Conference for Teens

I watched the first session of conference this morning with my family, and it was so great! I'm so excited for the next session in a few hours!
My favorite part about conference is usually the beginning when President Monson talks about the growth of the church, the missions, and especially the new temples! A few years ago he announced a new temple that will be only thirty minutes away from me, instead of two and a half hours. Ever since, the announcing of new temples has a special new meaning to me because I understand the joy that people all over the world feel. It's incredible, and it's beautiful!
As a youth, there are many things we can listen for in conference. Even the words aimed towards adults about marriage and such can have unique meaning for us. For example, talks about marriage have huge significance to us even though we're not married. As teenagers in the church, we are on the brink of sooooo many giant life decisions! It is wise for us to heed these talks because it will help us know more about these choices as we prepare to make them.
The prophets and leaders of the church have so much knowledge and experience that they can impart to us. I know our lives will be blessed as we cherish conference. I have seen it in my own life. A few conferences ago, I picked out one piece of advice which stuck out to me that I was going to work on for next conference. President Monson gave the counsel. He told us to NEVER post-pone a prompting and to act immediately on inspiration. I instituted this counsel in my life and I saw immediate blessings! I became closer to my Lord, and the Holy Ghost. I learned to recognize the Spirit better, received more promptings and inspiration, and was able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to further His work. Sure, I wasn't perfect, but the improvement I saw in my life by following teachings from conference was amazing!
So what can you do this conference to bring it in and make it personal? How can you act on the counsel given? Will you go the extra mile to be inspired and better your life? This divine knowledge from on high is being bounteously poured down to us. What will you do with it?

Singing for Elder Ballard

Hello wonderful people! So on Friday a very special opportunity presented itself to all the youth who live in my state. Yes, state, not stake. Elder Lansing, from the quorum of the seventy, Bishop Stevenson, the Presiding Bishop of the Church, and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the quorum of the twelve came and gave us a fireside. It was incredible! But, the fireside was even more special for the girls in my ward and me because we were the musical number. We sang for all of the youth in our state, all of the bishops and stake presidents, and our guests.
It was spectacular to look out into the sea of faces of kids my age. These were the faces of righteous, loving youth who loved and value the same ideals as I. When we sang, I felt the Spirit so strongly. Usually, when I feel the Holy Ghost, it's a very still, tender, sweet feeling that makes me cry. This time it was joyful, and exuberant. I looked at all of the beautiful people as I sang to them, and made eye contact with as many as I could. I wanted them to feel the power of the words I sang just as acutely as I was feeling them. I was smiling so much that my face hurt. :D Afterwards, my friends who were in the audience said, "I could tell that you were just feeling it! It was like something was emanating from you." and "You sang like an angel.". Singing for the youth in my state and for Elder Ballard was an incredible experience!
So, after we sang, the three visitors gave an awesome fireside where they were speaking directly to us, youth. Here are my favorite parts of what they said:

Elder Lansing:

• “Right now the eyes of the Lord are focused on the youth” –Elder Lansing
• President Monson is the most youth-oriented prophet there's ever been. He's 85. Most people at that age are looking back on their lives, but he is looking forward into the future of the church. President Monson has brought to pass:
• New For Strength of Youth
• New Youth Curriculum
• Missionary Age Change

Bishop Stevenson:

• Satan tries to make us look at things as they aren't. He tries to confuse us. But we have the proper tools to combat the confusion.
• We have the Plan of Happiness.
• We have these formulas:
• Obedience/Righteousness --> Blessings --> Happiness
• Disobedience --> Punishment --> Misery

Elder Ballard:

• "We have experiences in our future we can't even dream of."
• "Keep the beam of heaven guiding our thoughts and minds."
• He explained how we can be like Nephi by using this scripture: 1 Nephi 2:16:
• "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers."
• 1) Have a great desires to learn about God
• 2) Pray and sincerely study about Him, develop a relationship with Him
• 3) He will come unto you

• We need to kindle the desire
• "We all have challenges. That's why we're here."

I know that the Lord's servants speak His truth and His gospel and that when we follow their counsel we can't go wrong. I'm so grateful for this opportunity I had. 

 

Conference: Why it has Everything to do with You

 

Next weekend, something exciting is happening. I'm not talking about a football game, or a concert. I'm talking about General Conference.  You may be wondering, "What does this have to do with me?". I'll tell you. General Conference has everything to do with you. Here's why.

1. Being a teen is hard, as you know, and you can gain specific revelation that pertains to you during General Conference. Here's how.  Before Conference, prayerfully ponder some questions you have, or some of the difficulties in your life. During conference, listen to the speakers, songs, and prayers. Also listen to the Holy Ghost. He is the one who will give you the teach you. Be prepared to write down any thoughts, feelings, or promptings you get during conference. This is more important than taking notes of the speakers' talks. Their talks will be published for you to read over and over again, but the Holy Ghost's whisperings that day might not be.
2. Even though the speakers are not young, they still have things to say that will interest you and better your life. Because they are much older than us, these General Authorities know what they are talking about. Not only do they receive revelation from God about what to tell us, they've been in our shoes. They have been through our stage of life. Sure, President Monson probably didn't have a phone when he was in school, but he still went to school. He, and all of the other apostles and prophets know what we're going through and can impart wisdom to us accordingly.
3. The prophets, apostles. and other speakers will tell us what Heavenly Father wants us to know right now.  I actually don't know what else to say about this. It speaks for itself. The speakers pray for so much guidance in choosing their topic and preparing their words. Their goal is to be a conduit for Heavenly Father, and they achieve that by paying close attention to the Holy Ghost when they are pondering over which words to speak. This allows them to speak what Heavenly Father wants them to say.

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my ^aword shall not pass away, but shall all be ^bfulfilled, whether by mine own ^cvoice or by the ^dvoice of my ^eservants, it is the ^fsame.

-Doctrine and Covenants 1:38

I know that every one of us will benefit from watching conference. I love it. And I'm so grateful for it! I'm grateful for my Father in Heaven who loves His children enough to send the Holy Ghost and living Prophets to give us guidance and counsel. 

 

General Conference!!!!!!!

Heyyy. Today I'm going to talk about General Conference.
I love General Conference. And, for those who may not know, General Conference is a semi-annual church meeting that is broadcasted world-wide. There are 5 ten-hour sessions in which the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, the Twelve Apostles, The Quorum of the Seventy, and other Church leaders.  This is a time when these leaders share with the world the things that the Lord wants them to know.
I'm going to share my thoughts/opinions/notes/feelings/favorite talks (haha) from this General Conference.

• I really loved President Boyd K. Packer's talk because it was focused on the youth.  He told us that even though there is opposition, we need not fear. He also said that because so much is expected from the youth, we will be blessed.
• I also enjoyed Elder Robert D. Hales' talk about humility. Everything that Jesus did on earth was The Father's plan and will. Trials are given to everyone. THey are given to see if we will use our agency to follow God.
• I really love the words of Elder D. Todd Christofferson in his talk: We should always have a smile on our face when we talk about repentance. 
• Ian S. Arden, of the Seventy, spoke of time. He said that time cannot be sold or bought. When wisely used, it's value is immeasureable. We are all given the same amount of time. If we are busy, busy must equal productive. People who are close to the Savior won't be distracted by distracting pursuits.We should always review what we are doing to prepare to meet God.
• Carl B. Cook, of the Seventy, also had a fantastic talk. He said that "We should always look up!" We can be healde and strengthened by the Atonement. To "Look Up" is a metaphor for looking to Christ. We should Look up, step up, and cheer up. Looking up isn't a one-time experience.

I really love General Conference.And I have a testimony that the Lord truly speaks to us through the mouths of the prophets and apostles.

If you would like to watch, read, or listen to General Conference, click here.

If you would like to learn more about living Prophets and Apostles, click here.