My Need for Conference

Our church's General Conference is coming up in a couple of weeks. I've had a lot of thoughts in my head about the importance of this for me personally.

It started a few weeks ago, when a woman at church was telling me about a very serious problem her family was having. I told her several times as we concluded our conversation that I would pray for them. This was a legal problem, so there was nothing more I could offer, but as I was walking away, I had a vague feeling that just saying I would pray sounded kind of empty and trite. And then as the implications of that thought came into focus, I was really taken aback. I DO believe in prayer and the Lord's ability to help us. I believe that He is all-powerful, and that he could easily make everything right for this family. And quickly, if it was His will. I was sad that I had let that part of my testimony slip a bit.

Later that evening, in our family scripture study, we read the part of the Book of Mormon where the Nephites have just received a threatening, frightening letter from the leader of the Gadianton Robbers. The Nephite leader, Lachoneus, immediately tells his people to "cry unto the Lord for strength..." Because of what I'd been thinking about earlier, it really struck me that the BEST thing he could do was to tell his people to pray. It's not just a filler, feel-good kind of action. Then the Nephites act in a way that is surely inspired.

The connection to General Conference, then, is that I need reminders, even about things that I thought were solid in my testimony, and Conference is often where I've received that in the past. Sometimes the words in our leaders' talks inspire me, and sometimes I get messages that are related, but given to me directly from the Spirit.

On a related note (give me a minute to get to the related part), Tori brought home a letter saying she had been selected as a top scholar in the district and was to be recognized at a hockey game in Elmira. She gets in free, and then they'd have her go onto the ice at half-time with the others to be recognized. We decided that we would have John get a ticket and take her there as a Daddy-date. Then, a few days later, I realized it was the same night as the General Women's conference that girls are now to attend. At first, I wasn't sure it was too critical, but then I thought that when Eli is 12, we wouldn't want him to miss a Priesthood session. So I told her about the conflict and left the decision up to her. She decided to go down to Williamsport with me to attend the conference and dinner beforehand. I was really pleased. But I am sad that she'll miss the hockey game/scholar thing.