General Conference Weekend

General Conference is a time for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to listen to the words of our prophet and apostles, as well as other leaders in our church. Whether you gather in Salt Lake in the Conference Center or Tabernacle, or watch conference from the comfort of your own home, it's a wonderful time to hear from inspired people, and a cause for reflection that can last all year long. Conference happens twice a year, in April and October, and the talks are printed in the church magazine The Ensign, with the original video being posted on the internet here.

Even though conference weekend was several wees ago, I wanted to write about it. My top 10 reasons for loving conference weekend this year:

1. My mom and dad visited. My parents like to come up to Utah and attend as many sessions in the Conference Center as they can. So we got to spend time with them, play some games, and chat a lot. They are some of my favorite people!

2. Dave and I went to a farmers' market that Saturday. We had been meaning to go to the farmers' market for several weeks, to check out their produce, and also just to get into the fall spirit! It was fairly small, but still fun to wander around and gawk.

3. We bought some things at the farmers' market. One of the items we bought was a spaghetti squash. Yummy! We also bought a bag full of small onions. Dave and I love onions, and we use them in everything. So even though the onions are small, they'll last us a long time. The last thing we bought was some jalapeno jelly. Have any of you tried this before? My friend Erin Roundy told me abut it, so when I saw it I had to try it. It's sweet jelly, but it has a jalapeno kick! It is so good on toast.

4. I got to go to church in my pajamas! I love being able to sleep in and then wrap up in a blanket on the couch to listen to conference.

5. Favorite talk #1 - President Uchtdorf spoke about slowing down and getting back to the basics during the rough periods of life. He is a humorous speaker, and really touched my heart about my need to simplify.

6. Favorite talk #2 - Elder Christofferson spoke about using our time and freedom of choice wisely. Mostly he spoke about consecrating our lives. When I was a missionary I dedicated a lot of my study time to studying the law of consecration and what that meant to me personally. It was nice to hear this talk and be reminded of that.

7. Favorite talk #3 - Elder Oaks spoke about personal communication and priesthood communication. I always love Elder Oaks's talks, and I really felt the love of my Savior through this talk.

8. Favorite talk #4 - President Monson spoke about gratitude. I am working on writing in a gratitude journal everyday, so this was a very interesting talk to me.

9. Favorite talk #5 - Elder Ballard spoke about addiction. I loved this talk because when he spoke about overcoming addiction, he gave such a powerful testimony of the Atonement.

10. Spending time with Dave! We had a great weekend together, one that was spiritually uplifting and a lot of fun.