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.

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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?

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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.)