General Conference Meme and Blog-Share

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Does anyone else feel like the last amen at conference is like saying goodbye to a dear friend?  Sigh.  So to help us through our withdrawal, let’s reflect on what conference meant to us.

I’m sorry it took me a while to get this up today, but here are eleven questions that you can answer on your own blog.  Then come back here and post the link for us.  (Please share the link that goes directly to the meme post, not just your blog.) I’m trying out that fancy linky thing at the bottom of this post, but if it doesn’t work, then linking up in the comments works just fine too.  I will come and visit every single one.  I’m excited to hear what you learned.  Thanks to Lesa for helping me both write and host the meme.

The questions below have my own answers, so if you want a cleaner version to cut-and-paste on your blog, you can get it here.

General Conference Highlights, October 2011

1.  Who were your three favorite speakers?

I think I had 4 (or more):  Sister Dalton, Elder Ardern, Elder Andersen, and Elder Carl Cook

2.  Which talk spoke to you the most?

Even though it was for fathers, I loved Sister Dalton’s talk.  It made me grateful for my father and my husband, and taught me a lot about being a better mother too.

3.  What was your favorite Hymn and why did it move you?

When the choir sang “Consider the lilies” I really felt the message.  It seemed a perfect fit with Pres. Uctdorf’s conference and RS talks.

4.  Which speaker was the best dressed?  (Come on, we can have a little fun.)

President Uctdorf had a kickin’ purple striped tie on Saturday morning.

5.  Were there any topics that you felt like were repeated often?  Any conference “themes”?

Were there like 10 talks about reading scriptures?  Because it sure felt like it to me.  Such a great reminder I needed.

6.  Share a few of your favorite quotes from any of the talks (paraphrasing is fine).

Loved Elder Andersen’s reaffirmation of the importance of the family.

Loved Pres. Monson’s declaration that we are unapologetically different from the morals of the world.

Also really liked when Pres. Eyring quoted Marion G. Romney (I think) about true conversion means that your desire to do anything contrary to the gospel is dead.

7.  Name something(s) that made you smile or laugh during conference.

President Monson’s cute faces and humor.  The 29-cent chicken story.  Pres. Eyring remembering what happened to Abinadi when he testified of Christ against his audience’s will.

8.  Was there any evidence that your children paid attention?

Oh gosh, they did so great.  Really.  Tonight my 4-year-old Natalie said to me in the kitchen while we were setting the table, “I’m going to miss General Conference.”  Me too, Natalie, me too.

9.  What doctrine did you learn as you listened to the choir(s) sing?

I felt the simple truth and reminder of my divinity as I heard “I am a child of God,” plus what I already said about “Consider the lilies.”

10.  Did the music enhance your General Conference experience? How?

Yes, of course.  I love the parts where me and the kids get to sing along.

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

Oh heavens, so many.  Foremost, I will adapt a no-excuses policy when it comes to reading scriptures.  I want to pray more fervently and sincerely.  I want to teach my children about family history.  I want to be more careful and more purposeful in all my online time.  So many things I want to work on, not out of guilt, but out of true desire to serve the Lord and receive his blessings.

Also, week 1 of General Conference Book Club is up and running too, so don’t miss it.

Okay, let’s try this.  Link up:

Click here to enter your link and/or view all the participants.

[Update: This fancy linky thing seems to be having some technical difficulties, so if it’s not working for you, just leave your link in the comments below.  We’ll find it. 🙂 ]

General Conference Book Club Week 1: Repetition and Favorites

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genconfbutton1Welcome 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.

General Conference Book Club: An Open Invitation

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[GO HERE FOR LATEST UPDATE ABOUT GENERAL CONFERENCE BOOK CLUB]

This may be old news to some of my regular readers, but come conference time, it’s probably no surprise that there’s a lot of search-engine contact and link-sharing that leads to temporarily increased traffic here on Diapers and Divinity.  For that reason, I want to take the opportunity to invite you, long-time reader or new, to participate in our General Conference Book Club.

This Sunday, after conference, we’ll begin Week 1 of a new round.  Here’s how it works:

The goal is to read one General Conference talk a week and discuss it together as an on-line “book club.”

(If you’re not familiar with General Conference or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, go here and here and here for more information.)

A new talk will be posted each Sunday.

You don’t have to do anything to “join” the club– You can just visit the Sunday post at any time during the week and share thoughts, findings, favorite quotes, applications, even questions from the talk of the week. Personally, I think it would be a good idea to subscribe to comments from the post so that we can read each other’s insights and have a “real book club” conversation.  (One way to do this is to click the little box under the comment form that says “Notify me of follow-up comments via email.”)   Or of course, you can just check back often to see Continue reading →

Find-A-Friend Friday: Meet Mary

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It has been a really busy week on this blog. I think I’ve blogged more than I had in the previous month, total. Since posts are going up so quickly, I don’t want you to miss anything, so head back to the homepage and scroll a bit so you can catch all of the General Conference festivities, including last night’s announcement about trivia and photo contests. Okay, back to the business at hand.

I really didn’t know very much at all about Mary until I read her answers to my “interview” questions.  By the time I finished, I decided I wish I lived next door to Mary.  I love people who can give great advice and make me think more deeply.  I’m excited for you to get to know her, too.  Meet Mary:

Hello! Iʼm Mary Jarman, and I live in Sandy, Utah. Stephanie recently posted about living in
Utah, and her honesty made my day. I replied that I was a transplant to Utah, and said in my life there are several things I said I would never do. Living in Utah made that list, as did and never driving a Suburban. God has a sense of humor, and Iʼve learned to never say never because I do live in Utah (which has grown to feel like home) and even though I still donʼt drive a Suburban, our 5 children (3 teen-sized) more than fill up our Durango, so itʼs probably time for an upgrade. It certainly would make carpooling and road trips a lot easier!

I grew up on a farm in Juniper, Idaho, and moved away when I was 18 years old for
college. I attended BYU Idaho (back when it was Ricks College) and earned an Associateʼs
Degree. After a stint at Boise State University, I left on a mission to the Marshall Islands
(Micronesia Guam Mission, which has also changed names and boundaries…are there hints of my age in all of these change?). I attended BYU (Provo) after my mission. I donʼt want to hurt any feelings, but BYU was my last choice. It took God knocking me over the head to get me there, and in my ultimate act of rebellion, I actually wore my husbandʼs University of Utah sweatshirt to classes on the last day. Ten years later, after my youngest children were in school, I redeemed myself by graduating from the University of Utah with a masterʼs degree in Continue reading →

General Conference Contests

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In addition to all the warm fuzzies and innumerable blessings that you’ll receive for watching General Conference, here are a couple other incentives.  Lesa from Notes About Music and I are hosting a general conference trivia contest.

GENERAL CONFERENCE TRIVIA CONTEST

We will post the questions on Monday morning and see who was really paying attention.  You’ll type up your answers and email them to me at dd.stephanie@gmail.com.  All the high-scorers will be placed in a drawing to win one of these two prizes (So, two winners).:

This 8×10 temple print by Brighter Side Art

and a Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD

(I don’t know if it will actually be this very CD, but definitely a MoTab CD.  This prize will be donated by the generous Lesa.)

Also, one more contest:

GENERAL CONFERENCE PHOTO CONTEST Continue reading →