For the past few years, I have tried to prepare myself for General Conference. One way that I did this was to try to go to the temple before Conference. Note to self: DO NOT try to park at Church parking downtown the days preceeding Conference. I drove around the Conference Center parking for about 20 minutes before I finally decided that I was thwarted in my effort to go to the temple that day (because I spent 20 minutes driving around, I did not have enough time to attend the temple before I had to be somewhere else).
Another way that I have tried to prepare myself for Conference is to come up with a list of questions that I want answered or things that I want help with that I am struggling with. Well, on the top of my list was the question, "What do I need to do to get a job?" For those of you that heard the first session of Conference, it didn't take long for me to get my first answer.
Elder Robert D. Hales spoke about being a provident provider. (You can read his talk
here) I listened to his talk and felt the Spirit. I realized some specific things that I need to do to prepare myself better for the job that the Lord is preparing me for. I knew that this talk was one that I needed to read again when it came out online. So this morning, I did. I am grateful for the gift of the Spirit that I felt when I read it: guilt. I thought that I was doing well with my spiritual and temporal preparations for getting a job. I realized that I could do better. In particular, he mentions that we need to not covet. For me, it's been hard to plan for a future where I don't know where I'll be working or living or what we need to plan for. How can you have hope in the future (relying on God to provide a job and a home) without coveting the jobs and homes that you see everyday? It is a very thin line, and I think I was on the wrong side too many times.
The rest of the first session of Conference was, in my opinion, given for me. Three talks in particular stood out:
Elder Allan F. Packer,
Elder D. Todd Christofferson, and
President Henry B. Eyring. The second of these three was particularly poignant because of something that I recently learned from my Stake Conference in March. Elder Robert S. Wood was the visiting General Authority and he said: "Let
covenants, not circumstances, define your decisions.... Always consult your covenants and you will, in effect, control your circumstances." If we trust in the covenants we have made we are preparing ourselves to receive the blessings that the Lord has in store which He is
waiting to bless us with.
Presideny Eyring's talk was also heartfelt for me when I first heard it because of the story he told about the father who lost his job but was nevertheless optimistic and hopeful because "he said he had examined his life to be sure that he had done all he could to be worthy of the Lord’s help." It made me wonder what more I can do to examine myself and see where I am lacking in my "worthiness" of the Lord's help. The great thing about the gospel is that when we ask a question, even if it is rhetorical, God will answer. Now I have several things to work on to make myself more prepared for God's help.
The final talk that really stood out to me was
Elder Richard G. Scott's talk about attending the temple. I was impressed that he spoke so personally about what the temple means to him and why his temple covenants are so important. It helped me remember and realize the eternal purposes of the temple (
here is a great link to the purpose of the temple) and made me want to have the blessings of the temple more prominently in my life. I was grateful to be reminded how important the temple is in my Christian worship.
Wasn't Conference wonderful!!
