Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Saturday morning session

Welcome again to the twice-yearly revival of this blog for my notes on general conference. Even though liveblogging isn’t so much a thing anymore, i post these, as always, in “liveblog” style. If this is your first time on this site, then i should explain briefly (well, after asking how in the world you stumbled on this): The first speaker of this session is actually at the bottom of this post, the next speaker is above that, the next is above that, and so on to the last speaker (who appears at the top of the post). This means that once the whole conference weekend is past you would be able to scroll down to the bottom of this session’s post for the start of the conference, and then scroll up to read through the entire conference chronologically. However, under each speaker, the comments are done top-down chronologically (i.e., the opposite direction), because—and just trust me on this—the bottom-up thing really and truly doesn’t work within an individual speaker’s entry.

So, now is when you scroll to the bottom of the post to read each speaker in order, or you start reading normally to read the speakers in reverse order. Either way—i’m easy.

Neil L. Anderson of the quorum of apostles

• We are all a piece of the puzzle of the gathering.
• [Wow—the little 1997-looking CGI visual interlude was…odd.]
• The burden of the gathering that once rested primarily on the shoulders of the full-time missionaries now rests on us all.
• Guilt can be useful—it can get us started on change. But just as a battery can start a car but is insufficient to keep it going for long, so is guilt insufficient for the long journey ahead.
• Don’t view your missionary outreach to your friends as a pass-fail test, with your grade based on their response—if you do it, your grade is always an A+.
• Even in countries where governments have restricted the ability of not just missionaries but even members to preach the gospel, members of the church are able to reach those around them. [Not that we’re looking straight at you or anything, Russia.]
• Shout-out to folks sharing the gospel on social media!
• The gospel must, as Daniel prophesied, go to all nations people—and “the dream is certain and the interpretation sure”.

J. Devn Cornish of the quorums of seventy

• When we doubt whether we’re good enough, remember that the only opinion that ultimately counts is God’s—and as long as we continue to repent, we will make it.
• God is not a heartless referee looking for a reason to kick us out, but rather intends for us to make it.
• Quoting Gordon B. Hinckley: All you have to do is try, but you have to really try!
• We often don’t realize how much God wants us to succeed.
• If we sincerely repent, God will forgive us, no matter what the sin is or how often we’ve sinned.
• “What we cannot do is rationalize rather than repent.”
• We are in rebellion whenever we believe that we don’t need God, and don’t need to repent.

Juan A Uceda of the quorums of seventy

• [The story he’s opening with, about visiting a ledgeside site near Macchu Picchu? Dang, with my fear of edges—not so much heights, but certainly edges—this is totally freaking me out.]
• Even when we ignore divine direction, God can still reach out to us with mercy rather than justice.
• We need to pray with sincerity, and not do it at a superficial level.
• Ask yourself: Are you saying prayers, or are you actually praying?
Why do we sometimes not want to receive the love and mercy God is so willing to give?

Craig C. Christensen of the presidency of the seventy

• We don’t need to be timid about testifying about Joseph Smith’s mission as a prophet.
• Joseph Smith was imperfect, just as everyone is—but he was still a prophet of God.
• Joseph Smith had questions, but he didn’t let those questions paralyze his faith—he sought answers.
• We should consider the fruits of Joseph Smith being a prophet—all that we have in the church today, both in structure and doctrine, comes from him.

Carol F. McConkie of the relief society general presidency

• Having the faith to pray and acting on the answers we receive will lead us to have faith.
• As you pray, God will comfort you.
• All three members of the godhead are referenced in our prayers, and they all have roles to play.
• We need to not just receive, but understand the answers to our prayers.
• “Prayer is a gift from God.”
• Every moment of prayer can be time spent with the Father in the name of the Son by the power of the Spirit.

Robert D. Hales of the quorum of apostles

• The spiritual pain we suffer will diminish as we love Jesus more.
• Parents bear the responsibility to help their children become converted.
• Rather than complaining about the direction of the world, we should work to help our friends and family grow spiritually.
• Family home evening is an important time for this to happen.
• Work to grow together, and we will suffer less.
• We need more patience. When you raise your voice in anger, the Spirit leaves you.
• We cannot pray away another’s agency, but we can wait patiently while we pray that others will be touched by the Spirit.
• Shout-out to family caregivers! (And specifically to his wife.)
• When you are suffering, let Jesus be your caregiver, so that we can love more and suffer less.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the first presidency

• He used high-tech computerized equipment as a pilot, but never had to use a computer himself; upon being called as a general authority, though, he had to face the steep learning curve of working his own computer—and eventually he succeeded at it, and it became just another part of his life.
• [Did he just give a veiled shout-out to Diet Coke? I think he just gave a veiled shout-out to Diet Coke. Let us all raise our glasses of Mormon coffee Diet Dr Pepper in solidarity!]
• Just as we become used to miracles of modern technology and start taking them for granted (no matter how wonderful and amazing they seemed when we first learned about them), when we first grasp the gospel it’s amazing and wonderful, but we run the risk of simply taking it for granted.
• “We tread a path covered with diamonds, but we can scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles.”
• When asked about our church, sometimes we talk about similarities with other faiths, or practices like the word of wisdom, but it’s the plan of salvation and the truths relating to that that set us apart.
• We are truly divine beings, of the royal house of Elohim, the Most High God.
• We freely chose to accept the plan of God.
• The day of judgment will be a day of love, when broken hearts will be healed and all will be made right.
• Doesn’t it fill us with wonder and joy to ponder on what God has prepared for us?
• “What shall we give in return for so much?” (repurposing the motto on Belfast’s coat of arms. [Interesting: On Twitter (and other online forums i look in on), the answer of his that gets referred to has nearly always been that we should live according to the truths we’ve received. He also said to preach those truths to those who don’t have them yet. Much less quoting of the requirement to look outside ourselves, it seems…]
• [Interesting—multiple references to “heavenly parents” in this address.]