Ten Things of Thankful: General Conference Edition

 

Drexel the yellow lab intently watching Russell M. Nelson on the TV during General Conference. John's and my feet are visible in the photo, as we are sitting in reclining seats. 

Last weekend was General Conference, which was a welcome break from everything stressful going on in the world. The messages were timely and both calmed my spirit and inspired me to do better. Before I share some of the things I heard, though, I have to first share Drexel's good news. 

When General Conference started, I snapped the above photo of Drexel intently watching the proceedings, and sent it out in a quick tweet. A few days after conference ended, I was scrolling through Facebook, and saw a link to this ldsliving.com article. Imagine my surprise when I saw my tweet featured! Good boy, Drexel! 

When my friend, who some of you may know as Ivy or Zoe, saw that photo she made some improvements to it. I'm thankful for her friendship.

Same photo as above, with a speech bubble above my feet that says, "What was that last thing he said?" and a thought bubble above Drexel's head that says, "Do I have to explain everything to you? I'm trying to listen!"

If you would like to read or watch any of the conference talks, you can find them at churchofjesuschrist.org. Here are 10 snippets that stood out to me, and that I am thankful for this week:

1. Christianity is comforting, but it is often not comfortable. --Jeffrey R. Holland

2. As I pray for the Lord to open my eyes to see things I might not normally see, I often ask myself two questions and pay attention to the impressions that come: “What am I doing that I should stop doing?” and “What am I not doing that I should start doing?”--Michelle D. Craig

3. Unity and diversity are not opposites. We can achieve greater unity as we foster an atmosphere of inclusion and respect for diversity.--Quentin L. Cook

4. Anger is the way to division and enmity. We move toward loving our adversaries when we avoid anger and hostility toward those with whom we disagree. It also helps if we are even willing to learn from them.--Dallin H. Oaks

5. The Savior’s mission has always and forever been to serve His Father by saving His children. And the surest way to find joy in this life is to join Christ in helping others.--Steven J. Lund

6. What is needed during times of crisis is calm and clear-headed trust. . . .Focus on the things you can do and not on the things you cannot do.--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

7. No matter how you pray or to whom you pray, please exercise your faith—whatever your faith may be—and pray for your country and for your national leaders. . . .the best way to help the current world situation is for all people to rely more fully upon God and to turn their hearts to Him through sincere prayer. Humbling ourselves and seeking heaven’s inspiration to endure or conquer what is before us will be our safest and surest way to move confidently forward through these troubling times.--M. Russell Ballard

8. In times of turmoil our faith can feel stretched to the limits of our endurance and understanding. Waves of fear can distract us, causing us to forget God’s goodness, thus leaving our perspective short-sighted and out of focus. Yet it is in these rough stretches of our journey that our faith can be not only tried but fortified.--Lisa L. Harkness

9. Some of our fellow Christians are, at times, uncertain about our beliefs and motives. Let us genuinely rejoice with them in our shared faith in Jesus Christ and in the New Testament scriptures we all love. In the days ahead, those who believe in Jesus Christ will need the friendship and support of one another.--Neil L. Andersen

10. With the help of two Hebrew scholars, I learned that one of the Hebraic meanings of the word Israel is “let God prevail.” Thus the very name of Israel refers to a person who is willing to let God prevail in his or her life. . . .We can choose to be of Israel, or not. We can choose to let God prevail in our lives, or not. We can choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our lives, or not.--Russell M. Nelson

I'm thankful for those lessons, and others, that were taught at General Conference, and, as always, I'm thankful for John.  How do you find peace in these trying times? What are you thankful for this week?

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