178th Annual General Conference

Today is the start of the 178th General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This morning (Saturday)is the Solemn Assembly--we are sustaining a new prophet for our church. President Thomas S. Monson is a our new prophet. I can't imagine what kind of feelings & emotions he must be feeling at this time. As I sit & watch each quorum & auxiliary group sustain him, his counselors & the 12 apostles, I look at President Monson. He has such a mantel placed upon his shoulders. What an awesome feeling to see & know the whole membership of the church is showing their support to him as our prophet. Today is a historic event & I'm glad my children, Jake & I are able to be a part of it. The spirit has been strong & I know the Lord is at the head of our church & has prepared His servants for their callings to serve in the church.

I've been trying to listen to the talks (most have been hard to hear with my children constantly talking, arguing and making noise with their toys). It gets frustrating at times, but I have to keep telling myself that it's ok. We are all in the same room together, the messages of the Lord's servants are being broadcast on the TV into our home & it's got to be doing something to teach my children about the importance of conference. I guess if I don't get much from sitting here I can always read it in the Ensign next month, right? I will try to comment on the thoughts I do hear & remember...

So far, I have heard the basic principles of the gospel taught by Elder Russell M. Nelson, the incredible plan laid out for a new prophet to be called and the importance of families--teaching them from what we are taught in the scriptures, have traditions, love them. There have been many references to our new prophet, President Monson & his counselors, President Henry B. Eyring & President Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

Elder Wirthlin--have more compassion for those who have less than us. We are tired from the stresses of today. The power of the gospel can uplift us & give us strength. Step forward, put your shoulder to the wheel. The church needs you. The Lord needs you. We all make mistakes--will we trip & fall? How will we respond? Our churches do not have signs that say "Restricted Entrance. Perfect people only". For those you have concern--love them, be kind to them.
Pres. Eyring--Our church is the true church. It holds the keys of the priesthood. He talks of the apostasy, when the members of the church were not worthy to have the keys of the priesthood passed on--they left the earth when all the apostles died. When Joseph Smith died, the keys had been passed on & so the church did not die when he did. It continued on. We must each make an individual evaluation. How can we seek gratitude for the church? How can we do better in keeping the commandments? We must do better, we can & we will.

Saturday PM session:
Elder Oaks--Tesitmonies. Not a travel log, health log or expression of love for family members. Preaching to others is not a testimony. We testify of what we know about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should share our testimonies with our children often. We should praise our children for their growing testimonies--not just their accomplishments in sports, scholarships & other activities.
Elder Hales--Heavenly Father wants us to listen to His Son, Jesus. They are not the same Being--they are 2 distinct Beings, but united in purpose. Jesus acknowledges He is the Son in the scriptures. Jesus wants us to know The Father.
Elder Lund--Opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel, more than you hear."