General Conference Favorites

General Conference was this weekend. For those who don't know, General Conference is held twice a year and is a time when the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speak to the members and everyone else throughout the world that would like to listen. The proceedings are available on radio, tv, and internet, and the live meeting is in Salt Lake City. 5 2-hour conference sessions are held over the two-day period, and General Conference is always highly anticipated by members of the church.

Anyway, I started thinking about a few conference talks that have highly impacted my life, both at the time they were given and for years afterward. I thought I would give you a short list of 10 of the talks that have most impacted my life (there are many more than 10, though!). I have only included those talks that I remember being given live...although many talks before my time have also greatly impacted me, that will have to be a post for another day. So, in order by the year they were given, the talks:

1. October 2003, Anne C. Pingree: "Seeing the Promises Afar Off"
This one most impressed me because of the story she told about the African women who walked 18 miles to get a temple recommend that they might not ever get to use. "As they walked with faith in every footstep along that sandy jungle trail in West Africa, those valiant Nigerian sisters could not have imagined that the walls of a holy temple of God would one day rise in their own nation. They could not have imagined that the inspired words of another prophet of God, President Gordon B. Hinckley, would bring the promised blessings they hoped for and had seen 'afar off.' They only knew that the Lord restored His gospel in these times, that a testimony of that gospel burned in their hearts, that faith lit their way in life. Then they acted on a prophet's counsel to be worthy and to carry a temple recommend."

2. April 2004, Dennis E. Simmons: "But If Not..."

This was during a difficult time in my life when I felt like promised blessings were not being fulfilled. "Our scriptures and our history are replete with accounts of God's great men and women who believed that He would deliver them, but if not, they demonstrated that they would trust and be true."

3. April 2004, Bruce C. Hafen: "The Atonement: All For All"
I read this talk maybe 100+ times. "Almost is especially enough when our own sacrifices somehow echo the Savior's sacrifice, however imperfect we are. We cannot really feel charity--Christ's love for others--without at least tasting His suffering for others, because the joy and the suffering are but two sides of a single reality. When we really are afflicted in the affliction s of other people, we may enter "the fellowship of his sufferings" enough to become joint-heirs with Him."

4. April 2005, David A. Bednar: "The Tender Mercies of the Lord"
This talk helped me to recognize and give voice to things I had already seen that the Lord had done for me. "A Loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord's timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them."

5. April 2006, Jeffrey R. Holland: "Broken Things to Mend"
As might be apparent, I am a huge fan of Elder Holland's talks. I am slightly biased because he, too, was an English major at BYU, and his command of the English language is stellar. I have memorized many of his devotionals given at BYU over the years, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear many of those favorite devotional quotations used in this talk. I knew what he was going to say before he even said it, and that was very exciting. "My desire today is for all of us--not just thos we are 'poor in spirit' but all of us--to have more straightforward personal experience with the Savior's example. Sometimes we seek heaven too obliquely, focusing on programs or history or the experience of others. Those are important but not as important as personal experience, true discipleship, and the strength that comes from experiencing firsthand the majesty of His touch."

6. October 2006, Jeffrey R. Holland: "Prophets in the Land Again"
Wow. This talk was such a thrill. Just imagine! We proclaim to all the world that God speaks to prophets on the earth today. He has not forgotten His people, nor will He ever! "It is no trivial matter for this Church to declare to the world prophecy, seership, and revelation, but we do declare it. It is true light shining in a dark world, and it shines from these proceedings."

7. April 2007, Jeffrey R. Holland: "The Tongue of Angels"
I have always had a problem with being just a little too sarcastic. At this particular time in my life I was living in Jerusalem and not always realizing the effects of my verbal tongue lashings I gave to fellow students and teachers (even if I felt they deserved it!). Ever since this talk, I have tempered my tongue immensely. "So, brothers and sisters, in this long eternal quest to be more like our Savior, may we try to be 'perfect' men and women in at least this one way now--by offending not in word, or more positively put, by speaking with a new tongue, the tongue of angels. Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail."

8. April 2007, James E. Faust: "The Healing Power of Forgiveness"
I was overwhelmed by the love and forgiveness of the Amish community. Would I respond in a similar manner to such a tragedy? I hope so. "When tragedy strikes, we should not respond by seeking personal revenge but rather let justice take its course and then let go. It is not easy to let go and empty our hearts of festering resentment. The Savior has offered to all of us a precious peace through His Atonement, but this can come only as we are willing to cast out negative feelings of anger, spite, or revenge."

9. April 2008, Thomas S. Monson: "Looking Back and Moving Forward"
This was given right before I went to Jordan for a semester. I put it on my ipod in Arabic and in English, and during the many sleepless nights I had there, I would lie in my bed listening to this talk, over and over. For some reason hearing President Monson's voice and his words about God's dealings with man throughout history did much to calm and heal my broken and aching heart. "Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties. At times there appears to be no light at the tunnel's end--no dawn to break the night's darkness. We feel surrounded by the pain of broken hearts, the disappointment of shattered dreams, and the despair of vanished hopes. We join in uttering the biblical plea, 'Is there no balm in Gilead?' We are inclined to view our own personal misfortunes through the distorted prism of pessimism. We feel abandoned, heartbroken, alone. If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face."

10. October 2008, Joseph B. Wirthlin: "Come What May and Love It"
This was a classic. I was on my mission. There are a lot of things on missions that are really difficult to love. Heat, humidity, cockroaches, riding bikes, constant rain or beating sun, companions, people who don't come to appointments, and other difficulties sometimes make you feel guilty because you don't love every second of the mission. I loved what he said: "How can we love days that are filled with sorrow? We can't--at least not in the moment. I don't think my mother was suggesting that we suppress discouragement or deny the reality of pain. I don't think she was suggesting that we smother unpleasant truths beneath a cloak of pretended happiness. But I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life."

And as a bonus: October 2008, Jeffrey R. Holland: "The Ministry of Angels"
I had been studying angels in the scriptures for several months. I desperately needed to know that as a missionary, I could do the work of angels. And then Elder Holland gave this talk. I felt like God was speaking directly to me. "Breanne, this talk is for you": "Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. But seen or unseen they are always near. Sometimes their assignments are very grand and  have significance for the whole world. Sometimes the messages are more private. Occasionally the angelic purpose is to warn. But most often it is to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult times."

What are some of your favorite Conference talks through the years?