Sunday's Conference Notes

Dear READER,


To start off, I am really sorry that it took me so long to get these out to you....life has been so busy. Enough with my complaining and excuses, here are the notes.


President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• We all depend on the Savior.
• We must repent and must be willing to forgive others
• Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy
• the moment we judge someone else is when we condemn ourselves
• "I the lord will forgive who I will"...we are required to forgive all
• We are required to forgive ourselves as well
• STOP IT!
• Simply stop judging others and replace it with a heart full of love
• Bumper Sticker "Don't judge me because I sin differently than you do"
• We are all beggars before God
• We all depend on the mercy of God
• Should we not forgive others as we should be forgiven
• we need a change of heart - that is what the gospel does
• We need to be filled with the love of God
• Christ is our exemplar - He showed us the way
• It is easy to love those who love us
• love your enemies...pray for those who persecute you
• The pure love of Christ moves away resentment
• Because God loves us so much we must love and forgive others
• Put down your stones and forgive others
• Give to others and ye shall receive it also
• Return good for evil
• If thy enemy hunger give him meat to eat
• It is the merciful who receive mercy
• Let us be people with a kind heart
• We are not perfect, the people around us are not perfect...so let go
• Lay your burdens at the Lords feet

Elder Russell M. Nelson

• The fish story and them saying thank you for their food
• Our degree of gratitude is a measure of our Love of God
• Everything is heaven sent
• Marriage and family are ordained of God
• Eternal life became possibility to all who would but qualify for it
• We are blessed with both Physical and Spiritual gifts from God
• A perfect body is not needed/required for us to gain eternal glory.
• Could an explosion in a printing shop create a dictionary?
• To return to God by death is a joyful thing to those who love God
• The development of our spirit is of eternal worth
• The spirit is nurtured by eternal truth
• We are under covenant to take the gospel to all the world
• "Believe in God, believe that he is...see that ye do them"
• Thanks be to God

Ronald A Rasband

• God loves your afflicted ones and he loves you
• This life is training for eternal life
• We must trust in gods will
• "All"
• We all are afflicted
• "The words of God will be manifested."
• Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God
• We need to just go and do
• One can not serve others and not feel enriched themselves
• I will not leave you comfortless...let your heart not be troubled
• We are all enlisted till the conflict is ore
• Thank God for his blessings

Julie B. Beck

• Increase faith
• Take care of the poor and needy
• The R.S. is divinity made
• No matter where you go, you'll have R.S.
• relieve the poor and save souls
• Expound the scriptures
• It is our privilege to go into the homes of the Sisters and change rags into royal robes
• Sisters need to lead the world
• We gain unity in R.S. as we work on the R.S. purpose with the Lord
• Study the book "Daughters In My Kingdom"
• Catch the vision of R.S.
• Align ourselves with the vision of R.S.

Elder D. Todd Christopfferson

• With glad hearts we invite all to come and partake of the gospel;
• We value scholarship
• God is no respecter of men
• A prophet is only a prophet when acting as one

President Thomas S. Monson

• Everyone is in such a hurry
• What is really important, and what is trivial
• "lay not up treasures of this earth...where your treasure is their your heart will be also"
• This is a time of testing and opportunity
• The prize belongs to him that endures to the end
• come back, in, up, come home, come to me

Elder L. Tom Perry

• The Book of Mormon is a great book
• May we be motivated to share the Book of Mormon with those who are not of our faith
• The Book of Mormon is about deliverance
• The Lord is slow to hear our cries when we are wicked
• Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are necessary to our salvation
• The Book of Mormon is a GREAT book

Elder M. Russell Ballard

• The Liahona is like a GPS system
• We have something much greater than a GPS, we have the Holy Ghost
• Happiness is found in the family
• There is no service better than making our home a spiritual institution
• When people make the family and the gospel principles a greater part of life....they prosper more
• The most important cause of our lives is our families
• We know the power of Christ like service
• the church is the anchor in change
• The church is a tool in the masters hand
• Families who attend their church meetings and the temple are less likely to get a divorce or have bad issues within their families
• Prioritize  - put everything you put outside your home in subjection to that with what you do within the home
• We need to do things in the right order, marriage first family second
• Pay careful attention to fining the right person to marry (WOW---ok)
• No career can bring you as much joy as being a mother
• Read often the Family a Proclamation to the World
• Be familiar with the Family a proclamation to the world and use it often
• Use the family resources of the church
• None of us are so lost that we cannot return unto our Savior

O. Vincent Haleck

• We need the Lords hand to be more like him
• Have a vision and Act on it
• We must have the faith to do
• "Take my yoke upon you and learn of me..."
• See yourself as the Savior sees you

I think I missed most of this talk as I was writing something down that seemed really important


Larry Y. Wilson

• The right to use the Priesthood is directly related to righteousness
• We can not force others to do the right thing...it's not Gods will
• Wise parents, prepare their children to get along with out them
• Build your own connection to heaven
• We must act only by love unfeigned
• Let people feel of our confidence
• When I go and visit my family I know that I am loved
• The Lord wants us to come to him

David F. Evans

• 2 Nephi 25:36 "We prophecy of Christ...."
• How can I do each of these things mentioned in the above stated verse
• As members of the church we have the responsibility to share the gospel
• The worth of souls is great to the Lord
• Was it worth it? YES
• If we will pray and ask who we can help the Lord will answer our prayers (this prayer is answered almost as fast as the prayers of "what need I to repent of")
• Never delay a prompting

Paul B Pieper

• We need to hold sacred that which we receive from above
• Let the Holy Spirit Guide
• Record daily the things ye receive from the Spirit
• Light and knowledge from heaven is sacred
• Sacred things are to be treated with more care
• There is an opposition in all things
• to be learned is good if we hearken to the counsel of the Lord

Elder Neil L. Anderson

• Does my life show my Love and devotion tot he Savior?
• What thinks Christ of Me?
• We rejoice in being disciples of Christ
• Being a disciple is a badge of honor
• The Lord blesses us with customized answers through the commandments
• Come Follow Me [The Savior]
• Discipleship is not a competition at all
• "Come unto me all ye that Labor and are heavy laden and I will give thee rest"
• All things are possible to those that believe
• What would Jesus Do?
• "Be not afraid only believe"
• The Lord will give what we cannot provide for ourselves
• Miracles happen

President Thomas S. Monson

• Pray always and I will pour my spirit upon you
• Love your families
• Settle your disagreements NOW! (this made me feel like the end was near because we are being told to get ourselves and our affairs into order and to do it right away)
• He who has contention is not of me
• Ponder the truths you have heard

I just LOVED conference and it's been so much fun to go back through my notes again. Hope you enjoy.



Yours Truly,


Jenessa

The Forget-Me-Not Flower

Dear READER,


Sunday's are super busy these days for me. Today I had the lesson in Relief Society. I always love teaching. Most weeks the assigned teachers teach but each Fast Sunday I as the Relief Society President get to teach. It's exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I stress for about three weeks before it, and the week of is just harsh as I try to really focus on the needs of each sister and what they need to hear.

Today was great. We got to talk about the message given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf in the General Relief Society Conference this last year. He talked about the little forget-me-not flowers. It was a fun lesson for me to prepare and as usual I'm pretty sure I learned more than my girls did I just wanted to share a little of my lesson. It won't be everything just an outline and it changed a little while we went through the lesson but the following is my lesson outline; most of it comes directly from President Uchtdorf's talk as little things I wanted to mention.


1. Forget not to be Patient

• God is fully aware that you and i are not perfect


• Everyone has strengths and weaknesses


• It's ok that we're not perfect, just that we keep working on it


• Be thankful for the small successes in life


• Our successes may be small but God notices them and they are not small to Him


• ? How do we show patience with ourselves and others?
  
  

2. Forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice

• An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something for something of far greater worth


• Every person and situation is different, and a good sacrifice in one instance might be a foolish sacrifice in another


• MAKE A LIST of some good sacrifices we can make


• ? How can we tell the difference between a good sacrifice and a bad one?


• "Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?"


• TALK ABOUT the talk Good, Better, Best by Elder Dallin H. Oaks and how that applies
  

3. Forget not to be Happy now

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Golden Ticket Story


• The Joy of a simple candy bar was lost


• People say they will be happy when ______________ happens


• There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings -- the problem comes when we put our happiness on hold as we wait for some future even/our golden ticket


• STORY of the women who no children who had the opportunity to teach in a school


• The lesson here is that if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tinny forget-me-not's that are all around us
  
  

4. Forget not the "why' of the gospel

• "Sometimes, in the routine of our lives, we unintentionally overlook a vital aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ, much as one might overlook a beautiful, delicate forget-me-not. In our diligent efforts to fulfill all of the duties and obligations we take on as members of the Church, we sometimes see the gospel as a long list of tasks that we must add to our already impossibly long to-do list, as a block of time that we must somehow fit into our busy schedules, we focus on what the Lord wants us to do and how we might do it, but we sometimes forget why."


• The gospel of Jesus Christ is not an obligation


• The gospel is a light that penetrates mortality and illuminates the way before us.


• "My dear sisters, seek out the majesty, the beauty, and the exhilarating joy of the "why" of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The "what" and "how" of obedience mark the way and keep us on the right path. The "why' of obedience sanctifies our actions, transforming the mundane into the majestic. It magnifies our small acts of obedience into holy acts of consecration."


• ?What are some of your "whys" of the gospel?
  
  

5. Forget not that the Lord loves you

• "As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-not's, I sometimes felt a little like that flower -- small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father. Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now---I was never forgotten. And i know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart -- neither are you. You are not forgotten. Sister, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love."


• He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name


• God loves you because you are his child


• He loves you even though at times you may feel lonely or make mistakes


• If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow.
  
  

It was interesting to see how these truths were once again manifest to me as I gave my lesson. There was a tender spirit in the room that just said "Jenessa, he knows you". I don't know what the girls got out of it but I hope that there was something in it that they were able to take with them for this week. I love my girls and I know that they are not forgotten. The Lord loves them and cares for them so much. They are not alone.

Yours Truly,

Jenessa