Last May or June the Church announced a Face to Face event celebrating 150 years of the young women program. My calling in our ward right now is 1st counselor in the young women presidency. They asked the girls and leaders to set a goal of doing 150 of something. 150 scriptures read, 150 treats delivered, etc. The event was set for mid-November and I decided that I was going to read 150 conference talks. I started off by reading all the conference talks from the previous general conference and then just googled good talks and made a list of 150 and figured out how many I would have to read each week to achieve my goal. I was able to read all 150 talks by the event and I loved reading all of them. I did type up a few that really stuck out to me and I decided to create a blog about it. I'm going to share what the talk was called and who it was by, parts of the talks that really stuck out to me, and why it stuck out to me. And of course I wanted to add in a few pictures just for fun that kind of go with some of the themes of the talks and how they apply to me.
The following were talks that stuck out to me mostly because of my struggle of dealing with secondary infertility and going through the IVF process.
-A High
Priest of Good Things to Come- Jeffery R. Holland- For emotional health and
spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite,
to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near
at hand or still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get
there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of “good things
to come.” To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I
say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ comes to
you in His “more excellent ministry” with a future of “better promises.” Cling
to your faith. Hold on to your hope. Even if you cannot always see the silver
lining on your clouds, God can, for He is the very source of the light you
seek. He does love you, and He knows your fears. He hears your prayers. He is
your Heavenly Father, and surely He matches His own tears His children shed.
The counsel “be of good cheer” is not a jaunty pep talk about the power of
positive thinking, though positive thinking is much needed in the world. No,
Christ knows better than all others that the trials of life can be very deep
and we are not shallow people if we struggle with them. Don’t you give up.
Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness
ahead. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and
believe in good things to come. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and
some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus
Christ, they come. (I remember so
clearly the time that I first heard the underlined part of this talk. He has
mentioned this quote in numerous of his talks but the one that I remember first
was at a Relief Society broadcast when it was the week before general
conference. I had just had surgery a little over a month earlier to see why I
was unable to get pregnant and found out that I was now down to one fallopian
tube. I remember feeling so much love and crying when I heard this talk and the
following week is when I would go through my ectopic pregnancy. I think
Margaret had printed this quote on a piece of paper and it was set in my
bathroom for the longest time and during my first round of IVF. For my second
round, Nate typed it up with a beautiful flower border and it is framed by my
bedside. This quote has given me such peace and reassurance and perspective in
my life.)
- But If
Not…- Dennis E. Simmons- Faith is more than mental assent, more than an
acknowledgment that God lives. Faith is total trust in God even if things don’t
turn out the way we hope. Faith is believing that although we do not understand
all things, He does. Faith is knowing that although our power is limited, His
is not. Faith in Jesus Christ consists of complete reliance on Him. The “but if
nots” can become remarkable blessings. Men accomplish marvelous things by
trusting in the Lord and keeping His commandments- by exercising faith even
when they don’t know how the Lord is shaping them. Our scriptures and our
history are replete with accounts of God’s great men and women who believed
that He would deliver them, but if not, they demonstrated that they would trust
and be true. He has the power, but it’s
our test. Our God will deliver us from the ridicule and persecution, but if
not… Our God will deliver us from sickness and disease, but if not…. He will
deliver us from loneliness, depression, or fear, but if not… Our God will
deliver us from threats, accusations, and insecurity, but if not… He will
deliver us from death or impairment of loved ones, but if not… we will trust
in the Lord. Our God will see that we receive justice and fairness, but if
not… He will make sure that we are loved and recognized, but if not… We will
receive the perfect companion and righteous and obedient children, but if
not... we will have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that if we do
all we can do, we will, in His time and in His way, be delivered and receive
all that He has. (I have always been
a person that I consider to have the gift of faith. I am a very believing
person and faith has something that I never really struggled with. I have
always believed and had the faith that everything will work out. Going through
secondary infertility really tested that. I felt at times that I never wanted
to say “God’s will be done” because I felt in my mind that was saying that I
was giving up on trying to have more kids. I have learned and this talk said
that I can try everything I can and Heavenly Father may bless me with more
children but if not I will continue to believe that Heavenly Father knows what
I am going through and I can receive all of my righteous desires in His time. I
can still have faith even when I don’t get the things I want and it is not
saying that I give up but it is saying that I know Heavenly Father has a plan
for me and He loves me and He know that the trials I go through will shape me
and give me empathy and help me be a better disciple of Jesus Christ.)
- That
Cloud and Sunshine, Lord, Abide with Me!-
The following talks stuck out to me because I always like the reminder to enjoy the journey and enjoy the little moments in life. The gospel has given me perspective and finding joy is one of the most important things to me and I'm daily looking for joy in the small things.
- Joy and
Spiritual Survival- President Russell M. Nelson- Lehi clearly knew opposition, anxiety, heartache, pain,
disappointment, and sorrow. Yet he declared boldly and without reservation a
principle that men are, that they might have joy. Imagine! Of all the words he
could have used to describe the nature and purpose of our lives here in
mortality, he chose the word joy! Saints can be happy under every circumstance.
We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year. The
joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything
to do with the focus of our lives. (The
message of this talk hit me because I have felt that this is something that I
have always strived for, finding joy, in all the aspects of my life even during the
hard times and the mundane times. I want to find joy in the little moments of
my life because the little moments in our lives are what we have the most of.)
- Of
Regrets and Resolution- Dieter F. Uchtdorf-
Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our
best and happiest self. It is not a race; it’s a journey. Enjoy the
moment. Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail
to find joy in the journey. We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach
some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available- all
the time! No matter our circumstance, no matter our challenges or trials, there
is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day
that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it. (This talk is all about perspective. I don’t
know how many times especially as a parent where you are so excited for the next
step- when they sleep through the night, when they start being mobile, when
they start feeding themselves, when they go to school. I feel often that I am
always looking to some future date or time when my life will be different. For
me it is often when I will have more kids or when I am in a house of my own. I try
every day to enjoy the moments of life as they pass by and I want to remember
and cherish all the little moments especially with my children who are growing
up way too fast and I just want them to stay little forever. Another thing that
has helped me with this is a talk given by President Eyring where he mentioned
seeing the Lord’s hand in your life daily. I think that when we see God’s hand
in our life daily that it helps us find joy in our lives daily.)
- Finding
Joy in the Journey- Thomas S. Monson- This is our one and only chance at
mortal life- here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization
that it is brief. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in
this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between
what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important
things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when
you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the
journey- now. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of
today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for
the future. Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must
deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of
what is most important- and what is most important almost always involves the
people around us. We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection
shown. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person
to be loved. Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and
share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of
tomorrows. (I loved listening to
President Monson speak. He spoke such poetically and in a way that it was like
you were listening to a story. I really loved the part that I underlined. I
really need to focus on love and not issues that come up. The world could
really use more love right now.)
I liked the following talks because they stuck out to me as my role as a mother.
- Behold
Thy Mother- Jeffery R. Holland- Maternal
love has to be divine. There is no other explanation for it. What mothers do is
an essential element of Christ’s work. To all mothers in every circumstance,
including those who struggle- and all will- I say, “Be peaceful. Believe in God
and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are.” (Parenting has a way of stretching you in
ways you never thought you would. I can be so hard on myself as a mom because I
always feel like I could do better- be more loving, be more involved, be more
patient, etc. Some days are better than others but I have to realize that is
life and that like Elder
- Worthy of
Our Promised Blessings- Linda S. Reeves- Satan has raised a Korihor-like
banner in our day with increasing success. I know of nothing that will qualify
us for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost as much as virtue. When we
are involved in watching, reading, or experiencing anything that is below our
Heavenly Father’s standards, it weakens us. Regardless of our age, if what
we look at, read, listen to, or choose to do does not meet the Lord’s standards
in For the Strength of Youth, turn it off, rip it up, throw it out, and slam
the door. Sometimes we ask why do we have so many trials even when we are
doing all that we are supposed to be doing? Many have expressed that our
Father’s promised blessings are just way too far away particularly when our
lives are overflowing with challenges. It is not the time to receive all of our
blessings. Now is the time to prepare to meet God. (I loved this talk and wanted to remember it especially when raising my
children. I know that being a teen can be hard and I feel that the world is going
in a very opposite direction than what my morals are and the older I get the
more I realize the importance of virtue especially in my home. I want to
protect my children from pornography so much because I know that damage it can
do in relationships and in self esteem. Things of virtue are so important and I want my children
to remember that. I want my children to always remember that line that I
underlined. There are going to be hard time and hard challenges that test us
but that is the purpose of life which is to be tested. So we need to keep our
standards high and I want my children to keep their standards high also and
know the importance of staying true to yourself and to our Heavenly Father.)
- Daughters
of Heavenly Father- Susan W. Tanner- Has
your mother or father ever reminded you as you were leaving the house to
“remember who you are”? What do they mean by that? “Remember that you are
part of this family, with a reputation to uphold.” And, even more importantly,
“remember that you are a child of God and must act accordingly.”
Missionaries wear a badge as a constant reminder that they are representatives
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This reminds missionaries
to dress modestly and comely, to treat people with politeness, and to strive to
have Christ’s image in their countenances. They must do these things because
they wear that name tag, an outward sign of their identity. By covenant, we
too have all taken upon ourselves Christ’s name. His name should be engraven
inwardly upon our hearts. Likewise, we are expected to act as worthy
children of Heavenly Father, who, at least figuratively, has sent us to earth
with the admonition “Remember who you are!” (I
loved this talk because it reminded me of when Erika or I would leave the house
when we were teenagers and we would jokingly yell to each other “Remember your
name.” It was the same idea and we thought it was funny. But this idea is so
true that if we truly remember who we are then we would act accordingly. When
we are baptized we covenant that we will always remember Him and take His name
upon us. In Doctrine and Covenants 20 it talks about those that are baptized
and that we promise to serve Him with determination to the end. That is exactly
what it will take, is determination to strive each day to always remember who
we are and act accordingly.)
- His Grace is Sufficient- Brad Wilcox- Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us. So if Jesus did it all, then why do we have to do anything? Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice- not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate perfection or punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took the punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection and help us reach our goal. He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements. Fulfilling Christ’s requirements is like paying a mortgage instead of rent or like making deposits in a savings account instead of paying off debt. You still have to hand it over every month, but it is for a totally different reason. Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a mom providing music lessons for her child. Mom pays the piano teacher. Because Mom pays the debt in full, she can turn to her child and ask for something. What is it? Practice! Does the child’s practice pay the piano teacher? No. Does the child’s practice repay Mom for paying the piano teacher? No. Practicing is how the child shows appreciation for Mom’s incredible gift. It is how he takes advantage of the amazing opportunity Mom is given him to live his life at a higher level. Mom’s joy is found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used- seeing her child improve. And so, she continues to call for practice, practice, practice. If the child sees Mom’s requirements of practice as being too overbearing, perhaps it is because he doesn’t yet see with Mom’s eyes. He doesn’t see how much better his life could be if he would choose to live on a higher plane. If we see Christ’s requirements as being way too much to ask, maybe it is because we do not yet see through Christ’s eyes. We have not yet comprehended what He is trying to make of us. Some people say that we are trying to earn our way to heaven. No, we are not earning heaven. We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it and we are practicing for it. So yes, we have been saved by grace but have we been changed by grace? Others are happy the debt is paid that they may not have considered why the debt existed in the first place. Latter-day Saints know not only what Jesus has saved us from but also what He has saved us for. While many Christians view Christ’s suffering as only a huge favor, He did for us, Latter-day Saints also recognize it is as a huge investment He made in us. Grace isn’t just about being saved. It is also about becoming like the Savior. If Christ did not require faith and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Those that live without faith and repentance don’t want to change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become comfortable with God. Rather, they are trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin. If Jesus did not require covenants and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost, then there would be no way to change. We would be left forever with only willpower, with no access to His power. If Jesus did not require endurance to the end, then there would be no internalization of those changes over time. If Jesus didn’t require practice, then we would never become pianists. Some say that it is very hard to practice and that we aren’t very good at playing the piano and we hit a lot of wrong notes. It will take me forever to get it right. Isn’t that all part of the learning process? When a young pianist hits a wrong note, we don’t say he is not worthy to keep practicing. We don’t expect him to be flawless. We just expect him to keep trying. Perfection may his ultimate goal, but for now we can be content with progress in the right direction. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time. When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives. When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness. Christ is not waiting at the finish line once we have done all we can do. He is with us every step of the way. The Savior’s gift of grace to us in not necessarily limited in time to after all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during, and after that time when we expend our own efforts. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. (I loved this talk on grace SO much. I kind of understood grace but I don’t think I fully got it. It was kind of this foreign subject to me that I hoped was true but didn’t truly understand it. I loved the analogy with doing piano lessons because it made it applicable to me and made it so much easier to understand.)
- Faith in Not By Chance But by Choice- Neil L. Andersen- Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek to hold onto it. Your faith is either growing stronger or becoming weaker. The future of your faith is not by chance, but by choice. How we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith. Prayer, obedience, honesty, purity in thought and deed, and unselfishness increase faith. Without these, faith diminishes. Faith never demands an answer to every question but seeks the assurance and courage to move forward, sometimes acknowledging, “I don’t know everything, but I do know enough to continue on the path of discipleship.” As you continue to make good choices, trust in God, and follow His Son, the Lord sends increased light and knowledge, and your faith becomes settled and unwavering. (I have heard this talk a couple of times and it always sticks out to me and fills me with peace and just that “this makes sense” feeling. There is such value and importance in trying each day to be better and to make the choice every day to stay on the covenant path. I know that the seemingly simple choices I make daily like reading my scriptures, praying, being kind, saying I’m sorry when I make a mistake, and the value of going to church and attending my meetings and magnifying my callings are simple choices but they have led me to the temple and the beautiful covenants you make there and it has led me to having great personal revelation in my life which has helped me overall as a person, wife, and mother. These all may be simple but they have led me to greater knowledge and greater faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.)
- Your Great Adventure- Dieter F. Uchtdorf- Discipleship is not about doing things perfectly; it’s about doing things intentionally. It is your choices that show what you truly are, far more than your abilities. God knows that you are not perfect, that you will fail at times. God loves you no less when you struggle than when you triumph. (Sometimes I feel like I am not the greatest disciple of Christ. I rely of being an example but I don’t like to share the gospel like missionaries do because I am scared of other’s reactions and don’t like confrontation. I feel like I live in my little bubble. I try and fulfill my callings to the best of my ability and reach out to others when it is comfortable for me. Reading this talk though I realize my intentions are in the right place. It will be the little choices that I make that will eventually lead me to being a better disciple of Jesus Christ. Choice by choice I will get to that place.)
- Divine Discontent- Michelle D. Craig- Divine discontent comes when we compare what we are to what we have the power to become. Each of us, if we are honest, feels a gap between where and who we are, and where and who we want to become. We yearn for greater personal capacity. These feelings are God given and create an urgency to act. We can choose to walk the higher path that leads us to seek for God and His peace and grace, or we can listen to Satan, who bombards us with messages that we will never be enough: rich enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, anything enough. Divine discontent motivates us to follow the example of that Savior. Never suppress a generous thought. Whether they are direct promptings or just impulses to help, a good deed is never wasted and is never the wrong response. (I loved this talk when I first heard it. It just really stuck out to me since I am a bit of a perfectionist and feel like I need to be perfect now and get disappointed when I fail or feel as though I am not doing good enough or not doing enough. This is especially true as a parent. I also really loved the remark of never suppressing a generous thought. I have always struggled to know whether a thought was from the Spirit or if it was just a thought from inside my own mind. This talk taught me if it is a generous thought then I should act on it. If it was a generous thought then it most likely was from the Spirit but even if for some reason it was just from me then I should still do it and practice on acting on the thoughts and impressions that I have.)
- You
Matter to Him- Dieter F. Uchtdorf- God knows that some of the greatest
souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of
history. They are the blessed, humble souls who emulate the Savior’s example
and spend the days of their lives doing good. God sees you not only as a
mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season- He sees you as His
child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He
wants you to know that you matter to Him. (Just
another great Elder Uchtdorf talk where he really hits home that you matter. I
think we all need constant reassurance that our Heavenly Father really does
know us personally and loves us on an individual level. I think becoming a
parent has made me get just a small glimpse of what our Heavenly Father feels
for each of us. I have such goals and aspirations for my children and I know
that Heavenly Father feels the same way and wants us to live up to our full
potential.)
- Be Ye
Therefore Perfect, Eventually- Jeffery R. Holland- Satan has somehow managed to make covenants and
commandments seem like curses and condemnations. For some he has turned the ideals
and inspiration of the gospel into self-loathing and misery-making. As children
of God, we should not demean or vilify ourselves, as if beating up on ourselves
is somehow going to make us the person God wants us to become. No! With a
willingness to repent and a desire for increased righteousness always in our
hearts, I would hope we could pursue personal improvement in a way that doesn’t
include getting ulcers or anorexia, feeling depressed or demolishing our
self-esteem. We may not be able to demonstrate yet the 10,000-talent
perfection the Father and the Son have achieved, but it is not too much for
Them to ask us to be a little more godlike in little things, that we speak and
act, love and forgive, repent and improve at least at the 100-pence level of
perfection, which it is clearly within our ability to do. Every one of us
aspires to a more Christ-like life than we often succeed in living. If we admit
that honestly and are trying to improve, we are not hypocrites; we are human. (I love this talk so much and I know it will
be one I turn to again and again. We are human in admitting that we aren’t
perfect and that we are just trying our best each day. It really hits home with
me that the Lord loves effort and if every day I am trying to be a little better
than the day before than I am on the right path.)
- Forget Me Not- Dieter F. Uchtdorf- I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect. Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not. And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does. God wants to help us to eventually turn all of our weaknesses into strengths, but He knows that this is a long-term goal. He wants us to become perfect, and if we stay on the path of discipleship, one day we will. It’s OK that you’re not quite there yet. Keep working on it, but stop punishing yourself. Be thankful for all the small successes in your home, your family relationships, your education and livelihood, your Church participation and personal improvement. Like the forget-me-nots (the flower), these successes may seem tiny to you and they may go unnoticed by others, but God notices them and they are not small to Him. If you consider success to be only the most perfect rose or dazzling orchid, you may miss some of life’s sweetest experiences. Our journey toward perfection is long, but we can find wonder and delight in even the tiniest steps in that journey. Sisters, 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. (This is another talk that I distinctly remember hearing for the first time during a Relief Society broadcast. It brought me so much peace. I have always been someone that has struggled with comparing myself to others. Comparison robs us of joy and is something Satan often uses with women. I have always felt I am average on the beauty scale. I don’t have a fancy job though I have the best job in the world as a stay at home mom though it doesn’t get a lot of recognition in the world’s view. I feel like I am just an average person who really isn’t that special. So when I heard this talk it was a gentle reminder that it is okay to be the tiny but beautiful forget-me-not instead of a rose and that I am never forgotten by my Heavenly Father.)
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