General Conference

I always look forward to General Conference on so many different levels.  First, I love that my little family is together, usually at the cabin.  Second, I think that it is definitely sent from heaven.  The talks are so well presented , clearly with lots of prayer and revelation.  This year since Logan is being baptized, I wanted her to listen to conference.  All of it.  And she did!  It helps with the props, but she did.  I downloaded lots of General Conference packets, mixed and matched them for the kids, and then made a sort of my own.  The kids were way excited.  

This was seriously her 'perch' for much of Conference.

Jack didn't bring his tonsils with him this weekend, and relaxing up there seemed to aid in the recovery process.

It just doesn't look like he feels too well!

...but here it does!

Madden brought with him a stuffy nose which Logan was more than willing to remove.  Thanks, Logan.  He also brought his funny faces and poses for the camera.  He slept best by himself upstairs in his crib!  I was happy about that.

How funny is it that John is taking a snooze in the background?

Jensyn enjoyed the weekend, too.  She got her hair curled, posed, and loved the snow.

It seems like we always take a picture of this pose...on the snowmobile outside the cabin.

As for me, I loved conference.  There is so much to learn, to understand, and to apply to my life.  I choked up and cried a bit, too.  I don't think that I have a favorite, but several that affected me.  That is a good thing! Off of the top of my head, I loved Richard Maynes talk and the poem that he repeated.  Our stakes is one of 16 stakes in the church that is starting a program about 'Rescuing the Lost.'  It talks about the ninety and nine and how we should leave them to find the one sheep who is lost.  When he told his poem, I thought how fitting it was for our stake.

Twas a sheep not a lamb that strayed away

In the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong;

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong, it won’t take long

Til the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when sheep are lost, what a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay!

C. C. Miller

As I was 'googling' the poem, I found a lot of people (and their blogs) who felt the exact same that I did!  It was definitely a conference favorite.  What a powerful thought!  As a mom, I learned the POWERFUL influence we have on our children.  They DO follow us and they DO what we do.  If we stray, chances are, they will too.  If we believe, they will too.  They follow us.  As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are disciples of Christ!  We can life the heads of those who have their heads hung down.  We can teach them happiness.  Richard Maynes went on to say that parents must teach their children and that we must believe in the eternal nature of the family.  He mentions that Satan is leading an attack on the family, right now.  How true that is.  He urged us to culture a spirit in our homes so that the Spirit can dwell in our homes. I was glad to have watched conference for this talk!

There are so many more powerful messages delivered this weekend, and I can't wait to read them again in the Ensign.