We Participate in Miracles

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week we jump back to the present to write about the April 2023 Conference that just took place!

Some random and not very well-developed impressions from April Conference:

• I think the speakers always do a good job of bringing in Jesus Christ, no matter what their subjects are. But this conference seemed particularly Christ-focused to me. I felt there was a more-than-usual emphasis on thinking of Him, teaching of Him, coming to know Him, accessing the power of His atonement, and other such fundamentals. I loved it.

• I missed Elder Holland.

• When President Nelson didn't speak at all on Saturday, I wondered if he was wasn't feeling well. But then he gave his talk on Sunday with such energy and intensity! He seems so full of life. He's amazing! His talk was amazing. I know I'll find myself studying it over and over as I attempt to absorb these lessons of kindness, charity, and peacemaking. "True disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire." I want that to describe me! 

And this: "In highly-charged situations filled with anger—remember Jesus Christ.…He will magnify your efforts beyond your loftiest imagination!"

• Sister Cardon's talk on Saturday morning was one of my favorites. (Why is the Saturday Morning session always so good? Maybe it's just because I haven't had time to get sleepy yet. :) But it seems like it often has three or four of my favorite talks in it!) I liked what I thought it was going to be about ("Never give up an opportunity to testify of Christ"—i.e. share your testimony) but then was surprised when she turned the topic more to finding opportunities to gain a daily personal witness, or have a personal encounter, with Him. I love the idea of seeking Jesus everywhere and every day. And I loved the way Sister Cardon described all the usual things we do (prayer, scripture study, the sacrament, etc.) as sacred opportunities to have that encounter and see His miracles. All the time she was talking, I just felt so happy and so grateful to be sitting for two days and listening to these wonderful people teaching me more about Jesus. What a beautiful tradition.

• Another favorite talk—Elder Carl B. Cook's about "just keep going with faith." That's such a necessary message for me right now! I was stricken to the core by his example about being asked by President Packer to speak three times in one meeting (even though it had a "happy ending" and he was glad he perservered…it just fills me with terror to think about! Goodness! Even though I love the man, I am so glad I never met Elder Packer in person!) but I liked the principle behind it, i.e. that it's those very challenging, stretching, scary experiences which give us the opportunity to see the miracle of Christ's enabling power in our lives. It's a lot like Sister Cardon's talk, in fact—the idea that following the gospel—wherever it takes us!—gives us marvelous opportunities to come to know Jesus Christ personally.

(I just hope when I meet Jesus personally that he doesn't ask me to speak three times in Stake Conference…)

• While we're talking about funny stories, Elder Allan D. Haynie's talk was awesome too. Of course I loved the water bottle story. And the talk as a whole made me think of Elder Holland's prophetic warning (way back in 2003!) where he said:

Parents simply cannot flirt with skepticism or cynicism, then be surprised when their children expand that flirtation into full-blown romance. If in matters of faith and belief children are at risk of being swept downstream by this intellectual current or that cultural rapid, we as their parents must be more certain than ever to hold to anchored, unmistakable moorings clearly recognizable to those of our own household.…

We can be reasonably active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints, but if we do not live lives of gospel integrity and convey to our children powerful heartfelt convictions regarding the truthfulness of the Restoration and the divine guidance of the Church from the First Vision to this very hour, then those children may, to our regret but not surprise, turn out not to be visibly active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints or sometimes anything close to it.

I've been so worried about that happening ever since! I would be so horrified if my children didn't see and know my convictions and my faith! In my notes on Elder Haynie's talk, I wrote that he said (something like) (my notes are never very reliable in the particulars):

We who are adults now have an even weightier responsibility to follow the living prophet, not just for ourselves but for our children. I must never ease up on fundamentals and never give any indication that prophetic counsel can be discarded, or I will be a source of confusion in the lives of the rising generation. If I haven't done it as well as I could have up till now—repent!

• I need to re-read Elder Juan D. Uceda's talk. I missed part of his story about the man who came back to church activity, but it seemed like it was such a good one! Mostly I just thought Elder Uceda's delivery was so arresting and heartfelt, you could feel his goodness and sincerity. Makes me want to give weight to anything he says!

• I drew some good puffer fish during this conference, I must say. (I like to draw puffer fish when I'm…uh…listening intently but also trying to stay awake.) My pens (these, if you must know; they have a lovely bold stroke) were particularly suited for puffer fish, I think.

• Another great Seventy talk—Elder Vern P. Stanfill! The imperfect harvest becoming perfect with Christ's help! Such a great concept and something I need constant reassurance on. 

"Our clumsy efforts can lead to miracles and in the process we can participate in what ends up being a perfect harvest. The Savior will use us to accomplish his work and be part of miracles." 

And his great summary of what Christ might have said to Peter after "Wherefore didst thou doubt"—

"Oh Peter, if you could see yourself as I see you, you would not fear. I love you. You got out of the boat!"

Also, Elder Stanfill had a great tie. It looked like it was a couch from the 1970's…but brought back with fashionable quirkiness.

• And another: Elder W. Mark Bassett of the Seventy. Wow, strong work from the Quorum of the Seventy this Conference! I loved his reminder of the "4th Day" Jesus (reminds me of Michael Wilcox's "4th Watch God," a very similar concept)—the Jesus that comes and saves and heals us even when every other indication makes it seem like it's too late. I also loved the concept of us doing whatever we can do to participate in the miracles—rolling away the stone, coming forth/rising from despair, loosing ourselves or others from the things that bind them. Such a beautiful idea that Christ both gives us what we cannot do, and helps us rise to what we CAN do, as he performs miracles in our lives.

• On that note, and from Sister Camille Johnson's talk, I never knew that "relief" comes from the French relever—"to raise." That's a ballet word, so I can imagine the movement that goes with it, but knowing that relief is raising ourselves and others (out of sadness and want and misery—to life and light and goodness) gives me a whole new vision of the Relief Society. I love that idea so much. I love the reminder to emulate, in our treatment of others, the way Christ raises us, and I love the image of lifting and rising up that goes with that beautiful French word. I'm going to think of us as the "Relever Society" from now on!

• So many good things and I haven't even gotten to any of the Twelve Apostles yet! There were so many good ones, I can't write about them all. I loved Elder Eyring's talk on personal peace. He's so optimistic—or maybe I should say faith-filled. And I love it when he talks about the "inborn desire to love and be loved" given to every child. That's a common theme of his, the "longing for home" deep inside each child of God, and I've become convinced over the years that that longing was instilled in us by our Heavenly Mother. I'm fascinated with the idea of nurturing that longing for home (meaning our heavenly home as well, of course!) in my children.

• Dear Elder Uchtdorf. Bless him for saying that "Jesus Christ is the strength of parents." And bless him for saying that you can't tug on the stem of a flower or force open its bud to make it grow. Such a good analogy! His best line:

"Let God work his miracles. Don't give up because of what you've done wrong in the past. Have hope in Christ and in the future!"

• I missed much of Elder Bednar's talk and was very sad about it. Looking forward to reading it as soon as I can.

• Congratulations to Elder Neil L. Andersen as the dark horse winner of "Favorite talk by one of the Twelve" (a very competitive race!). His talk was full of mind-expanding truths. Who had ever thought to examine that phrase "caught hold upon" in Alma's conversion story? Not me. But I have had my soul cry out, "Oh Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy upon me!" more than once in the past few months, and I love the idea of finding a way to "shape, strengthen, and secure that thought" to make it more powerful in my life. I love the idea that choosing to trust and "lay hold" of Jesus Christ is a physical, tangible action we can take which will lead to physical, tangible blessings in our lives.

• Elder Gong! I loved his ministering stories! "Faithful consistency brings miracles."

• Coming to the end here, I'm realizing there really was a definite theme (see for yourself! I'll put all the related words in green!) running through Conference, at least for me: the idea that Christ will do personal miracles in our lives and we can participate. As we lift (raise! relieve!) others, Christ will do the same for us. What a beautiful Easter message!

Other posts in this series:

Three themes I heard in General Conference—by Rozy