In the middle of winter, find within us an invincible summer.Without faith there is no hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Hope braces our resolve.
The brighter our hope, the greater our faith. The stronger our hope, the purer our charity.
Move forward, put faith and hope into action.
The gospel of Jesus Christ and membership in the church strengthens faith and offers bright hope, leads disciples to charity.
Hope in and through Jesus Christ purifies us, even as He is pure.
Never give in, never surrender, never allow despair to overwhelm you.
Saturday Afternoon Session
The choir for this session was a group of primary children - LOVED IT! I totally had a hard time not bawling like a baby when they sang "I am a Child of God"! Acadia loved the primary choir, too. :)
*Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
"Come What May and Love It"
Every day has peaks and shadows.
Learn from the difficult times - become stronger, wiser, happier.
The Lod does not shield anyone from grief and sadness.
The way we react to adversity affects how happy we can be.Greater growth leads to greater happiness.
What we can do:
Laugh. Anger and resentment won't result if we laugh.
Next time you're tempted to groan, laugh instead.
It will make things more enjoyable for you and those around you.
Seek for the eternal. No one is exempt from adversity and sorrow. Learning to endure is "on the job training". Christ understands our suffering adn grief. Our experiences help us to understand and help others. What threatens to overcome us, helps us to overcome.Understand the principle of compensation. Every tear today will be returned 100 fold with tears of joy. Eternal blessings are promised.
Trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy and successful. He'll help us - He makes weak things become strong.
Put your trust in the Lord, do your best, leave the rest to Him. He will bless you.
*Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Heavenly Father watched over His earthly family. But in times of special need, He sent angels.
God uses angels as His emisaries in conveying love for His children.
Usually angels are unseen, sometimes they are. But seen or unseen, they are always near.
Sometimes angels are sent to warn but usually they are sent to comfort.
Angels are still sent to help us, even as they were to Adam and Eve, prophets, and even Jesus Christ.
It is by faith that angels appear and administer.
Take heart, be filled with faith. The Lord said He would fight our battles.
Search, pray, and be believing.
The latter-days are not a time to fear and tremble; they are a time to be believing and remember our covenants.
Sometimes the love of God is manifested in the kindness of people so good and pure that "angelic" is the only word to describe them.
God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in our challenges. And He never will.
Always, angels are around us - seen and unseen; known and unknown; mortal and immortal.
May we try to be more angelic ourselves. Perhaps then we can be emisaries sent from God when someone is crying for help.
Elder Gerald Causse
Search for knowledge - it is impossible to be saved in ignorance.
Seek to understand the nature of God and Jesus Christ.
The glory of God is intelligence.
Heavenly Father adjusts to our level of understanding. He is just. He has insured that truths are understandable to all of His children.
Purity and simplicity allow the Holy Ghost to bear witness.
The natural man is an enemy to God unless they yield to the enticings of the spirit. Become as a little child; teachable, humble, meek.
Seek with your heart. Knowing God is a matter of opening your heart. Feel in our heart that God loves us.
**Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge
Jesus Christ is the way, He is the light and the life. He is the bread and the water. He is the beginning and the end. He is the truth and the way.
Every other way is madness.Either we follow Him and see clearly, or we don't.
Either we learn of Him and have life more abundantly or we don't.
Either we accept the blessings of the Atonement or we don't.
Only God can bless and sustain us; preserve and protect us; give us strength; heal us; forgive our sins.
And He will and so much more if we remember Him and keep His commandments.
Remember Him and keep His commandments - it is the only intelligent thing to do.
Every good thing depends on getting and keeping the Holy Ghost in our lives.
Don't think we can't follow Christ. In life, the highest achievements are the most difficult to attain. NOT the case here. This is not a human endeaver, it is God's work and glory. It is achievable by everyone. Not because we are able, but because He is and He can make us able, too.
Oppositon in all things - life is hard for all of us. It is also simple. We have two choices: Either follow God or go another (any other) way. Which way is easier? "Come unto me ye heavy laden, take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy."
Life is hard but it is simple.
Get on the path. Jesus is the way. Any other way is madness. Have the good sense to follow Him.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Zion is a place and a people.
People of Zion are of one heart, one mind, and dwell in righteousness.
The opposite of Zion is Babylon.
We are called to be beacons of righteousness. D&C 115:5-6
If we want to establish zion, we must rise to this standard:
1) become unified
2) become a holy people
3) care for the poor and needy so efficiently that it is eliminated.
Zion will come AS this happens, not when it happens.
Place the Savior at the center of our lives.
Are we free from lustful desires? We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness.
We are to become not only good, but holy.
"Give up the summer cottage in Babylon."
D&C 104:17-18 - one indication is how well we care for the poor.
In temporal things, be equal. And not grudgingly!
Are we doing what we should and all that we should?
Learn to be content with what is sufficient for our needs. Look after one another.
Building up of Zion should be our greatest object. We do it through unity, godliness, and charity.
Elder David A. Bednar
Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all our doings.
Pray always. Revelation is communication from Heavenly Father to us through the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost is a witness and messenger of Heavenly Father and Jesus Chrsit.
All things were created first spiritually. Morning prayer is our spiritual prep for the day. Then, through the course of the day, keep a prayer in our hearts. At the end of the day, kneel and pray to report. It builds upon and is a continuation of our morning prayer. All prayers are linked together.
Remember our relationship with Deity.
Prayer becomes more meaningful as we express heartfelt gratitude.
Give thanks in all things. The prayers of prophets are childlike in their simplicity and powerful in their purity.
D&C 59:21
We should periodically give prayers where we ask for nothing, just expressing gratitude.
Prayer becomes more meaningful when we pray for others with a sincere heart.
Both those we love, as well as those who seek to hurt us.
If those we serve have not heard and felt our prayers on their behalf, the time to repent is now.
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