"More Than Conquerors Through Him That Loved Us" -- Elder Paul V. Johnson

This talk is all about afflictions: why we have them, what to expect, how to conquer them, and the results. For all of those experiencing bad hardships, read this talk. It is really very nice.

I like when he said this:

"At times it may seem that our trials are focused on areas of our lives and parts of our souls with which we seem least able to cope."

Well of course this is true. We have many "experiences" each and every day. But if we are good at that thing, we just complete the task easily and do not consider it a trial. Only if it is an area we struggle in do we call it a trial and get frustrated.

But as he goes on throughout his talk, the point is that these trials make us stretch and grow.

The Apostle Paul said:

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

This is the same Paul that was "beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and who experienced many other trials." And he calls trials "light"! We all need to follow his lead in appreciating and learning from our trials.

"Waiting on the Road to Damascus" -- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I love President Uchtdorf, and I love this talk. It rings true in my life today.

The theme here is basically to stop waiting around! Don't just hang out on the "road to Damascus", waiting for a grand spiritual display. Our testimonies and spiritual experiences are not usually landed upon -- but they are searched out with diligence.

A huge part of that process is being able to hear and heed the voice of the spirit. President Uchtdorf says:

"To better hear His voice, it would be wise to turn down the volume control of the worldly noise in our lives....Let us learn to hearken to the promptings of the Spirit and then be eager to heed them."

Both hard things to do. To consciously turn down the "noise" in our lives, and then turn up our spiritual sensitivity. And then, once we've received a prompting, getting off our bums and doing them!

Recently I heard someone say that the Lord always asks us to do things out of our comfort zone. Or else, we would not grow. So often those promptings will inspire us to go do something we normally would not want to do -- but if the Lord asks it, it will be worth our while.

He goes on to say, however, that the Lord expects us to study first before coming to Him in prayer.

For example. Perhaps you have a lot of time and want to do some organizational volunteer work. It would be more difficult and more unlikely that the Lord would place "Provo Youth Adventure Camps" in your mind, then if you went online, searched for organizations you are interested in, made a short list of ones that fit your schedule, and then praying for inspiration on which one to join up with.

Joseph Smith did the same thing when he prayed to know which church to join. He attended many different congregations, talked with people he trusted, and read from the Holy Bible. Only after he knew each church and their doctrine did he go and ask the Lord. But in his circumstance, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him that none of those churches were true. But he was prepared, and because he was prepared, it showed real intent -- which is fully intending to act upon whatever answer is given.

President Uchtdorf makes a good point:

"If we are thinking only of ourselves, we may miss some of the most powerful spiritual experiences and profound revelations of our lives."

How often do I look back on my prayer and think: "wow, that prayer was such a self-centered prayer" or look back on my day and think: "wow, that was such a self-centered day." Days are so much better spent in the service of others.

As something I mentioned before in this blog, President Uchtdorf says:

"By becoming the answer to someone's prayer, we often find the answer to our own."

It is so easy to believe that the antidote to woe is self-pity and "vegging out", when in fact, getting up and serving someone quickly cures the problem! It is like magic how much better you can feel.

Some people may believe that would be burying the problem. Not at all! It helps us to put our problems into perspective, allows our minds to be active, and find ways to solve the problem and move forward.

Lastly, he quotes Saint Francis Assisi who said:

"Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words."

Spreading the gospel is a huge form of service. It is allowing others the chance to obtain happiness in this life and also into eternity. And as Assisi is suggesting, spreading the gospel is all about being a good example to others and living each day what you believe.

Uchtdorf talks about using social media to spread the gospel. That is why I have this blog -- to inform those of this gospel, and to strengthen the testimonies of those who are already members of the church.

I hope that we can all do better at listening to the spirit, and then boldly acting upon the promptings we receive, especially ones in sharing the gospel.

"Priesthood Power" -- President Thomas S. Monson

I love the talks given by Thomas S. Monson. Instead of maintaining a constant theme, his talks usually consist of nuggets of truth -- almost as if he did not write a talk at all, but is simply guided by the Holy Spirit in what to say.

President Monson implores:

"Should there be anything amiss in your life, there is open to you a way out."

and then he quotes Exodus 20:7 and Isaiah 1:18:

"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow," "and I, the Lord, remember them no more."

Every time I read those verses, it reminds me of the time I visited Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, England. My study abroad group made a very quick stop there on our way to Stratford Upon Avon.

Coventry Cathedral was a very very old cathedral, but was completely bombed by the Germans during World War II. leaving up only a few walls -- a very hollow shell of a church remaining.

But years later, the town of Coventry rebuilt a new cathedral adjacent to the old one. Instead of copying the original design, they rebuilt a beautiful and modern structure covered in stained glass windows to let in a lot of natural light.

While we were there, there was some kind of exhibit of quilted strips of cloth. They were absolutely gorgeous. My favorite one -- the one I will never forget -- started out a very deep red at the top of the quilt, and gradually got lighter and lighter until the bottom of the quilt was pure white. The words of the scripture trickled down --

Though your sins be

as Scarlet

They shall be as

white as

Snow

The words also changed color with the quilt.

I am not sure why that display hit be so hard when it did. I began crying right there in that cathedral.

Perhaps it was a visualization of such an "abstract" concept. How can Christ do it? How can He be so loving and forgiving to take that deep red fabric of our lives and dip it into the bleach of His atonement? How does He not think twice? It is pure love.

Coventry Cathedral itself is a symbol of this miracle. They were bombed to the lowest of the low, but they rebuilt a brand new cathedral without blemish and without spot.

I know Christ can and does take away our sins. He suffered our sins in order to do so. May we just follow His instructions to repent and the blessings of scarlet sins turned snow white can be ours.

"Learning in the Priesthood" -- President Henry B. Eyring

President Eyring tells a story of an old High Priest who he went to visit. They sat for a while and reminisced about good times and their service in the priesthood. The old man asked:

"Why am I still living? Why am I still here? I can't do anything."

But President Eyring noted:

"He was lifting me with his faith and his love. Even in our short visit, he made me want to do better."

When I read that, it warmed my heart.

Going out each day into the world and showing much charity and giving much service is a wonderful thing. But those experiences also need to change us as people so that we can be the ones who inspire others to do better.

In turn, these are the people we need to surround ourselves with. Good friends that will lift us and support us in righteous causes.

But there are others who are not at a place in their lives where they are currently lifting and supporting -- but just need to be lifted and supported for a time by someone else. Here is where our service is especially needed.

I hope I can be better about lifting others and not just being in constant need to be lifted. As soon as we receive, we should turn around and give.

"Your Potential, Your Privilege" -- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

President Uchtdorf begins with an astounding story. He said there was a man who dreamed to sail the Mediterranean on a cruise ship, so he saved up all his money for his ticket. But he used every last penny he had on the ticket, so he knew he could not eat all the delicious food on board or participate in all the fun activities.

He packed a whole suitcase full of canned beans and crackers and mostly stayed in his room. He only came out to see the cities of the Mediterranean that he had forever dreamed to see.

On the last night of the cruise, a crew member came to his room and asked which farewell party he would be attending. The young man replied that he could not afford to go to any of them. That is when the crew member informed him that this was an all-inclusive cruise and all the food and entertainment on-board was included in the price of his ticket.

"Too late the man realized that he had been living far beneath his privileges."

That story makes me cringe! However, what should really make me cringe is the realization that I, as well as many of us, are living far below our privileges.

Again, as in every other conference talk this April, Uchtdorf makes a call to action. He says:

"somewhere between the hearing, the writing of a reminder on our smartphone, and the actual doing, our 'do it' switch gets rotated to the 'later' position. Brethren [and sisters!] let's make sure to set our 'do it' switch always to the 'now' position!"

As members of the church, and simply as human beings and children of God, we have so many blessings and privileges. Heavenly Father wants us to reach out and also bless the lives of others. It is when we serve and contribute that the light of Christ truly shines forth and we then know that we are living up to our privileges.

I know that there is so much out there for me to give and to grow. My "ticket" here on earth included a loving family, quality education, and amazing people who surround me with understanding and friendship. But I also know it includes so much more, and I need to discover what that is before it is too late.

"Sacred Keys of the Aaronic Priesthood" -- Larry M. Gibson

I was having a bit of a hard time connecting personally to a talk directed towards Aaronic Priesthood holders, especially quorum presidents. But I did appreciate the talk, and it helps me respect those young men more.

Towards the end of his talk, he says:

"The Lord taught...that priesthood means reaching out to serve others."

Thomas S. Monson is quoting, saying:

"The priesthood is not really so much a gift as it is a commission to serve, a privilege to lift, and an opportunity to bless the lives of others."

Many people criticize the church for not allowing women to hold the priesthood, as if the priesthood was a source of dominance in the men.

Joseph Smith the Prophet said it perfectly in Doctrine and Covenants 121:41:

"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned."

A man cannot use his priesthood to bless himself, but only to bless others.

I have been blessed by the power of the priesthood before in many ways. I know it is God's power given to man on earth.

"Hope" -- Elder Steven E. Snow

Obviously a certain message is being said, or I am only picking up one certain message, but the theme of General Conference definitely has been about desires, what matters most, and acting upon those things. Elder Snow says his version like this:

"Hope can inspire dreams and spur is to realize those dreams. Hope alone, however, does not cause us to succeed. Many honorable hopes have gone unfulfilled, shipwrecked on the reefs of good intentions and laziness."

I like how he uses the word "shipwrecked". It implies that this person has so much excitement for their future endeavor that they prepared and loaded up a ship and shoved off from shore. However, he said the ship's demise came by good intentions and laziness.

Good intentions are trouble. They work well for us because they allow us to do nothing and feel good about that.

"Oh sorry, I had every intention to clean the dishes, but then I remembered about a homework assignment and got totally caught up!"

Later, in our minds, this translates to:

"I would have done the dishes, but it was impossible for me to do them given the circumstance."

Which translates to:

"I did the dishes"

But did you? NO! The dishes are just as dirty as if you would have said:

"I had no intention to clean the dishes whatsoever. I was sitting around doing nothing all day."

This becomes uber dangerous when it comes to our hopes and even more fatal when it comes to the commandments. There is no room for excuses in judgement -- all that will be judged is the work that has been done, not the work we almost did.