General Conference Predictions

So, I'm not going to pretend to be able to predict the future, however, by careful study of the words of church leaders in the last little while, I bet we could take a pretty good guess as to which topics might be addressed during General Conference this weekend.

Here are my picks!  

1.  THE FAMILY - Of course!  The family, that precious, fundamental unit of society, needs our care and attention.  I am eager for any bit of wisdom I can soak up about that.  

But why do I know they'll talk about it?  Elder Nelson alluded to it in his CES broadcast just about a month ago, when he said:

"You wonderful youth of the noble birthright, you need to understand the far-reaching consequences of society’s current skirmish over the very definition of marriage. The present debate involves the question of whether two people of the same gender can be married. If you have a question about the position of the Church on this or any other important issue, prayerfully ponder it, and then heed the prophetic messages at this forthcoming October general conference of the Church. Those inspired addresses, plus inspiration from the Holy Ghost, will bring to your mind a fuller and truer understanding.

The marriage debate is but one of the many controversies that will challenge you in the future. "

How can we Prepare to Receive Inspiration on this topic in General Conference?:  

Reread or study The Family: A Proclamation to the World before Saturday.  

2.  SCOUTING and  YOUTH in the PRIESTHOOD - Since the front page of the Ensign commemorates "A Century of Scouting" in the church, and since President Monson is such a big fan and life-long Scout, I'm assuming we'll hear some awesome boy scout stories from him this weekend. You know he can tell some doozies!  Looking forward to it.

How can we Prepare to hear the counsel that we might receive on this topic?: 

Start by reading "A Century of Scouting" in the Ensign this month.  Review "Your Duty to God" if you have time, and if you haven't already, read The Church's Response to the Boy Scouts Policy Vote made recently.  If you have boys of Priesthood or Scouting age, you might want to encourage them to listen for anything the Prophet might say regarding Scouting.  This is so exciting!!!

3.  Preparing our families to make and keep SACRED COVENANTS - I am going to take a hint from the General Relief Society Broadcast and say this will be touched on again.  I am also hoping that it is, since my first child will be getting baptized next month and in the next three years our family will baptize our first three kids!  So we could all really benefit from their advice.

How can we Prepare to hear counsel on this topic?:  It might help to listen to the RS Broadcast carefully to internalize the counsel that was given on how to make and keep Covenants.  Or just ponder what you heard last weekend.  We could also ponder in our minds the covenants that we have made in the temple.

Well, whether I guessed right or not, you KNOW it's going to be an amazing weekend of spiritual nourishment. 

And really this little exercise is more about PREPARING your mind and your heart to hear and heed the messages of our prophets.  

Our best way to prepare is to listen with an open mind and a prayer in our hearts!