Words From Our Prophets

Two weeks ago we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and anyone else who cares to listen, had the privilege of listening to inspired messages from living apostles and prophets of God.   LDS General Conference is held twice yearly, during the first weekends of April and October.  I generally take copious notes on a new yellow legal pad as I listen,  marking particular thoughts that strike me as something I need to remember and pay attention to in the coming months.  A total of 10 hours of instruction is available to us via television and internet, or in person if one is lucky enough to have tickets to attend the conference in person.  By Sunday evening I am usually quite exhausted, and try to relax and enjoy some quiet time with my family.

It is almost impossible to remember all that was said and all that struck me as important, but usually there are one or two things that really stand out as to what I need to remember and work on during the coming months.  It has become very popular the past few years to share quotes and memes on facebook immediately following the conference addresses.  This year these are some that have really struck me as important.  First of all is the message from our President and Prophet, Thomas S. Monson:

As you can see, more than one person felt that this thought was important to remember and pass along:

Elder Holland's talk "Are We Not All Beggars?"  was also very touching to me and yielded these two memes:

I have a dear friend at work who doesn't attend church on a regular basis, but she still loves to watch General Conference.  This year she missed out on most of the conference due to some family  situations, but on Monday morning she did ask me about what Elder Scott, one of her favorite speakers, had said.  I of course couldn't remember it right then, so I printed out a copy of his talk for her that night and took it in to work to give her the next day.  I hope it helps her.  I loved his talk too, and here are a few of the things he shared that I want to focus on this year:

And here are two more thoughts that really struck a chord with me:

Of course I believe that all of the talks and messages given at General Conference were inspired message from our Heavenly Father, prepared especially for we his children who are living in this crazy world at this time.  The messages meant for you may not be the same as the ones that were meant for me, but we all have the opportunity and the responsibility to listen and study and pray to know what God wants us to know and to be doing during the next six months.   I challenge you to take some time each week or even each day to review these messages.  Find out for yourself what God wants and needs you to do.  

You can see these Highlights from General Conference on youtube or watch, listen to, and/or print the full versions of each message here at lds.org.   Enjoy General Conference, and may the Lord guide each of you during the coming months and years.