Conference is a Guide for Our Journey

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the October 2001 conference.

Conference opened with an address by then prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley titled Living in the Fulness of Times. He talked of the mighty miracles of our modern times and reminded us that along with all that, "the Lord has restored His ancient priesthood. He has organized His Church and Kingdom during the past century and a half. . . . We have seen only the foreshadowing of the mighty force for good that this church will become. . . . Our strength is our faith in the Almighty. . . .The Lord has given us the goal toward which we work. That goal is to build His kingdom, which is a mighty cause of great numbers of men and women of faith, of integrity, of love and concern for mankind, marching forward to create a better society, bringing blessings upon ourselves and upon the heads of others."

Building on that theme then Elder Dallin H. Oaks spoke of sharing the gospel which begins with desire, and then . . . "love for God and for all of His children. . . . The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion." He said, "The most effective missionaries, member and full-time, always act out of love." When explaining how to do it, he said, "We begin by beginning." Sometimes I'm guilty of planning too much and acting too little. I remember President Spencer W. Kimball's teaching to "Do it!" Elder Oaks cautions, "We must be sure we act out of love and not in any attempt to gain personal recognition or advantage." He testifies that, "The gospel of Jesus Christ is the brightest light and the only hope for this darkened world."

All of the talks in this session were so timely and inspiring! Elder Charles Didier spoke of building a bridge of faith ". . . for crossing and overcoming the walls of unbelief, indifference, fear, or sin. Our mortal life is the time for men to meet God by building a bridge of faith, opening the door into immortality and eternal life."

Sister Sheri L. Dew, Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, spoke of marriage. Her message is much needed today. "Lucifer is determined to devour marriages and families, because their demise threatens the salvation of all involved and the vitality of the Lord's kingdom itself. Thus, Satan seeks to confuse us about our stewardships and distinctive natures as men and women. He bombards us with bizarre messages about gender, marriage, family, and all male-female relationships. He would have us believe men and women are so alike that our unique gifts are not necessary, or so different that we can never hope to understand each other. Neither is true."

Elder Henry B. Eyring gave a beautiful sermon on prayer, concluding with this promise: "If you ponder the scriptures and begin to do what you covenanted with God to do, I can promise you that you will feel more love for God and more of His love for you. And with that your prayers will come from the heart, full of thanks and of pleading. You will feel a greater dependence on God. You will find the courage and determination to act in His service, without fear and with peace in your heart. You will pray always. And you will not forget Him, no matter what the future brings."

President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency finished the session with a masterful sermon on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. "Our salvation depends on believing in and accepting the Atonement. Such acceptance requires a continual effort to understand it more fully. . . . All of us have sinned and need to repent to fully pay our part of the debt. When we sincerely repent, the Savior's magnificent Atonement pays the rest of the debt."

He quoted President J. Reuben Clark Jr., "I feel that [the Savior] will give that punishment which is the very least that our transgression will justify. I believe that he will bring into his justice all the infinite love and blessing and mercy and kindness and understanding which he has. . . . And on the other hand, I believe that when it comes to making the rewards for our good conduct, he will give us the maximum that it is possible to give, having in mind the offense which we have committed." This gave me great comfort as I ponder what will happen to our son who took his own life. James had so many good qualities and was loving, kind and generous, often going without to give to others. He was such a good son and brother. I'm relying on the grace and mercy of the Savior's Atonement to make things right with James. I wish I could have taught him better to look to the Savior for help and redemption. Perhaps this is why we should allow our children to experience little failures and disappointments early in life so we can teach them who to look to for support, strength to overcome and forgiveness for mistakes. "The evil influence of Satan would destroy any hope we have in overcoming our mistakes. He would have us feel that we are lost and that there is no hope. In contrast, Jesus reaches down to lift us up. Through our repentance and the gift of the Atonement, we can prepare to be worthy to stand in His presence."

Listening to and reading the conference talks each week has given me so much strength to carry on in the face of tragedy. I'm so grateful for prophets and apostles, both ancient and modern to guide me on my journey through the wilderness of life to my Promised Land of eternity.