It's always nice to have an Easter Conference. It led to a lot of talks with Easter themes, but I haven't even really had time to think about other themes there might have been. I did lose track of the number of times someone quoted President Oaks saying "Jesus is the way," so maybe that was another common thread! At any rate, here are some miscellaneous thoughts (taken from my very poor notes) about some of the talks I liked.
I thought it was good how President Dallin H. Oaks emphasized one reason why Jesus Christ's resurrection is so important—because of the way it can transform our mortal experience. By changing our view of what happens after this life, it encourages us to seek and build lasting relationships, and helps us see other people as our brothers and sisters. I loved the story of the nurse who was granted the gift to see her rude, difficult patient as a child of God. I've prayed for that kind of Godly perspective, and have occasionally been granted it, but usually I'm just left to my own efforts struggling to see unpleasant people as God sees them. I suppose the very effort leads to learning! I also loved President Oaks' point that suspicion and distrust usually gives way when personal, loving contact is maintained. It gives such importance to our interactions with neighbors and acquaintances. Any person might dislike our church or religion in general; he may think our beliefs as a group are ridiculous—but if an actual person is kind to him, friendly to him, persistently polite and thoughtful—how can he help but feel the love of God? And we know the love of God can transform the hardest heart.
President Eyring's talk on prayer was one of my favorites. (Was it on prayer? Anyway, that's what my notes are about.) He said that even our "non-verbal prayers" have power—that our feelings and love could be so constant that it would "count" (?) as our "prayers ascending always" to God. I like that idea of even our hopes and silent thoughts being weighed for our good. I was also very struck by his description of how he felt at his wife's funeral: "The Holy Ghost allowed me to envision the happy reunion ahead as if it were already a reality." I'm not sure those were his exact words, but the meaning of that is astonishing to me! To trust God so much that I already feel future blessings as if they've happened? To be as joyful in the hope as in the fulfillment of that hope? That's an astounding blessing, really. It shows the depth of President Eyring's faith, but he also said it was a gift from the Holy Ghost, which means I can pray for it too.
Of course I loved Elder Kearon's talk, as I'm coming to know I always will. I love how he described common consent, sustaining each other in our callings, as a principle that brings together agency, unity, and faith. He said our callings have a "foundational role" in the formation of our faith, which makes sense, but I don't always think about my callings like that! Every calling, he said, is a way to follow Jesus by "being about our father's business." And they give us a way to "pursue Christ" and His virtues.
I need to read Elder Bednar's talk again, but I liked the premise that "enduring to the end" doesn't mean what we usually assume it means. I'm not sure if I fully grasped his point, but I think it was something like this: enduring to the end is not just a command, but a promise that we're capable of reaching an "end" where we have changed to become like Jesus Christ. Knowing this, "enduring" becomes the "joyous quest of a lifetime" because it's the gradual process of learning to love and trust God, making our connection to Him stronger and deeper.
Elder Christofferson's talk seemed to be on a similar theme. He asked a question I've often wondered about: how did Jesus get to be who He is? How did He get his character? According to Elder Christofferson, Jesus's character is a result of what is in His heart—His desires, thoughts, and actions. So if we cultivate charity in our hearts, for example, it can lead to a bunch of other Christlike traits. He quoted someone as saying that "our character is revealed in our power to discern the suffering of others when we ourselves are suffering." Very interesting. I also liked how he described one of the things in Christ's heart as the "passion to further the advancement of others." I don't think I could say I have a "passion" for this myself, but I'm going to pray for it!
It was also interesting how Elder Christofferson linked our development of this Christlike character directly to the Second Coming of Christ. It always sounded like he was saying, "the faster we as a people gain these traits, the faster Jesus can come again." And he was telling us to hurry up and get working on it!
Elder Stevensen's talk was so good! He talked about the lost luggage and the airport which never loses luggage (so amazing!). I loved it when he described how God "labels" each of us with the intention: "You are mine. I intend to bring you home." It's so beautiful to think about how we could transform the world if we looked at every single person as God's precious possession, making sure each one was counted, tracked, and cared for. It reminds me of Elder William K Jackson's talk in the last conference about numbering and remembering the sheep. I feel that "we" as a church should be so much better at this —and I know that "we" has to keep starting with me (rather than just me getting frustrated that no one else is doing his job right, haha). When I feel discouraged about that, I have to remember that as Elder Christofferson said in his talk above, we really can make a difference in the world one by one. And people are helping to bring Heavenly Father's precious children back one by one, in wards and branches and families all over the world! The principle works when we each do our parts—it's already working! (We just need to do it…more.)
Now that I think of it, Sister Kristin Yee's talk was on the same theme—how ministering to one person is the most powerful thing we can do. I loved her statement that "we are sent here to love in sacrificial and transformational ways—even ways that seem impossible." And I'm still thinking about all she could have meant by "when we bless the one, we bless the whole."
I think I'm going to like Elder Renlund's talk about focusing on Jesus and His atonement. I was trying to make bread dough for our "empty tomb rolls" during his talk so I missed a lot. But I deeply related to his story about his dog being totally overwhelmed trying to keep track of two balls at once, so I have a feeling I truly need the counsel that followed!
Elder Gong talked about "Abide with Me" in a kind of lyrical or poetic way, as is his custom, and it means I always need to re-read to catch more of his meaning. I don't even know if he talked about this point particularly, but he brought up the three times Jesus wasn't recognized after His resurrection, and I thought it was interesting comparing those three instances. I've never thought about them side by side before. The first was with Mary at the tomb, the second was with two disciples, and the third was with eleven disciples. What I think is interesting is the three ways those people ended up recognizing the Savior: with Mary, it was when He said her name. With the two disciples, it was "in the breaking of bread." And with the eleven, it was when they saw His hands. This feels significant to me—like maybe these are categories of ways we could help others recognize God? or come to know Him better ourselves? I want to think about that a little more. (And that's the good thing about Elder Gong's poetic/symbolic style, I guess—it suggests meanings that aren't necessarily stated outright.)
It was also interesting that Elder Soares had nearly the same theme as Elder Gong—"Abide with me" and how we can "abide in Christ." He said inviting the Savior to abide with us is essential for our spiritual survival.
I liked when Sister Emily Belle Freeman said "When Peter had a tasked that seemed too big, Jesus was there within reaching distance."
I liked when Elder Jorge Becarra said the reason he had confidence to pay tithing in a difficult financial time was because of his mother's Family Home Evening lesson! (What?? Some children listen to FHE lessons??! This is news to me.)
I need to read Elder Thierry Mutombo's talk. I heard him talk about his ten children, and how four of them have died, which is so heartbreaking to think about. But I didn't hear what he said about that, and I'm sure it was good!
And lastly, I loved Elder Clement M. Matswagatata's talk, because he is our friend! He came to our Stake Conference and gave such good talks, and he actually met with Sam one-on-one for about seven minutes (part of interviewing the high council before calling a new Stake President)—so basically, we are best friends now.😄 I didn't talk to him but I did talk to his wife for a minute and I loved her! His conference talk wove together themes of Jesus calling us by name and walking with us (which I am realizing now really did appear all through Conference). I liked his reminder that "there is always someone praying for you." I don't think about that very often. I of course pray for others, and am trying to get continually better at remembering specific people and specific blessings they need, but who would be praying for me? It's nice to realize that my mom, my husband, my brothers, my friends, my ministering sisters, and others are probably praying for me just as I am for them!
And that's it! Another good General Conference to digest and study for the next six months! I missed having a Saturday Evening Session 😢 but it looks like I have plenty to keep me busy with the four sessions we got, so I'm excited for the transcripts to come out so I can get to work!
