Sorta-liveblogging general conference: Saturday morning session

So it’s time for general conference again, which means that it’s time for me to post my notes for general conference. As with every time i do this, the notes run in reverse chronological order, so the first speaker in this session (well, a thought from just before the session started, actually) is at the bottom of this post, and then the next speaker is above that, and then so on. I do this because blogs, contra centuries of writing practice, run chronologically bottom-up, so the next session will be above this one, so that’s the only way i can create a chronological record, so that after conference is over it’ll be possible to go through everything in one read from the bottom of this post up to the top of the last session, which will be the end of the last session.

Within each speaker, though, notes run top-down, because doing otherwise just confused me.

So now, let’s begin by scrolling down to the bottom of the post, and…

Neil L. Andersen, of the quorum of apostles

• We sustain the prophet as the Lord’s anointed, but we must be clear that we worship only God the Father.
• A mention that Russell M. Nelson has 10 children, 57(?) grandchildren, and 118 great-grandchildren. My kids’ response: He must be amazing at remembering names!
• Prophets are called to watch and warn and (thus) protect us.
• Following Jesus requires listening to those he sends.
• We live in a world of reason and debate and discovering sensible rationales and evidences for things, but the word and command of the Lord often comes without explanation. [Though i have to admit, my reaction is: Why not have both?]
• Prophets don’t stand between you and God, but rather stand beside you and points the way.
• As we follow the counsel of the prophet, our faith in Jesus will increase.

Lynn G. Robbins, of the presidency of the seventy

• Success is not the absence of failure, but is going from failure to failure with continual improvement.
• Nephi and Moses both had failures before they succeeded in their assigned tasks—but if they were on the Lord’s errand, why weren’t they blessed with immediate success? (Spoiler: There are many reasons.)
• God allows us repentance not accidentally, but as part of the plan—failings are built into it, and we get limitless attempts to better ourselves.
• We should go from failure to failure with enthusiasm—this is the gospel of repentance, and it is a lifetime process.
• This isn’t a free license to sin, of course—we need to seek forgiveness with “real intent”, which implies real effort.
• “Our success isn’t going from failure to failure, but growing from failure to failure, without any loss of enthusiasm.”

Gary E. Stevenson, of the quorum of apostles

• An overview on the process of that occurs upon the death of a president of the church—lots of detail.
• Describing (quoting someone else, didn’t catch who) a solemn assembly as when the church assembles in solemnity under the direction of the first presidency.
• Interesting story of someone who knew Russell M. Nelson as a doctor rather than as a religious leader, and praised his skill as a teacher of medicine who (unlike many doctors) treated his students with respect.

Larry Echo Hawk, of the quorums of seventy

• Told the story of his younger brother and sister-in-law being killed by a drunk driver, and the ultimate necessity of forgiveness for his family to heal.
• Yes, punishment is necessary for those who do wrong—but we are commanded to forgive all (just as Jesus forgives us), which allows us to receive forgiveness and peace.
• We as sinners must be willing to forgive if we wish to receive forgiveness.
• Remember also that an essential element of forgiveness is forgiving ourselves.

Brian K. Taylor, of the quorums of seventy

• [Dang, this guy looks really young for a general conference speaker!]
• His refrain: You are a child of God.
• We may feel like we’re not worthy of the love of God, but we are—and we are loved perfectly and completely.
• Earnestly seeking God will lead us to recognize that God sanctifies even our most difficult days (with a particular mention of this being available to mothers of young children who may feel overwhelmed).
• God “weeps with us in our sorrows”.

M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the quorum of apostles

• Starting with a discussion on sustaining a prophet and what it means to do so. (Sensibly enough, given the immediate context.)
• Interesting terminology: You don’t hear “prophet-president” all that much anymore; also, he called him the “presiding apostle”, which is clearly true, but not a part of the office one hears very often.
• Hurrah! for a mention that prophets aren’t perfect—and then a very nice pivot into the need to sustain each other in our own imperfections.
• Interesting discussion amongst my teen and tween children right now about his comment about the need to occasionally disconnect from things like social media and focus on more “eternal” for lack of a better word) things.
• We need to serve—not just in callings, but in the wider sphere, including service in the community and running for public office.
• Faith is incredibly powerful, and leads to salvation.

Henry B. Eyring, sustaining of the first presidency and apostles

• Solemn assembly time! It’s been what, a decade or something like that?
• Interesting—they’re sustaining the president and acting president of the quorum of apostles separately from the rest of the twelve.
• New apostles: Gerrit W. Gong and Ulisses Soares. We’ve got a Brazilian! (Let’s be honest, if we were a betting people, Gerrit W. Gong would have been leading the odds line. I don’t know that Ulisses Soares was at the top of most people’s radar, but that may simply be because he doesn’t use an initial for one of his names.)
• The general authority seventies and presiding bishopric are standing together. Interesting that they’re being grouped into a single quorum-like group for this.
• So adult women are their own group. Interesting—it’s not just a group of everyone not in a priesthood quorum. (Also, they were placed in order before the Aaronic priesthood quorums, which is also intriguing.)
• The young women get their own opportunity to stand, in parallel to the young men/Aaronic priesthood quorums.
• Interesting—this wasn’t a sustaining of all church officers and authorities (that will come later).

As everyone comes in…

• I’d just like to point out that the church officers and authorities chat (and even laugh!) with each other before the meeting. Why, then, do we have so many bishops and stake presidents who bear down so hard on the idea that we need to be absolutely silent and solemn upon entry into the chapel?