General Conference

On the first weekends of April and October, my Church gathers together to listen to the prophet, apostles, and other Church leaders as they speak to us and give us counsel. The meeting happens in Salt Lake, but it is broadcast to meeting houses and television stations around the world, as well as broadcast live on our website (http://www.lds.org). General Conference weekends are my favorite weekends of the year. The counsel we receive always gives me strength and peace.

There were many many good talks, but one which really struck me was by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency.  He used a couple analogies for life. If we look at the rings of a tree, we can see that when growth seasons aren't optimal, the tree doesn't grow normally-it cuts back and focuses on survival. When planes hit turbulence, how should they handle it? A novice pilot might speed up, thinking that if he goes faster, he will get out of the turbulence sooner. But this only makes it worse. Good pilots know that you slow down when you hit turbulence. "When experiencing adverse conditions," President Uchtdorf said, "slow down and focus on the essentials!" We shouldn't unnecessarily complicate our lives. That just leads to decreased joy and sense of meaning. Sometimes we need to forego good things for better things. To become great, we need to start by mastering the essentials. So what are the essentials? President Uchtdorf mentioned four relationships:
1. Our relationship with God-this brings us joy and fulfillment.
2. Our relationship with our family
3. Our relationship with our fellow men-Build this one person at a time.
4. Our relationship with ourselves-we shouldn't belittle and hate ourselves! We should try to remember how Heavenly Father sees us.

One of my best friends, Lori, always catches a ride here for Conference weekend. It was fun to see her and get to hang out for a few days. We went bowling during the Priesthood session and... I got a 120 score on our first game!!!! That's the highest I've ever gotten in my life! For our second game I got 103... and breaking 100 is a pretty big deal for me! :)

This weekend has definitely been amazing and I am sad to see it end!