General Conference Notes

I took 12 pages of notes during the Oct. 2010 General Conference this year. It was awesome to be able to attend the Sunday afternoon session live in the conf. center. Martha had 2 extra tickets that she had brought out from TN; but their were 3 of us. I asked an usher outside of the conf. center if he had any advice for us for obtaining another ticket. He told us to go to door #20 and they'd take care of us. Well, they didn't really want to do it, but I smiled and they wrote us a pass and we were in! It is also cool that our stake leaders took up 30 Senior kids to the Saturday afternoon session. Most had never attended conf. live before and they had a great experience.

Fall 2010 General Conference by the Numbers (From the notes mom took during conf.)

Saturday Morning

5 New Temples

1. Hartford, Connecticut

2. Tijuana, Mexico

3. Indianapolis, Indiana

4. Lisbon, Portugal

5. Urdaneta, Philippines

Pres. Monson

· All young men to serve missions

· More older couples to serve

Jeffrey R. Holland

• · Green Jello, quilts and funeral potatoes
• · Being a helper is just as important as being a leader

Rosemary Wixom:

· Take my hand

· Anchor your children on the path of life

· The world will teach our children if we do not

· Be Intentional in teaching

· Have a victory tunnel at the end of every game

Claudio Costa

We Believe in a Prophet of God

“First: The prophet is the only man who speaks for the Lord in everything.

“Second: The living prophet is more vital to us than the standard works.

“Third: The living prophet is more important to us than a dead prophet.

“Fourth: The prophet will never lead the Church astray.

“Fifth: The prophet is not required to have any particular earthly training or credentials to speak on any subject or act on any matter at any time.

“Sixth: The prophet does not have to say ‘Thus saith the Lord’ to give us scripture.

“Seventh: The prophet tells us what we need to know, not always what we want to know.

“Eighth: The prophet is not limited by men’s reasoning.

“Ninth: The prophet can receive revelation on any matter, temporal or spiritual.

“Tenth: The prophet may be involved in civic matters.

“Eleventh: The two groups who have the greatest difficulty in following the prophet are the proud who are learned and the proud who are rich.

“Twelfth: The prophet will not necessarily be popular with the world or the worldly.

“Thirteenth: The prophet and his counselors make up the First Presidency—the highest quorum in the Church.

“Fourteenth: [Follow] . . . the living prophet and the First Presidency . . . and be blessed; reject them and suffer.”⁸

David M. Mc Conkie

· Talks to teachers in the church

· Help them discover the truth for themselves

· What matters most is the attitude of the teacher “Attitude is not taught but caught”

· Teach by the spirit

· The handbook has the answers

· You have a sacred trust

D. Todd Christofferson

Five Parts of Consecrated Life:

1. Purity “Spotless before me”

2. Work “Work hard to find wholesome leisure”

3. Respect your body

4. Service

5. Integrity

Pres. Uchtdorf

· Slow down and steady the course

· False: The faster we move the better we are

· It is rather easy to be busy

· Our to do lists are too long

· Good virtue over done can be a “vice”

· Focus on the things that matter most. Better or Best. Forgo others

· “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo De Vinci

· Turn our ways to his ways

· Vince Lombardi’s first day of practice says, “This is a Football” Teaches the basics.

Four Key Relationships

1. God No man cometh to me but through Christ.

2. Family Take time for family.

3. Fellow Men- Be sensitive to the needs of others.

4. Ourselves “some people can’t get along with themselves”

1. No man cometh to me but through Christ. Be still and know that I am God

2. Take time for family. Talk.

3. Sensitive to needs of others.

4. Some people can’t get along with themselves.

Be wise! Rejoice! Refocus on what matters most. Simplify. Be humble!

Saturday Afternoon

Robert D. Hales

Agency: to choose and cat on our own. Choose to come unto Christ

Story of varnishing the floor and painted himself into a corner. Repent, re-sand, re-varnish

Get out of debt. Righteous choices liberate us. Come out of the dark corner through the atonement. Every knee shall bow!

Quintin L. Cook

· Block out evil from our lives. Be in the world, not of the world. Need to greatly increase religion in our homes.

· Wilberforce Witherspoon, together with other leaders, set out to reform public morality. He believed that education and government had to be morally based. “His . . . vision of moral and spiritual enrichment was what he lived for, whether in defending the institution of marriage, attacking the practices of the slave trade or emphatically defending the Sabbath day.” With great energy he helped mobilize the country’s moral and social leaders in a nationwide struggle against vice.

· Integrity, honesty, reform morality, preserve light, home and morality.

Richard Edgely

Peace, protection, Faith, come, knock, choose faith, awake, arise, experiment—action verbs. We are responsible for our own faith. Let us choose. Awake!

Kevin Duncan

Don’t look to the arm of the flesh. Research God’s and the prophet’s words on the internet. My word will be fulfilled.

(He listed the 14 Prophet principles again!)

Gerrit Gong:

Temple mirrors of eternity remind us that each human being has “divine nature and destiny”; that “sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally”;and that, growing together in love and faithfulness, we can give children roots and wings!

Neal Anderson

*The Lord Alerts Us to Dangers Ahead.

*The Lord has not left us alone in our quest to return to Him. Listen to His warning words alerting us to the dangers ahead: “Take . . . heed, watch and pray.” “Beware lest ye . . . be deceived. “Be watchful and careful.” Beware lest ye also . . . fall from your own steadfastness.”

*Mighty change of heart. How to be a disciple of Christ. Be not ashamed.

Richard G. Scott:

Righteous character is most valuable. You receive no witness until after the trial by fire. Not always immediate. That is how character is built. Satan cannot take away your testimony or character. God causes your faith to mold your character.

Four Principles that produce strength:

1. Faith in Lord Jesus Christ

2. Repentance

3. Obedience leads to strength of character

4. Unselfish service

Sunday Morning

Henry B. Eyring

Alma: Oh that I were an Angel

Build trust in God and his servants so we will obey.

Trust comes from knowing God. Be still and know that I am God.

Listened to Pres. Benson’s advice and got out of mortgage debt. Might not be possible but would be best.

Boyd K. Packer

· Proclamation to the world

· Satan cannot begat life, He is impotent. He desires everyone else to be miserable.

· Pornography is a plague. It is spiritually fatal.

· Innate tendencies to do evil are not born in us. Why would our father do that?

· Can you vote on the law of Gravity? Moral standards cannot be voted upon.

· We must protect the family.

· Angel’s will coach you and the Priesthood will guide you.

· Repentance is like detergent. Even stubborn stains can be removed.

· Don’t look back like Lott’s wife!

· Repentance will bring peach and happiness.

Jay Jenson The Holy Ghost and Revelation

“President Thomas S. Monson exemplifies this important role of being led to do good. He follows the example of the Savior, “who went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). He has taught the importance of not ignoring a spiritual prompting from the Holy Ghost to visit someone and to minister to him or her and to rescue the one.

But sometimes there is no one like President Monson, no home teacher, no caring sister available to minister in time of need. In those situations I have come to find solace and direction from the Comforter, another role of the Holy Ghost.”

Sister Mary Cook

· We should never do anything that we don’t want our kids to do.

· If our example is confusing then we lose the confidence of our kids. We can’t have one hand on the rod and one on the world.

· Purity through the Savior

· Dress modestly. We respect our bodies as temples of God.

· Chastity in dress and actions

· Model Good media choices and personal priorities

Dallen Oaks

Two lines of Inspiration

1. Priesthood line

2. Personal line

Missionaries are called through the Priesthood but must receive individual inspiration.

Families need both.

President Monson

· Remember to give thanks for blessing

· Attitude of Gratitude

· To live with gratitude is to touch Heaven

· Permeates souls now and forever.

Sunday Morning (We attended live)

L. Tom Perry

The Priesthood of Aaron. 25 years ago to his grandson, not to his Great grandson who is a Deacon. The stories in the scriptures will never grow old. From the story of Daniel I’ve taught my Grandson:

(1) keep his body healthy and clean,

(2) develop his mind and become wise,

(3) be strong and resist temptation in a world filled with it, and

(4) trust in the Lord, especially when you need His protection.

President Ezra Taft Benson once said: “Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man, and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life”

Live worthy of the Priesthood, young men.

David A. Bednar Receive the Holy Ghost. Simple yet significant.

1. Sincerely Desire

2. Appropriately Invite

3. Faithfully Obey

4. Testimony

“If they will follow the Spirit of the Lord they will go right” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 98).I pray we will sincerely desire and appropriately invite the Holy Ghost into our daily lives.

Larry Lawrence

To the parents of Youth:

There are no easy answers. Be strong and of good courage. We need courageous parents. If a child is on the railroad tracks would you ignore it. No—move them! Don’t worry about your present good will. Alma gave early intervention to Corianton. Parenting is not a popularity contest. Say “I just don’t feel good about it” and that is enough! Recognize the spirit. Be united as parents. Have the courage to support each other. Show respect to your spouse and their feelings. Council kids to put off “being a couple.” When morality is involved we have the right to speak up. Avoid sleepovers. Protect children. Parents need the courage to say yes to leaders.

Do:

1. Prayer

2. Scripture

3. FHE

4. Family Dinner together

5. PPI’s - Council with them in private interviews.

Practice these to create invincible children. Be courageous parents!

Per G. Malm

In downtown Gothenburg, Sweden there is a hollow tree, but is it empty no! The tree was full of waste. The trunk was weakened a little here and there. Through the atonement we can have our lives filled with light. Don’t waste the days of our probation. Lift our vision daily to have a view of eternity. Peace is a gift of God that comes through the spirit. The tree was finally destroyed by fireworks from within. Beware of things that will destroy from the inside out, whether big or small! They can have an explosive effect and cause spiritual death. Peace, I leave with you!

Jairo Mazzagardi

· What is sin? It can enter slowly and sneakily

· Rise early

· Set a curfew

· Great joy comes from making good choices and staying strong

Mervyn B. Arnold

· What have you done with my name?

· We are free to choose but not free to choose the consequences.

· Cow bloated when he ate the wheat on the other side of the fence. Fences protect us.

· Wickedness never was Happiness!

· Would you think it, do it, or say it if the Savior was beside you?

M. Russell Ballard

· Fly fishermen use lures which are a perfect deception. Lucifer tries to ensnare us.

· Drugs can hijack the brain.

· Stay away from what will entrap you. Not one drink or one sniff.

· Avoid gambling, pornography, addiction to video games, texting that relinquish our agency.

· There is a way to escape—Repentance. Pray with all energy of heart.

· Set aside pride and experience a mighty change of heart. Get help!

Pres. Thomas S. Monson

· We live in a troubled world

· Read and reread these messages.

· Endure to the end—we must!

· He will help us. Obey his commandments for peace and safety.

“We live in a troubled world, a world of many challenges. We are here on this earth to deal with our individual challenges to the best of our ability, to learn from them, and to overcome them. Endure to the end we must, for our goal is eternal life in the presence of our Father in Heaven. He loves us and wants nothing more than for us to succeed in this goal. He will help us and bless us as we call upon Him in our prayers, as we study His words, and as we obey His commandments. Therein is found safety; therein is found peace.”

Integrity Lesson

As I was handing back tests that I had corrected in my Computer Tech class this week, I pointed out to a student that I thought it was interesting that she and the girl that she sits by got the very same score and missed the very same problems on the test. I had a substitute teacher give the test so I had no idea what had gone on during the test.
The student asked me if I was accusing her of cheating. I replied, "I have no way of knowing that; but I just find it interesting that you have the same score." She asked me if I wanted her to take the test over. I replied that I would let her decide that by listening to her conscious. I told her to let me know if she did want to take it over. I continued on passing out tests and monitoring the classroom when before long, she came back to my desk and said that she would like to take the test over because she didn't want me to think that she cheated.
I was very proud of her for letting her integrity shine through and choosing to make it right. She is a very bright girl, and my guess is that the other girl copied her, if there was copying going on. But I had said that even if you allow someone to copy you, you are involved in cheating.
I was proud of this teaching moment and letting the student evaluate her integrity rather than just accusing her of cheating and demanding that she retake the test. I believe that she will learn more from this lesson by listening to her own conscious and evaluating her own integrity.
I've decided that I will give a anonymous student award in our next Awards Assembly and share the story as an example of integrity without embarrassing her in front of others.

Establishing Righteous Family Traditions--Church Talk

Last Sunday, we had Dan’s brother and family staying with us and in the morning his little girl wanted to watch TV. Dan’s brother turned and asked us, “What do you do on Sundays?” Well, thanks to the wonderful talks about the Sabbath day a few weeks ago, I had thought about that subject and I told them what we do, and I didn’t mention watching TV. Of course if they wanted to, it would have been ok, but it made me think about our family traditions. And that is what I’ve been asked to talk about: Establishing righteous family traditions.

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “Foster wonderful family traditions which will bind you together eternally. After all, eternity will be but an extension of righteous family life”.

The righteous family traditions that may come to your mind are that of studying the scriptures together, attending church on Sunday, keeping the Sabbath day holy, having family prayer and holding a regular Family Home evening. Those are the ones we always hear about and for the most part I think that we try to accomplish these with various forms of regularity and commitment. Maybe having pot roast on Sunday is a tradition; but not one necessary for salvation.

Maintaining righteous daily family traditions requires desire and effort. Don’t expect everyday to be perfect. Part of the gospel plan is repentance; we can start anew each day or week. Just as we partook of the sacrament today and promised to keep his commandments and always remember him. His promise in return is to always have his spirit to be with us. Let us do as Pres Kimball admonished to “try a little harder, to be a little better” each day and each week.

In an Ensign article, Bro. Donald Halstrom says: Of all the traditions we should cultivate within ourselves and our families, a “tradition of righteousness” should be preeminent. Hallmarks of this tradition are an unwavering love for God and His Only Begotten Son, respect for prophets and priesthood power, a constant seeking of the Holy Spirit, and the discipline of discipleship which transforms believing into doing. A tradition of righteousness sets a pattern for living which draws children closer to parents, and both closer to God, and elevates obedience from a burden to a blessing.

I would like to talk about some of the less common traditions that came to my mind. Since school just started last week let’s start there. Like many of you did when your children headed out the door for their first day of the new school year, our family has a tradition of taking a photo of the kids. I thought this was cute that my oldest daughter Danielle, carried on this tradition and took a picture of her husband with his backpack on; on his first day of dental school. (even though he was like 25 years old!)

Another tradition that our family has at this time is to have Dan give each of the children a Father’s blessing. Andrew was the only one in line this year; but I always get in line behind the children because I’m going back to school too, even if it is as a teacher. I testify that these father’s blessings are a great comfort and gift to our family each year. If you haven’t taken the time to that or don’t have a priesthood holder in your home to do so; get another family member or your home teacher to assist you.

A father’s blessing is a tradition that brings a tender spirit of unity into many homes at the beginning of each school year, or at other times of change or challenge.

Traditions like these give children a sense of identity and of belonging.

Another righteous tradition is attending the temple. (many last night) We have also built the tradition of visiting temples when we travel and even building vacations around temple open houses. Our children cherish their memories of performing baptisms in proxy in temples such as Hawaii, San Diego and Palmyra. We were able to fit in a temple session on our one day trip to New York City just a few weeks ago. If you haven’t made this a tradition; I’d highly recommend it. You can even schedule temple attendance in with your family reunions. There are temples being built in Brigham City and Payson and we hope to get in on the Philadelphia temple also underway.

Bishop Thompson has done a great job with his emphasis on temple attendance and holding monthly interviews with our children. I hope you have witnessed the blessings that these activities have brought into your families.

At Lindsey’ temple wedding this summer; the sealer told them that with their marriage they were now a family. He said it was now their duty to begin righteous family traditions with each other and then carry them on as their children join them in the future.

One tradition that they have started together, is the paying of tithing. All summer they were attending church at various locations and their records didn’t catch up with them until just recently as they moved to Philadelphia. Lindsey had been bothered because they hadn’t had a ward to pay their tithing in. After the mail arrived in St. George this past Monday, I emailed her and asked her if she had paid her tithing yesterday. She wrote back that yes she finally had been able too. She said why you ask? I told her that a refund from BYU had been made that she wasn’t expecting and that she had got a nice wedding gift check from a relative that day in the mail. She replied back that the Lord always keeps his promises.

Brothers and sisters, I testify to you that the Lord is bound to keep his promises. Through our obedience he will bless us, he has too. I’m so glad that my children have learned this principle on their missions. Speaking of which, Missionary service is also a righteous family tradition. I’m grateful for the examples of Grandparents, cousins, and Aunts and Uncles who have served. It does make it easier to go if there is that tradition of missionary service in your family; but that doesn’t mean that you can’t lead the way and start that tradition. As older couples you can serve and set an example for your grandchildren. The new Ensign that just came has a lot of great articles about missionary service. Dan’s mom has a missionary wall…

Service: this is another great Righteous family tradition. When all of our children were home we set the first Monday of the month aside as service FHE night. We ‘d find someone in the ward who had just moved in, or needed their weeds pulled or another kind act of service and help them out. Our favorite acts were the ones that we could do anonymously. Now, service for us comes more impromptu like leaving your chores and Saturday bike ride aside to go and help a scout with his Eagle project or to taking our turn cleaning the church building. Service brings not only blessings but happiness and we forget our own troubles and reach out to lift another. As the ward compassionate service leader I have seen many of you carry out these acts of service and I always appreciate your willingness to accept an opportunity to serve when it comes.

I mentioned FHE and our leaders have recently stressed having dinner together nightly. The blessings of holding these can be very obvious in our family relations. The dynamics of our family and ability to do these regularly change over the years. Poor Andrew is the only one home with us now but we spent an enjoyable time last Monday night on Mormon.org watching the little video segments of members and why they are Mormons. I highly recommend you visit and use this site if you haven’t. You can even put your own profile on there and add your testimony. This would be a really great FHE project for several weeks and would allow your family to look at the blessings of being a member of the church and how they formed their testimonies. There are some great articles in the new Ensign about this too. (EFY DVD’s)

Each of us has traditions in our families. Some of them are material or built around holidays. Some of them have deep meaning. The most important traditions are connected with the way we live our lives and will last beyond us, as our children’s lives are influenced and shaped. In the Book of Mormon, we read of the Lamanites who were deeply affected by the traditions of their fathers. King Benjamin said they were a people who knew nothing about the principles of the gospel “or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct” (Mosiah 1:5).

Unwanted traditions are those which lead us away from performing holy ordinances and keeping sacred covenants. Our guide should be the doctrine taught by the scriptures and the prophets. Traditions which devalue marriage and family, degrade women or do not recognize the majesty of their God-given roles, honor temporal success more than spiritual, or teach that reliance upon God is a weakness of character, all lead us away from eternal truths.

What kinds of traditions do you have? Some of them may have come from our fathers, and now we are passing them along to our own children. Are they what we want them to be? Are they based on actions of righteousness and faith? Are they mostly material in nature, or are they eternal? Are we consciously creating righteous traditions, or is life just happening to us? Are our traditions being created in response to the loud voices of the world, or are they influenced by the still, small voice of the Spirit? Are the traditions that we are creating in our families going to make it easier for our children to follow the living prophets, or will they make it difficult for them?

A few weeks ago we packed up are daughter and her new husband and drove them 37 hours straight across the country to Philadelphia where they will be living for 4 years. During that long drive, somewhere in the middle of the night in Colorado, I asked my new son in law how he obtained his testimony. He told me that he was pretty into tennis and was always playing in tournaments and more and more of them were on Sundays. At age 17 his parents gave him a choice to pursue tennis and they would support him or to go on a mission. The decision he made changed the course of his life. By choosing to serve a mission he chose to follow the Lord’s plan and he committed to his testimony and realized that he believed the church to be true. He was able to go on and continue his tennis through a scholarship at BYU Hawaii, not have to play any more on Sundays, and through his mission was blessed to develop good habits and a strong testimony to change his life and a bonus blessing was that he met our daughter, Lindsey, on the mission and together they are off to do great things. In fact they already have a baptismal commitment from a lady that they met and have been teaching. (They make pretty good mission companions now; even though they weren’t able to serve together on their mission!) I testify that the Lord will bless you and watch out for you as your serve him diligently!

I am grateful for wonderful son in laws, who have been obedient and who preside faithfully in their homes. For Daughters who have been blessed through their missionary service and honor their husband’s priesthood. Dawson continues our tradition of missionary service and has been learning humility going his first 8 months in California without a baptism and struggling to learn the Spanish language. It is interesting to me that when Pres. Topham set him apart, that he talked to him at length about humility. The scripture that Dawson chose for his mission plaque is “If men come unto me I will show unto them their weaknesses. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble.” We hope that Dawson has been learning humility and that he and others he teachers will soon be able to reap the blessings of his faithful missionary service. We must all remember that the blessings are promised and will come, but that they do come in the Lord’s time.

Elder Richard L. Evans counseled, “Oh, parents, we would plead, give good and happy memories to your children—not pampering or overindulging, not satisfying everything they take a fancy to—but memories of love, encouragement, of peace and harmony and happiness at home—memories that will bless and lift their lives wherever they are, always and forever

Parents must never lose sight of the spirit in which the activity is conducted. How easily we overshadow the beauty of any special occasion when we allow force, anger, or impatience to intrude. Showing love and respect in the home is the most important family tradition. And the bottom line is that our kids learn more by who we are and what we do not by what we preach to them.

I would invite all of us to take a moment to reflect on the traditions in our lives and how they might be affecting our families. Our traditions of Sabbath day observance, family prayer, family scripture study, service and activity in the Church, as well as patterns of respect and loyalty in the home, will have a great effect on our children and on their future. If our parenting is based on the teachings of the scriptures and of the latter-day prophets, we cannot go wrong.

I testifly that if we are obedient in fostering righteous family traditions we will be able to claim the blessings promised in Mosiah 5: “that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life”

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Teaching the Sunbeams

I had the opportunity to teach the little Sunbeam class in Primary a few weeks ago. The lesson was about learning to say "I'm Sorry." I realized that this is one of their first lessons about repentance and how awesome the church is to teach these principles even to the little kids who can hardly sit still. What a great message to teach these little ones-- to say they are sorry.
I bore my testimony to them at the end about repentance and how this principle will help them in their life. I felt the spirit but I'm not sure that they got anything out of the lesson. But we did practice saying "I'm sorry" a lot!