Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Sunday afternoon session

Closing session! Since, because of the completely unnatural way (when dealing with things that occur over time) blogs are structured, this is likely to be the first in this set of general conference posts you see here, so a full explanation of the way they’re structured is in order:

Since blogs have the bizarre feature of requiring a read from the bottom upward to get a chronological picture of everything from post to post, that means that the post below this one is the previous session, and below that one is the one before that, and so on. To better match this, the first speaker in this session is at the bottom of this post, the next speaker is above that one, and so on. This means that if you read top-down you’ll get everything backward, but if you scroll down to the bottom of the Saturday morning session post and read bottom-up from there through the entire conference, you’ll get everything in chronological order.

However, under each speaker my comments are ordered top-down. This adds a potential bit of confusion, but trying to make everything perfectly backward just gets too messy. Anyway—this means that you can now scroll to the bottom to get everything in chronological order, or you can just read like a normal person would read a normal text and get the conference backwards. Either way—doesn’t matter to me, really.

Closing thoughts

• As always, Jeffrey R. Holland was amazing, and he would have been at the very top of my list of favorite addresses (as he so often is) if it hadn’t been for Patrick Kearon (hurrah! for general authorities secure enough in their names to not use initials, by the way), with an honorable mention (maybe just barely behind Jeffrey R. Holland’s close to the conference) due to Kevin R. Duncan.
• Also, Russell M. Nelson’s address to the men of the church was directed to a narrower audience than the rest, but it deserves a shout-out, too, i feel.
• You know, after what i’d heard from my daughters about the women’s session, i’d expected a lot more about our duty to care for refugees, or at least generally about those in need. Ah, well—at least we got it near the end.
• And that’s it—see y’all in six months!

Jeffrey R. Holland, of the quorum of apostles

• [I really want to know how the opening of this address is going to appear in the written record—but the fact that someone as heavily-memed as Jeffrey R. Holland shared an internet meme…Verily, the internet hath eaten itself.]
• Even those such as Moses and Jesus have come from peak, even celestial experiences to have to deal with the ordinarinesses and problems of daily life—so we can be assured that we are not immune to such experiences, as well.
• When we hear that real improvement cannot happen, we should recognize that it’s simply the ranting of Lucifer, who actually cannot improve.
• “The Lord blesses those who want to improve”—after all, if blessings were limited to the perfect, there wouldn’t be many blessings received. [Basically, God grades on a curve—something, i suppose, we should all be grateful for.]
• We are blessed for our desire to do good as we strive to be good.
• And just as we receive blessings for our desires to do good, we must make sure that we do not deny those blessings to others.
• The first great commandment is to love God with all might, mind, and strength, but the first great truth is that God loves us with all might, mind, and strength.
• Our heavenly father wants to bless us.
• “All things work together for good to them that love God. So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow and forever.”
• God will bless us when we struggle—no, God will bless us especially when we struggle.

Paul V. Johnson, of the quorums of seventy

• Even faithful and righteous people view the separation of body and spirit after death as captivity—and thus part of the importance of the resurrection.
• Quoting his daughter, looking past her death to the resurrection: Jesus has already cured my cancer—just as he has cured your (anything).
• Death has no victory—the resurrection gives us the victory.

Kent F. Richards, of the quorums of seventy

• It is good to serve in the temple.
• Being an ordained temple worker isn’t intended to be a lifetime calling.
• Newly endowed young men and women can even serve as temple workers in the brief time between their endowment and leaving as full-time missions.
• We should all seek opportunities to serve in the temple, and receive the strength that comes from that.

Dallin H. Oaks, of the quorums of seventy

• Opposition between good and evil is central to the plan of salvation.
• Satan sought to destroy God’s plan, but in doing so actually facilitated it by providing the opposition that facilitates the ability to make choices.
• [I really feel like this, just as with many of Dallin H. Oaks’s general conference addresses, is designed more to be understood upon reading than to be followed as it’s heard.]
• In the government of God’s kingdom, questions are honored but opposition is not.
• Even with all the records we have, not everything can be resolved by study—we have to rely on spiritual inspiration for some things.

Patrick Kearon, of the quorums of seventy

• And now we finally get a continuation of the bits on refugees brought up at the women’s session!
• We Mormons don’t have to look far back in our history to see that we have been driven as refugees from place to place. We don’t even have to imagine if their story was our story—their story is our story.
• “The savior knows how it feels to be a refugee—he was one.”
• We are commanded to minister to the poor in their affliction, so that they might not suffer.
• Helping to relieve the suffering of those around us is partaking in the Lord’s errand.
• Remember that the people of Alma gave of their abundance to all who stood in need.
• We need to not let the plight of refugees become a commonplace and fade into the background.
• Do not let our assistance to others lead us to neglect family responsibilities—but let us join together to assist as we are able.
• Meeting refugee families and learning their stories in person rather than from a screen or news report will change you.
• ”We have found refuge. Let us come out from our safe places” to help those who need refuge themselves.
• [And Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s reaction after this speech was…intense.]

Gerritt W. Gong, of the presidency of seventy

• Remembering and forgetting are part of everyday life; remembering and forgetting are also part of our eternal journey.
• The Lord, however, remembers every covenant and promise ever made.
• Trust that the Lord will forget our sins when we repent.
• God knows all the deep, dark, secret things we don’t want anyone else to know—and loves us anyway.
• Sometimes the strength to forgive is not within us, but it can be found through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
• Jesus was lifted up on the cross “that he might draw each of us, by name, to him”.

Robert D. Hales, of the quorum of apostles

• Personal revelation is essential, but that is only one part of the Holy Ghost’s mission.
• The Holy Ghost testifies of Christ, brings us peace, gives us spiritual gifts, sanctifies us )and so on for a rather long list).
• The Holy Ghost isn’t given to us to control us—we shouldn’t trivialize [his word!] the Holy Ghost by seeking inspiration on every single issue.
• A reminder that we aren’t entitled to revelation where we don’t have stewardship.
• [He said that Joseph Smith received the first vision and told his parents, whereupon he was “released from his farm responsibilities”. My 14-year-old, watching with me, then asked if she can get released from her school responsibilities if she tells us she’s had a vision.]