To enlarge and carry the sound

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women's Session of the April 1996 Conference.

This session was all on the theme of following the prophets, and it was getting me excited for the General Conference coming in April! Sister Jeanette Beckham highlighted a different meaning for the word "sustain" that I really liked:

I’ll suggest another way to think of the word sustain. When you play a violin, if it is in tune you can move the bow across one string and the other strings vibrate. The harmonious strings not only help sustain the sound, but they enlarge and carry the sound.

As each of us listens to the prophet and responds to his message, if we are in tune we can carry his message with us. Others will feel the prophet’s message because of the way we act. In this way the message doesn’t end tonight—it just begins. Isn’t that exciting to think about? We can make his message be a force for good in our own lives, but also in our homes, in our neighborhoods, and at school.

I love that idea of taking a message from Conference, one that resonates within me, and then carrying it and enlarging it further in my own life as time goes on. I think that's happening even now as I'm reading these old talks.

I also liked this analogy from Sister Virginia A. Pearce. She told about how her sons had some help from a golf pro who helped give them pointers on and confidence in their swings. Then she said:

As the boys went on through the room and out the other door to do a little more practicing in the backyard, I felt a twinge of envy.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were someone whom I trusted that much—an expert who could take a look at my life and say: “Basically, you’re doing great. But if you would just do this one little thing, it would make a big difference”?

Some of you have been to those late-night parties with girlfriends where they all decide to tell what’s wrong with you! Not something I would recommend. That kind of an experience just leaves everyone feeling bad. No, I want my information from a real expert.

All at once, the light turned on! General Conference! No wonder I look forward to those meetings and messages! Here are my experts: the prophets who reassure me that basically my swing is good and then give instructions about what I should do or should stop doing that will make a big difference. Not only are these men experienced, but their instructions come directly from Heavenly Father to me by way of the Holy Ghost—personalized to my exact, immediate, and individual needs. Who could be trusted more than this combination: the Lord, his mouthpiece, and the Holy Ghost?

It's really nice to think about Conference that way. I tend to be so (probably TOO) wary of parenting advice or marriage advice I run into online or even in books or from other people. It's not that I don't think there are good ideas out there, I just don't know which ones to trust and it's too stressful to try and figure it all out! So I love the idea of getting information from "real experts" and having the reassurance that it's trustworthy. I love thinking of Conference as a time to get personalized instruction from "the Lord, his mouthpiece, and the Holy Ghost."