Conference Report April 2008

Being conference weekend we tried to involve the girls but how do you explain that for 2 hrs you need to play quietly and listen to some adults speak to a 3 yr old? Luckily the afternoon sessions fell during their naptime. I've been told you need to teach your kids how to sit quietly while they are young but honestly I haven't been able to master that one. Sunday afternoon M. Russell Ballard the 2nd to last Speak spoke about and directly to mothers with young children. He told a story about his wife and how while he was in the bishopric for 10 years they had like 6 of their 7 children or something like that. He said after he was released she was put in as the music leader and he found himself in the audience trying to entertain his young kids during sacrament meeting. He said he had 2 puppets on both hands but they didn't seem to be distracting the kids like they should, the coloring books weren't helping like they should and at one point the Cheerios went flying, that was embarrassing. I was laughing as the scene was all too familiar. You can probably guess this was one of my favorite talks. He told us to ask ourselves 4 questions.

1.What can you do to reduce pressure on you and your homes? He said don't be in such a hurry, and remember that Joy comes in moments. Don't overschedule you or your families and emphasized the importance of unstructured time (although I pry take too much of that). He also said to take time for yourself and to cultivate your gift. Last but not least make sure you Pray(especially over your families and for guidance as a mom), Study & teach the Gospel.

2.What can your husband do? John is actually pretty good at this one. Elder Ballard suggested husbands need to validate their wives, you need to have a day away from your home every once in a while, husbands make sure you talk about your children and to take an active roll with in your family.

3.what can your young children do to help? It was cute how he directly talked to the children on this one asking them to pick up their toys, make their beds and as they get older do the dishes or your chores-without being asked to. Make sure you thank your parents for all they do.

4.What can the church do? This was one of my favorites-he told the bishops to mindful of time taking parents of small children away from the home. Sometimes I think I need to be more supportive of my husband and be a stronger girl as I know that there are a lot of meetings in the church and that's ok. I think of my cousin Mandolin, she is my age with 3 young children and her husband is in the bishopric already. I am amazed and wonder how she does it...

Another favorite was David A. Bednar who spoke about prayer, not just a checklist but making it a prayer of action. He pointed out the story of Joseph Smith who prayed not only to know which church was right but which one to choose and if none of them were right then what should he do. He compared this to praying for the others such as the sick and the missionaries and pointing out that we should be praying to find those who are sick or who need us and to know how to help them. Something I want to work on because I know I can do better and I want to be there for others they way they are for me.

Last but not least was Jeffrey R. Holland who spoke of the importance of the Bible and the Book of Mormon together. I thought it was a very powerful talk that has made me think about my own knowledge of the Bible compared to the Book of Mormon.

These are just a few talks that stick out in my mind. I think they were all the Sundy Afternoon session which might have struck a chord with me because I didn't have kids distracting me or because they were things my spirit was especially touched by.

What were your some of your favorites?