General Conference

I love modern technology. I work on Saturdays, so I didn't expect to be able to watch yesterday's conference. However, I miraculously had exactly enough downtime at work (and the foresight to bring my laptop and headphones) to watch the talks for the sessions. I was going to go to the church to watch the morning session today, but since I was on call last night, I decided that I was too tired. Hooray for byutv.com! My cats and I sat on the sofa and heard the good word preached.

The talks were great this time. I loved Elder Wirthlin's talk, reminding us that we're all different and that we need to embrace those differences. President Uchtdorf's talk on the faith of our fathers was good, too. Of course, he has so much charisma that I would be transfixed if he read the telephone book over the pulpit. Elder Ballard's talk was amazing. I really appreciated him boldly declaring that there isn't just one right way to be a mother. I also like that he didn't treat womanhood and motherhood as if they're the same thing. Many speakers tend to use the terms interchangeably, and I'm glad he didn't.

However, the talk that stood out the most to me was Elder Scott's talk on abuse. As some of you may remember from an earlier post, I was the victim of verbal and emotional abuse. I have not yet fully recovered, and this talk was a balm to my soul. I felt like he was speaking directly to me when he offered his words of comfort. I could feel his love and concern for those who suffer, and his faith and knowledge that Christ has the power to heal. I have felt the beginnings of this healing from this ordeal, but the wound is still there. I look forward to the day when it is gone, and I know that Christ has the power to make wrong things right again.

I am truly grateful for the opportunity to listen to general conference twice each year. I look forward to the printed messages so I can study them again in greater detail.