Spiritual Appetizers

      A few weeks ago, I was attempting to teach my children about the principle of meekness after reading Elder Soares' conference talk.  They kept associating meekness with weakness, so I said, "You know who I think of when I think of the word meek... Brother Daley."  Kent Daley's wife passed away this year, after he had tenderly cared for her during many years of failing health.  Whenever he shares his testimony in church, he speaks with such conviction and confidence and yet he exhibits a kind and gentle demeanor as many who have a lived a long life well.  We decided to invite Brother Daley over the next evening for family night to share some of his life experiences with us.  It was a rewarding experience to hear him reflect on his mission with the Aborigines in New Zealand, the miracle of his wife's life being perserved as a 3 lb baby girl so many years ago.  Then he shared with us some Christmas poems and songs he had written about the Saviour.  There was an immense feeling of peace in our home that night.

I love listening to general conference, and as I reread Elder Hale's talk I decided to increase my efforts to teach my children the stories and principles from the prophets and leaders more consistently, because I know they are actually messages from the Lord to us.

·         “In conferences we can receive the word of the Lord meant just for us.  We may not know all the reasons why the prophets and conference speakers address us with certain topics in conference, but the Lord does. The greatest blessings of general conference come to us after the conference is over. Remember the pattern recorded frequently in scripture: we gather to hear the words of the Lord, and we return to our homes to live them.” (Elder Hales, Strengthening Faith and Testimony, p. 6)

·         ”We cannot get our bodies into good basketball shape by simply watching basketball on television.  We won’t be able to get our testimonies in shape by simply watching general conference on television.  We need to study and learn the fundamental principles of the gospel of Jesus, and then we must do our very best to live them.” (Elder Richard Maynes, The Strength to Endure, p. 80)

I think of listening to general conference as "spiritual appetizers."  I feel inspired to be better and feel peace as I watch/listen to it, but unless I "feast" on the written talks later or set specific goals, it is easy for me to forget what I had learned.

While preparing my Relief Society lesson this week, I compiled this list of quotes that I found meaningful from conference.

“Being meek does not mean weak.” (Soares,  Be Meek and Lowly of Heart, p. 9)

·         “There is a safe place to raise children.  It is in a gospel-centered home.” (Packer, The Key to Spiritual Protection, p. 26) Its more important that my home is gospel-centered, than it is clean, or musical or educational.

 

·         “Protect and cultivate the moral force that is in you.” (Christofferson, The Moral Force of Women, p. 29)  I am so thankful that my mom valued motherhood and sacrificed her own interests to stay home and be there for us.

·         “We chose to live in a fallen world… never lose faith in your Father in Heaven who loves you more than you can comprehend.” (Holland, Like a Broken Vessel, p. 40) This brings me peace when I'm feeling discouraged.  I chose to come here, knowing that life would be hard but God would be there to lift me up.

·          “Memorizing the Articles of Faith would mean nothing more than a lot of words unless we understood the doctrines and principles contained in them.” (Perry, The Doctrines and Principles Contained in the Articles of Faith , p. 46)

·          “I gave him (wayward child) to you because I knew you could and would love him no matter what he did… We cannot force God’s children to choose the way to happiness.” (Eyring, To My Grandchildren, p. 69)Even God does not force his children to be good.

·         “The question posed by the second commandment is ‘What is our ultimate priority?’  Are we serving priorities or gods ahead of the God we profess to worship” (Oaks, No Other Gods, p. 72) For me this could be piano, education, or appearing good to others.

·         “ It is possible to have a testimony of the gospel without living it.  Being truly converted means we are acting upon what we believe.  No one can be converted for you.” (Bonnie Oscarson, Be Ye Converted, p. 76)

·          “Repentance is not punishment.  It is the hope-filled path to a more glorious future.  As you lose your life in the service of Father in Heaven’s children, Satan’s temptations lose power in your life.” (Scott, Personal Strength through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, p. 83)

·         “We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism…Were it not for challenges to overcome and problems to solve, we would remain much as we are, with little or no progress toward our goal of eternal  life ... My brothers and sisters, may we have a commitment to our Heavenly Father that does not ebb and flow with the years or crises of our lives.  We should not need to experience difficulties for us to remember Him and we should not be driven to humility before giving Him our faith and trust.” (Monson, I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee, p.85, 86 &87) Love the analogy of a distorted prism of pessimism.  When you look through a prism you can't see clearly.  That's what pessimism does to me.

·         “How we preserve time in family is one of the most significant issues we face in most cultures.” (Cook, Beware of Bondage, p. 89)

·         “We can live every hour ‘blessed by the strength of priesthood power,’ whatever our circumstance.” (Anderson, Power in the Priesthood, p. 92)

·         “There will always be some ‘good’ activity that can and should be sacrificed for the better choice of Church meeting attendance.  This is in fact one of the ways that the adversary ‘cheateth our souls, and leadeth us carefully away.  He uses ‘good’ activities as substitutes for ‘better’ or even ‘best’ activities.” (Kevin S. Hamilton, Continually Holding Fast, p. 101)

·         “If you ever come across anything that causes you to question your testimony of the gospel, I plead with you to look up.  Look to the Source of all wisdom and truth.” (Elder Adrian Ochoa, Look Up, p. 102)

·         “Rather than solve the problem Himself, the Lord wants us to develop the faith that will help us rely upon Him in solving problems and trust Him.  Then we can feel His love more constantly, more powerfully, more clearly, and more personally.” (Elder Vinson, Drawing Closer to God, p. 105)

·         “While we are to emulate our Saviour’s kindness and compassion, while we are to value the rights and feelings of all of God’s children, we cannot change His doctrine.  It is not ours to change.  His doctrine is ours to study, understand and uphold.” (Nelson, Decisions for Eternity, p. 108)

“Falling is what we mortals do.  But as long as we are willing to rise up again and continue on the path toward the spiritual goals God has given us, we can learn something from failure and become better and happier as a result.” (Uchtdorf, You Can Do It Now, p. 57)

“Our ability to endure to the end in righteousness will be in direct proportion to the strength of our testimony and the depth of our conversion.” 

(Elder Richard Maynes, The Strength to Endure, p. 80)