Category Archives: General Conference Book Club

General Conference Book Club Week 18: Elder Perry

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Today in Sunday School, we talked about Noah, and how people lacked the faith to act on prophetic advice that would prepare them for dangers that were coming, dangers that they could not see nor anticipate.  The teacher made an analogy about his high school football days when the coach would have them watch game film of their upcoming opponent to prepare them to compete against them.  I thought about the analogy for a while and raised my hand (I’m one of those really annoying can’t-keep-my-mouth-shut kind of Sunday School participants):  “The game film is actually much like the scriptures.  It shows us patterns from the past and gives us the examples of what works and what does not.  A living prophet, then, would be like if the coach watched a film of what WILL happen and explains to the team exactly what should be practiced and prepared in order to meet the opponent and all that will occur.”  And I mentioned this talk that I only vaguely remembered, but now I want to study.

The talk is “The Past Way of Facing the Future” by Elder L. Tom Perry, from the Sunday morning session of the October 2009 conference.  He said, “The lessons of the past . . . prepare us to face the challenges of the future.” Upon reviewing the talk, it wasn’t quite what I had remembered, but he relates some specific accounts from the lives of pioneers and other historical events, and then harvests important lessons from them that we should learn and remember.  And as living apostle, sustained as a seer, he must speak of principles pertinent to our future.

You can read the talk here,  listen to it here, or watch it here.  Visit here to learn more about General Conference Book Club.

Referring back to Noah, what things to you find in Elder Perry’s talk that would help us to build our own arks or be protected from the coming floods or calamities?

General Conference Book Club Week 17: President Uctdorf

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Take two.

(Apparently if I try to rattle off some GCBC post from Disney World on my husband’s Blackberry and come off as an illiterate hack, no one will read or comment on the talk for the week.  So now I’m back, and we’ll try again.)

The Saturday morning session of Conference was my favorite, and President Uctdorf’s talk, “The Love of God,” is one of the reasons why.  Look at the questions he answers as he speaks:

How Do We Become True Disciples of Jesus Christ?

Why Should We Love God?

Why Does Heavenly Father Love Us?

How Can We Increase Our Love of God?

How Can We Hear the Father’s Voice?

Why Is Love the Great Commandment?

I was fascinated with how all our actions, thoughts, motivations, and desires can and should be traced back to love.  Even the simple things we do that don’t seem to mean anything to anyone–even to ourselves–appear more glorious when viewed as manifestations of our love.

“Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship.”

It’s a great talk, definitely worth reading.  I’m excited to study it again and read your insights as well.

You can read the talk here.  You can also  watch it here or listen to it here.

If this is your first visit to our weekly book club, welcome!  (You’ll find details about GCBC here.)


General Conference Book Club Week 16: Elder Nelson

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I’ve been attending some ward conferences lately and listening to our Stake President’s message to the youth.  He challenges them to pray, really pray, two times a day.  He encourages them to get their rote prayers out of the way and then ask “What should I have done differently today?” and then review their day step-by-step with the Lord.  Then after repenting for mistakes they see they’ve made, ask “What should I do tomorrow?” and then listen.

This is a fascinating concept for me and one I’m getting up my courage to try.  So this week, I’ve chosen the talk “Ask, Seek, Knock” by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  He gave this talk during the Sunday morning session, where he proclaimed that “Every Latter-day Saint may merit personal revelation.”

“To access information from heaven, one must first have a firm faith and a deep desire.”

“For each of you to receive revelation unique to your own needs and responsibilities, certain guidelines prevail.”

“Patience and perseverance are part of our eternal progression.”

You can read the talk here.  You can also  watch it here or listen to it here.

What are some things that help you prepare for, ask for, receive, and recognize personal revelation?

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p.s.  Join us in the Winter Poetry contest.  Entries due by Tuesday night.

General Conference Book Club Week 15: Sister Dibb

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Sister Dibb is married to my dad’s cousin, so that makes us practically like sisters, and therefore, I think it’s totally fine that my siblings and I call President Monson “Uncle Tom,” don’t you think? (If I knew how to make really tiny font, it would say here: “Not that we’ve ever met him or anything.”)

Anyway, Sister Ann M. Dibb gave a great talk in the Sunday morning session of General Conference called “Hold On.”  It’s a fun and meaningful talk, plus Elder Holland referred to it in the talk we just studied last week.

You can read the talk here.  You can also  watch it here or listen to it here.

“Heavenly Father has not left us alone during our mortal probation. He has already given us all the “safety equipment” we will need to successfully return to Him.”

“In the scriptures there are very few stories of individuals who lived in blissful happiness and experienced no opposition. We learn and grow by overcoming challenges with faith, persistence, and personal righteousness.”

As you read this talk, what are your thoughts and impressions about “holding on”?

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We are already at week 15 (out of 25, I think)!  Can you believe we’re only about 10 weeks out from Spring Conference?  If this is your first visit to our weekly book club, welcome!  (You’ll find details about GCBC here.)

General Conference Book Club Week 14: Elder Holland

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I figure we should start off the new year with this rock-star talk from General Conference.  Do you remember back in the 80s when Elder Bruce R. McConkie gave that famous testimony of the living Savior just days before he died?  Well, this talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ranks right up there as an incredibly powerful testimony; you can’t watch it and not be moved.  The talk is called “Safety for the Soul,” wherein he boldly declares the truth of the Book of Mormon as the word of God.  The talk was given during the Sunday morning session of the October 2009 General Conference.

Just read it.  Or even better, watch it or listen to it.  I’ll let the conviction speak for itself.

(And just in case you randomly landed here by Googling something like “Is the Book of Mormon really true?,” the links in this post take you to a testimony by a living apostle answering the claims by some that the book is a fraud.  I add my own witness to his that yes, the Book of Mormon really is true.  I encourage you to listen to Elder Holland’s talk, and read the Book of Mormon for yourself.  I’m confident that God himself will reveal its truth to you.)

“I want it absolutely clear when I stand before the judgment bar of God that I declared to the world . . . that the Book of Mormon is true.”

“I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies.”

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Thanks to those of you that have faithfully read and even commented as part of our Book Club.  If some of you are just joining us as part of a New Year’s Resolution, welcome!  (You’ll find details about GCBC here.)  And a warm welcome back to other friends who are rejoining us.