Welcome to another round of General Conference Book Club (a.k.a. GCBC). Wow, what a feast and what a blessing to experience another two days of counsel from the Lord.
To anyone who is checking out GCBC for the first time, the goal is to read one General Conference talk a week and discuss it together as an on-line “book club.” If you want more information about how it works, go here. And then join us.
A new talk will be posted each Sunday, but this week we’ll just share some general impressions from this weekend’s General Conference. Once all the talks are posted online in their entirety (some time later this week), then we’ll be able to dive into the talks and study them one by one.
Two things to discuss this week:
1. President Eyring taught that “When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention.” What topics did you notice were repeated often, either throughout the various sessions or as a carry-over from the previous general conference?
2. What was your favorite talk? What principles from that talk stood out to you?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for being a part of this GCBC discussion.
Diapers and Divinity 
So glad you are doing this again!
1. Recognizing and Listening to Personal Revelation; Forgiveness/Repentance; Knowing we are Children of God
2. I really enjoyed President Monson’s talk Sunday Morning. I love that he can have a sense of humor and still convey a powerful message! What stood out to me is that we need to not only recognize the Spirit but to act on it as well.
I loved Elder Ardarn(?)’s talk yesterday afternoon. I loved Sister Dalton’s talk today. I loved President Monson’s talk today as well.
I thought missionary work done by members and the Book of Mormon were major themes.
I believe what I heard repeatedly was about the importance and influence of the Book of Mormon. I have placed mine where I can’t miss it – will be starting again.
Any talk given by President Monson would be my favorite. What a sweet and spiritual man.
~Shari R.
Definitely the Book of Mormon, using the full name of the church (carry over from last time), missionary work and focusing on the Savior.
My favorites from this weekend were Elder Arden’s on time management, Elder Bednar’s on family history and Elder Christofferson’s on repentance and from the RS broadcast Elder Uchtdorf’s on Forget-me-nots.
Can’t wait to start reviewing them all.
Hope it’s ok to share some poetry…Reading the Book of Mormon, praying, not wasting time, and looking up.
Let NOt a Day-
Let not a day
Go by without
Taking time to pray
With faith about
Quick to Kneel-
Let us be as quick to kneel
As we are to text
Let us seek for and feel
What leaves us warmly blessed
Freely He gives
To those who ask
Through Christ who lives
And bears… as we task
Grind to the Dust-
Let us grind to the dust
What is a waste of time
And replace it with what leads us
To a place sublime
Look Up-
Simply look up
When you are weighed down
Life’s seems extra tough
When all you see is the ground
When you’re burdened by life
Don’t look down but look up
And remember the Lord
And how full is your cup
I agree that the power and influence of the Book of Mormon was one of the strongest, oft-repeated themes. Also, temples, eternal families, and personal revelation. I also heard several mention our digital era and how we utilize those blessings for good or ill.
I noticed many similarities of theme from the talk Pres. Uchtdorf gave at the RS broadcast and the one he gave yesterday. Especially that we are not unseen or forgotten, even in our darkest moments. And again, how we use our time.
I heard twice that scripture from Paul’s speech to the Corinthians: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
I also heard a couple of times one from King Benjamin’s speech, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
I felt like every talk in the Saturday sessions was spoken directly to me! Several today as well. Can’t wait to go back and study them all!
I noticed the same thing about Pres. Uchtdorf’s talks. Kind of cool for the men to be able to hear it without the flower analogy. 🙂
One theme I noticed was sharing the gospel, through example, word and deed. As well as repeated calls to repentance that were loving and tender, and in every talk the love Heavenly Father has for all his children were expressed.
I loved President Uchtdorf’s two talks, Elder Scott’s, and Elder Anderson’s talks the most.
1) Not being afraid to be a witness of Christ; personal revelation
2) My favorite talk was Elder Neil L. Anderson’s talk from Saturday afternoon. “We express deep gratitude for the enormous faith of husbands and wives, especially our wives, in their willingness to have children.” I also love all the quotes he gave from Pres. Kimball about children – “Would the Lord want you to break one of his important commandments in order for you to become a doctor? . . . Where is your faith?”
Also, here is the link to the blog he referenced in his talk:
http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/motherhood-is-a-calling-and-where-your-children-rank
Thank you for posting that link. She is an inspiring Christian woman. Sometimes we LDS women discount the opinions of the other Christians in the world. She really is wonderfully articulate and insightful. Thanks again!
Truly! I love finding other Christian perspectives that share our same values . . . ! So heart warming!
I loved that blog post, too. It certainly has circulated since that reference to it in General Conference!
I noticed a lot of the basics being repeated: faith during times of adversity, repentance and forgiveness, scripture study (especially the Book of Mormon) and prayer. There were at least a few talks on the divinity, mission and Atonement of Jesus Christ.
My favorite talk was Elder Anderson’s about bearing and nurturing children. I love how clearly he described the difference between the world’s view of families and children, and the Lord’s view. Very inspiring. There were many talks that “spoke to me.” President Uchtdorf’s from the Relief Society session, Elder Bednar’s about family history, Elder Ardern’s about wise use of time, President Eyring’s powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon, I could go on…
Thanks for doing this, Stephanie!
It was interesting that there were several talks that pointed out the difference between the world’s way and the Lord’s way. Oh how it’s becoming more and more obvious.
That is so very true. Isn’t it great how those worldly opinions just seem to melt away when we listen to messengers of truth? If only I could keep that vision every minute.
Without me telling them (WOO HOO), our children noticed that the two most referenced scriptures were: 2 Nephi 32:3 and 2 Timothy 4:12. Rivets attention, doesn’t it?!? 🙂
The biggest thing I heard over and over again was the worth of souls in the sight of God. It seemed like speaker after speaker was teaching about how much Heavenly Father loves us, which was a message I very much needed. I also heard a lot about the importance of the Book of Mormon and prioritizing those things that are most important.
Favorites? President Uctdorf about the worth of souls. I loved how he reminded us that we are not invisible to Heavenly Father and that how it is right now is not how it will always be. I loved Elder Aldern’s reminder to place more importance on spiritual things than technology. Also loved Elder Andersen’s talk on parenthood. There were so many talks that filled me spiritually.
Themes I noticed often: focus on what matters most; family is central; keep the commandments; pray, pray, pray; personal revelation; and especially, be bold in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionary work is going to be important, I think.
Two talks really stood out for me. First, Elder Ardern’s talk on Saturday about prioritizing our time–it was relevant, it was humorous, it was timely. And second, President Monson’s talk on Sunday morning. He has always been one of my favorite speakers because he can make you smile at the same time he makes some very compelling points (as another commenter mentioned). President Monson lives what he teaches.
I can’t remember who said what, but I really enjoyed the first talk on scripture study, a later message about the importance of studying ALL of the standard works, and noticed that separating ourselves from worldly values was mentioned in at least 2 talks.
I just found your blog through Jocelyn’s “We talk of Christ” blog, and I’m in.
My hubs and I got a lot more out of the Saturday sessions than Sundays, because today our children decided to be banshees. They were doing okay until Sister Dalton’s talk – we heard the touching introduction about fathers and daughters and immediately perked up because we’re due with our 4th girl any minute now (we have NO boys) … and all of our daughters decided to go off their rockers. We didn’t hear a word of Conference for the entire rest of the day. SIGH! We need to review Sister Dalton’s talk asap. Thought you might get a kick out of that.
I heard a lot about revelation – what it is, how to get it.
My favorite talk was Elder Ardern because I think texting is straight from the jaws of hell itself. HHHHHHATE it! And I got my own kick in the head from his talk – I’d been debating for quite awhile about canceling my Facebook account. After hearing that, I skimmed through my friends list, sent a couple of emails, and it has now been canceled.
And that’s why we love the Ensign. And GCBC. 🙂 In a fantasy world, we could hear every talk all the way through the first time around.
Yes! What a great reminder to keep focused on those things that matter most . . . it’s always a struggle to balance the new technology that truly does help us be productive when used correctly and receive the wonderful messages of General Conference (we were on a church historical sights tour at the time and were only able to listen to GC over the internet with cell phones until we arrived at a Visitors Center- which we ARE extremely grateful for!) I know that I for one am grateful for friends and collegues who post inspiring links and updates on Facebook! Otherwise I would have missed them.
What I noticed that was repetitive to me:
*read the Book of Mormon daily!
*How to receive personal revelation
*Service/Charity
*Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, Example, Name of our Church, Burden Carrier, Savior, Servant, etc.
I had too many favorite talks to name! I honestly loved that A. I stayed awake for the whole thing (!!) and B. Everything was awesome. Just awesome.
The few that stood out to me that I know I needed to hear:
Sister Dalton (Fathers raising their daughters)
Elder Andersen (we believe in families!)
Pres. Packer (Uncertain world)
Pres. Uchtdorf (We are everything to God)
Elder Ardern (being wary of electronic addiction)
Pres. Eyring (Fixed Determination)
Elder Hales (Atonement)
Pres. Monson (Morality in Society does not dictate God’s morality; how to receive personal revelation)
Elder Oaks (What THink Ye of Christ)
Elder Richardson (Teaching by the Spirit)
Elder Cook (Tragedies)
Yeah. And that’s just my immediate favorites. Can’t wait until the Ensign comes out! 🙂
Lol! I literally just posted on my blog that I was impressed with myself for staying awake. It was truly a wonderful conference.
I thought of you during Elder Cook’s talk. I loved all your updates between each session, especially your goals for each talk. Three cheers for action items.
The quote that is standing out to me right now was by Elder Carl B. Cook: “Much of what I worry about is not of eternal significance.” Highlighted the GCBC again on my blog–
I loved that quote, too, Laura. It was one of my answers.
I wrote that one down too, word for word. Maybe I’ll post it on my mirror… Definitely needed to hear that. 🙂
1. I heard a lot mentioned about covenants, and being a covenant keeping people.
2. I enjoyed so many of the talks, but a few that stood out are Elder Uchtdorf’s talk from the RS session, Elder Bednar, Ted Callister and Randall Bennett’s.
My goodness, there were so many wonderful talks. Some of my favorites were Elder Scott, Elder Anderson, Elder Ardern, Elder Richardson and Elder Bennett. I better stop there 🙂 !!
Some of the themes I noticed that were repeated? The importance of daily scripture study, the importance of daily and sincere prayer, learning to receive and act upon personal revelation and remembering how much the Lord loves us as individuals.
And one of my favorite quotes from this conference that just stirred my soul was from Elder Hales: “His angels are here and beyond the veil and round about us to bear us up.”
I heard it repeated again and again that we need to read the scriptures, memorize them, get them into our lives any way we can. I also heard that we need to pray and wait upon the Lord (Robert D. Hales). It was interesting to me that even apostles and prophets don’t always get immediate answers to prayers.
The most tears were shed during sister Dalton’s talk on father’s and daughters. As a mother of four daughters these concepts weigh heavily on me.
I love the idea off discussing a talk each week. Inspired!
I can usually see a theme in General Conference, but I don’t know if I wasn’t paying attention to a theme this year or if there just wasn’t a clear one to me. Either way, I stayed awake and attentive to all four sessions of conference this year which is really unusual for me, and especially this year since we spent most of Friday night and Saturday morning in the ER, and I feel today like I am going to pass out because of lack of sleep.
Anyway, I am pretty pleased with myself 🙂 I felt so many little personal prophetic epistles that I kind of felt overwhelmed. Today I sorted them into daily habits I want to develop, other habits I want to develop, goals (things I can accomplish by a certain date), and my “to be” list. That helped organize it in my head and now I am excited for all the goals I have to accomplish (before next Conference, hopefully).
Elder Scott’s talk motivated me to rememorize the seminary scripture mastery verses. My husband and I made a goal together last night to memorize them again and to pick a few other verses that mean something to us and memorize those as well.
I also really loved Elder Anderson’s talk (and not just because he quoted a blog post – but that was really cool 🙂 ) I love the quote from President Monson that there is no shame in a husband and wife having to scrimp and save.
Elder Arden’s talk hit me right between the eyes, because I think that I spend way too much time on the computer being “busy” but not productive. His talk reminded me of a quote from the new Daughters in My Kingdom book: “The average woman today, I believe, would do well to appraise her interests, evaluate the activities in which she is engaged, and then take steps to simplify her life, putting things of first importance first, placing emphasis where the rewards will be greatest and most enduring, and ridding herself of the less rewarding activities.” (Sister Belle S. Spafford – 9th RS general pres)
Sorry to be so long-winded. Conference was just SO amazing. I am excited for GCBC this conference!! So many great talks and I am excited to study them in more depth. I already can’t wait for my Conference issue of the Ensign!
I love the way you sorted your goals. That’s very clever.
1) Encouragement, agency, prayer, keeping covenants, strengthening youth, building the kingdom of God
2) Sister Dalton: teach your daughters; Elder Carl Cook: look up and follow the prophets; Elder Alonso: go to the rescue; Elder Arden: prioritize time (ponder)
It’s funny to me how different people hear different things. What stood out to me as mentioned at least twice through the sessions was the concept of things being worked on “Line upon line, precept upon precept.” Not sure who it was that said that the Holy Ghost speaks all truth but doesn’t give all the truth all at the same time (Paraphrasing here).
The two talks I loved best were Elder Anderson’s and Elder Arden’s. Such a fantastic conference.
1) The thing that I though was repeated most was read the Book of Mormon daily, and learn to recognize and act on the spirit.
2) I loved Elder Hales talk, about how the Lord answers prayer line upon line as we are ready for the answer, and submitting our will to the Fathers. I also loved Elder Bennett’s talk about the gift of choice and choosing our own consequences. It is something that I have been working on with my little 4 year old, and what he said really touched me and hit home.
I love general conference it is like an energy drink for my spirit! So excited to be back and a part of the book club again! Thanks Stephanie!
“energy drink for my spirit”. 🙂 Love that. Hopefully it will last a little longer though, huh?
Things that were repeated, for me, were personal revelation/prayer, repentance/forgiveness, time management, and getting through trials.
Elder Ardern and Elder Perry were two of my favorite speakers. Time management is something I definitely need! Because of these two talks, I’m trying really hard to only be on the Internet in order to bring myself, my family, and others closer to Christ.
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There were so many talks that I especially loved, but I appreciated President Packer’s talk so much. He was telling me how to get through this uncertain world, and how to have peace doing it. My kids are young, but I feel like if I can help to teach them what was in his talk, that we’ll be OK. =)
Wow, what a lot of insight. I hope everyone hangs around for the next six months of GCBC (including myself…I didn’t make it through all of the last one)!
Themes that stood out to me were:
1. Prayer – we need to do it more often, more specifically, becuase the Lord is just waiting to bless us and will not act against our agency, so we have to act and welcome him in. I also loved the thought that prayer is to bring our will in alignment with the Father’s, sometimes he’s got wonderful answers waiting but we just don’t take the time to ask and ponder and listen for his solution.
2. Families – both the importance of and ways to strengthen them.
3. The Book of Mormon and all scripture – how important it is to guide us, it is pertinant to our lives today.
My favorite talk hands down was Elder Neil L. Anderson’s on families and the true doctrine that the command to multiply and replenish the earth is still a commandment today. I loved hearing the clarity and sensitivity with which he addressed it, and the reminder to seek the Lord in our decisions in this area instead of just deciding ourselves, also the reminder not to judge others.
Two things to discuss this week:
1. President Eyring taught that “When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention.” What topics did you notice were repeated often, either throughout the various sessions or as a carry-over from the previous general conference?
There was a talk last conference about the reasons for trials. Also, Pres Uchtdorf’s comments to the RS last week were similar to his talk in Gen Conf…the immense love of Heavenly Father for us. And of course, repentance and being an example of our faith.
2. What was your favorite talk? What principles from that talk stood out to you?
Pres Packer’s talk was my favorite. I usually have a hard time following him when I listen to him (I have to read his talks to “get it” usually)…but his message to the youth was very clear…which was basically that Good will prevail over Evil. Period.
I am a newbie here, but I love General Conference and am so excited to have this forum to share our insights as we continue to study!
1. Repeats and what stood out to me: study (and for my family memorize) the scriptures so that they can have a greater impact in our lives, recognize and act upon the Spirit, and don’t live in fear; we live in an uncertain world, but if we follow what we have been taught, answers will come, testimonies will increase, and we will discover blessings before unseen.
2. Favorites: It is hard to choose just a few. I loved Elder Ardern’s talk on using our time wisely, Elder Anderson’s talk on the family (we just had our 8th child, and there have been a few raised eyebrows; but what a great reminder that children and families are precious in His sight. Also, I was very glad that he talked about not judging others about their choices – or sometimes things that are out of their control – in having a family), Sister Dalton’s talk contained such wonderful counsel for both fathers and mothers, and finally President Uchtdorf’s talk – he seems to be able to speak directly to my spirit every time!
I am looking forward to getting to know you sisters through this exercise!
My list of questions going into Conference was rather short this year, and to be honest, I didn’t expect one of my questions to be addressed specifically. I was just hoping for the Spirit to speak to my heart at some point over the weekend. Imagine my surprise when Elder Anderson stood up and gave an ENTIRE talk in response to my question. It was a sweet reminder of how mindful the Lord is of each of us. Elder Eyring’s talk addressed another one of my questions. His and so many other talks made me want to rededicate my scripture study efforts. Conference was such a feast. Thank you, Stephanie, for giving us a place to share our thoughts and reflect on our experiences.
The theme I caught was that the Book of Mormon contains plain and precious truths. Stick to it.
My favorite talk was Elder Anderson’s about having faith to have children. My husband and I are both very busy with graduate school and we are expecting our first child in January. We have a lot of unknowns about how everything is all going to work out, but this talk reminded me that (1) yes it is okay to scrimp and save and (2) we are following God’s plan. We just need to continue to have faith.
1. Book of Mormon/scriptures, having charity, families.
2. Russell M. Nelson’s talk on being a covenant people.
I haven’t had a chance to read/watch conference yet but I love that I have gained an overall picture of what to expect. One of my “101 things to do in 1001 days” is to “Participate in the General Conference Book club for one conference” and I didn’t quite make it through the last one but I love trying!
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