Sunday, October 29, 2017

President Uchtdorf: Yearning for Home

A Yearning for Home

Something Pres. Uchtdorf said several times throughout this past conference is, "blessings come not from our abilities, but from our choices." He first mentioned it Saturday when he spoke in the Women’s session and repeated it again in this talk.

He spoke about it in the context of his talk on our “yearning for home.” His talk and Elder Holland’s talk both addressed the relationship we have with Heavenly Father and of His great love for us. I feel within each of us there is a divine spark and like Bobbie, the wonder dog, that yearning motivates us to seek out a higher purpose in life. To wonder and ask, “Is this all that I am?” or “If I didn’t have all these weaknesses, who would I be? What could I become?

This divine spark is the force behind our desires to find happiness, to be better, to do more, to be more than who we are now. Becoming better is innate to our being. I read this morning a quote by Heraclitus, it goes along with this…

The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Think only on those things that are in line with your principles and can bear the light of day. The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think, and what you do is who you become. Your integrity is your destiny . . . it is the light that guides your way.  (Heraclitus. ca. 535 BC to ca. 475 BC)

Pres. Uchtdorf also spoke of discipleship… the process of making choices which shape who we are and our destination require us to “swim upstream when needed.”

There is so much more which he talked about, I don’t have the space to talk about it. Suffice it to say, his is one which stood out in a conference filled with great addresses.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Dallin Oaks, “The Plan and the Proclamation”



No other talk in conference generated as much press as did Elder Oaks talk on the “Proclamation on the Family.” I think had the killings not occurred in Vegas Sunday evening after conference, this talk would’ve gotten a lot more coverage in the news and by critics of the Church.

So, what is all the fuss about? It centers on two paragraphs uttered by him and the tenor of his admonition to the Saints:

“The family proclamation begins by declaring ‘that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.’ It also affirms that ‘gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.’ It further declares ‘that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.’”

I testify that the proclamation on the family is a statement of eternal truth, the will of the Lord for His children who seek eternal life. It has been the basis of Church teaching and practice for the last 22 years and will continue so for the future. Consider it as such, teach it, live by it, and you will be blessed as you press forward toward eternal life.”

In effect he’s saying, this is the revealed will of God to man about the role of the sexes, families, and marriage. While man has passed laws which go against this, God is not beholden to them. True disciples of God will pay the price to follow His law over man’s laws.

Additionally, he made it very clear what God’s standards are regarding chastity and marriage and then contrasted that with what the world thinks of those two concepts. He then pointed out where our loyalty and devotion should lie if we really mean to be disciples of Christ. It wasn’t harsh against those who choose to not live these principles, but rather “if you intend to be a disciple, you will be opposed and criticized by the world.”

That said, it was his story of how the proclamation came to be which was most interesting to me. It was “a surprise to some,” said Elder Oaks. The general thought at the time was the doctrines about marriage and family were well understood and not in need of “restatement.” Nevertheless, he said, the spirit confirmed to them the need to proceed, so they did. After nearly a year of fasting, prayer and counseling with each other, the document was presented to the First Presidency. After they made further changes, it was announced by President Hinckley to the church in September, 1995.

Elder Oaks followed this with a sobering observation. He said forty years ago, President Benson taught every generation [of Saints] has its test and its chance to stand and prove itself.” Our stance on the proclamation is one of the tests for our generation.

He’s right.

Monday, October 2, 2017

The Adventure Continues... Conference Talks

One of the great messages that came to me again and again in this last conference is that I need to be more diligent in my scripture study. As I pondered and listened to the closing address by Elder Anderson, the thought came to mind I should blog my weekly pondering of the conference addresses. There are enough of them I can write about one a week between now and the next conference in April. So, that’s what I’m going to do.

At this point, there’s no particular order in which I will take them. However, since there’s so much being said about Elder Oak’s comments, I plan on writing on his talk next week. I start this week with Elder Anderson’s closing address.


There are three themes which struck me during his talk:
1. Praying in the temple: “I am on my knees in the Temple with my brethren and I attest to the goodness of their souls. Their greatest desire is to please the Lord.” It reminds me of the prayers we offered in Bishopric meeting while I served as Executive Secretary. I have always felt we accomplished more in those morning prayers than in anything else we did. This resonates with my soul.

2. The effort which goes into preparing an address: “The Lord wants no pretense diminishing His voice to His saints.” They view it as a recurring burden and a sacred trust. Elder Holland spoke of this before. They fast. They pray. They study. They write and re-write. Elder Oaks would go through 15 drafts. I remember reading something about Elder Maxwell where he would make as many as 40 re-writes of his conference talks. I thought of this and Elder Oak’s comments on Saturday. He was testifying to the reality that their words are inspired.

3. He finished with a promise: “As you hear the voice of the Lord to you in the teachings of this conference and then act on those prompting, you will feel Heaven’s hand upon you and your life and the lives of those around you will be blessed.” What a marvelous promise!