General Conference

The first weekends of April and October are two of my favorite weekends of the year. We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints spend two days listening to our prophet, his two counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and other leaders of our church address us in four two hour sessions. They instruct us on a wide variety of topics. This meeting is known as General Conference. One of the things that I love the most about Conference is the fact that I always learn something and always hear something that I need to hear. Sometimes it is an answer to a question, other times it is just a piece of doctrine that gives me peace and comfort. All of the addresses can be found here. Some of my favorite topics that were addressed a lot throughout the Conference were peace, the Atonement and light of Christ, and faith and obedience.

I loved Elder Cook's talk about peace. In my short 19 years of life, I have found that all of my greatest sources of peace in my life have come through Christ and his gospel. As Elder Cook said, "peace is a promised reward for the righteous." He went on to describe peace as an abiding and deep happiness and spiritual contentment. Christ is the author of peace. Through his Atonement, he understood everything that we will ever go through. Though we will never be able to fully comprehend it, we know that he truly understands and knows how to help us. That brings me so much peace and comfort. We do not have to face the journey of life alone. All we have to do is repent and live righteously, and we can receive the lasting and enduring peace that we all crave through the Gospel!

President Uchtdorf's talk on the light of Christ was one of my favorite talks this Conference! He explained that we have to accept the fact that there is darkness all around us. It is so easy to sink into darkness, especially in times of trial. However, the light of Christ is available to all of us. As he said, "Even though we may feel lost in our current circumstances, God promises the hope of his light." The light of Christ and his Atonement are a source of hope. The Lord knows that we will stumble many times. As Elder Holland said, "Imperfect people are all that the Lord has ever had to work with. It probably frustrates him, but he deals with it." I have noticed in my life that the Lord is so patient with me. He lets me make mistakes again and again and again. Whenever I pray about a trial, he listens and then he strengthens me. He allows me to learn through my mistakes and experiences. All he asks is that I try my best in this life and work my absolute hardest to become the being that he designed me to become. Then, Elder Christofferson said, Christ provided for each of us the ultimate redemption. He suffered for our sins and conquered death. He explained that the word redemption literally means to pay off an obligation or a debt. Also he referenced Les Mis, which was awesome. I loved the example he gave from my favorite musical! He talked about the bishop who takes in the homeless Jean Valjean and feeds him. Jean Valjean thanks him by stealing his silver. When he gets caught and brought back to the bishop, he says he gave Jean Valjean the silver, but exclaims that he forgot the silver candlesticks as well! He tells Jean Valjean that he has saved his soul for God, and encourages him to use the silver to become an honest man, which is exactly what Valjean does. This is an example on a much smaller scale of what Christ did for us. Christ love us enough to satisfy the demands of justice and pay off our debt for us. This shows me how much each soul is worth to him and to our Father in Heaven. To them, we were all worth saving. All we have to do is repent, and his mercy is extended to us. I know without a doubt that our Father in Heaven is eagerly waiting to forgive us. He wants us to use the gift of redemption that has been given to us by his Son. I am so thankful for Jesus Christ and am so blessed to belong to a faith that is centered on him. 

In my opinion, faith and obedience go hand in hand. I have a desire to be obedient, because I have faith in Christ and have a testimony of the Gospel. If I did not have that faith first, I don't think I would have nearly as strong of a desire to be obedient. Being at BYU and living on my own, I have been more aware of my agency than ever. In my daily life, there is no one telling me to read my scriptures, say my prayers, go to church, pay my tithing, the list could go on and on, but I have a desire to do these things solely because I have faith. Elder Holland encouraged us to be true to the faith that we DO have. He explained that we all have more faith than we think we do, and that we should not allow any questions or doubts to stand in the way of faith working miracles in our lives. Heavenly Father knows that we are imperfect, in fact, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with! 

Once we have a foundation of faith, we must strive to be obedient. As Elder Perry said, "obedience is liberty." Obedience keeps us free from pain and regret. It keeps us on the straight and narrow path back to our Father in Heaven. Heavenly Father gave us free agency so that we can make choices. Each choice that we make in our lives is a test of our agency. He gave us commandments as loving counsel. I love how our beloved Prophet President Monson put it, "A loving Heavenly Father has plotted our course and given us an unfailing guide, even obedience." These help ensure our spiritual safety and help us navigate this sometimes treacherous mortal existence, and eventually return to our Heavenly Father. All we have to do his heed to three simple words uttered by the Savior and quoted by President Monson, "Follow thou me." 

I know that this Gospel is true. I know that the Lord speaks today through his chosen servants, and I am so grateful that I was be able to be instructed, comforted, and inspired by their words this weekend. I am at a phase in my life full of uncertainty, which is hard for me because I am a planner. I like to know exactly what's next. It seems that just when I think I know what's coming, the Lord throws me a curve ball so that I can learn and grow and be humbled. This weekend I was reminded that all I have to do is live righteously and put my trust in the Lord and everything will work out. I will be blessed and find peace. I will be able to live up to my potential, and be the person that God has designed me to become. I loved what Elder Porter said, "Do not fear the future or halt in faith and good cheer, because God is with us." Although I do not know exactly what the upcoming years in my future hold, the Lord does know. He will guide me and he will help me. I am so grateful for the Gospel and for the blessings it brings into my life each and every day!