Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Saturday afternoon session

Saturday afternoon, still with no attendance by Thomas S. Monson, or by Robert D. Hales, at least as far as i can see.

Anyway, as with the others entries in this series, the speakers are listed in reverse chronological order, so to get to the chronological beginning of this entry, you’ll need to now scroll down to the typographical end of it.

Closing thought

• Wow, we got out early this session!

Russell M. Nelson, of the quorum of apostles

• He began with a story of a tribal king he interacted with saying that the additional knowledge that the Book of Mormon brought to him was worth more than diamonds or rubies. Do we feel as strongly about the Book of Mormon?
• Three related questions: What would your life be like without the Book of Mormon? What would you not know? What would you not have?
• The Book of Mormon can help us in unanticipated ways.
• The Book of Mormon teaches us what it really means to be “born again”.
• Just saying “the Book of Mormon is true” isn’t enough—we need to know unequivocally that it is the word of God.

O. Vincent Haleck, of the quorums of seventy

• Following the gospel may require us to, like the widow Jesus observed donating her two mites, cast in our all and give away all that we have.
• This is not limited to what we physically have—it may be tradition, community, and such that we have to leave behind.
• If we are truly converted we will be willing to give all that we have—and the promise is that if we do so, we will not be left wanting.

Ronald A. Rasband, of the quorum of apostles

• [My daughters are having way too much fun with all the weird ways the name Rasband gets autocorrected.]
• The things that we call fortunate coincidences are actually the results of God’s plan unfolding in our lives.
• “No trial or calamity can derail God’s plan of happiness.”
• Jesus said he came to do the will of the Father; so, though, have we.
• Sometimes we take changes in our lives as missteps, but they should rather be thought of as first steps along a new path.
• When God puts old friends in the gospel in our paths, it may be that it’s a reminder for us that we are all brothers and sisters in the work of the Lord.
• Consider Saul: He was going the wrong way in his life, but God knew what he was capable of doing and becoming, and that that had nothing to do with what plans Saul had for doing as Saul.

Quentin L. Cook, of the quorum of apostles

• “It may be said that from an eternal perspective, our time on earth is as fleeting as a British summer.”
• Moses’s response to seeing the greatness of God’s creations was a declaration that humans are nothing; God’s rebuttal was that the purpose of God is to bring about the eternal life of us mortals.
• Anyone who would say that someone is better or worse because of something like race or ethnicity does not understand the gospel.
• God doesn’t want us to be discouraged during our stay in mortality.
• Sometimes humility is accepting calls to serve when we feel inadequate; sometimes humility is serving faithfully when we feel we are capable of something we perceive as more important.
• Remember that our sins are forgiven through the atonement; however, when we refuse to forgive others (or hold a grudge), we effectively reject the atonement.
• Humility isn’t a specific, identifiable achievement, but rather a continual process of growing.

Stephen W. Owen, general president of the young men organization

• All have sinned, but repentance allows us to overcome those sins.
• “All repentance is positive.”
• Repentance is not mere self-improvement.
• We often associate repentance with grievous sins, but repentance is for everyone, because everyone has sinned.
• Repentance is for everyone, no matter their depth of knowledge and experience or lack thereof.
• Continuing repentance is necessary to keep moving forward in the gospel.

Gary E. Stevenson, of the quorum of apostles

• “Have you ever seen a total solar eclipse?” he asks. “No!” shout my children, “Because we live in Alaska!”
• The moon is orders of magnitude smaller than the sun, but the moon can still block out the sun in an eclipse; similarly, small things can block out our view of heavenly things when we focus on them instead.
• We need to view our challenges and distractions through the lens of the gospel.
• Remember that even admirable pursuits can be drawn so close (i.e., taken to an extreme) that they distract us from our focus on gospel truth.
• [In his discussion of the good and ill of social media, he’s doing right the same message that Bonnie L. Oscarson fumbled slightly earlier in the day.]
• Comparing ourselves unfavorably to overly idealized images of others (as sometimes happens when we overfocus on social media, for example) isn’t limited to our day—Paul the Apostle wrote about people who compare themselves to others, and in so doing are not wise.
• Avoid pride; embrace meekness and humility.
• No matter how obscured the light of the gospel may be to us, it is still there.

Presentation of general officers and authorities: Henry B. Eyring, of the first presidency

• I feel like sometimes this is omitted in the semiannual (fall) conferences. Am i wrong in that?
• He tried to pronounce Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s name right, really he did!
• No loud objections? Maybe those voting no have finally realized that overt impoliteness really isn’t a way to gain traction for your cause.
• Just occurred to me: Interesting that area seventies are sustained in general conference, even though they don’t have general churchwide authority.