A feast I didn't eat yet

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week jumps ahead to cover the Conference that just took place in October 2021. Next week we will be back to October 1994.

I felt distracted last weekend.

Some of it was good (smiling at a baby, holding a sleeping baby, admiring many coloring pages, adjusting the position of our rock collection on on new family room cabinets about twenty times)

And some of it was bad (bouncing a crying baby, telling children to be quiet, mediating disputes, wondering how much to push teenagers to participate, worrying about various family things, falling asleep).

I didn't take many notes due to the aforementioned distractions. But I did manage to hear at least parts of most of the talks, and even to find some favorites! 

Elder Holland was good, as always. These are my notes in their entirety: "Come unto Christ even if it's hard." It reminds me of this page of notes Daisy took a few years ago, which I've always loved:

I liked how Elder Christofferson said "Can God rely on my love as I can rely on His?" Made me want to undo every hesitation I've ever had to resist the counsel of leaders—when you look at it in that light.

I think I would have liked Elder Bednar's talk if I'd heard more of it. The bits I did hear were intriguing.

Elder Schmeil's point that "we are called for what we can become" was hopeful.

I liked "lovest thou me more than these?" from Elder Ballard.

I loved Sister Eubank's "cookie of gratitude" and all the stories she told. Also Elder L. Todd Budge in the same vein. (And it was such good advice to think of sacrifice not as giving something UP, but giving something TO our Savior!) I always feel so inspired and determined to give more and serve more when I hear stories about humanitarian service!

Elder Brad Wilcox was so good and took me right back to seminary "morningsides" when I was in high school. His brother was my seminary teacher so we heard from Brad Wilcox a lot, and I have always loved him. I love the forceful way he speaks (a cross between Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Holland, my friend suggested, and she was uncannily right) and his loving demeanor. His book on grace is one of my favorites ever.

I was fascinated by the study Elder Uchtdorf shared about people walking in circles when they're lost. I can't believe it! I remain half-convinced that I would never do such a thing. I also want to think more about "constant daily restoration."

My son Malachi's favorite talk (he loves books and is a great writer) was Sister Johnson on Jesus being the "author and finisher" of our stories. That idea really resonated with him, and I loved it too!

Elder Sikahema wins the prize for "most intriguing study idea" for his talk about the gospel importance of sequential order, a concept I have never given a thought to. It makes me want to think about where sequential order matters, and WHY it might matter.

Elder Gong's talk struck me with particular force and was one of the only times I really felt personally addressed during this conference. Let that be a lesson to me for thinking in previous conferences that maybe I just didn't connect with Elder Gong's speaking style! (Although I had already been liking him more each time I heard him.) The same thing happened to me with Elder Renlund the first few times he spoke—I thought I might not like his talks, then he gave a talk that I LOVED, and then he became one of my very favorites and every talk he's given since then has been amazing. Anyway, I did actually take a few notes on Elder Gong. I've been thinking so much about trust lately, and the way Elder Gong connected "our trust in God" with "our trust in others as THEY try to return home to God" was so good! I guess it's really just another manifestation of the first two great commandments, but it made me see it in a new way. I loved the ideas of trusting the process of time, trusting miracles, and learning to trust ourselves. This is something I'm already working on and wish to do so much better at. I can't wait to re-read and study this talk when the text of it comes out!

My other favorite talk, in terms of feeling a personal call to action, was Elder Renlund's.  "What can I do to lessen contention? What can I do to foster unity?" These are questions lots of speakers dealt with at the previous conference too, and I've already tried to study the societies in 4th Nephi and the City of Enoch, but Elder Renlund convinced me I need to do more in this area. I want to assume the best of others more often, and to learn to put my discipleship of the Savior above everything else. I also loved the scripture he shared that was something like "Christ hath broken down the middle wall of division between us." [I find, upon looking for it, that it's Ephesians 2:14: "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us."]

Other posts in this series:

Indicted by love—by Nathaniel Givens