Come and Listen...

... to a prophets voice.

 

Yep! It's my biannual invitation to learn a little bit more about the LDS (aka, Mormon. aka, Latter-Day Saint. Real name: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) faith. The first weekend of April and October, there is General Conference. There are 5 - 2 hour sessions where leaders of the church talk on inspired subjects ranging from family, gospel, the Bible, Jesus Christ, faith, service, some are directed to adults, other to children, and many other topics. And there is always something uplifting and edifying. It is a great way to build your own faith, whether you are LDS or not, or just to see who we are.

Usually I forget to blog my invitation until the moment it starts, but I remembered a little earlier this year. :) Here are my previous posts if you want to read them (they are always different): Oct. 2012, April 2013

This year I decided to compile a few of my favorite quotes from past conferences, to give you a little taste of things that are shared.

The most recent, and from the Prophet, and President of the Church, Thomas S. Monson, is actually from this last Saturday. The weekend before conference weekend there is a special session that is specifically for the young women (girls ages 12-18) in April (last weekend in March), or the women (also refered to the Relief Society, all women 18 and older) in October, or rather the end of September. (You can view, listen to, or read the entire Relief Society session here.)

"My dear sisters [and brothers], your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there.

"As we seek our Heavenly Father through fervent, sincere prayer and earnest, dedicated scripture study, our testimonies will become strong and deeply rooted. We will know of God’s love for us. We will understand that we do not ever walk alone. I promise you that you will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you. I know this to be true in the passing of my eternal companion—Frances Beverly Johnson Monson." - We Never Walk Alone, September 2013

Another quote from President Monson,

"...a woman needs to be told she is beautiful. She needs to be told she is valued. She needs to be told she is worthwhile." - See Others as They May Become, October 2012

 Quotes like this are ones I want to hang on my wall where my husband will see them so he can always remember to tell me things like this. ;)


Here is a quote from a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. It illustrates a major way of thinking, and of life, for the LDS faith.

"The Lord’s Way

There are many good people and organizations in the world that are trying to meet the pressing needs of the poor and needy everywhere. We are grateful for this, but the Lord’s way of caring for the needy is different from the world’s way. The Lord has said, “It must needs be done in mine own way.”⁹ He is not only interested in our immediate needs; He is also concerned about our eternal progression. For this reason, the Lord’s way has always included self-reliance and service to our neighbor in addition to caring for the poor.

In 1941 the Gila River overflowed and flooded the Duncan Valley in Arizona. A young stake president by the name of Spencer W. Kimball met with his counselors, assessed the damage, and sent a telegram to Salt Lake City asking for a large sum of money.

Instead of sending money, President Heber J. Grant sent three men: Henry D. Moyle, Marion G. Romney, and Harold B. Lee. They visited with President Kimball and taught him an important lesson: “This isn’t a program of ‘give me,’” they said. “This is a program of ‘self-help.’”

Many years later, President Kimball said: “It would have been an easy thing, I think, for the Brethren to have sent us [the money,] and it wouldn’t have been too hard to sit in my office and distribute it; but what a lot of good came to us as we had hundreds of [our own] go to Duncan and build fences and haul the hay and level the ground and do all the things that needed doing. That is self-help.”¹⁰

By following the Lord’s way, the members of President Kimball’s stake not only had their immediate needs met, but they also developed self-reliance, alleviated suffering, and grew in love and unity as they served each other."(I added the bold) - Providing in the Lords Way, October 2011

From another talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf,

"True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long—we can write notes or poems that proclaim it, sing songs that praise it, and preach sermons that encourage it—but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.” ¹¹ 

Christ did not just speak about love; He showed it each day of His life. He did not remove Himself from the crowd. Being amidst the people, Jesus reached out to the one. He rescued the lost. He didn’t just teach a class about reaching out in love and then delegate the actual work to others. He not only taught but also showed us how to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.” ¹² 

Christ knows how to minister to others perfectly. When the Savior stretches out His hands, those He touches are uplifted and become greater, stronger, and better people as a result.

... As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit." - You are my Hands, April 2010

And one more from President Monson. (I promise they are not the only two people who speak... it was SO hard to narrow down just a few quotes.)

"Reinforced constantly during my own review of the years has been my knowledge that our prayers are heard and answered. We are familiar with the truth found in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon: “Men are, that they might have joy.”¹ I testify that much of that joy comes as we recognize that we can communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer and that those prayers will be heard and answered—perhaps not how and when we expected they would be answered, but they will be answered and by a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us perfectly and who desires our happiness. Hasn’t He promised us, “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers”?²
...our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives." - Consider the Blessings, October 2012

These are from more recent years, but General Conference has been going on for years and years! You can find them online going all the way back to 1971. (and they go back even further than that) And the messages given then are just as good and relevant for now as they were back then! They even have videos! (it's kind of fun to see how they are dressed, in their 70's suits and glasses.) ;)

One of my favorite speakers, is Jeffery R. Holland. He gives amazing and powerful talks about the Savior. A few favorites: "Lord, I Believe" and None Were with Him.


Ok, anyway, maybe that gives you a glimpse into who we are, and what we believe. Maybe not. Either way, I want to let you know that the invitation is always there to come and find out more. The church is a world wide church, with congrigations all over the world. If you see a church building, you are more then welcome to attend the Sunday service. (If you watch conference you'll be able to get an idea of how we dress for church, girls in skirts and dresses, men in white shirt and ties. But feel free to come in jeans and a shirt. You are welcome the way that you are.) You can even find the closest meeting house online at Mormon.org. Simply enter an address and you can find the address of a church building and the time it starts.

The first session of conference starts this Saturday at 10 am MST. Then there is a session at 2 pm MST, and at the same times on Sunday. You can watch online on LDS.org, or listen, or watch on The Mormon Channel (which is an app you can download, or we have it on our Roku box), or on BYU tv, which is a channel that comes with most cable bundles. You can always come back later and watch, listen, or read it on LDS.org as well. :) (If you click this link, you can find all the links where you can watch it. it's even on facebook! who knew?!)

And on Sunday, you can start watching at 9:30 am, to watch the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform for their weekly program, Music and the Spoken Word. :) I think a few people might have gone to it while at Sewing Summit just barely. (at least those who didn't have early Sunday morning flights). :)

Ok, so that's it. :) If you have any questions, feel free to ask away! :) 

Otherwise I'll invite you again in 6 months! ;)