General Conference

Today I attended the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City. It was incredible. Kristin and I parked quite far away so we had to run to the Conference Center. By the time we arrived there, we were both quite sweaty - so we took this picture. :)

I must just say that being there is just SO much better than watching it as a broadcast!!!

I loved the talks - they gave me a lot to think about. Elder Holland talked about angels (seen and unseen) being near. I thought it was interesting that he said that their role was primarily to comfort. I hadn't thought that previously. A long time ago I made a study of angels from the scriptures and so I thought a lot about the things I learned from that and how it fitted in with what Elder Holland spoke about.

Elder Causse spoke a bit about knowledge. He quoted Joseph Smith who said, "the principle of knowledge is the principle of salvation." I heard that quote for the first time about 3 weeks ago during Relief Society and I have thought about its meaning quite a bit. I think that the scriptures he used were good examples: D&C131:6 (no man can be saved in ignorance) and John 17:3 (knowing God means eternal life).

I liked Elder Corbridge's statement that life is hard; not the gospel. Jesus said, "my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Elder Christofferson talked about Zion. I thought a lot about a study I did on my mission about Zion. His use of D&C 115:5-6 struck me. It first declares to be a light unto the nations (as Jesus admonished in the sermon on the mount) and then speaks about the gathering (from Babylon) to Zion. Zion has three characteristics: unity, purity & equality.

Elder Bednar's talk on prayer was also amazing!