General Conference Thoughts

[Okrahomer]

Elder Daines’ talk about overcoming “spiritual face-blindness” lingers with me.  May we all come to see the face of the Savior, and through Him recognize the face of the Father. 
 

Apologies for my awkward summary.  I’m still processing…

[bluebell]

3 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

Elder Daines’ talk about overcoming “spiritual face-blindness” lingers with me.  May we all come to see the face of the Savior, and through Him recognize the face of the Father. 
 

Apologies for my awkward summary.  I’m still processing…

It was a wonderful talk.  So was Elder Bednar's.  Actually, they've all been really good this morning.

[Okrahomer]

4 minutes ago, bluebell said:

they've all been really good this morning.

Agreed

[juliann]

8 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

Elder Daines’ talk about overcoming “spiritual face-blindness” lingers with me.  May we all come to see the face of the Savior, and through Him recognize the face of the Father. 
 

Apologies for my awkward summary.  I’m still processing…

I didn't like that at all. It diminishes an awful disability. The child he mentioned will never be able to decide to not have face blindness. 

[Peacefully]

Loved Ian S. Aldern’s talk. It really puts things in perspective, and his talk seemed so kind and heartfelt. Speaking softly and with an accent didn’t hurt:) 

[Okrahomer]

1 minute ago, juliann said:

I didn't like that at all. It diminishes an awful disability. The child he mentioned will never be able to decide to not have face blindness. 

That’s true.  Apologies for not “seeing” it before and probably posting too quickly.

[bluebell]

21 minutes ago, juliann said:

I didn't like that at all. It diminishes an awful disability. The child he mentioned will never be able to decide to not have face blindness. 

The same is true for those who are born deaf and blind, yet the Savior still used those afflictions to teach people who choose to be so in regards to spiritual matters.  I think that Elder Daines was trying to do something similar.

I didn't know that face blindness was even a thing.  I can't imagine living with such a condition!  Learning about it was enlightening, even leaving out the parable aspect of his talk.  

Edited September 30, 2023 by bluebell

[The Nehor]

19 minutes ago, juliann said:

I didn't like that at all. It diminishes an awful disability. The child he mentioned will never be able to decide to not have face blindness. 

I agree. I thought it was going to be an analogy about how those who have trouble recognizing God could use techniques the same way someone with face-blindness does to identify people and thought that might be good.

Instead it went straight to spiritual face-blindness is a spiritual flaw you fix up and I rolled my eyes.

[JLHPROF]

I particularly enjoyed Elder Christopherson's talk.  Nice to hear some of our highest principles preached in clear depth.

[Stargazer]

As part of an elders quorum presidency I am paying close attention to the talks, since we will be selecting talks as lesson topics for the next six months. I'm pretty excited by three of the talks today so far (Sat. Morn). Sis. Amy Wright, Elder Hugo Montoya (I think that's him, missed the name display), and Pres. Oaks. 

President Oaks' talk was especially valuable, I thought, due to being a very complete and thorough overview of the Plan of Salvation. We have a brother in our quorum who after 15 years absence has just recently come back on the radar with the gospel, and he said he would be watching conference. I know he has forgotten a lot, and Pres. Oaks' talk will be very valuable for him.

My notes on Pres. Oaks: A complete overview of the Plan of Salvation.
My thoughts on what he said: It is not enough to know something. The gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to do something! It is not enough to go through the motions, it is a plan that requires us to become like Jesus Christ. We’re not trying to get our celestial passports stamped with the requisite stamps, but becoming what God wants us to become. Salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter. No one will be forced into a sealing relationship against their will.

[CV75]

I wonder why the choir's dress and grooming code permits "floozy" and "fop" hairstyles.

[bluebell]

7 minutes ago, CV75 said:

I wonder why the choir's dress and grooming code permits "floozy" and "fop" hairstyles.

I don't even know what those hairstyles are.  Pictures?

[Stargazer]

50 minutes ago, juliann said:

I didn't like that at all. It diminishes an awful disability. The child he mentioned will never be able to decide to not have face blindness. 

I think you missed something (or I did). The person suffering face blindness was not a child, but a soldier wounded in combat whose injury caused the face blindness.

Or did he also mention a child with the condition? If so, I missed it.

[Raingirl]

31 minutes ago, bluebell said:

The same is true for those who are born deaf and blind, yet the Savior still used those afflictions to teach people who choose to be so in regards to spiritual matters.  I think that Elder Daines was trying to do something similar.

I didn't know that face blindness was even a thing.  I can't imagine living with such a condition!  Learning about it was enlightening, even leaving out the parable aspect of his talk.  

Shortly after I was diagnosed with MS, I read a book written by an attorney with MS. He described the day he was sitting on the sofa with his wife, and realized he didn’t recognize her face. He knew it was his wife, but no longer recognized her face.  I haven’t experienced this particular symptom, and cannot imagine how one deals with it. 

[juliann]

18 minutes ago, CV75 said:

I wonder why the choir's dress and grooming code permits "floozy" and "fop" hairstyles.

I agree. I think the men should be required to have a standard hair style, a buzz cut perhaps? It would make the balding members be less conspicuous. 

[bluebell]

8 minutes ago, Raingirl said:

Shortly after I was diagnosed with MS, I read a book written by an attorney with MS. He described the day he was sitting on the sofa with his wife, and realized he didn’t recognize her face. He knew it was his wife, but no longer recognized her face.  I haven’t experienced this particular symptom, and cannot imagine how one deals with it. 

I would be so incredibly hard!  I hope you don't ever have to deal with it.

[juliann]

40 minutes ago, bluebell said:

The same is true for those who are born deaf and blind, yet the Savior still used those afflictions to teach people who choose to be so in regards to spiritual matters.  I think that Elder Daines was trying to do something similar.

I didn't know that face blindness was even a thing.  I can't imagine living with such a condition!  Learning about it was enlightening, even leaving out the parable aspect of his talk.  

Deafness and blindness have developed into a metaphor of their own. It is rather like using black without it being an insult to Blacks. I think it is different when you pick out a rare disease to make a forced analogy. My friend was just diagnosed with a type of blood cancer which can shorten her life. I wouldn't appreciate that used as a spiritual lesson, either. 

 

13 minutes ago, Stargazer said:

I think you missed something (or I did). The person suffering face blindness was not a child, but a soldier wounded in combat whose injury caused the face blindness.

Or did he also mention a child with the condition? If so, I missed it.

 You are probably right. 

[Chum]

29 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

Instead it went straight to spiritual face-blindness is a spiritual flaw you fix up

For maybe 08-18, Sat eve priesthood session talks felt like one flaw-hosing after another. Eventually, I quit staying for ice cream and drove home early, often considering which tree I might want to drive into.

Criticism I did need: My bishopric and stake leadership to bring honest and specific discussions about where we brethren need to improve.  Never really got that.

I did not need: My general authorities to come up with endless novel reminders of precisely how flawed I am.

After that, Sat night did improve; the Sat night shake up seems to have built on that.

45 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

and I rolled my eyes.

If the lesson is better than the crushed water bottle talk, I'll try to deal. That's my bargain with Heavenly Father.

[MustardSeed]

Interesting how we all experience conference talks differently, based on our personal experiences and needs. 
 

I decided I’m going to listen to the faceless talk every Sunday when I’m traveling and cannot attend, because it made me feel safe, seen, and enough. 
 

The rest left me feeling not enough. 

[JAHS]

Elder Oaks quoted himself from a 2000 Oct Conf talk called "The challenge to become", which I have always liked:

"From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become." 

[CV75]

1 hour ago, bluebell said:

I don't even know what those hairstyles are.  Pictures?

Here they are! Not a hairstyle so much as a way of life

[Chum]

A multi-cultural choir?!? More political correct run amok!  Bad enough they don't air the conference until 12pm on the East coast, to cater to those big city group thinkers.

[bluebell]

2 minutes ago, juliann said:

Deafness and blindness have developed into a metaphor of their own. It is rather like using black without it being an insult to Blacks. I think it is different when you pick out a rare disease to make a forced analogy. My friend was just diagnosed with a type of blood cancer which can shorten her life. I wouldn't appreciate that used as a spiritual lesson, either. 

 

I think it was two conferences ago when a speaker used his grandson's blood cancer and experiences with a bone marrow transplant to teach about becoming a new person in Christ (or something similar I don't remember exactly).  These kinds of talks usually stand out to me because I tend to look for everyday experiences to make sense of spiritual things.  That's also most often how the spirit speaks to me and how I learn, so not only do I notice them but they make the greatest impression on me. 

I think I probably responded so much to this specific talk because it was a direct answer to a very heartfelt prayer and something that I didn't realize I struggle with (to see the Savior and recognize Him accurately).  I had never thought of it like an ailment (something that was no fault of my own but is still limiting and that I needed to figure out a way to overcome).  Seeing it in that light has given me new hope in getting past it and also a feeling of being understood by my Savior in my struggles.  For me the analogy wasn't forced at all but was a perfect fit to my own experience.

But, that's just me and how I process life and spiritual things.  Certainly not everyone needs to find it as helpful (or even appropriate) as I do.  I definitely hope no one with face blindness was hurt by the talk.

[Stargazer]

Sometimes I read reactions to particular talks and am dumbfounded that a given talk got such a negative reaction, when I felt uplifted/informed/inspired by it.

This is what I take from this phenomenon: if you get offended at what you hear, perhaps you need to reconsider what was said, and look at it from a different angle. Because some people, perhaps many, will have the opposite reaction from you. And perhaps it's a matter of if the shoe fits. If the shoe doesn't fit, disregard what was said. If it doesn't apply, then pass it by.

I seem to recall that the Savior said that offence was in the mind of the offended. And I would add, especially when the person who spoke did not intend to offend.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Stargazer

[The Nehor]

23 minutes ago, Stargazer said:

Sometimes I read reactions to particular talks and am dumbfounded that a given talk got such a negative reaction, when I felt uplifted/informed/inspired by it.

This is what I take from this phenomenon: if you get offended at what you hear, perhaps you need to reconsider what was said, and look at it from a different angle. Because some people, perhaps many, will have the opposite reaction from you. And perhaps it's a matter of if the shoe fits. If the shoe doesn't fit, disregard what was said. If it doesn't apply, then pass it by.

I seem to recall that the Savior said that offence was in the mind of the offended. And I would add, especially when the person who spoke did not intend to offend.

Why are all these licked cupcakes getting so offended?