Kenngo1969 Posted February 1, 2022 Posted February 1, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, gtaggart said: It’s just you. I think it's important to qualify that statement a bit, and explain why it might be "just [him]." Personally, I find that I get out of General Conference, out of the addresses in General Conference, and/or out of any specific address mirrors, pretty well, what I expect to get out of them. Perhaps the fact that someone doesn't get a lot out of a particular address means that the address isn't for him. Perhaps the fact that he does and, I, by contrast, do not, means that the address isn't for me. That said, whether I do the work needed to get myself in tune ... what I put into General Conference ... (and I'm not saying I have mastered that, that I'm the best at it, or even that I'm any good at it: Far from it) has a lot to do with how much I get out of General Conference. I have been profoundly affected by addresses to Young Women, even though I'm not a young woman; I have been profoundly affected by addresses to Primary Children, even though I'm not a Primary child; I have been profoundly affected by addresses to senior citizens, even though I'm not a senior citizen (yet! close, but still, no cigar! ); and so on. On other occasions, I have said to myself the same thing I've heard here from time to time: "Yep! Same ol', same ol'!" Or, "I didn't really get a lot out of this General Conference." And every time I say that, a Still, Small Voice says, "Okay. Well, that's unfortunate. How much did you put into it?" YMMV, and I'm not indicting anyone else (My own garden has more than enough weeds!) but, invariably, when I don't get a lot out of something, it's because I didn't put all that much into it in the first place. The bottom line is that the formula can't be simply be Me + The Speaker. If it is, then, no wonder that what I get out of any given General Conference or out of any given speaker is "hit or miss" (and more often, it's a miss). Rather, it must be Me + The Spirit + The Speaker. And, as I say, I have been on both sides of that coin. Edited February 1, 2022 by Kenngo1969 1
Fether Posted February 1, 2022 Author Posted February 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Kenngo1969 said: I think it's important to qualify that statement a bit, and explain why it might be "just [him]." Personally, I find that I get out of General Conference, out of the addresses in General Conference, and/or out of any specific address mirrors, pretty well, what I expect to get out of them. Perhaps the fact that someone doesn't get a lot out of a particular address means that the address isn't for him. Perhaps the fact that he does and, I, by contrast, do not, means that the address isn't for me. That said, whether I do the work needed to get myself in tune ... what I put into General Conference ... (and I'm not saying I have mastered that, that I'm the best at it, or even that I'm any good at it: Far from it) has a lot to do with how much I get out of General Conference. I have been profoundly affected by addresses to Young Women, even though I'm not a young woman; I have been profoundly affected by addresses to Primary Children, even though I'm not a Primary child; I have been profoundly affected by addresses to senior citizens, even though I'm not a senior citizen (yet! close, but still, no cigar! ); and so on. On other occasions, I have said to myself the same thing I've heard here from time to time: "Yep! Same ol', same ol'!" Or, "I didn't really get a lot out of this General Conference." And every time I say that, a Still, Small Voice says, "Okay. Well, that's unfortunate. How much did you put into it?" YMMV, and I'm not indicting anyone else (My own garden has more than enough weeds!) but, invariably, when I don't get a lot out of something, it's because I didn't put all that much into it in the first place. The bottom line is that the formula can't be simply be Me + The Speaker. If it is, then, no wonder that what I get out of any given General Conference or out of any given speaker is "hit or miss" (and more often, it's a miss). Rather, it must be Me + The Spirit + The Speaker. And, as I say, I have been on both sides of that coin. I go into general conference pretty pumped and excited. Since the last GAs died and we got that influx of new ones, it’s been a little bit more of a strain to get stuff out. They seem VERY broad brushed and lacking specific application and personal conviction. It’s like they are reading from a promoter (which I know they are, but some do a better job of pretending their not). On the flip side, though. I’m enjoying the relief society, primary, and YW general presidency talks way more than I use to.
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