General Conference Thoughts

[bluebell]

18 minutes ago, mfbukowski said:

Interesting that even President Eyring has trouble occasionally achieving a constant connection with the Holy Ghost.

 

But so important for members to know.  Otherwise we think there is something fundamentally wrong with us for not being able to do what seems so easy for him.

[Okrahomer]

1 minute ago, bluebell said:

But so important for members to know.  Otherwise we think there is something fundamentally wrong with us for not being able to do what seems so easy for him.

Amen!

[Rain]

11 minutes ago, bluebell said:

But so important for members to know.  Otherwise we think there is something fundamentally wrong with us for not being able to do what seems so easy for him.

I've been hearing and reading a lot about neuron pathways lately from a number of different sources. It seems to me we criticize ourselves a lot for following what our body/a neuron path is set to do, not realizing what it takes to make new path.  Change is not just about ambition or how righteous we are, what our spirit is like, but about so many things including our actual bodies. 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Rain

[bluebell]

20 minutes ago, Rain said:

I've been hearing and reading a lot about neuron pathways lately from a number of different sources. It seems to me we criticize ourselves a lot for following what our body/a neuron path is set to do, not realizing what it takes to make new path.  Change is not just about ambition or how righteous we are, what our spirit is like, but about so many things including our actual bodies. 

Such a great point.

[SteveO]

President Uchtdorf’s talk was interesting.  I found the connection to Instagram and other social media relevant, because my wife and I have seen it play out that way so often, especially the #livingmybestlife.

I also found his lingering emphasis on the famine, and the dwindling inheritance money of interest.  Especially how it was preceded by talks renewing the importance of tithing and how it “rebuked the devourer”.  The “friends” of the prodigal son weren’t there for him when it most counted, and when he needed them most.

[Calm]

18 hours ago, Ginger Snaps said:

Sister Runia’s talk was incredible. 

I am rewatching it now while I wait for the morning session to get put up and it is such a great talk.  Telling our kids in word and deed that “our family feels whole and complete because you are in it” really hit me because at times I felt like I was not much more than an afterthought because so often as an adult it felt like I got attention after everyone else (my parents were there to help others, which was wonderful, but had the drawback of it being hard to catch and keep their attention just because I wanted to connect and not because I needed help) and too often there wasn’t any left available.  Mom had told me over and over as a child how important it was to her that I was born and how she saw it as God’s blessing and intention I was their child and she relied on me a lot as an adult.  I knew my parents needed me, it was harder at times to believe they wanted me though.  The image of us being blackboards waiting for our parents and others to write on us what they think of us is insightful, not just for when we’re young, but as adults as well.

Sister Runia’s instruction to step back from criticism and instead approach difficult interactions from the viewpoint of “how would I have to feel to say what they just said” can be useful for more than just with family.  It shifts us to more likely acting with empathy much more than asking ourselves “how should I respond” or even “how can I help”.  

Also her “we don’t have God’s authority to condemn nor his power to redeem, but we have been authorized to exercise his love”….so much in her talk resonates.   My family needs to remember we can’t fix each other no matter how much we try and while I think I have managed to move off of trying to fix others (one benefit of having low energy is I have enough for myself, but not much more and it turns out that concentrating on myself probably works as well as my stepping in to fuss over them), I need to stop looking at my inability to try as a failure and to stop doubting that God told me that I didn’t need to fear, that my children’s path was their own to walk, not mine, and they would get there to be with him in the end.

Edited October 1, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

Btw, for those who have the problem of thoughts wandering off while listening, try playing talks at 1.5 times normal speed.  It actually sounds more normal to me (speakers are typically so deliberate in their rhythm, it slows their speech down; plus they likely have been told to not talk fast to give translators a break).  I was shocked at how much of a difference it made last night.  I listened to the three sessions straight through except for a five minute break.  I haven’t even completed listening to all of conference in probably 20 years or more.  I just haven’t been able to stay focused that long.

However, while singing sounds fine, the organ itself can come off rather wonky if it plays more complicated notes.

added:  and I just finished the morning session in one sitting, fully focused!!! even though when I started out at usual speed earlier due to catching the tail end I lasted maybe three minutes at most, even playing solitaire.  

Edited October 1, 2023 by Calm

[mfbukowski]

1 hour ago, Okrahomer said:

Amen!

And yet we spend hours on the "Gift of the Holy Ghost" which of course supposedly non-members cannot possibly experience.

I think this clarifies the point very well.

The strongest manifestations I have ever felt steered me TO the church, before I was baptized.

Yes, I feel more constantly "connected" now, but the experiences are less dramatic.

 

[Okrahomer]

2 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

The strongest manifestations I have ever felt steered me TO the church, before I was baptized.

Yes, I feel more constantly "connected" now, but the experiences are less dramatic.

I wonder if the difference has to do with how you have adapted to divine companionship and communion.  It reminds me of the difference between Joseph and Sidney when section 76 was received:

“Joseph sat firmly and calmly all the time in the midst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney sat limp and pale, apparently as limber as a rag, observing which, Joseph remarked, smilingly, 'Sidney is not used to it as I am.’” Source

Edited October 1, 2023 by Okrahomer

[Okrahomer]

It’s almost impossible to listen to Elder Gong and not feel compelled toward Christlike love.

[Peacefully]

My new, favorite conference game is guessing the speaker’s home country. Love the international flair of this conference and more recent conferences. 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Peacefully

[Peacefully]

No new temples in Utah. Is that a first? 

[SteveO]

Africa is rocking it seems.  I think Mongolia is genuinely shocking…I guess I just never thought of the church really being established there

[Ginger Snaps]

It has become something of a game at our house to guess how many new temples will be announced. I won this year, despite being a fair amount off at 16!  Twenty new temples! 

[JustAnAustralian]

5 minutes ago, SteveO said:

I think Mongolia is genuinely shocking…I guess I just never thought of the church really being established there

Neither did I. The ldschurchgrowth blog predicted it though https://ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com/2023/09/new-temple-predictions-september-2023.html?m=1

[CV75]

10 minutes ago, SteveO said:

Africa is rocking it seems.  I think Mongolia is genuinely shocking…I guess I just never thought of the church really being established there

We had a missionary from our ward in the late 1990s serve there.

[Okrahomer]

Excuse me, but the most amazing temple is the one in Tulsa!  🤓 It’s less than an hour from home…

[CV75]

1 hour ago, mfbukowski said:

And yet we spend hours on the "Gift of the Holy Ghost" which of course supposedly non-members cannot possibly experience.

I think this clarifies the point very well.

The strongest manifestations I have ever felt steered me TO the church, before I was baptized.

Yes, I feel more constantly "connected" now, but the experiences are less dramatic.

 

This was my experience as well. I attribute it to the witness of the Holy Ghost being a manifestation of power while the gift of the Holy Ghost is a privilege by covenant. While the gift entitles me to various kinds of ongoing manifestations of the power of the Holy Ghost, the original spiritual witness by the power of the Holy Ghost was only one kind of manifestation. The witness got my attention and remembrance for the several years until I was baptized and confirmed, and this testimony has remained with me ever since. But this witness and testimony have grown only by virtue of the gift, and only as activated by covenant-keeping, along with other manifestations of power of the Holy Ghost. These kinds of manifestations are only attainable through ongoing companionship, which requires covenant-keeping and include such things as include help in callings, the processes of purification and sanctification, the quickening of mind and body, etc.

[Okrahomer]

Elder Giraud-Carrier’s talk was inspiring:

“May we … not let our eyes, our ears or our fears mislead us, but open our hearts and minds, and minister freely to those around us as He did.”

[mfbukowski]

2 hours ago, Okrahomer said:

I wonder if the difference has to do with how you have adapted to divine companionship and communion.  It reminds me of the difference between Joseph and Sidney when section 76 was received:

“Joseph sat firmly and calmly all the time in the midst of a magnificent glory, but Sidney sat limp and pale, apparently as limber as a rag, observing which, Joseph remarked, smilingly, 'Sidney is not used to it as I am.’” Source

Good description, I certainly hope it might be true!  🤔

[mfbukowski]

57 minutes ago, CV75 said:

These kinds of manifestations are only attainable through ongoing companionship, which requires covenant-keeping and include such things as include help in callings, the processes of purification and sanctification, the quickening of mind and body, etc.

Great stuff, I think you hit it!

[Navidad]

16 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

Interesting that even President Eyring has trouble occasionally achieving a constant connection with the Holy Ghost.

 

Changed my mind!

Edited October 2, 2023 by Navidad

[Smiley McGee]

President Nelson suggested that living telestial laws now leads to resurrection with a telestial body. Don’t know that I’ve ever heard this taught in General Conference.

So “TK smoothie” confirmed? 

[bluebell]

50 minutes ago, Smiley McGee said:

President Nelson suggested that living telestial laws now leads to resurrection with a telestial body. Don’t know that I’ve ever heard this taught in General Conference.

So “TK smoothie” confirmed? 

It’s one of our doctrines that we are resurrected with a body that has the same glory of the kingdom where we will reside (many use that as an argument for why progression between kingdoms isn’t possible), but my husband wasn’t familiar with it either when he heard Pres. Nelson say it. 

[JAHS]

49 minutes ago, Smiley McGee said:

President Nelson suggested that living telestial laws now leads to resurrection with a telestial body. Don’t know that I’ve ever heard this taught in General Conference.

So “TK smoothie” confirmed? 

That's how I have always understood it. When we are resurrected we are raised with the kind of body that would match the kingdom we go in to.

“In the resurrection there will be different kinds of bodies; they will not all be alike. The body a man receives will determine his place hereafter. There will be celestial bodies, terrestrial bodies, and telestial bodies. …
“… Some will gain celestial bodies with all the powers of exaltation and eternal increase. These bodies will shine like the sun as our Savior’s does. … Those who enter the terrestrial kingdom will have terrestrial bodies, and they will not shine like the sun, but they will be more glorious than the bodies of those who receive the telestial glory” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:286–87).