Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Sunday afternoon session

Sunday afternoon, the chance to relax a little bit—the conference is mostly done, and for those of us on the left coast and beyond there’s still a nice chunk of afternoon for hanging out.

I realized that if someone comes on this blog, this is the first post about this conference they’ll see, so I should give a full description of the way these are set up rather than the abbreviated intro i’m generally giving at this point in the process. So: My general conference posts are done in a manner that imitates liveblogging, more or less—the speakers are in given in a reverse chronological order, as if each one headed a separate blog post. Under each speaker, though, the comments i make are in chronological order, top-down (because the idea is that each speaker, not each comment, is a separate post). Therefore, if you want to read through this in chronological order, you scroll to the end and read upward from there—and if you want to read chronologically through the entire conference, you can go to the end of the Saturday morning session’s entry and read the whole ten hours of it, bottom up.

Thomas S. Monson (president of the high priesthood)

• General conference was good.
• Remember to reach out to those in need.
• Thanks offered for prayers from the membership.
• So he ends by invoking the blessings of the Lord on all of us…and it’s a wrap!

David A. Bednar (of the quorum of apostles)

• Answering the question: “Why are Latter-day Saints so eager to tell me about what they believe?”
• “We are not trying to sell you a product.”
• We are not trying to diminish others’ religious truths, but are inviting all to come and see what we have to offer.
• Oh. My. His story about his sons is hilarious. Seriously. Go look it up. (And what’s the over-under on how long it takes for it to be turned into a Mormon Message video?)
• When we are helped by something, it becomes our desire to use that to help others.
• Absolute truth exists, despite the world disdaining absolute truths.

Larry S. Kacher (of the quorums of seventy)

• (I have to admit: When they flashed his name up on screen, i had not expected that spelling.)
• He tells the story of his conversion to the church, and some of the challenges he faced.
• “I asked myself, why would i turn away from that which had brought me such great comfort?”
• Those who deny the gospel may receive mortal honors for a time, but they lose so much more.

Hugo E. Martinez (of the quorums of seventy), delivered in Spanish

• When we see a need (or when the Spirit directs) we should go and serve right away.
• He tells a story of having no power or water for two weeks after a hurricane, and the blessings they received from other people’s actions during that time. Having experienced similar aftereffects from a hurricane—yeah, it’s an amazing thing to recognize the work of God in the charitable actions of others.
• Those who help others in need are doing the work of God.
• “The Good Shepherd will gather all of his sheep, one by one, as they make good moral choices.”
• Doing temple work for the dead is another way to serve God’s children.
• A reminder that in the parable of the sheep and goats, those who are received of the Lord are those who had done good to other people.

Allan F. Packer (of the quorums of seventy)

• “Frequent small corrections are less painful and disruptive than large course corrections.”
• The church helps us qualify for exaltation, but cannot do it for us.
• Quoting his father (Boyd K. Packer)! (He looks like him, too.)
• Family history work should be a family activity more than a church activity.
• Sharing stories about family with your children is doing family history work.

Carlos A. Godoy (of the quorums of seventy), delivered in Portuguese

• Expressing gratitude for the ability to speak in general conference in his native language.
• A good question to ask yourselves: If we continue to live as we are living, will the promised blessings be fulfilled?
• We do not need to see an angel to obtain understanding, because we have such things as the scriptures, temples, inspired leaders—and above all, personal revelation.
• Moses and Lehi did not have easy journeys even though they made correct decisions.
• Each of us is a child of God, and God wants us to reach our potential.
  

Richard G. Scott (of the quorum of apostles)

• Sometimes we may feel more aware of the negatives in mortality than the positives—but despite all of the challenges we have, we must exercise our faith to invite the positive power of the atonement.
• “Choose to converse with your Father in Heaven often.”
• God is interested in even the most mundane parts of your life.
• If you want your children to recognize the influence of the Spirit, you must study the scriptures with them.
• (Lots of stuff about how we need to rearrange our priorities such that we spend more time with our families.)
• If you don’t have a temple recommend, get one. If you have a temple recommend, use it often.

M. Russell Ballard (of the quorum of apostles)

• We need to experience a continuing conversation throughout our lives.
• Nice add of “and sisters” to the Book of Mormon text!
• Those who go astray are usually those who forget that the combined voice of the quorums of the apostles and the first presidency is the voice of the Lord for our time. (Interesting bit, that last prepositional phrase.)
• Church leaders are not out of touch, and do not live in a bubble.
• Sometimes we are tempted to be distracted by the appendages to our faith rather than the core.
• Experiencing doubts is not inconsistent with discipleship, and members are always free to ask questions to gain greater understanding.