Monthly Archives: October 2010

Strictly business

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I have been extra blog-busy this week, and I’m not sure why that is, but I plan to settle back down into my normal routine soon.  (The one where I actually spend a little bit more time in real life putting away laundry and loading the dishwasher and stuff.)  Anyway, there were just a few announcement-like things I wanted to communicate.

  1. For those of  you who participated in the general conference meme and want to take the challenge to write up your “fake conference talk” based on question #10, the deadline will be the end of October.  If you can do it sooner, great.  I’ll start posting them as I get them (Give me some time for editing and spacing them out a little).  Just write between 500-1,000 words and remember to include some quotes from conference or scriptures.  You can email your talks to me at dd.stephanie@gmail.com or send me any questions you might have in the meantime.
  2. The transcripts for the General Conference talks are now all posted online.  Yay!  They also have this awesome tool available called “Study Notebook,” where you can sign in and take notes on the talks– you can highlight them, write notes in the margins, etc., and save it all.  Very, very cool.  And just in case I didn’t make this clear enough before, I would love to have ANY of you join in on the General Conference Book Club (see here).  Invite your friends, neighbors, enemies (the nice ones), whomever.  We’ll start with our first talk this coming week.
  3. Speaking of conference, I had a 2-line moment of glory in this article at lds.org.  Scroll all the way to the bottom.  They totally saved the best for last, don’t you think?
  4. I feel much better today.  I bore my soul to Matt at lunch today.  He said nice things like “Don’t be a mental case.  I need you to be the sane one.”  He really did say that, but he said nice things too.  He’s right, you know.   We moms need to pull it together and step forward, not just because people need us, but because we feel so much better when we act with confidence.  He wants me to do P90x with him.  (It’s some kind of exercise program that makes you wish you’d never been born.)  Start saving money now to attend my funeral that I predict will occur in less than 90 days.  And for the record, I would like you to bring chocolate to my funeral in lieu of flowers.
  5. If you are a mom of boys and you’re trying to think of a way to be the coolest mom on the block without having to do much, I have a tip.  You should invite a bunch of neighborhood kids over to your house next Friday for a “How to Train Your Dragon” DVD release party.  Seriously, throw in some pizza and a couple snacks and suddenly your sons think you walk on water or something.  If you really want to try it, let me know and I’ll email you the invitations I already made.  Obviously you have to change the address to your own house because I’m not that cool.

And just a little something to inspire you:

Young people, do not seek happiness in the glittering but shallow things of the world. We cannot achieve lasting happiness by pursuing the wrong things. . . . Happiness and joy come from what a person is, not from what he or she possesses or appears to be. -Elder Dallin H. Oaks.

Is it just me, or do you think he was probably talking about those jeans I saw at parent-teacher conference? 🙂

Have a great weekend.

Reasons why I might have had a self-esteem attack yesterday

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Sometimes I blog for fun.  Sometimes for posterity.  Sometimes for testimony building and expression.  Today I’m blogging for therapy.

1.  I like going to Zumba class because I love Latin music, and even though I’m really uncoordinated, I know it’s good exercise.  However, I HATE the stupid huge mirrors on the walls.  Are they really necessary?  Really?  That’s all I want to say about that.

2.  The last six months of my life have been a little bit stressful– job hunting, huge decisions, house-selling, house hunting, 3 cross-country road trips, new schools, new everything.  Somehow the whole process helped me put on a fair amount of pounds, and I’ve been acutely aware of that for the last few weeks.  Now, normally I don’t pay much attention to vacuous things like weight, but when your pants get tighter and tighter and you keep seeing those blasted mirrors in Zumba class, well, you just don’t feel as Pollyanna about it as maybe you should.  It is under this current mindset that I received an invitation to an event this weekend where my ex-boyfriend will be present because he’s in town for a book signing.  Gah.  For those of you who have read my love story before, this is THE ex-boyfriend.  I really wish they made over-the-counter Xanax.

3.  I went to Parent-Teacher Conference last night at Clark’s school.  As I pulled into the parking lot and was about to turn into the space, I was cut off by a zippy little car coming the wrong direction.  She slipped right into the parking spot, jumped out, and bounced her way into the school.  She was a skinny, young thing with a bedazzled cap atop her two-toned hair, faux-tattoo shirt and glitter-butt jeans.  Inside the gym, there were several young moms* who were obviously having a contest amongst themselves, trying to look like their favorite Hollywood harlot starlet.  I might have had un-Christian thoughts.

(*not all of them, of course.  Some looked like normal human beings and were probably nice and all.)

4.  In the little packet Clark’s teacher showed me, he had written a sentence that said, “One important thing about me is that I have a family.”  Now, that is kind of sweet and all, but check out the picture he drew.  His teacher read the sentence out loud to me, and I couldn’t keep myself from adding “… a fat, naked family.”  She laughed out loud.  Refer back to numbers 1, 2, and 3, and you may understand how I felt about this.

5.  Finally, I did that video blog post yesterday, after which a long time passed before I received any comments.  Normally, I would shrug that off and not worry about it, but after the kind of day I was having, I was convinced I must have looked like a total buffoon and I should probably stick to faceless blog posts.

I’m really not as pathetic as this all sounds.  Natalie made up a song in the car that went something like this:  “I love everything.  I love my fish.  I love that I exist.”  It made me smile.  I talked to my good friend Shantel on the phone and she said helpful things.  And I tried to dedicate a lot of brain power to thinking of things that I knew would make me feel better, like recognizing that those discouraging thoughts do not come from Heavenly Father.  Melanie J said really nice things about me on her blog, so she was kind of like a little angel I needed.  I thought of this post by Wonder Woman.  And I thought about what President Uctdorf said in conference about being kinder to ourselves.  Then I found this quote:

We see our own faults, we speak—or at least think—critically of ourselves, and before long that is how we see everyone and everything. No sunshine, no roses, no promise of hope or happiness. Before long we and everybody around us are miserable. . . .

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God. …

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you. …

“And be ye kind one to another [yourself included], tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”9 ~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

And (deep breath) I’m fine.  But since I don’t believe in plastic surgery, I might not make it to that little event with you-know-who this weekend.  Just sayin’.

It’s (like) an Awards Show!

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It’s time to announce the winner of the trivia contest, and the 5,000th commenter.  Watch this exciting show for the dramatic reveal (and a special challenge for any of you who participated in the meme):    Sorry the video is in two pieces;  I had a little technical difficulty.

Here are the links if you can’t see the videos on my blog:  part 1 and part 2

Congratulations to the winners!! Send me an email with your address and I will mail your prizes later this week.  🙂

Here are the answers to the trivia questions: (If you think I got something wrong, please just be forgiving.  The questions were based on my copious notes, and there were about 10 other people who got all the same answers, so I feel like it’s pretty accurate.)

1.  Name two of the new temples that were announced.  Hartford, Connecticut; Indianapolis, Indiana; Tijuana, Mexico; Urdaneta, Philippines; and Lisbon, Portugal

2.  What did President Monson ask young couples to begin preparing for now?  missions as senior couples

3.  Two different speakers based their talk on the same previous talk about Following the Prophet.  Who gave it originally?  Ezra Taft Benson

4. Elder McConkie said that “what matters most in learning is the attitude of  ..(whom). “? the teacher

5.  According to President Uctdorf, in family relationships, love is spelled ……T-I-M-E ?

6.  What happened to Elder Hales as a young boy when his dad asked him to varnish the floor?  he painted himself into a corner

7.   President Brigham Young once said that moving to (where?) was “out of the frying pan into the fire, and out of the fire onto the floor.”  Utah , Salt Lake Valley

8.  One young missionary offered to marry Elder Gong’s wife after she did what?  baked him bread

9.  President Packer told parents to “Wake up and understand what’s going on!”  What plague was he referring to?  pornography

10.  What did the children in one elementary school decide to vote on during show and tell?  (from President Packer’s talk)  the gender of the kitty

11.  President Monson told the story of a family who lost all their crops due to rain, but were still grateful.  What did they eat for their Thanksgiving dinner? jackrabbit and turnips (marked it right if you got at least one of these)

12.  Elder Bednar told a story about Joseph Smith speaking to the President of the United States.  When he inquired about the difference between our religion and others, what was one of the points Joseph answered him?  mode of baptism, or gift of the Holy Ghost

13.  Elder Malm spoke about a hollow tree he saw lining a street in Sweden.  What did he see when he looked inside the hole?  waste/trash

14.  Elder Allred told his wife’s story about working on a farm.  What happened that caused her to exclaim, “You stupid cow!!”?  the cow ate the wheat outside of the fence so it bloated (and then died)

15.  Elder Ballard compared Satan’s tricks and counterfeits to what outdoor sport?  fly fishing

Matching— topic to speaker:
16.  The consecrated life   D.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson
17.  Choose faith      C.  Bishop Richard C. Edgely
18.  Character and integrity  A. Elder Richard G. Scott
19.  Courageous parenting   B. Elder Larry Lawrence
20.  Trust in God  E.  President Henry B. Eyring

TIEBREAKER:  Which speaker lost his voice in the middle of his talk?  President Uchtdorf (did anyone notice that they edited that part out on the video archive?)

General Conference Meme and Trivia Contest

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Who knew General Conference could be so much fun?

First, the new round of General Conference Book Club started already.  Go here if you want to participate this time.

Second, the meme.  Make a post on your blog with your answers to the questions below.  Then paste the link to your post in the comments here so we can all go read about your General Conference Highlights.  (If I were a real blogger, I’d know how to do one of those blog carnival- Mr. Linky things, but alas, I don’t.  Sorry.)

Here are my own answers.  (If you want a cleaner cut-and-paste of the questions, you can get them here.)

General Conference Highlights, October 2010:

1.  Who were your three favorite speakers?

Elder Holland (but my kids were still getting settled into Conference mode, so I need to go back and watch it again), President Uctdorf, and Elder Lawrence

2.  Favorite talk?

Elder Bednar’s talk about daily striving for the Holy Ghost, mostly because it had some specific answers I was seeking.

3.  Favorite hymn sung during Conference?

I have two.  One was “Home is where the Heart Is” sung by the family choir, and the other was “Lead, Kindly Light.”  But most of the music was just beautiful.  I especially loved hearing Clark sing along to “I am a Child of God” at the top of his lungs from our couch.

4.  Who wore the best tie?

I’d have to give the fashion props to Bishop Richard C. Edgely for his PURPLE striped tie.  Nice.

5.  Do you think conference had a “theme”?

Well, yes and no.  I felt like the Saturday morning session theme could have been “Simple Christian Discipleship,” and Saturday afternoon’s was more like “Exercise faith despite Satan’s efforts to destroy agency.”  On Sunday, the topics were more varied, so I didn’t see an obvious theme among them.  All great, though.

6.  Share a few of your favorite quotes (paraphrasing is fine).

I got a little carried away here.  Don’t feel like you need to do this many.

“Parents do not need to be perfect, just honest and sincere. . . . The world will teach our children if we do not.”  Sister Wixom

“The Lord will not repeat to us individually what he has already revealed to us collectively.”  Elder McConkie

“True success comes in consecrating our time and choices to God’s purposes.”  Elder Christofferson

“We are responsible for our own faith or lack of it. . . . When you don’t understand something, bridge the gap with your faith and move on.”  Bishop Edgely

“When we always remember Him, He can stand with us at all times, in all things, and in all places.” Elder Gong

“The road of discipleship is not for the spiritually faint of heart.”  Elder Andersen

“We become what we want to be by being what we want to become.” Elder Scott

“Our agency is more powerful than the adversary and his will.”  President Packer

“A prayerful life is the key to developing gratitude.”  President Monson

“Tell the brethren if they will follow the Spirit of the Lord, they will go right.”  Elder Bednar, quoting Joseph Smith

“There are no perfect parents, but there are principles of truth we can rely on.”  Elder Lawrence

7.  Something that made you smile during conference.

Elder Holland talking about women who spend a week at girls camp without mascara, plus his referring to quilts, jello and funeral potatoes.  And President Monson taking credit for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s great music.

8.  Any evidence that your children paid attention?

I loved watching my boys take notes during President Monson’s talk, and then reading what they wrote.  I could see they were really paying attention.  Natalie did much better this time around and got excited each time she saw the prophet.  At one point, when Elder Lawrence made the analogy of saving your daughter from on oncoming train on the tracks, Clark turned to me and said, “You’d do that for Natalie, right?”  I nodded yes, and he said, “Definitely!”

9.  If you had to give a talk in General Conference (don’t faint, this is hypothetical), what do you think you’d speak about?

This question is a lot harder to answer than I thought it would be, but if I woke up tomorrow and found out I had to go give a talk right then, I think it would be about our small and simple acts as symbols of the Savior and his mission, probably with an emphasis on motherhood.

10.  What are some of your post-conference goals?

Oh, so many.  Here are a few:  Make my use of time reflect what I value most.  Be more Christ-like in my marriage.  Don’t just see what is lacking, but be grateful for what I have.  Be more prayerful.  Be more stripling– obedient with exactness, strict to remember from day to day.  Make home-for-dinner a priority.

___________________________________________

Third, our General Conference trivia contest.  Again, I wish I had blog skills and could create some cool form so you could submit your answers and no one else could see them, but I’m not that high-tech.  So send me your answers in an email to dd.stephanie@gmail.com.  (Make sure you tell me your name.) The winner will get President Monson’s recently-released biography:

1.  Name two of the new temples that were announced.

2.  What did President Monson ask young couples to begin preparing for now?

3.  Two different speakers based their talk on the same previous talk about Following the Prophet.  Who gave it originally?

4. Elder McConkie said that “what matters most in learning is the attitude of  (whom) “?

5.  According to President Uctdorf, in family relationships, love is spelled … (how?)…?

6.  What happened to Elder Hales as a young boy when his dad asked him to varnish the floor?

7.   President Brigham Young once said that moving to (where?) was “out of the frying pan into the fire, and out of the fire onto the floor.”

8.  One young missionary offered to marry Elder Gong’s wife after she did what?

9.  President Packer told parents to “Wake up and understand what’s going on!”  What plague was he referring to?

10.  What did the children in one elementary school decide to vote on during show and tell?  (from President Packer’s talk)

11.  President Monson told the story of a family who lost all their crops due to rain, but were still grateful.  What did they eat for their Thanksgiving dinner?

12.  Elder Bednar told a story about Joseph Smith speaking to the President of the United States.  When he inquired about the difference between our religion and others, what was one of the points Joseph answered him?

13.  Elder Malm spoke about a hollow tree he saw lining a street in Sweden.  What did he see when he looked inside the hole?

14.  Elder Allred told his wife’s story about working on a farm.  What happened that caused her to exclaim, “You stupid cow!!”?

15.  Elder Ballard compared Satan’s tricks and counterfeits to what outdoor sport?

Matching— topic to speaker:

16.  The consecrated life              A. Elder Richard G. Scott

17.  Choose faith                            B. Elder Larry Lawrence

18.  Character and integrity         C.  Bishop Richard C. Edgely

19.  Courageous parenting           D.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson

20.  Trust in God                           E.  President Henry B. Eyring

TIEBREAKER:  Which speaker lost his voice in the middle of his talk?

___________________________________________

Yay.  Good luck!  Remember, post your meme link in the comments.  Send your trivia answers to my email.  I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday.  (If there’s a tie for number of correct answers, I’ll do a drawing among the winners.)

General Conference Book Club Week 1: Your Favorites

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Wasn’t it fantastic?
Don’t you feel like you want to remember everything you learned and felt?

Join us this time around in our General Conference Book Club. We will study one talk each week until the next Conference in April. We can discuss them in the comments, share our insights, and express our testimonies. It’s a way to encourage and uplift one another, and a pacemaker for your personal gospel study. Click here for more information on how GCBC works.

Today, at the close of General Conference, President Monson gave us this challenge:

“Take the time to read the conference talks. . . . They are deserving of our careful study.”

Tune in tomorrow for our General Conference trivia contest and a meme post you can cut and paste onto your own blog to discuss your personal Conference favorites. (More details here.)

So for week one, as we wait for all the talk texts to be posted, please share in the comments below some of the highlights for you as you watched General Conference this weekend— messages, impressions, testimony, favorites, etc.  What things stand out most in your mind and heart?