Stake Conference

Do you know how when something really great happens to you or you have something exciting that you want to tell someone? That is what I think of conference today. If you have ever had doubts about yourself, or wondered if God has forgotten you, this was for you, and you and you - - - -  -
Of course you know that you have to get conference through your bloggess' filter but that is all I can do, so here goes with a short version of our conference on Sunday AM.
There was a talk by a young man who is getting ready to go on a mission. He wondered if he is ready to represent the Lord, if he is doing enough and understands enough. In 3Nephi 27:2 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;" Such a sentence seems so simple, for the Savior spoke simply. It is when we muddle it up a bit with our own interpretations that there is often a learning opportunity lurking close by.
Our stake patriarch Brother Martin told a story about Elder Neal Maxwell being in WWII and thinking he was soon to be killed. He prayed and was told to read his patriarchal blessing wherein it stated he would be preserved to do the Lord's work. Brother Martin mentioned that in his calling he has had the Lord guide him in preparing to give blessings, even so far as reading a conference talk that prepared him for a specific situation. Our Father knows and loves us and wants to bless us if we will let him. "Behold, I have engravened you upon the palms of my hands" is our elder brother speaking directly to you. Each of us owes so much to our Savior that if we will only try to be obedient to his commandments, we will feel His love and enjoy His blessings.
Our mission president, Brother Alba said that even the apostles doubted themselves as Christ prepared to leave them. "16 ¶Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

 17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some ^adoubted.

 18 And ^aJesus came and spake unto them, saying, All ^bpower is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

 19 ¶Go ye therefore, and ^ateach all ^bnations, ^cbaptizing them in the name of the ^dFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

 20 ^aTeaching them to ^bobserve all things whatsoever I have ^ccommanded you: and, lo, ^dI am with you alway, even unto the ^eend of the world. Amen."  When the Lord wants us to do something, He tells us and provides a way for us to accomplish these things. "I am with you always- -  " is not a promise lightly made.

Our temple president, President Bennion said we should trust our Savior to wash away our sins, if we will repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost and go to the temple to gain His richest blessings. He told a story of the power of being in the temple and then extended and initiation to  "Come claim your blessings in the temple." I am pretty certain if you saw your name on a list of unclaimed insurance monies, you would run right down to get it. Maybe we could look at claiming our blessings from the Lord as a higher priority and partake of what can be ours.

President Dennis seems to be paying attention to the still small voice as he usually picks a story where all can listen and learn. He shared a story of a young boy named Ben whom everyone thought was the dumbest kid around. His mother knew the key to success was to be educated, so she developed a regime for each day that would help Ben lose this title. It didn't take long, doing what his mother set up as the new rules for Ben to become something much better than he had ever thought he could be. Ben became a highly recognized surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Ben and we CAN change at any time. We can improve for our Father in Heaven loves us and wants us to improve, rising to meet our potential. We may happily discover a new and improved, updated version of ourselves!

Sister Sonja Wasden assured us that if we will allow Him to mold us, we can become instruments of the Lord, doing good works for those around us. As we serve others, we are serving the Lord. As a small child calls out for his mother at night after a bad dream, we should call out to our Father when we have a bad dream in our life. He will come to our aid and help us to grow. She told a wonderful story of  how parents can try to teach by allowing a child to learn by experiences (good and bad) or fix things so that all is well and not allowing any learning or growth. That is a powerful concept which I believe we should all ponder at any time when things don't seem to be quite right. Grow or protect?

President Kurtz mentioned that when our new stake presidency was called, they were each asked to speak for 2 minutes and 2 minutes only. If you could do the same, what would you say?  What information would you want to pass along if you only had 2 minutes? Wow! He bore his testimony about Christ and that all things that come from Him are positive: peace, joy, love, etc. The Savior will await us while we find our way to him through those negative things that are opposite of those just mentioned.  When we meet our Savior and He asks, "Whom say ye that I am?" we will know Him if we have patterned our lives after Him; we will recognize Him.

In closing, President Gibson spoke about family rules and how as children we have specific directions but as we mature, these rules change, becoming less and less ie: hold my hand while we cross the street, -watch out for cars-be careful. As we mature, our rules become less specific and it is up to us to rely on the scriptures and teachings so that we can be obedient to the Lord's rules, providing us with safety. We need to set goals for ourselves that will keep us focused and not become distracted by the hum drum things of the world around us. In our 12 Step Program, the first steps can guide us by seeing that 1. I can't do it 2. He can 3. I will let him.

How blessed we are to have the knowledge of the restored gospel and priesthood power in our lives, to know our Father lives. As repeated here today, remember that our Father will NEVER forget us. If we seek Him, He will be there for us.

"Have you received His image in your countenance?"

Constantly looking bloggess,

Janice