General Conference

I feel like I can understand better the phrase "my heart is full". The past two days I have been blessed to hear 8 hours of words of wisdom and inspiration from prophets and apostles on earth today. I remember when I was younger how difficult it was to pay attention and stay awake during General Conference. In all honesty, part of me dreaded it because I was so easily bored. Yet now...I look forward to General Conference in many ways more than I look forward to Christmas. General Conference always provides the spiritual boost and added measure of the Spirit in my life that I so desperately need. I could write pages and pages about the thoughts and feelings I have experienced during the last two days, but I just wanted to pick a few things for now.

#1. Heavenly Father is aware of me, and he does love me. This is something I've known as long as I could remember, but Satan is so good at making us lose sight of this eternal truth. And when we lose sight of the love and awareness our Father in heaven has for us...our lives begin to crumble. If we have confidence in the worth we hold in our Father's eyes and in our Savior's eyes, we will not lose hope. God sees our goodness and potential. We need to catch the vision of what our Father and our Savior see in us and for us. This includes focusing on the Savior, and the things that matter most. As we do...we will gain a greater understanding of our worth and potential, and we will have greater courage to act.

#2. Life is not easy, and life is not fair. But we also have the promise that because of Christ's atonement, no pain will last. As we strive to live righteously and keep our covenants, our hope can be restored, and blessings will flow. The hardest times in our lives can be blessings. "All things shall give thee experience and shall be for thy good." God never leaves us alone. We must believe that God will never forsake us. It is often us that forsake Him, but He is always there, waiting with outstretched hands, waiting to comfort and heal us. He gives us trials and tests so that we might learn patience and that we may gain faith. We came to earth to learn and grow. God gives us adversity because it provides the opportunity to prove ourselves and to come closer to our Savior. Heavenly Father has given us all of the resources and tools (scriptures, prayer, church leaders, repentance, etc) that we need to continue on this journey, even when things seem hopeless and we feel alone. The way we respond to and endure trials will qualify us to one day return to the presence of God.

#3. It is possible to be active in the church, while being inactive in the gospel. We need to be active in both the church and the gospel. Going through the motions of being a Latter-day Saint is not enough. Being a Latter-day Saint should be at the core of our character, and should determine everything we do. We can make the gospel our foundation by deepening our understanding of the gospel and of Deity. I can strive to have more personal relationships with my Father in Heaven and with my Savior. I can devote more time and energy to studying the words in the scriptures and the words of the modern-day prophets. I can be more willing to sacrifice. It can be easy to become overwhelmed with the huge "to-do" list of improvements we feel we need to make, but the important thing is that we don't become complacent with our progress. I need to constantly be striving to improve myself and become closer to my Savior. I need to be fully converted to the Lord's gospel, and show my commitment to that gospel through my actions.

#4. We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. If the Lord shows compassion to His other children, we should not be envious or resentful because of that kindness. We should be kind, and we should be grateful that our Heavenly Father is kind. God is not "unfair" to any of us. He is merciful. He has a greater purpose than we can comprehend, and He has an infinite amount of love for each of His children. We need to place our trust in Him. Not only do we need to avoid being jealous of other's good fortune, we need to serve and bless the lives of those around us. The race in this life is not against each other...it is against sin! Life is hard enough, we don't need to be trampling each other along the way. With-holding unrighteous judgement is one way we can avoid contention and competition with others. As we love and serve as Christ would serve, we will find our capacity to love increasing, and we will feel an added measure of peace and joy in our lives.

#5. Am I Christian? Neil L. Andersen's talk really touched my heart. It really helped me reflect on my life. Does my life reflect my love and devotion of Christ? We read in the scriptures, "What think ye of Christ?" As I think about that question, I think about the love I have for my Savior, and the appreciation I have for His role in my life. He is my brother, my friend, my Savior. But then Elder Andersen brought up the reverse question..."What thinks Christ of me?" This struck me hard...what does Christ think of me? Does He know I am Christian? Does He know I love Him? Can He count on me to always be one of His valiant disciples? And do I rejoice in being a life-long disciple? What am I doing on a daily basis to show Him my gratitude and my devotion? Do I share the gospel with those around me? Do I act on promptings from the Holy Ghost? Do I sincerely pray to the Lord and act in faith on the answers He gives me?

I am so blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I love the gospel, and I love my Savior. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to listen to General Conference this weekend and to be reminded of the things I need to do to become a better disciple of Christ. As I do, and as I share this love and knowledge with those around me, I know the Lord will bless me and I will find greater joy and peace in my life.