conference weekend

conference weekend is almost like a holiday for me. i love the relaxation of conference weekend. it is a serious spiritual recharge for me. there is nowhere i would rather be than watching it on tv or actually attending a session in person. the opportunity to listen to a prophet and apostles of the Lord counsel me individually and the body of the church collectively as we seek for inspiration in understanding how it translates into our personal lives is absolutely priceless. i drove to park city on friday night to stay at a condo with steph and clay. steph outdid herself again. she made a fantastic baked veggie pasta. when we were ready for dessert we went to my favorite fancy dessert spot - maverick. pumpkin fro yo was on the menu - a sure sign that fall is upon us. we fro yo'd it up and headed back to the condo.

saturday was a day full of watching conference and relaxing. we had planned on mtn. biking between sessions. however, it ended up raining. it was cold rain, which meant disaster. there is no way steph or i would have survived. our hands and feet turn into popsicles in the cold. add the speed of biking to that equation and it equals frostbite or hypothermia. sadly, we opted out of the mtn. biking plan. we drove up the canyon to take a gander at the changing leaves, and play photographer. it ended up snowing while we were snapping shots. i'll be grateful for the moisture, but it did make things rather chilly - especially since the only shoes i brought to park city were sandals.

sunday i drove to logan to spend the rest of conference weekend with the fam. it is always so nice to be home and feel the warmth and comfort of familiar surroundings.

one of my favorite bits of entertainments during all the sessions of conference was the intensity and focus steph, clay, and my mom had during the performances of the mormon tabernacle choir. it is usually during their songs that my focus dwindles a bit - i take bathroom, and drink breaks, and stretch my legs. not so for these three. dr. hicken, the dr. my mom works with, is a member of motab. apparently met a 29 year old member of the choir who might just be "perfect" for me. he stands close to dr. hicken when they perform. i told steph and clay about it, just because i thought it was entertaining. you better believe they were on the watch. my mom was the informant to me of the whole idea, so she was very focused any time the choir sang. i am sure we saw this mystery singer at some point...i just don't know when that was. it definitely kept thing captivating during the music portion of the broadcast.

my institute teacher suggested that we focus on the speakers at conference, and remember that as they speak, it is if the Lord himself is speaking to us. this is a principle i have known in the past. however, her challenge made me think about it differently and keep a much better focus on what each of my church leaders had to say. it helped me receive inspiration regarding what they were saying and what i can do in my life to be better by following them. some exciting news announced by president monson is that there are five new locations where temples will be built - one of which is rome, italy. he also petitioned us to pray that the countries who have not yet open their doors to the gospel will do so. miracles will come of our prayers. doors will be open, and God's children who have not yet had the chance to choose truth will be given the opportunity. of course, when i hear these kinds of things, my thoughts turn to my brothers and sisters in china. i know there are people there who are so prepared for truth...

it seemed there was an underlying theme of the conference. this always seems to happen. Heavenly Father really knows how to hit a point home by inspiring mutiple leaders to speak on essentially the same topic in a plethera of ways. the them being - challenges are abundant, times are tough, trials are rampant, and as we trust in an omnipotent God who can show us the way through His Son's atonement, things will all work out for our good. all the speakers said just the right thing at just the right time. one of the talks that really touched my heart specifically and in a very poignant way, was that of elder jeffrey r. holland. he spoke of the reality of angels in our midst, both those angels we can see and those who are unseen. he said that "not all angels are from the other side of the veil". he reminded us that God never leaves us alone or unaided in the challenges we may face. his words regarding angels took my thoughts a few different ways:

1) i felt so blessed that I KNOW there are angels in my midst who are watching me and who recently helped make certain i didn't take a wrong path and make an ill choice.

2) i was reminded that with faith as a child, i can be a part of miracles - it takes a little specificity and a lot of love for the Lord. i can pray for angels to be round about me and around those i love.

elder holland also mentioned, that in the process of praying for angels to attend us, may we all be more angelic ourselves. all the talks in conference were thought provoking and inspiring. i just thought i'd share a little about this one because it stuck in my mind. if you didn't get a chance to watch or listen to conference or would like to know more about it, you can log on to http://www.lds.org/ to find out more about it.

all in all, it has been an amazing weekend that helped me both mentally and physically. happy conference!