Stake Conference

Our Stake Conference this weekend was WONDERFUL!!! We had the adult session on Saturday night and then we had a broadcast conference from the Conference Center in Salt Lake. All the stakes in Davis and Morgan counties attended this conference!

The adult session at our stake center was so good! There was a neat sister who spoke (I think her first name was Nicole but I'm not sure if I caught it correctly). Anyway, her talk was wonderful and she spoke about families, parenting and mothering! Just what I needed! She referred to several talks from this past General Conference (the same ones that spoke to me and answered and help guide many of the questions I have). She spoke about how important it is for me as a mother to spend time daily with the Savior--reading scriptures, praying and seeking revelation to do the right things. I really cannot be an effective mother and wife if I don't put Heavenly Father first. As I put Him first, all else will be taken care of. (Which reminds me of a quote I absolutely love by President Benson that basically says: If you put Christ first in your life, all things will fall into place or completely fall out of your life.). She ended with the words to one of my favorite Primary songs (I have several) "Love is Spoken Here". I really need to get that done in vinyl lettering and hang it on my wall--something to remind me how I can be an example to my children and speak to them with love and kindness (I have been meaning to get that on my wall for some time and it is time to ACT!). This talk was soooo good--I have not done justice to it here in my ramblings.

President Reed spoke at the end and his talk touched my heart. He talked about Sacred Moments, Sacred Times and Sacred Places. Here are a few questions I asked myself: Is our home a Sacred Grove? How can I make it a Sacred Grove for myself, for Scott and for my little girls? Are their quiet times in our home when we can ponder on what matters most? Do I hear His voice speak to me? Is His voice very familiar to me? He reminded me that Heavenly Father speaks and He speaks to us often if we are in tune to hear Him! It was sooo good!

As we sat down in our Stake Center for the Sunday broadcast, they had live video of the who was seated near the pulpit and who was going to speak to us today! My heart lept for joy when I saw Sister Beck sitting there and I thought to myself "This is GOING to be WONDERFUL!!" I absolutely love listening to Sister Beck talk--she truly speaks to us today. She speaks to me as a wife, a mother and a daughter of God! She truly is inspired. I still think of her talk several years ago when she was in the YW General Presidency when she spoke about having a Mother Heart. I loved that talk and every talk I have heard since!! I couldn't wait to hear what she had to say today!

In our Conference, Elder Rasband spoke first. His talk was excellent and he spoke a lot about temples and temple attendance. He spoke of the need to stand in holy places as often as possible! He quoted President Monson who said if we place our burdens on the Lord, he will hold and cradle us step by step to the Celestial Kingdom! WoW! I love how he uses the word "cradle"!

Next, Sister Beck spoke. I was trying so hard to write down a lot of what she said but at the same time my sweet little Brittney was climbing all over my lap--she helped me take notes and I wish I could have written EVERYTHING down because it was soooo wonderful! She talked about the importance of strengthening ourselves, our families, our communities and the world. She asked several times "What is my mission? Why am I on the Earth?". The big answer to these questions is to build up the Church of Jesus Christ. She said that taking care of our posterity, our children and grandchildren, takes precedence over all else. That is the most important thing we can do and while doing so, we build up the Church of Jesus Christ. She taught that each woman, is a lioness at the gate of her own home--we are totally in charge of what comes in our homes and what goes out and what happens inside our homes. She spoke again about priorities and how to prioritize the things we need to do. She said, "when our priorities are out of order we lose power". She talked about three categories of things we as woman have. Here they are with a little explanation of each:

1. Essential Things--if we don't take care of these things we won't make it to the Celestial Kingdom--these are the SAVING things we need to do--
-personal revelation
-personal scripture study
-personal prayer
-making and keeping covenants
-repenting
-sacrament meeting attendance
-temple attendance

2. Necessary Things
-homemaking
-cleaning
-house of order
-family meals and mealtimes
-home for the Spirit to dwell
-teaching children
-Family Home Evening
-Family recreation
-be a comfort to my husband
-being self-reliant

3. Nice to do things--things that are nice to do but they aren't going to save us
-crafts
-hobbies
-reading
-travel
-time-out for yourself
-lunch with friends

She ended with reminding us that the Lord depends on each one of His daughters to fulfill their mission on Earth!! It was so good!! (I heard that she gave an extended version of this talk at Women's Conference at BYU just a few days before, it doesn't look like they have the transcipts of these talks online yet but I will definitely be checking again later so I can reread what she said.)

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Twelve spoke too. He spoke about the Family Proclamation and how important it is to teach our children--there is an urgency to teach them correct principles.

President Henry B. Eyring spoke last. He spoke about Zion and how we need to create Zion in our hearts and in our homes where we eliminate selfishness, cooperate completely with one another, be willing to sacrifice whatever the Lord asks and to consecrate our time and means to build up Zion.

Stake Conference was truly wonderful! I felt the Spirit speak to me about things I need to do to be better and I learned what truly is most important.

I love my Heavenly Father. I know He know me personally and I know He hears and answers my prayers. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know he saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove. I know President Thomas S. Monson is our prophet today! I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His church on the Earth today!