Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Sunday afternoon session

So by the time you read this, this general conference is over, and this is likely the first post you’re seeing at the top of them. Given that, here’s a quick explanation of the way they’re structured:

Blogs have the utterly bizarre feature of requiring a read from the bottom upward from post to post to get a chronological picture; 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.

(Oh—and as a postscript, my favorite address of the entire conference? Unlike some previous ones there wasn’t one or two in particular that stood out head and shoulders about the rest, but even so, i’d have to give the nod to Linda S. Reeves and Henry B. Eyring in the Sunday morning session, particularly the former.)

Dale G. Renlund of the quorum of apostles

• [What we learn from the story he opened with: Don’t light firecrackers in church. So now that we’ve got that settled…]
• Repentance has to involve a change, both in our action and in our hearts.
• The reach of the atonement is infinite, but it will never be imposed on any of us.
• Blaming others (even when justified!) for our wrong actions turns us into victims rather than independent agents.
• “Repentance is not only possible but joyful because of the Savior.”

K. Brett Nattress of the quorums of seventy

• If the people around you had only you as their source of gospel knowledge and understanding, how much would they actually know?
• Those (women, he particularly directed this at) who teach children gospel truths deserve to be called angels.
• Being a parent (in its widest sense) is not easy, but brings eternal joy.

Evan A. Schmutz of the quorums of seventy

• If we are suffering, we may still find godly purpose in it.
• Even in moments when we plead to God but our suffering is not removed, our pleas are still being heard.
• Learning from and feeling compassion for the sufferings of others can be a blessing.
• Don’t compare your struggles to those of others.
• Suffering itself does not give us anything of lasting value unless we work to make it so.

Ronald A. Rasband of the quorum of apostles

• When we wonder whether God is really there, we need to remember the eternal love God has for us, even (perhaps especially?) when circumstances make it hard to recall that.
• Once we have strengthened ourselves spiritually, we are to strengthen those around us—remembering that you have to continue strengthening yourselves to do so.
• “Generations are affected by the choices we make” (both for better and for worse).
• “Never forget, question, or ignore personal, sacred experiences.”
• Seek out things that will help you grow spiritually.

Carl B. Cook of the quorums of seventy

• Just as gears can have greater power when they are brought together in a “compound” system, so can each of us have greater power when we work together in our callings and assignments.
• Fulfilling callings can be difficult and requires faith, but as we serve we grow closer to God.
• “Accepting and fulfilling a calling is an act of faith.”
• No calling is unimportant, and we are entitled to the assistance of God as we serve.
• “Whatever our age or circumstance, let service be our watchry.”

Brian K. Ashton of the Sunday school general presidency

• The “doctrine of Christ” is having faith, repenting, being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.
• “Repentance is not a backup plan.” Rather, it is what we are to do every day as we become more like the Savior.
• The ordinance of the sacrament is a renewal of all of our covenants.

David A. Bednar of the quorum of apostles

• At a couple points where (in the King James Version of the Bible) Jesus tells of those to whom he will say things like “I never knew you”, the Joseph Smith Version reads something like “You never knew me”.
• We need to know the Lord by exercising faith in him, following him, serving him, and believing in him.
• Hearing the doctrine of Christ is a prerequisite for faith in him, which itself leads to following him.
• Sustained, steady progress along the covenant pathway is the course of life that is pleasing to God.
• When we acknowledge our total dependence on the Lord, our capacities are enlarged.
• “We often testify of what we know to be true, but perhaps the more relevant question for each of us is whether we believe what we know.”
• On the day that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, he will know our names.