Dear Elders and Sisters,
I very much enjoyed your letters last week, especially your
thoughts about our most recent general conference. This was an outstanding conference
and I also received much needed personal guidance. Conference time for me is a
chance to check my bearings – to see where I have made progress, where I am
going, and how I can improve. I am so grateful for inspired leaders who always
seem to address exactly what I need. I am also thankful for the Holy Ghost, who
teaches me the most important things in life. He “fills in the gaps” so that I
hear and learn what I need to hear and learn. I know that my Heavenly Father
knows and loves me and general conference is one of the many ways in which I
feel His love.
Although I did not keep exact statistics, the two talks that
were most frequently mentioned as being among your favorites were President
Uchtdorf’s talk on gratitude and Elder Bednar’s talk about how the burdens that
we carry give us traction to move forward. These great addresses, and so many
others, have great relevance to what we are striving to accomplish as
ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It has been some time since I included excerpts from some of
your letters. Here are a few that were especially inspiring to me last week:
“When
hard times come, it is easy to forget to be grateful because things are not
going our way. This is the time that we need to be even more grateful. When we
show gratitude in the hard times, it shows God that we trust him and know that
he just wants us to grow and be better.”
“President
Uchtdorf talked about gratitude, and not just being grateful for our
possessions, but being grateful in our circumstances. In particular, he used
the phrase "gratitude will clear our vision." This really struck me,
and I feel that as I work harder to be grateful for everything that I've been
given, including my circumstances, I will find greater joy and excitement in
the work and it will really help to provide a focus for me.”
“I am so
grateful to be here in A with Elder B. I'm also so very grateful for the opportunity I had to be with Elder C in D. I got to see how
obedience and a love for this work really changed my mission. I love these
people I want to show them the truth of this gospel. I'm so grateful for all
the inspiration I received during General Conference.
Every companion I have
had on my mission has strengthened my testimony so much. I'm so grateful for
the Lord and his atonement that I can try to help improve myself each day.”
“I LOVED
Henry B. Eyring's talk of our eternal heritage. When we choose to follow our
savior, Jesus Christ, this choice not only effects us personally but all those
who come after us. We CHOOSE to leave a GREAT inheritance for those who will
come after us. One thing he said seemed to resonate in my ears, "that my
children may imitate my example." Our example is our inheritance we leave
behind. And the words "be someone worth following" seemed to light up
on a billboard in my head. As I pondered these words and tuned back into what
President Eyring was saying, he was testifying of the Savior, and the eternal
inheritance of peace, joy, resurrection, and happiness that he has left us. I
can echo his testimony and say I know we can depend on him and what he can give
us, but it is a choice, a choice of righteousness. A choice to be like him.”
“My
favorite conference talk was The Cost - and Blessings - of Discipleship by
Jeffery R. Holland. I reflected on the impolite behavior from the man on that
sister missionary and realized that we aren't here to have an easy mission. We
teach "Hard" Doctrine in an area with lots of "Easy" Gods.
We are rejected left and right, sometimes very harshly. I ask, "I am
willing to endure it all for Christ's name?"
Elders and Sisters, I was deeply impressed by the comments
and insights that many of you shared with me in your letters as you reflected
on your experience of participating in general conference. I hope that you will
always remember the powerful thoughts and feelings that come to you as you
watch, listen and heed the conference messages. I hope that you will make time
each April and October for the rest of you lives to participate in general conference.
Remember: listening is not enough, we must go and do!
President Blickenstaff
Mentor of Champions
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