Checking In....

Hello? Oh, yeah. Hi, I'm still here. Just spent the last week having a blast visiting friends and family out in Utah. And I'm about to run off for the next two days down to St. Louis for a Relief Society trip to the temple = awesome! So, I wanted to check in before I'm able to give a more detailed post .
Above is a highlight video from Conference and here are some links to the full talks.
President Eyring's Mountain's To Climb was excellent and inspiring!

President Monson's Race of Life talk was grounding and centering for my heart- we must hold onto the eternal truths and let the superfluous things go.

I absolutely loved Elder Holland's talk- The Laborers in the Vineyard- I loved how he said, "So if you have made covenants, keep them. If you haven’t made them, make them. If you have made them and broken them, repent and repair them. It is never too late so long as the Master of the vineyard says there is time. Please listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling you right now, this very moment, that you should accept the atoning gift of the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the fellowship of His labor. Don’t delay. It’s getting late."

Elder Ballard's talk " That the Lost May Be Found" was a powerful reminder.  I was especially effected by this last paragraph-"Now, if for any reason you individually or as a family have lost your way, then you need only apply the Savior’s teachings from Luke, chapter 15, to correct your course. Here the Savior tells of the effort of a shepherd searching for his lost sheep, of a woman searching for a lost coin, and of the welcome received by the prodigal son returning home. Why did Jesus teach these parables? He wanted us to know that none of us will ever be so lost that we cannot find our way again through His Atonement and His teachings."

My family teased me that every time another speaker stood to talk I excitedly exclaimed from the couch something to the effect:  " I LOVE him!" " She is wonderful"  or " I love his talks...everyone be quiet!" And it was true! I felt such an overwhelming love towards all the general authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There were many messages and powerful words that spoke to my heart and answered my prayers; overall, I found two themes. First, the centrality of the family. Elder Packer said, "Fathers and mothers, next time you cradle a newborn child in your arms, you can have an inner vision of the mysteries and purpose of life. You will better understand why the Church is as it is and why the family is the basic organization in time and in eternity. I bear witness that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that the plan of redemption, which has been called the plan of happiness, is a plan for families." And many other talks supported or strengthened the role of the family and the needs families have today. Second, I found the theme of redemption, forgiveness, and the Atonement repeated unceasingly as mentioned above.

***As Conference came to a close, Elder Anderson delivered the final talk (before Pres. Monson) and  voiced the thought: “What thinks Christ of me?” And continued, "Wherever you now find yourself on the road of discipleship, you are on the right road, the road toward eternal life. Together we can lift and strengthen one another in the great and important days ahead. Whatever the difficulties confronting us, the weaknesses confining us, or the impossibilities surrounding us, let us have faith in the Son of God, who declared, “All things are possible to him that believeth".

I love General Conference.
I'll catch up in a couple days on the rest of it.

Mormon Lessons From Disney

With General Conference this weekend, I am so so very excited to hear the direction and guidance of our apostles and prophet! But this Disney video does have some good reminders, so here's a few until after Conference.

• "When You Need Help Pray"- And pray when you're grateful, and when you're happy. Pray when you're sad and hurt. Pray for understanding and for strength. Pray not because our Heavenly Father doesn't know what we are going through or what we need (because He does), but pray to show obedience and willingness to turn to Heavenly Father.
• "Remember Your Parents Love You"- Your earthly parents and your heavenly parents.
• "Put on the Whole Armor of God"- I love how she says 'these weapons of righteousness will triumph over evil". Ephesians 6:13-17 details all the armor.
• "Give of Yourself to Help Others"- To sacrifice is to give up something valuable or precious, often with the intent of accomplishing a greater purpose or goal.
• Don't Judge Others By Their Appearance"- Or solely on any one aspect of their person ( their religion, politics, career, etc). Yes, judgements need to sometimes be made regarding how we interact with someone, but it should never be with condemnation or judgement.
• "Don't Forget Who You Are and Don't Forget Who Your Father Is"- We are all children of a loving, eternal Heavenly Father. We each have a divine nature and the potential to become like our Father.
• " When Someone Dies That Doesn't Mean They're Gone" - See previous post. I Know I will see my entire family again.
• "Never Trust the Adversary Because They're Always Something He's Not Telling You"- He will make promises upon promises, telling you all the great things you will get to do, all the "freedom" you will have. Yet he will only further limit your ability to choose after certain choices (drugs, alcohol, etc) because of the consequences.
• "Don't Give Into the Treasure of the World"- Like I said, the things of the world are alluring and promise "freedom" and riches, but they will distract us from those things of eternal value.
• Endure to the End and You Will Recieve A Far Greater Reward"- Eternal life with our Heavenly Father and the opportunity to progress to become like Him is the greater gift we can be given.
• " No Matter How Bad Things Look...The Bad Guys Always Lose"- We need to keep an eternal perspective. Sometimes it seems that wicked people are wealthy, popular, successful, and beautiful. But that is only in terms of the world and with material/secular things and the judgement that really counts is that of Heavenly Father.
• "And the Good Guys Always Get Their Happy Ending"- Again, eternal perspective. On the reverse side, good people often go through trials and hardships that make a happy ending seem so far away. We need to have faith and remember that Heavenly Father will bless us eternally, though sometimes not right here, right now.

Lots of Disney love! But more importantly I can't wait to hear from the prophet today!.