General Conference Warm-up!

As I mentioned on my FB page, I quickly made a little open-book quiz for my family to do as a review of the last General Conference/warm-up for this Conference.  Half of the questions are fill-in-the-blank and half are fill-in-the-name-of-the-speaker.  I wasn't planning on sharing it, but someone asked for it!  So enjoy and let me know how it goes...It's tailored to my family and probably full of typos, but good luck!

I plan on gathering some tiny, fun little prizes to put in a prize box, so they can pick something for every correct answer. :)  I've copied it in the body of this post for quick access, but a more printer-friendly version is linked HERE. 

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This is an open-book activity.  These are all quotes from General Conference April 2019.

For each correct answer, you can choose a prize from my treasure box.  These truths are treasures!  Search for them, live them, and put them in your heart!

Fill in the Blank:

“The best teacher is a good  __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __.” -Ulisses Soares

“There is a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ way and a casual way to do everything, including living the gospel.  As we consider our commitment to the Savior, are we __ __ __ __ __ __ __  or casual?” – Becky S. Craven

“We can know the things of God as we seek them spiritually.  We see the spiritual things of God through the perspective of an __ __ __ of __ __ __ __ __.” -Neil L. Andersen

“All Heavenly Father asks of us is to do the __ __ __ __      __ __ __ __ we can each day…Do the best you can do day after day, and before you know it, you will come to realize that He loves you..you will be filled with joy and peace.” -President Ballard

“…families can become sacred sanctuaries only as we repent early and sincerely…and when [in family prayer] the person who prays mentions those who are kneeling in that circle __ __   __ __ __ __ , and all can feel love for them and for each family member.”

 -President Eyring (not an exact quote)

“Nothing is more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ .”

Brethren, we need to do __ __ __ __ __ __ and be __ __ __ __ __ __ , because we are in a battle.  The battle with sin is real.  The adversary is quadrupling his efforts to disrupt testimonies and impede the work of the Lord.  He is arming his minions with potent weapons to keep us from partaking of the joy and love of the Lord.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ is the key to avoiding misery inflicted by the traps of the adversary.

The Lord does not expect perfection from us at this point in our eternal progression.  But He does expect us to become increasingly __ __ __ __.”

 – Russell M. Nelson

“Sharing the gospel is based on a great ___ ___ ___ ___ for all of Heavenly Father’s children.”

“All members can show our love for the Savior and our brothers and sisters through out the world by making __ __ __ __ __ __  invitations.” - Quentin L. Cook

“The gathering of Israel is the most __ __ __ __ __ __ ­­__ __ __ ­­­­­­ thing taking place on earth today.  Nothing else compares in magnitude, importance, or majesty.” – D. Todd Christofferson

“Our homes are fortresses against the evils of the world.  In our homes, we come unto Christ by learning to follow His commandments, by studying the scriptures, and praying together, and by helping one another stay on the covenant path.

We are at war with Satan for the souls of men.  Your testimony of Jesus Christ is your

 __ __ __ __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __ __ __, the security for your soul.”

– Ronald A. Rasband.

Who said it?:

“We are to remember in as personal a way as possible that Christ died from a heart broken by shouldering entirely alone the sins and sorrows of the whole human family.  In as much as we contributed to that fatal burden, such a moment demands our respect.  Thus, we are encouraged to come to our [Sunday] services early and reverently, dressed appropriately for participation, in a sacred ordinance.”

 ______________ __ _______________

“You are bearers of the holy priesthood of God.  Your commitment to hold firmly the iron rod will transform you into the eternal being who you were created to become.”  ___________ __ ______________________

“We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best…Take the long view.  What is the effect on our future of the decisions we make in the present?  Remember the importance of getting and education, studying the gospel, renewing our covenants by partaking of the sacrament, and attending the temple.”   _______________ _ ________

“You do not ‘earn’ blessings – that notion is false – but you do have to qualify for it.”  “…small acts of faith are required to ignite God’s promises.”  ________ __ __________.

“Making our homes sanctuaries where in we can ‘stand in holy places’ is essential in these latter days.  And as important as home-centered and church-supported learning is for our spiritual strength and protection today, it will be even more vital in the future.” ____________ ___  ___________

“Our Good Shepherd rejoices when we exercise individual moral agency with intention and faith.  Those in His fold look to our Savior in gratitude for His atoning sacrifice.  We covenant to follow Him, not passively, blindly, or “sheepishly,” but instead desiring with all our hearts and minds to love God and our neighbor….”  _____________ _ _________

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Careful vs. Casual by Becky Craven

Becky Craven's talk from General Conference was one of those talks that just speaks profound truth in such a simple and straightforward way that it sticks with you well after Conference is over.

And you can almost hear nothing else.  "Careful vs. Casual" says it all.  All that I hope for them.  Yes, I want them to be brave and courageous, but when it comes to making choices about living the gospel, I want them to do so carefully.  Not timidly, but with great care.

I need to go listen to her talk about five million more times right now, but I just wanted to share this image that I created to hang on my wall.

While talking with my good friend Melissa during our General Conference Book Club, I just felt inspired to make sure that the walls of my home were working for me in getting the messages that I want into my children's heads and heart!

So, after listening to this talk again, I latched on to this quick phrase she used: "As covenant people, we are not meant to blend in with the world." 

This is just another way of saying, 'you were born to stand out', which is what I expect my children to do, perhaps, in these last days, even among their church peers.  They need to get comfortable with this and learn to love this, even though it will sometimes be hard.  They will never be alone when they're on the covenant path.

I'm having this image printed in poster size.  If you're interested in accessing it, shoot me an email, and I'll send you the link for printing it in poster size. (Printing was $6 and free shipping!)

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Becoming a New Creature Through Jesus Christ

I'm so grateful that the Come Follow Me method of teaching allows for the input of every member of the family...nay, it depends on it!

This morning, I was just kind of winging it. I opened the manual to our next study topic which calls us to ponder what it means to become "a new creature" through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I was getting "crickets" at first, so I asked my six-year-old daughter Honor what creature she might know that undergoes a change.

She immediately said that caterpillars change into butterflies, something I hadn't even thought of.

Inspired by her comment, we quickly printed out coloring pages of butterflies.  And while we colored, we discussed the process by which caterpillars transform into beautiful butterflies and compared it to the processes through which we become new creatures through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Some parts of that "becoming" include baptism, repentance, and so on.

We then took that idea of becoming a new creature and dovetailed into President Eyring's talk where he gives us great insight into how we can become new creatures as a family.

In the talk "A Home Where the of the Lord Spirit Dwells", President Eyring taught that the underlying cause of contention in a family is the influence of Satan who is trying to cause us to sin and lose the influence of the Holy Ghost.

Wise parents will focus not merely on the symptoms or individual undesirable bad behaviors of each child, but instead will lead each child (by personal example) to the Savior.  He said the best thing we can do to "reverse spiritual decline" in our families is to help each child grown their faith in Jesus Christ.

He listed some specific things we can do to help reverse this spiritual slide and boot out contention.  They are:

1. Lead by example

2. Grow in faith together

3. Pray in love for each member of the family

4. Apologize quickly and sincerely

5. Experience forgiveness together

6. Cultivate a spirit of sharing the gospel

7. Visit the temple together often

As a family, the things we can easily impliment immediately is prayer.  We are going to start a habit of praying over every member of our family in every prayer that we say together.

I'm excited to try this out, to try the words of President Eyring and see how it affect everyone in our home.  And I'm so happy that my little girl...who LOVES bugs...could use her knowledge of butterflies to help us all better understand how Christ can help us become "new creatures."

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Eye of Faith by Elder Andersen

So, life has been rough for me the last two years with my oldest son being diagnosed with oppositional defiance disorder.  We're trying to work with him and love him, and keep him safe while simultaneously still creating a loving home for all of our other children to enjoy.

It's been rough.  I'm not going to sugar-coat it.  And I'm only sharing, because I think maybe it would help other people to know even in seemingly "perfect homes" there are trials, very difficult, depressing, overwhelming trials that we just don't see coming and can't always prepare for.

But I have faith, and I have realized more and more recently that the Lord is giving me a gift through my son, allowing him his agency and ME my agency to choose to grow through the process and to develop spiritual gifts that I have not previously focused on.

We pray for Guy every day.  It is a roller coaster ride, every day.

But just know that I continue to do my best over here in my personal life, and if you don't hear lots of joyous updates from me, that's because, I'm just in the thick of it.  Just doing my best, just like all of you!

One thing that sometimes happens when your world is rocked is you start to fall out of routines.  The changes that Come Follow Me brought were good HOWEVER, for me, they knocked me out of other good routines that I have previously loved and relied up0n.  So I'm working on bringing those routines back....such as actively studying General Conference with my children.

Studying General Conference has always brought me such strength, and I feel we're in a good place whenever the words of the prophet are taught in my home.

So this morning, we started by discussing Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk "The Eye of Faith".

I had studied it the night before and knew my children would enjoy the imagery of eyes & seeing with spiritual eyes to understand the words of the prophets.

They also love any reason to wear glasses, so I printed off these free glasses coloring pages and we colored and assembled them together this morning while we discussed how spiritual things are understood...with an eye of faith.

I used a slightly scary example that if I asked my older daughter to run out and get my youngest son Coy out of the road...if she delayed action and instead demanded to know why instead of just trusting me that I needed her to act immediately, there could be dire consequences for our family.  

However, if we act with an eye of faith, we obey quickly, and trust that even if we don't understand right now, answers and understanding will come in due time, we will enjoy a much happier outcome.

The same is true for us as we follow the prophet (or as Elder Andersen uses as an example in his talk...as we uphold and live the truths of the Family Proclamation), we can really only do so successfully through an eye of faith.

I loved this quote/promise from his talk:

"Prior to being the President of the Church, President Russell M. Nelson said: "Prophets see ahead.  They see the harrowing dangers the adversary has placed or will yet place in our path. Prophets also foresee the grand possibilities and privileges awaiting those who listen with the intent to obey." (I love that!)  Let's teach our children to listen to General Conference "with the intent to obey"!  Happiness will follow!

I also like this one:

"Should we really be surprised when the Lord's prophets declare His will and, for some, questions remain?  Of course, some reject the voice of the prophets immediately, but others prayerfully ponder their honest questions--questions that will be settled with patience and an eye of faith...One purpose of prophets is to help us in resolving sincere questions."

Twice in the talk, Elder Andersen gives us five keys to obtaining spiritual/absolute truth:

"The scriptures, our prayers, our own experiences, modern prophets, and the gift of the Holy Ghost bring us the spiritual perspective of truth necessary for our journey here on earth."

I am seeking that spiritual perspective to make it through my current challenges as a mother, and I wish it for all of you as well.

May we all find it as we seek with an eye of faith!

Thank you, Kate at Picklebums!  I've used this printable before and my kids have really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your talents.  

And anyone looking to start General Conference prep, check out my General Conference Ideas Page for some inspiration.

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Answers from #LDSConf

Despite being uber pregnant, having what feels like a displaced tailbone, and nurturing a sick toddler, this General Conference weekend went by faster and easier than any other I can remember.  What a blessing!

Swiftly too came answers to personal questions I have about my life--answered by one talk after another.

I hope the same was true for you.

I'm going to list some of the talks that held answers for me more as a way to remember the feelings I felt, so I can remember which talks I want to really hone in on in my personal study, although they all were great!

You can listen to or watch the talks at this link: General Conference Oct 2017.  

(I will also link to each talk below. If you'd like to listen to it in full just click on each speakers' name.)

Elder Rasband's talk touched me the most by far, but I'll just organize the talks as they correspond to my personal questions.  Also I tried not to put quotes around most of the quotes because they are only from my notes and not official transcripts:

Question 1:

1.  Why did You move our family away from the place we knew and loved to this new unfamiliar place? 

Answers to Question 1:

Elder Rasband: 

"Looking back, I realize I did not orchestrate any of those moves, the Lord did.  Just as he is orchestrating important moves for you and for those you love."

"Allow Him to make more of you than you can on your own."

"Treasure His involvement.  Sometimes, we consider changes in our plans as missteps on our journey.  Think of them more as first steps to being on the Lord's errand."

"Heavenly Father can put us in situations with specific intent in mind.  He has done so in my life and He is doing so in yours."

"Each of us is precious and loved by the Lord who cares, who whispers, and who watches over us in ways that are unique to each of us."

You and I may call these intersectings coincidence, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the inner workings of God.  His workings are by divine design.

Looking back, we can see His hand in our lives.

The Lord is guiding you. By divine design He is in the details of your life as well as the major milestones.

John C. Pingree: 

"Does the Lord have a work for you to do? Yes!"

You have been reserved and preserved for this time in the world. Focus on serving others. (Approach decision points in your life by thinking of how you can make decisions that will help you to serve others.  Use your talents to build others.  Use your trials to grow.  Rely on God to help you.  Don't be distracted by worldly things. Don't be discouraged by Satan. Remain humble by deflecting personal praise.  Give the glory to God instead.

Stanley G. Ellis:

Hard is good.

Hard strengthens us, humbles us, and draws us to Him.

Hard is the constant.  We all have challenges.
The only variable is our reaction to hard.

Question 2:

How can we re-strengthen our family relationships and increase the holy spirit and the spirit of unity in our home?

Answers to Question 2:

David A. Bednar: 

He explained that Sabbath Day observance and Temple worship (making and keeping sacred covenants) are a sacred time and place where we can become partakers of the "exceedingly great and precious promises" of God, and that as we take what we learn from these two practices and apply them in our homes, we can make our Homes the ultimate combination of these two holy spaces & times.

He advised us to try to escape the corruption of the world and warned us to overcome the casualness of the world.

Bonnie L. Oscarson:  

"Do you childrean realize how much your parents need your help and how much they appreciate your help at home?

She urged us all to change our attitude from "what will we get out of an activity" to "what can I contribute in a given situation.  Who can I help at home? Who needs my friendship at church or at school, etc.

Question 3:

How am I to treat personal devices, social media, and technology use in my life and in the lives of my family/children?

Answers to Question 3: 

Bonnie L. Oscarson:  

To the Youth: "Put down your phone and ask, "Who needs my help right now?"

Jose L. Alonso:

Leave your devices behind and use your hands to help others.

D. Todd Christofferson:  

"We all are the product of all we see, all we do, all we think."

Service is the very fiber on which a sanctified life is built.

"Holiness to the Lord" is to be our moto. "Put out of our lives anything that is inconsistent with a holy life."

Gary E. Stevenson: 

Any virtue taken to the extreme can become a vice.  Social media can be too time consuming, it can present an idealized version of reality, and cause us to make unfair comparisons between ourselves and others.  Success in life doesn't come down to how many likes we get on social media.  

Let us teach and demonstrate the righteous use of social media to the rising generation.  He warned us of indulging in pride which is so evident on social media.

Quentin L. Cook: 

Called attention to 'the humble brag" on social media. Some use "authenticity" as a way to celebrate the "natural man."  We need more modesty and humility.  It is foolish to underestimate the Christlike attributes including humility.  Humility is a sign of spiritual strength.

Question 4:

How am I supposed to interact with people who I perceive live or understand the gospel differently than I do?

Jeffrey R. Holland: 

Don't gloat. Give your help to anyone trying to walk the path back to God.

M. Russell Ballard: 

Embrace anyone who is making the trek back to God, no matter where they are on that journey.

Quentin L. Cook:

We are all equal before God.  All are invited to come unto the Lord.  Anyone who claims superiority is morally wrong.

W. Craig Zwick:

We need to look 'beyond what we can see' in others. 

We must look past our own assumptions about others.
We need to widen the tiny lens of our own experience.

Instead of seeing others through the lens of social media, we need to see them with a spiritual lens. We must see others through the eyes of the Savior.


Aren't we ALL different, come from different countries and backgrounds, etc??  We need to look inward at the Godly qualities of others.

Differences should never be a barrier to kindness.

Truly loving others requires accepting the best efforts of people whose life experiences and limitations we may never fully know.

Joni L. Koch:

In the church, the Lord expects us to be one.  Leave behind perceived differences and concentrate on our common spiritual objectives.

How we act when we are apart, how we talk about each other can detract from the unity of our wards.

We have no right to portray anyone as a badly finished product.  (Doing this indicates our lack of faith in the Atonement.)

Jeffrey R. Holland: 

Refuse to let the flaws of others make us question the truthfulness of the Church.

Our only hope for perfection is receiving it as a gift from heaven.  We can never "earn" it.  Remember that "perfection" in the New Testiment definition means to be "complete."

Gary E. Stevenson:

As with viewing the total solar eclipse, we need protective gospel glasses in order to inform us what is truly important and to keep a "spiritual eclipse" from blocking out the light of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

Steven W. Owen:  

Speaking of the Prodigal Son, he said: We are all prodigals. We all have to "come to ourselves" usually more than once in our lifetimes.

Repentance puts us on the right path and keeps us on the right path.  Being constantly nourished by the good word of God will keep you in the right way.

Russell M. Nelson:

Conversion is an individual matter. Each individual receives a witness and a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Mormon clears up false religious practices.

M. Russell Ballard:

Eliminate any racism, sexism, or nationalism.

President Eyring:

Acknowledged that, like we all, church leaders are imperfect, but we cut our own power when we criticize church leaders who are trying their best.  Jesus Christ is at the helm. He leads this church and His servants.

Question 5:

How can I strengthen myself to deal with my problems and the problems of our day?

Russell M. Nelson:

As you study the Book of Mormon every day and you will make better decisions every day.  You will find answers and direction for your own life.  You will be immunized against the evils of the day, including pornography and other mind-numbing addictions.

We need to feel that the Book of Mormon is true so deeply that we would never want to go a day without it.

The Book of Mormon teaches what it really means to be born again.  It teaches more thoroughly and powerfully about the Atonement of Jesus Christ than any other book.

"The full power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is found in the Book of Mormon. Period."

Jean B. Bingham:

Learn about, have faith in, and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When life gets hard, do we look for answers in a 'how-to' book or search for a blog post?  Instead, study the life of Christ, ponder the words of the prophets, pray, and come to know Jesus Christ.

Study the Living Christ.

W. Craig Zwick:

We need to heed our personal spiritual alarms.

Henry B. Eyring:

Faith always overcomes fear.

M. Russell Ballard:

Keep the doctrine of Christ pure.

Warned against get-rich-quick schemes, healing for money, and following those who set themselves up as spiritual leaders, but who are not ordained.

Adilson de Paula Parrella:

We should always act quickly when a prophet speaks.

Ian S. Arden:

Warned against cleverly disguised "caterpillars" who eat away at our spiritual roots.  We must do all we can to fortify ourselves against misinformation by prayerfully reading and pondering the Book of Mormon every day.

"Unless you are fully engaged in living the gospel...you cannot generate enough spiritual light to push back the darkness." - Elder Hales

Neil L. Andersen:

Trusting and believing in the words of His Prophets is vitally important.

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The Power of Reading the Book of Mormon Daily

Well, it's September already!  And General Conference is just four short weeks away!  It's one of those years when the Saturday session falls in September, so it's sneaking right up on us!

With President Monson's brief remarks ringing in my ears, we've been working hard as a family to get back on track with family scripture study this summer.  With our move and my husband not being around quite as much as we are used to, it was hard to get back on a good schedule. 

I didn't want to be hit or miss on scripture study anymore, so we decided to set a goal of reading the scriptures together every day without missing for the entire school year...starting September 1st (although we don't go back to school until Sept 5th!)

Here is the scripture reading chart that we made, ready to be filled right up with little stickers each day that we read together.

We made the chart on a large poster board so we wouldn't be tempted to forget the most important part of our day!

Do you remember the promises that President Monson made to us during his talk last General Conference?

Let's refresh:

Speaking of The Power of the Book of Mormon, President Monson said, "It is essential for you to have your own testimony in these difficult times, for the testimonies of others will carry you only so far. However, once obtained, a testimony needs to be kept vital and alive through continued obedience to the commandments of God and through daily prayer and scripture study.

"My dear associates in the work of the Lord, I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives. I so testify with all my heart in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Who of us doesn't need these promised blessings?:

When we study and ponder the scriputures daily, we in a position to:

1. hear the voice of the Spirit

2. resist temptation

3. overcome doubt and fear

4. receive heaven's help in our lives.

We've got 28 days to prove the Prophet by trying out his words.  Are there other principles taught last General Conference that you'd like to employ in your life?  I'd love to hear about it!

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