General Conference

General Conference has always been a time to look forward to, even as a young girl. When I was little, my parents would take the opportunity of Conference weekend to make the long 12 hour trips from San Francisco, CA to Orem, UT to visit my father's side of the family. This was ESPECIALLY true during Easter break. It was surprising to me when I reached the age of Young Women that I discovered people in fact did watch conference, and that my family just kept missing out on the blessings that Conference had to offer. From that time until I was probably in Seminary, conference remained to be this thing that I had always heard of but never seen all the way through. I remember vividly the day my early morning Seminary teacher, Sister Wood, challenged each of us students to watch conference all the way through. She motivated us to watch by offering extra credit points for each session of conference we could turn in notes for. Needless to say, my freshman year of high school was the first time I watched conference ALL the way through. It was quite an impressive achievement that I felt was worth honoring: the ability to Sit through 4 hours of talking 2 days straight. From then until I graduated from high school I was determined to make conference a part of my life and gain a testimony of the reality that the prophet speaks to us and reveals to us modern day revelation. I was always looking for those big "Aha!" moments when I would know exactly what I had to do to prove my allegiance to the Lord. 

Well, that moment came- In October 2005 President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged all the members of the church to read the Book of Mormon all the way through from front to back before the end of the year. At the time I was struggling with many questions and decisions that could drastically change my life for better or worse. When I heard the challenge, I quickly decided to follow it. Now I know what you must be thinking- Yeah, yeah.... Mina went on to follow the revelation and received incredible insight into her life that otherwise could have been devastating. NOPE! Quite the opposite occurred in fact. In retrospect I realize how if I would have stuck to the challenge I would have made more positive choices in my life that could have saved a lot of heart ache and sorrow, but hindsight is always 20/20. As I read the Book of Mormon that fall, seven years ago, trials, tribulations, and temptations came from EVERY corner of my life. I began to drown and though I was striving to do my best, the more decisions I made, the harder it became to continue reading the Book of Mormon. It was only 2 years later that I remembered the promise and I began to re-read the Book of Mormon more diligently.  By doing so, I was able to "Awake and arise!" as the scriptures teach, and ultimately take myself out of the pit of despair that I had put myself into. The Book of Mormon has been the only set of scriptures that has led me out of the deepest gulfs of darkness into the light and love that the Savior offers. Though at times the words within seemed hard to swallow and bear, I knew that if Alma the younger could turn from his wicked ways and become a great missionary and prophet of the Lord, that I too had a chance. After being sufficiently humbled and my heart changed into one that craved and yearned after the knowledge that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer, I was able to feel the Redeeming power of the Savior's Atonment. Besides my Book of Mormon scripture reading at the time, the other source of support and help that gave me the strength to keep moving forward were the several years of conference talks I had missed. It amazed me how if I had just tuned in once to the session, I may have had a change of heart earlier. It seemed as though all the talks of the period were applicable to me and my circumstances. They spoke to me directly. I gained so much comfort from the thought that the Prophets and Apostles were helping me, without me even knowing it. Since then, I have always made it a point to ensure I at the very least listen to General Conference all the way through one time. 

When I was married, I was fortunate enough to marry Ty, who took my conference studying to the next level and listened to  and read conference talks all year long. His example was one I had never had growing up.  This added  measure of study brought comfort and reassurance that indeed my problems were being heard by the Lord, and that the speakers at conference were in tune with my needs.  As all things of spiritual and temporal nature seem to be, there are times of feast and times of famine. Well, my time of famine came shortly after having Missy and I was unable to concentrate fully on the speakers and messages that were being portrayed 100% because I had a hungry and bored baby to tend to. Though I still made an effort to study out the talks from conference to conference, it seemed that I was not getting the spiritual nourishment I was craving. I came out at times disappointed to not have my 'problems' solved clearly through the talk. I now realize what I was lacking!And I will share my discovery with you, in the hopes that you too may increase your spiritual feast during conference.

#1 Write down a list of questions: Let the questions be pertinent to your individual circumstances regarding spiritual guidance you are needing. BE SPECIFIC!

#2 Pray about the items on your list: Ask to find answers to your questions specifically while watching or listening to conference.

#3 Listen for answers: The answers will many times be found during a talk, but they may also be made manifest during the musical numbers and the prayers offered. 

This Conference session was a complete 360* difference from my past conference experiences in that I found VERY pertinent and DIRECT answers to my questions! Now the answers may have come from talks, or the whisper of the Holy Ghost, and even during one of the musical numbers. But I received answers! The spiritual feast was unequivocal to anything I had ever experienced during past General Conference sessions. My cup was literally filled and overflowing! 

As Ty was walking out the door to watch Priesthood Session this evening, he reminded me that now the hard part begins: DOING the things we were prompted to do during conference. DOING is truly the hardest part. however, I feel a renewed sense of purpose and I am excited for the opportunity I have to grow from all that I learned during just the first two sessions. I know that if I can endure to the end and remain steadfast and build my foundation on the Savior that I can do all things that the Lord asks me to do, for He is my rock and my beacon. Happy General Conference Weekend! I hope your experience was just as satiating as mine was.