General Conference Highlights April 2014

1. April 2014

2. What was your personal highlight or takeaway from General Conference?

3. “When I was a young wife and mother, my husband spent two years in the air force. We lived in military housing on Long Island, New York. While tending our young children, I often visited with neighbors who had come from all over the country. One day as a neighbor and I were talking about our beliefs, she became curious about what was different about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…”

4. “I told her briefly about the Restoration, and I explaining that the restored Church of Jesus Christ has a living prophet today. This really seemed to pique her interest, and she wanted to know what the prophet had said. As I started to tell her about the Doctrine and Covenants and modern revelation, she said, ‘But what has he said lately?’ I told her…” What would you tell her?

5. “I told her…about general conference and that the Church had a monthly publication with a message from the prophet. Then she got really interested. I was so embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t read the current message. She concluded our conversation by saying, ‘You mean you have a living prophet and you don’t know what he said?’” (Janette Hales Beckham, “Sustaining the Living Prophets, 1996)

6. Highlight clips

7. Standing for the Gospel

8. Example of Standing

9. How do we apply the words of Conference to “experimenting upon the word?” Alma 32 32:28 32:30 32:30-34 32:37 32: 41-42

10. “You don’t speak to a congregation, you speak to an assembly of ones .” Elder Bednar

11. Highlight clips of conference

12. Download Conference to your phone/iPod/iTunes Listening in your car, while getting ready Studying the scriptures from each talk Learning the background of General Authorities LDS Podcasts (Mormon Conversations), Apps Make a 6 month Conference goal Study themes Ask and look for questions Making 6 Months Count

13. President Monson responding to revelation in time (clip from bio)

14. The message does not stop after the speaker does.

15. How will you study General Conference these next 6 months? Challenge:

16. “It is actually easier to motivate someone to do something difficult than something easy. That truth may seem counterintuitive, but it shouldn’t. Our spirits crave to progress , and if we aren’t moving forward, we’re not happy. The plan of happiness is pro-progression , thus the desire to progress is hardwired into our divine DNA . Sheri Dew

17. “General Conference Has Something for You” https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/general-conference-has-something-for-you-b?lang= eng “Blessings of General Conference” clip https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/general-conference-has-something-for-you-b?lang= eng “Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence” (Holland) http ://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id= 795 History of General Conference http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/general-conference- history “General Conference through the years is different, but the same” http ://www.deseretnews.com/article/865577235/General-conference-through-the-years-is-different-but-the-same.html?pg= all “The Greatest Miracle in History” (Hinckley) https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1994/04/the-greatest-miracle-in-human-history?lang= eng “14 Fundamentals of Following a Prophet” (Benson) https://www.lds.org/liahona/1981/06/fourteen-fundamentals-in-following-the-prophet?lang= eng References:

18. “Even in the Church, many are prone to garnish the sepulchers of yesterdays prophets and stone mentally the living ones.“ President Kimball

19. “While on the train we can see the world and some of our own members outside laughing and having a great time. They taunt us and coax us to get off. Some throw logs and rocks on the tracks to try and derail it. Other members run alongside the tracks, and while they may never go play in the woods, they just can’t seem to get on the train. Others try to run ahead and too often take the wrong turn.” (Spiritual Revival, 1992) Elder Glen L. Pace

20. “…in the congregations will I bless the Lord” Psalms 26:12

21. How does this compare to General Conference?