My Invinceable Summer

As many of you already know, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Twice a year-in April and October-the members of the church from all over the world and all walks of life halt activities for two days and gather around church buildings, radios, televisions, and computers. There is a conference center in Utah that holds 21,000 people, and is always full to capacity for each of the four two-hour sessions of General Conference. The sessions are held on Saturday and Sunday-one in the morning and one in the afternoon on both days-and it's a great opportunity to gather around and listen to the words of our leaders. Speakers are selected months in advance, and prayerfully prepare talks with a mind to comfort, uplift, and guide the members of the church. Generally, our family has made it a habit to view the Saturday morning session, and both sessions on Sunday. Last time General Conference came around was the Sunday before Ammon's death, and we watched the Sunday morning session on the sofa, which we had turned around to face the computer. We all played conference bingo, which consists of listening to the speakers, and as they each say a variety of words, you place a small candy on the squares, which hold the randomly selected words. When you achieve five in a row, you are able to eat your candy and start all over again. We had a fabulous time playing conference bingo that day, and even Ammon got in on the action that day.

This weekend, in conjunction with celebrating Brooklyn's birth, we are watching Conference. My mother is here visiting from Utah, and we sat down together to watch the morning session. As it always seems, many of the talks were directly relevant to my life. They spoke of hope, of faith, and of having an attitude of gratitude and gratefulness. They spoke of the burdens we all carry, and of carrying on through the dark, burdensome days of our lives. They spoke of loneliness and despair, and of the enduring faith that we must have to carry us through these difficult times. One of the most beloved leaders, Joseph B. Wirthlin, said in the afternoon session that the principle of compensation is real. It has been promised that for every tear, every sorrow, every pain of this life, those that are faithful will be compensated 100 fold. It was so comforting to hear that. These are truths that are familiar to me--but it was incredibly uplifting to hear them spoken so powerfully and spiritually. I was moved to tears many times, and can't wait to get the talks in writing so that I can more fully study them. The last speaker, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, spoke of despair and the many trials that are inevitable in life. He counseled us that through the winters of our lives-through the dark days and oppressive cold, we must find within ourselves our invincible summer. I feel inspired and hopeful to find MY inner invincible summer. I am so grateful that I was able to listen to both sessions today, and look forward to being further enlightened tomorrow. How wonderful it is that we have a living prophet and servants of the Lord that speak to us today. How wonderful that they prayerfully seek out the topics, and the words that will best edify and uplift their people. How grateful I am that I was able to be uplifted and edified today.