I'm so glad we we went--why is it always so tempting NOT to go? As if Stake Conference is some sort of a free week from church? We always go, but there is often a moment where the thought of staying home crosses my mind (especially after this weekend's very busy activities which I have yet to post about). But we DID go, and came out super charged and spiritually uplifted (and psyched for General Conference next month).
I was touched by something each of the speaker's said, but President Uchtdorf's straightforward (oh how I love straightforward speakers!) comments really resonated with me. Here are the things I was able to write down...
--To all of you who are capable of serving a mission, the Lord has work for you to do.
--If you haven't decided to go on a mission, do it today!
--Pray for power and wisdom to share the gospel with others.
--What are you personally doing to increase your faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ?
--What are you doing to strengthen your marriage and family?
--You have to follow the promptings that come to you before the Lord can bless you with increased faith.
--Satan keeps us from using our time wisely and from setting worthwhile goals.
--What do we cherish enough to do with our time?
--Evaluate where you are in your life and then focus on the areas you can improve upon.
--The Savior can help you to focus your efforts and to change.
--Be a doer, not just a hearer of the word.
--Use the help online (at lds.org and mormon.org) that is available.
--Be like Peter who said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ."
--Share your testimony and enthusiasm with your children.
--Complete conversion comes after many trials and frustrations.
--Where do you stand in the process of not being ashamed of the gospel of Christ?
He then listed 3 suggestions for making these improvements in our lives.
1. Have a current temple recommend.
(He joked that that was another meaning of CTR.)
2. Study the word of God daily.
Your testimonies will grow stronger.
3. Speak with your father in heaven daily.
(He joked that that was another meaning of CTR.)
2. Study the word of God daily.
Your testimonies will grow stronger.
3. Speak with your father in heaven daily.
--Give special attention to your youth and children. Joyfully live the gospel day by day.
**Did you go to this broadcast today too?
What thoughts jumped out at you?
Do you have a desire to change?**
What thoughts jumped out at you?
Do you have a desire to change?**
30 comments:
what a great post for me to start catching up on and getting back into blogging.
i loved the comment on worthwhile goals.
i don't know if i have ever thought there was any thing called a bad goal- i really had thought all goals were going in a great direction, but how true!
Thanks for typing that up.
How lucky are you to be able to go to that today. I am always amazed at what wonderful opportunities are there in Utah.
am i really the first?
Those are some good notes you took. I tried to listen but I had to go change a diaper during his talk and my other two were so distracting- we were in the back on hard chairs. Ugh.
I also thought the whole thing was great and there was such a postive, humorous tone to all the speakers. I knew that Ann was his daughter- that is Adam and Amy's neighbor, I am surprised you did not know that. She totally looks and talks like him. I liked the rolls and jam analogy about knowing the difference btwn counterfeit and the real thing.
I think my bishop will like the CTR = Current Temple Recommend.
We had a Canada-wide video conference awhile back with both President Monson and his daughter as speakers and I was so glad you had gotten me into the Sunday thoughts journal thing so that I had a book in my scripture case to take notes.
I'm so jealous! That does sound like a mini General Conference. Charlotte and Emily attended somewhere in Provo.
Thanks for the recap of President Uchtdorf's remarks--I especially like the reminder that we have to listen to and follow the promptings that come to us before the Lord can bless us with increased faith.
We went to the broadcast too! I had a moment's hesitation this morning when I contemplated staying home (cramps) but quickly recovered because I remembered that I never regret going to church. Whew!
I love President Uchtdorf and his straightforward style as well. One of my favorite things was Sister Dibb's talk about Satan and his counterfeiting. So true.
WOW- I am really excited for conferece after reading this post!
megan & tony went to this at their stake center today too.
I have found myself being so tempted to waste time doing things of little importance these days (computer games???) anyway I love the quotes & the thought that maybe satan is stopping me from doing what I want & need to - thanks:) that's just what I needed to be reminded of!
I love President Uchtdorf's talks. He resonates with something in me and I always leave feeling edified, encouraged, strengthened, and challenged to do better. Thank you for sharing the points of his talk so I could benefit too!
I'm so glad a desire to do better is innate. I do desire to do better and be more effective in what I do.
I'm glad you went. What a way and day to be bolstered.
Does this sound familiar to what we talk just before I left? Thanks missy for such insight and for trying hard to get through to me. I hope we can get through together through life with our trials and lift our heads high up and know that we did all we really could. I really really missy miss you!
Jill,
Thank you so much for posting your thoughts on Sunday! I truly enjoy reading your blog everyday (& yes I do notice when you don't post), but I really appreciate your Sunday thoughts!
Thanks again for sharing your insight & life with the rest of us.
Autumn
i sent your link to my parents.. I hope you don't mind.. they just turned 60 this year.. and have just decided to serve a mission.. soon.. thanks for sharing this!
I love meetings like that! And Elder Uchdorf is so awesome! Love him!
I have a tremendous desire to change; I am working so hard on trying to have more charity for my kids.
such great thoughts! i love it. i wish i had been there. i must say this morning especially was a spiritual low for me, but reading this has helped me out. i love straightforward speakers, too- i like leaving with a purpose. :)
i'm working on the whole not being ashamed of the gospel and opening my mouth more. i'm finding it gets a tiny bit easier each day.
That must have been an amazing talk my Elder Uchtdorf. So many great points.
Thank you for this great post! You are so lucky to live in an area where you are fed more than just Sundays - very lucky. You would think AZ would be the same but it's not. Thanks for sharing - love the CTR comment
GREAT THOUGHTS! Things I always need to hear. What do I cherish enough to spend my time on? That one hits home for sure.
It is always hard for me to go to Stake Conference because I know it will be hard for the kids and I can't pay attention etc. etc., but the truth is I ALWAYS get something out of it. And I never regret going...never...I only regret not going.
Great thoughts!
Did you attend the morning or afternoon session? I wondered if they were different.
I took a lot of the same notes you did and some inspiration that came- the key now is to act which is hard to do when I am so tired but as Sister Dibb said, we have to put in the work!
Wow! What a great post...thanks for giving me a lot to think about. I love those broadcasts (we do get them occassionally in AZ as well). We have one coming up in the next couple months and I'm super excited about it.
I love Stake Conference because it's one of the few times a year that my husband (a bishop) sits with me and the kids :)
I am going to think a lot about how I can do a better job of joyfully living the gospel and sharing it with others...again, thanks for posting your notes (and thanks for your understanding e-mails yesterday as well)!
Thanks for posting your notes from this conference! I especially love Elder Uchtdorf, and the comments he made are inspiring. I needed to read them today! Thanks Jill
I just came back to report that I missed his CTR comment due to Eva interference, but my boys heard it and both mentioned it to me today. Hooray, they were listening!
Our region conference is coming up next week and I was making a mental note to remember to take notes like you do. Great points you made.
I think, with the desire to change, it's important to remember it comes by doing the small and simple things every day. Establishing those good habits will bring great things to pass.
I was able to attend the conference in the Mariott Center, and I loved the messages, but I also loved the powerful spirit everyone felt when the Apostles and other General Authorities filed up to the stand. Suddenly, the entire arena and everyone in it stopped. Those coming in and finding seats stopped, everyone already seated stood, and everyone was completely silent except for the prelude organist. It was beautiful. I loved the messages and the music, and like you can't wait for General Conference!
We attended also (well, we went to our Stake Center and sat on the hard, cold chairs) and I loved it! President Uchtdorf's talk was especially good, and I was really touched by Elder Jensen's remarks in the beginning. It broke my heart to hear of the cruel things that happened to his brother, and it was a good reminder to me to be more kind to everyone around me, regardless of our differences. Thanks for a great summary of such a great talk (my notes were much more all over the place!).
great notes, thank you! sounds like a great conf.
Elder Uchtdorf is great! Sound like a very good conference -- I really like how you take notes during your meetings...have you always done that? It must be nice to review your notes -- and see what has been important to you at different times during your life...
...I really like the additional way of looking at 'CTR'!
What an amazing meeting!
If I could keep that one phrase in my mind, I think I'd be better off "JOYFULLY live the gospel day by day." It is joyful, but I let that slip away in my busy-ness far too often.
Jill - thanks for posting this! I really needed to hear that! I've been trying to work on using my time better and this is just another bump in that direction!! Thanks! I love Elder Uctdorf!
Joyfully live the gospel every day. Well said. He is a great speaker and I can't wait for conference next month. That picture of the meeting is amazing! I can't imagine so many Mormons together in one place anymore!!
Jill, I have been reading your blog for a while, but never left a comment. My favorite posts are your Sunday ones. They are so uplifting to me. I wasn't able to attend the area conference, so thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights on it. I really wish I would have gone. It sounded like all the speakers were so good and it was uplifting. Love the CTR - current temple recommend. Thanks again for sharing. I love your blog it is always fun to read.
Celeste
My son that lives in Orem went to this same conference. He went and saw it at the Marriott Center. So many of the things he heard there impressed him that he called me right after he got out of the building! He loved Pres. Uchtdorf's talk and felt inspired by it. I love that. I'm glad he went and glad that it touched him and you and Michelle!
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