I
love the message of the following experience, shared by Sister
Janette Hales Beckham:
One
day as a neighbor and I were talking about our beliefs, she became
curious about what was different about The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.
I
told her briefly about the Restoration, and I explained that the
restored Church of Jesus Christ has a living prophet today. This
really seemed to pique her interest, and she wanted to know what the
prophet had said. As I started to tell her about the Doctrine and
Covenants and modern revelation, she said, “But what has he
said lately?” I told her about general conference and that the
Church had a monthly publication with a message from the prophet.
Then
she got really interested. I was so embarrassed to admit that I
hadn’t read the current message. She concluded our conversation
by saying, “You mean you have a living prophet and you don’t
know what he said?” (Janette Hales Beckham, Sustaining
the Living Prophets, Ensign, May 1996.)
I
can imagine Sister Beckham’s chagrin in that experience, which
could just as easily have happened to me. In a day when the words of
living prophets are readily available, it can be too easy to take
them for granted.
We
just heard a marvelous general conference with powerful messages to
bless our lives. Who could ever forget them? Well, we could! Already,
the memories are growing dimmer for me. I mostly remember the
feelings I felt, but even those are fading and I don’t remember
a lot of specific teachings.
We
remember best when we read or hear things more than once. Repetition
allows inspired teachings to be written in our hearts (see Jeremiah
31:33). President Ezra Taft Benson gave this timeless counsel:
For
the next six months your conference edition of the Ensign
should stand next to your standard works and be referred to
frequently. As my dear friend and brother [President] Harold B. Lee
said, we should let these conference addresses “be the guide to
[our] walk and talk during the next six months. These are the
important matters the Lord sees fit to reveal to this people in this
day.” (Ezra Taft Benson, Come Unto Christ, and Be
Perfected in Him, Ensign, May 1988.)
Think
of it! We have guidance specifically tailored to our day, guidance we
can refer to and ponder and feast upon over the next six months and
into the future. In a way, general conference is part of our
spiritual emergency preparedness. As the world darkens, we urgently
need the spiritual uplift and guidance given to us by living prophets
— not only on the first weekend in April or October, but
regularly.
So
here’s the challenge for this column: make a simple plan that
works for you to study the talks from this past conference over the
next six months, then act on that plan. Here are some ideas:
If
you commute to work, listen to a conference talk once a week during
your commute.
Read
or listen to a conference talk once a week while working out.
Study
conference talks regularly in family home evening.
Once
or twice a week for daily scripture study, study a conference talk.
Choose
a conference talk and hold a discussion group with friends and
neighbors.
If
you are going on long drive, play conference talks during part of
your drive.
As
you put this plan into practice, write in and share your experiences.
How does studying conference talks regularly make a difference in
your life and the lives of
your
loved ones?
Kathryn Grant is a user assistance professional with a passion
for usability and process
improvement. She also loves family history and enjoys the challenge and
reward of building her family tree.
As a child, she lived outside the United States for four years because of her father's job. This experience fueled her natural love of words and language, and also taught her to appreciate other cultures.
Kathryn values gratitude, teaching, learning, differences, and unity. She loves looking at star-filled skies, reading mind-stretching books, listening to contemporary Christian music, attending the temple, and eating fresh raspberries.
Kathryn teaches Sunday family history classes at the BYU Family History Library, and presents frequently at family history events. For more information, visit her Family History Learning Resources page
