General Conference was wonderful this year! We are so blessed to have a living prophet on the earth today. There were many wonderful messages and many amazing testimonies of the Savior. The spirit was so strong throughout all of the sessions. Some of my favorite talks were in the Sunday Morning session. I felt as though there were several talks given just for me. I'd like to share a few quotes and thoughts that really hit me yesterday (some of these will be paraphrased from my notes, not word for word quotes).
President Uchtdorf spoke on gratitude:
"One who is burdened with sorrow should give thanks to God."
" The Lord does not expect us to be less grateful during trials than we are when life is going well."
"Gratitude is a choice. We can choose to be grateful no matter what our circumstances may be. Being grateful in our circumstances is an act of faith in God."
"Endings are not our destiny. They are merely interruptions."
This talk really hit me. Even though we miss Tace and wish more than anything that he were here, we still have much to be grateful for. We have been blessed with so much...a home to live in, good jobs, scholarships to get us through school, wonderful family and friends, an incredible husband who takes such good care of me, and above all, the gospel. We are so grateful for the knowledge and peace the gospel brings into out lives, now more than ever before. We truly do have much to be grateful for and we need to remember to show our gratitude for those blessings.
Sister Jean A. Stevens spoke on trials:
"You can feel peace in the midst of turmoil. You can be surrounded by God's love."
"The gospel gives us wings."
"Face your challenges with faith. Heavenly Father will be there to surround us with His love. We will not be left alone in our trials."
Tace has been on my mind a lot this past week as we passed his due date last Sunday. Things have been harder in a way this week because he really should have been here now. We have missed him so much these past 4 months, but if everything had gone smoothly he wouldn't have been here with us until now. It was great to have a reminder that Heavenly Father understands the trials we are going through and that He will not leave us alone.
Elder Bednar spoke on the burdens we are carrying:
"It is the load we are carrying that enables us to get out of "the snow" and make it back home."
"The unique burdens in each of our lives help us to learn and grow and come closer to our Savior."
"We do not need to carry our burden alone...there is nothing we have experienced that our Savior has not also experienced. He understands our heartache and sorrow."
I know that we are meant to experience trials in this life to help us to learn and grow and draw closer to our Savior. However, I never thought of it in the way Elder Bednar expressed. He emphasized that without our "loads" we would just be spinning our wheels. It is the load and burdens we carry that allow us to move forward and progress. As hard as this trial has been, it has made me rely more on my Savior and Heavenly Father. I have grown closer to them as I have had to rely on them to make it through. My marriage has also been strengthened as Brian and I have done all we can to support each other through this trial.
Last of all I loved a quote from President Packer's talk:
"Arms now empty will be filled and hearts now hurting from broken dreams and yearnings will be healed."
That is the promise I needed to hear more than anything. Our arms will be filled again and our hearts will be healed.
What a wonderful conference. I know without a doubt in my mind that our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, and all the other general authorities have been called of God and have been His mouth piece over these past 2 days. I am grateful for a living prophet and a loving Heavenly Father who sends words of comfort, counsel, and warning to His children. We are so blessed to be a part of this great work and to reap the blessings that come through the restored gospel.
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