I have never had the opportunity to go to conference. The chance presented itself, and decided to grab it. I was able to take a friend of mine ( who I took the pictures I'm using here), and who currently lives in Utah. We attended the Sunday Afternoon session on October 4, 2015.
Here are a few thoughts of my impressions of conference and my experience.
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf started off the conference with a talk that asked some very good questions. Is my experience with the Gospel bringing me peace? (YES!) Are the fruits of the Gospel transforming our lives into the extraordinary? (I sure hope so.) And, Are we making our discipleship too complicated? (Probably). He said "Exaltation is our destination, Discipleship is our journey".
Elder M Russell Ballard reminded me that we cannot separate Christ from his servants. He reminded me that the Apostles are special witnesses, and I felt throughout the conference that they do this job well. He taught that my job is to focus on the witness they give, not dwell on the evidences of human nature in their lives, but view all men with grace that I am hoping the Savior is offering me.
I was also impressed with Saturday morning speakers in that many of them were converts or have a spouse that is a convert. Sister Neill Marriott even quoted a hymn from her Southern upbringing that touched her soul. I think I was sensitive to messages from converts and about converts because I watched so much of conference this time with a convert. There is a perspective that they bring to the Gospel that I so appreciate and was grateful to witness. Sister Marriott said, "God takes us as we are and makes us better".
Elder Robert D Hales reminded me once again that I need to be patient and wait upon the Lord. He also gave wise future marriage council, "None of marry perfection, we marry potential".
Elder Jeffery R. Holland hit it out of the park with a talk on the divine maternal role of mothers. It was extraordinary.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of the beauty of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
We watched the prophet Thomas S Monson struggle to physically finish his message. As my dad put it, he gave a bold but kindly delivered message on being a light to the world. He could barely hold himself standing by the end. As I thought about this later, feeling sad, I found beauty in it actually. Here is a man who has literally worn out his life in the service of the Master. He is going to fight until his last breathe to be the mouth-piece of the Lord on this earth, until his work is finished.
There was a great sense of sadness by the Apostles as many of them spoke of their love for Elder Perry, Packer, and Scott who all passed away since the last conference. Elder David A Bednar gave the very last address of conference and it was a beautiful tribute of the "lessons of a lifetime" from men that he loves in his Quorum. I enjoyed watching the 3 new apostles speak under their new mantle as special witnesses. There has been some talk among LDS people that it was wrong for the church to not call a more diverse group of new apostles. I for one am grateful that I belong to a faith that is guided by God, not by men who base decisions on popularity. When Elder Rasband was speaking I had a moment where I felt the Spirit testify to me of his call as a special witness. We can each receive our own witness of everything that the Lord reveals to his people.
In the session I attended I was grateful to hear Elder D. Todd Christofferson speak about the church as a the Body of Christ. He said the church is used to carry out the immortality and eternal life of man, and that we have a conversion to Christ not to the church but the church helps get us there. It was excellent!
Elder Devin Durrant gave some of the most practical scripture advise and coined the phrase "Ponderize". He challenged me to find a weekly scripture to ponder on that will help "provide an uplifting place for your heart to go" during the week.
Other impressions...
I enjoyed two songs by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. One on Saturday afternoon and one in person on Sunday. If the Savior Stood Beside Me (click here) and Our God is a God of Love (click here).
I think my favorite part about going to conference in person was going with my friend who was seeing it all (temple square and being around 1,000's of Mormons, and literally watching his first conference ever) with fresh eyes. It was delightful! It helped me look at it with fresh eyes. For example we went to the visitors center with the Christus statue. That visitors center is literally centered around Christ. Downstairs you have curved wall with a display of giant paintings of the life of Jesus. As you walk to the end of the artwork you come to a spiral ramp that goes up to the Christus statue. You end up in this magnificent room that portrays the universe in all it's richness and beauty and a giant statue of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. It is breathtaking.
I loved my experience going to conference live. I loved seeing the apostles enter and leave with their wives. I loved the feeling of being around 1000's of those who share my faith. I love the feeling of joy and happiness of those around me as I walked in the crowd on temple square. I loved sharing it with a friend. I enjoyed it very much. I learned however that the Spirit I felt at the conference center is the same Spirit I feel in my own home. My home is sacred and I can receive sacred revelation from the Holy Ghost in my home, I didn't have to be on temple square.
I will close is blog with a phrase from the opening prayer at the Sunday afternoon session. Elder Jorg Klebingat (who gave this awesome talk in October 2014) prayed that we will "close the gap between what we know and feel, and what we are doing and becoming". I think that sums up my take away from conference. There is much I know and feel, now I need it put in more work to help me do and become a better disciple of Christ.
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