Historic General Conference

Tessa is sick, so I am home from church today. I have a lot of pictures and things to report on like Shanda's visit, but I thought since it is Sunday, it would be appropriate to try and remember and record some of highlights from Conference last week that were especially meaningful to me.

First of all, I LOVE this picture Kira drew of Pres. Monson as she listened. It just looks like him to me. The conference packets I recieved by email worked great for Kira! She wanted to keep watching and working on her packets. Trenton, on the other hand, may never like the idea of sitting still for that long.

My Favorite Conference Moments:

* I got chills when in the very first opening prayer, the mothers of the church were prayed for very specifically.
*The Solemn Assembly--I didn't really remember this from before. It was a powerful experience.
* I LOVED Elder Ballard's talk about Mothers! It was so validating and encouraging! There were so many talks about families this time.
*I also really appreciated Elder Holland's talk addressing some of the points of doctrine of our church that are often debated by those of other faiths. He made it so plain and easy to understand!
*Elder Oaks also addressed misconceptions and called on us to take the opportunities dispell those misconceptions. I think I have often avoided this, because of the chance that it could lead to contention. "When we encounter such misrepresentations, we have a duty to speak out to clarify our doctrine and what we believe. We should be the ones to state our beliefs rather than allowing others the final word in misrepresenting them."
*I have long maintained that (whether by assignment or choice) Elder Scott handles the most difficult and/or controversial topics (Elder Oaks, sometimes, too.). This talk about abuse was probably the best example of this. But he handles tough topics with so much love and gentleness while allowing the strength of the message to shine through.
*I really enjoyed seeing President Monson's sense of humor! Even with all of the jokes, he did seem a little different than before as the mantle of prophet has come upon him.

I'm sure there were several others, but with the kids, I didn't take many notes. How blessed we are to be able to hear the words of the prophets in our own homes, together with our families!