When the Prophet Says Jump

I am enjoying preparing myself and my children to hear the words of the prophets in General Conference this weekend.  

I spent the morning yesterday reviewing conference talks given by the first Presidency over the last two years, and writing down quotes in my new perpetual General Conference Study Journal.  

As I did so, the spirit continued to guide my list of questions that I'd like to find answers to during conference.  

Last night, during mutual, I had fun planning out the Personal Progress Project that the girls and I will be doing as we watch General Conference.  Did you know you can do an entire project this weekend...for any value, basically by watching General Conference?  You can read about it here.  I am doing mine on Faith.

Anyway, have you guys noticed that there are like a million resources now online for things to do with your kids during General Conference?  It's pretty neat that this is now the case (thanks to so many Mormon mommy bloggers out there!) but I also find it a tad bit overwhelming.  

That's why I was glad to read Stephanie's post about preparing yourself spiritually for General Conference a year or so ago.  It gives 5-6 really great pointers on preparing and listening to Conference, and has helped me remember to focus on the most important things.

And when we are taking care of the most important things, then we can enjoy the fun aspects of preparing for General Conference too, without stressing!

Yesterday, I roamed the aisles of Walmart looking for fun little treats to surprise my kids with and to get them excited about listening to General Conference.  (But let's face it, after a few years of "celebrating" general conference, they are pretty much already psyched.  Like can't sleep at night/visions of sugarplums excited.)

So, anyway, I found a four-pack of jump ropes in the dollar aisle and thought...Hmmm, what can we do with this?  Then this phrase popped into my head, "When the Prophet says JUMP....we say HOW HIGH?"  I doubt my kids would get it without some explanation, but the thought just made me laugh out loud.

But that is the goal right?  We want to get to the point that we are ready to act immediately and willingly on the counsel given to us.

With that said, I'm going to add a few points to Stephanie's checklist to prepare ourselves to hear and heed God's word:

1.  Take time during the next two days to repent of things that need repenting of.  Get yourself right with people who you might have a disagreement with or have hurt.  Forgive them, if they've hurt you.  This will help clear your conscience and ready you to receive more of the message this weekend.

2.  Pray to God to help soften your heart so that you may hear God's will and do it.  Also pray that you will have an open mind to what is taught and how it applies to your life/situation.

I really do want to be the kind of person who answers the prophet's call with "how high?"  But this doesn't happen automatically.  I found a clue to becoming this kind of disciple of Christ, while reading The Book of Mormon yesterday.  

I read what Nephi said in 1 Nephi 2:16:  "I Nephi...having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father [who was a prophet]; wherefore I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers."

3.  If you are watching General Conference with kids, focus more on experiencing conference with them, from their perspective.  You will only chase the spirit away if you try to catch every word and find yourself "shushing" your little ones.   (Believe me, I know.)  Instead, soak up the spirit that you feel together...play your games or color with them.  And you both will come away with positive feelings associated with the time you've spent together listening to the Prophet.  You will have six months to re-listen to and apply the teachings.

And last, but not least...get your kids a jump rope!!!  And when the choir sings, send them outside to jump out their wiggles...with the joyous reminder ringing in their ears that when the prophet says jump...we say how high!

PS - In photo above, there are other items in my basket that coincide with talks from previous conferences...A candy bar and musical recorders.

Can you guess which talks they go with?

 PPS - There are also a lot of well-organized ideas on Sugardoodle's GC page...not overwhelming at all! :)  Just so you know, her new packet is for adults and teens!