Conference time is here!

What a great weekend! I hope all of you got to see Conference. It was so refreshing. With all of the economic and political craziness that has been happening lately, how nice it was to hear words of hope and reassurance. We are going to be okay. Yes, we do live in the last days, but we have the tools we need to live happily in an increasingly unstable world.

Some of my favorite parts:

Dallin H. Oaks. The man is awesome. I actually missed the Saturday morning session because I was in a mandatory rehearsal (Ft. Smith Symphony). Kenta showed me his notes and I youtubed the talk this morning and watched it (the church website won't have the archives for a few days). I enjoy listening to his talks because he is so clear and to the point. Don't get me wrong - I like flowery stories and metaphors and such, but it's nice to hear things like "don't text your friends during sacrament meeting". I've also got a soft spot in my heart for Elder Oaks. Almost exactly four years ago, I was on my mission in Peru and he came to speak to all of the missionaries in Lima (from four different missions). He introduced the Preach My Gospel manual. We had heard about the changes since we had been in the MTC and it was so cool to finally see the book. And when I saw Elder Oaks, I got teary-eyed and a little homesick:














Okay, okay. So maybe my dad just has the same hairdo and wise-looking face, but I sure missed him when I saw Elder Oaks. (I had to Google my dad to get that picture - I had actually never seen it before).

Silvia H. Allred's talk. What an amazing lady. I know how excited members in South America get when they see a latino or latina speaking at Conference. I wonder if those missionaries who baptized her ever thought she would be in the Relief Society General Presidency. Probably not. A great talk about missionary work.

New temples! I love it when new temples are built near friends and family that I know have had to sacrifice to drive far (or haven't been able to go because it's too far). Mom and Dad are getting a temple in Kansas City somwhere and Jill gets a temple in Italy. Yay for new temples!

The Primary children's choir. Did anyone else catch the kid poking the kid next to him to remind him to put his arms down by his side? Or the little girl that had her arms by her side but was flipping her hands up and down? Or the little kid trying really hard not to pay attention to the camera? Too cute.

The closing prayer on Sunday morning. Short. Sweet. To the point. A rarity at Conference. My guess is his stomach was growling as much as mine.

President Eyring. And Uchtdorf. And Monson. In no particular order. I enjoyed them all.

Admittedly, by the time the last session rolled around, we were all struggling to stay focused. I even took a power nap beforehand, but my eyelids still got a little droopy. We kept ourselves awake by playing "How Many Ethnic - Looking Tabernacle Choir Members Can You Count?" and "Name the Foreign Country That That Seventy is From". We needed a little help with the last game. Luckily Kenta had borrowed a friend's itouch for the weekend (a "test drive", if you will) so we were able to quickly consult Wikipedia and glean much-needed information without having to leave our seats. Maren, you might be interested to know that the "L" in Neil L. Anderson stands for "Linden". And the most interesting Wikipedia fact of the day: Fatboy Slim's real name is "Quentin Cook".

So there it is. Our cups runneth over. I hope that each of you are making the choice to act on inspiration that you received while watching Conference. What an amazing time that we live in when we can listen to the words of the Prophet from the comforts of our homes.

On a side note: A special thanks to The Powers That Be for not scheduling Conference on OU/Texas weekend (or is it the other way around?). I always feel so conflicted when they fall on the same day. Of course I choose Conference over the game...but it is really distracting, nonetheless. Anyway, have a great week, everyone!