Preparing for the BIG Weekend!

So I have much to share in preparation for the exciting event of General Conference that awaits us.  Read through the whole post for a myriad of ways to prepare yourself and your family to hear the word of God:

1. Go into General Conference remembering that it has something just for YOU!
   
   Elder Holland said, “If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal little, prophetic epistle just to you.”
   
   Enjoy this video and you may also enjoy reading THIS arcticle from the September Ensign about a Sister's experience in finding out that Conference had something just for her.
   
   

 2. This week ponder about and write down some questions or concerns that you have and pray to receive answers and direction for those specific things during Conference.  Answers will come.

 3. Create new General Conference traditions or plan to carry out old ones.  This can give something similar and concrete about each Conference for your children (and yourself) to look forward to.  You can find one of our traditions HERE.

 4. Play some games or watch this video sometime this week to get your kids thinking about what is coming.
You can find an Apostle Matching Game and Fun Fact Cards HERE.  There are also a few fun online games from lds.org you can find HERE.


 5. Get some of these printables ready for your children to use throughout Conference:
LDS.org Printables
Sugardoodle.net Printable Packets for all ages.
Sugardoodle.net Other Conference activities and printables.
Deseret Book Printable

And there are so many other creations, ideas, and printables all over the internet.  I hope you find something you like.

6. Think about joining in this fun Video Conference event, check out this video to learn more:

6. I was sent a document with many FAQ about Genereal Conference but don't know how to put the information on my blog.  If you are in need of answers to any of these questions leave a comment with the question you'd like answered and your email address or email me with this information at becominglds@gmail.com. 

• How can I access General Conference?
• When will conference materials be available?
• What languages are available?
• Can I put General Conference on my mobile device?
• Can I download just the music from General Conference?
• Is General Conference on Twitter or Facebook?

7.  And finally, I know this challenge comes a little late but do you remember our semi-annual no tv weeks well since things have changed in that department quite a bit at our house we aren't holding an official one but if you'd like to try it out and turn your tv off for the week it really does make turning on the tv for Conference such a refreshing and wonderful experience.  I dare you! ;)

Now let's all get prepping!  What does your family do to prepare for Conference?

Q and A: How to Continue Preparing in the Midst of a Storm?

So here is a question from a reader of this post.  I've decided that it deserves it's own post so you all can respond and help her out.  I am not sure I have a good answer so please share your thoughts and feelings or experiences:

"We HAD some food storage, but recently started enduring a storm of our own and have had to use a bit of it. So my question is, is there a way to store away or supplement for another or greater storm or more aggressive stage of a current storm while IN a storm currently? I'm feeling overwhelmed. Any ideas would be great, cause i don't want to become complacent thinking that this is it, this is my storm."

Getting Ready to Open Our Ears and Our Hearts: General Conference October 2010

So last night opened this week of listening to and hearkening to the Word of God.  I've already felt uplifted. I've already felt pushed to make changes.  I've already felt the great desire that General Conference brings to be better, to do more, and to drop unnecessary things out of my life.  The General Relief Society Meeting was wonderful. But there is so much more to come for ourselves, our families, and our spouses.

To watch and read highlights of the

Relief Society Meeting you can visit HERE.

What does your family do to prepare for Conference?
We usually print out various activities including: bingo, coloring pages, etc.  In the past I have created a list of links but this time around I have seen a list of great resources compiled at diapersanddivnity.com and decided to just direct you there.  (Thanks Steph!) There are packets for all different age groups and even activities that your children can participate in throughout this week even before conference begins.

What are some General Conference traditions that you have?
We just started a new tradition of turning off our TV for the week before Conference.  You can read more about our tradition HERE.

So now let's hear how you prepare and/or what traditions you have?

To read my past posts about General Conference you can visit HERE.

Could You Ride Out the Storm?

“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year’s supply of food … and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.” President Thomas S. Monson

Although this statement by President Monson might make us chuckle, in reality it could lead to a scary ride on storm-tossed waves. Is your family prepared for the storms that lie ahead? Recently I have been reminded that we have much more to do to be ready for unforeseen storms that may lie ahead.

And I have had the thought that the more prepared we are physically the more prepared we will be spiritually. If we are prepared physically for the waves I believe we will more easily feel the Savior's power working in us to calm the storm and we will feel of God's love for us.

Elder Holland said, "It is not without a recognition of life’s tempests but fully and directly because of them that I testify of God’s love and the Savior’s power to calm the storm."

WHAT IS YOUR FAMILY DOING TO BE PREPARED FOR AN EMERGENCY?
I'd love to hear tips, suggestions, and even questions that some of you have in regards to food storage, other emergency supplies, 72 hour kits, etc.

Here are some great resources to check out:

Family Home Storage Pamphlet

Family Finances Pamphlet

Family Emergency Planning

Prepared LDS Family

Soul-Destroying Termites

In the past I have pondered the significance of doing the small and simple things which I have always looked at as the positive and important things we've been asked to do which isn't necessarily a bad thing but then I read this quote and saw small and simple things in a new light.

"Small and simple things can be negative and destructive to a person’s salvation. A series of seemingly small but incorrect choices can become those little soul-destroying termites that eat away at the foundations of our testimony until, before we are aware, we may be brought near to spiritual and moral destruction." - M. Russell Ballard

The choices may be small, they may be simple, they may be little, BUT then Elder Ballard says they are DESTROYING our souls.

Let us be watchful so that we may see when these destroying termites are lurking near and push them away with all of our might.

Let us follow the counsel of Mosiah 4:30: Watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord.

Boring Church Meetings

You know those Sundays that seem to just drag on. The speaker is boring because they are reading their talk with their head down. The Gospel Doctrine teacher hasn't prepared well. And then in Relief Society/Elder's Quorum there is no class involvement. If you notice when reading these statements they are all focused on someone else and what they did or did not do. Well I have been thinking a little bit about my attitude towards Church meetings and my role in what I get out of them.

Does it Say More About the Teacher-or About You?

As I have been thinking I found this great quote: "Now I would ask you to think about...your own ability to have great spiritual experiences as you attend a class or a sacrament meeting on Sunday. What is your role in creating the environment in which the Spirit can teach you the things you need to know? If you find a Church class or a sacrament meeting boring, does that say more about the teacher—or about you?"

What great questions to ask ourselves. What a great way to check our attitudes and the roles we are taking in our meetings. They have me thinking.

“What do you do if you find yourself caught in a boring sacrament meeting?”

The quote continues, "Consider the response of President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) when someone once asked him, “What do you do if you find yourself caught in a boring sacrament meeting?” President Kimball thought a moment, then replied, “I don’t know; I’ve never been in one.” With his long years of Church experience, President Kimball had undoubtedly been to many meetings where people had read their talks, spoken in a monotone, or given travelogues instead of teaching doctrine. But most likely, President Kimball was teaching that he did not go to sacrament meeting to be entertained; he went to worship the Lord, renew his covenants, and be taught from on high. If he attended with an open heart, a desire to be “nourished by the good word of God” (Moroni 6:4), and a prayer—rather than judgment—for the speakers, the Spirit would teach him what he needed to do to be a more effective and faithful disciple. President Kimball was teaching the principle of learning by the Spirit" (A. Roger Merrill, “To Be Edified and Rejoice Together,” Ensign, Jan 2007, 64–69).

I love the statement that sacrament meeting is not to entertain us but we attend Church to worship, renew covenants, and to be taught. So if we stop looking for the speaker or teacher to entertain and start listening to the Spirit then we will be taught and edified. The teacher/speaker still holds a role but we must do our part and so importantly we must pray for those who teach and not judge them. I loved that.

Losing our Lives in Service to Others

Finally I love this last quote and example given by Elder Oaks in General Conference, "Each of us should apply that principle (losing our lives in service to others) to our attitudes in attending church. Some say “I didn’t learn anything today” or “No one was friendly to me” or “I was offended” or “The Church is not filling my needs.” All those answers are self-centered, and all retard spiritual growth.

In contrast, a wise friend wrote:

“Years ago, I changed my attitude about going to church. No longer do I go to church for my sake, but to think of others. I make a point of saying hello to people who sit alone, to welcome visitors, . . . to volunteer for an assignment. . . .

“In short, I go to church each week with the intent of being active, not passive, and making a positive difference in people’s lives. Consequently, my attendance at Church meetings is so much more enjoyable and fulfilling.”

All of this illustrates the eternal principle that we are happier and more fulfilled when we act and serve for what we give, not for what we get."

Our Job is to Seek to Learn and to Serve

What a powerful example. I love that. I think so often we think "what's in it for me" or "I didn't get anything out of that." But if we were to change our attitudes and focus on our own role as learners and attend Church to be taught and uplifted by the Spirit we would be there for the right reasons; we would be there to worship the Lord.

So first thing I've determined is that we need to focus on our role as learners...so this is more about us and our experience. Then on the total flip side we need to think of others as we attend Church. We need to actively seek out and serve others while we attend. Notice those that may be sitting by themselves, sign up to help out with something that maybe you normally wouldn't, or say hello and smile at someone in the hall. Simple things can make a big difference, a big spiritual difference in our own and other's Church going experience.

It Begins Before Sunday

I often do not prepare myself adequately for this day and consequently we are running around on Sunday mornings and rushing in just a few minutes before the meeting starts. I often feel frazzled and much less than Spirit-filled before the meetings begin. This makes me think of this wonderful primary song:

Saturday is a special day.
It’s the day we get ready for Sunday:
We clean the house, and we shop at the store,
So we won’t have to work until Monday.
We brush our clothes, and we shine our shoes,
And we call it our get-the-work-done day.
Then we trim our nails, and we shampoo our hair,
So we can be ready for Sunday!

If we prepare ourselves and get ready for Sunday our meetings will be far more spiritual and no where close to boring. If we do our part, we may not be entertained socially but we will be entertained spiritually. Let us go to Church as prepared learners and students. Let us go to Church to uplift and to serve others. Let us prepare ourselves for the special and sacred sabbath day.

Priesthood: Be Ready and Worthy to Act

My husband introduced me to this video last night of a portion of a talk by Elder Holland. It fits perfectly with my previous post but in a different perspective. I focused on the blessings that we all can receive through the power of the priesthood and in this talk Elder Holland focuses on the need for every priesthood holder to "be ready and worthy to act". It is a powerful message.

I would love to hear your experiences of when you were blessed by the priesthood or when you were able to use the power of priesthood because you were ready and worthy to act.

You can read one of my experiences in the previous post.

Becoming a Missionary

Missionary work has been on my mind a lot lately as I have been recognizing the opportunities for missionary experiences in my neighborhood. I have never lived in a place where there are many missionary opportunities and now I am surrounded by people who are not members or who are not active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The opportunities are there yet it can be difficult to take them. I have taken a few small steps in the right direction and even then I was nervous. I felt impressed to give two sisters that I visit teach (both are not active) copies of the conference issue of the Ensign. This obviously was nothing too big but it was kind of a leap for me. I am not sure if they have read any of it or plan to, but I feel good knowing that I received a prompting and I followed it.

With all of that said about my recent experiences with missionary work now I will mention the real reason for writing this post. My husband has been reading his mission journal lately and thus has shared stories with me that I have never heard. I was absolutely blown away at some of the experiences he had. I am not talking about wonderful experiences of baptizing a family, or teaching a wonderful sister, or anything of the sort. I was shocked by the unreal experiences he had with a few very disobedient and heartless companions (this was before the bar was risen).

After he shared one particular experience I responded with a line of this sort - "If I found out that my son was that kind of missionary I would be heart broken and dissapointed...we can't let our children be missionaries like that." Then I asked him if their parents knew that their sons were missionaries like that and he said that they probably didn't. Then I asked him, "So how will we know if our sons are good missionaries?" We came to this conclusion...we will know long before they ever leave what kind of missionary they will be.

This brings me to this wonderful talk by Elder David A. Bednar called Becoming a Missionary. He perfectly answers what one must do to prepare for a full-time mission and further suggests that in every area of our lives we must focus more on becoming rather than going. Enjoy portions of the talk below or click on the link above for his full talk:

“In meetings with young members of the Church around the world, I often invite those in attendance to ask questions. One of the questions I am asked most frequently by young men is this: “What can I do to prepare most effectively to serve as a full-time missionary?” Such a sincere question deserves a serious response.

“My dear young brethren, the single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission. Please notice that in my answer I emphasized becoming rather than going. Let me explain what I mean.

“In our customary Church vocabulary, we often speak of going to church, going to the temple, and going on a mission. Let me be so bold as to suggest that our rather routine emphasis on going misses the mark.

“The issue is not going to church; rather, the issue is worshipping and renewing covenants as we attend church. The issue is not going to or through the temple; rather, the issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the covenants, and the ordinances of the Lord’s house. The issue is not going on a mission; rather, the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. It is possible for a young man to go on a mission and not become a missionary, and this is not what the Lord requires or what the Church needs.

“My earnest hope for each of you young men is that you will not simply go on a mission—but that you will become missionaries long before you submit your mission papers, long before you receive a call to serve, long before you are set apart by your stake president, and long before you enter the MTC” (Ensign, Nov 2005, 44).

Let us all focus on becoming missionaries now and help our children to do the same. I loved Elder Bednar's suggestion to emphasize things differently - to focus on the more important issues and become better people rather than just go through the motions of going to church, going on a mission, or going to the temple. Let us not only go but become.