General Conference @ home

This year we stayed at home for conference and it went really well.
We all got dressed in church clothes, and had a de-briefing before it started that went a little like this....

Mum: 'Girls, we're going to stay at home for church today. We're going to watch the prophets speak on the computer and you guys can eat your morning tea, watch the church movie, with no sound, and look at your church books. You're not allowed to play, leave this room, ask for more food or be noisy...ok'

Girls :'Yip, k'

It all went really good considering Seth woke up about 40 minutes in so we had him jiggling around on our knees. I definitely got to listen to it better than I would at the chapel so I'm convinced it's the best thing for us to do at this stage.

Next time I'll be more organised and make a special lunch with conference cinnamon scrolls. Rice pudding yesterday was yum but not as good as I would have liked.

Smorgasboard of activities to choose from

They watched their silent movie without moving until their morning tea bowls ran out. Ella's was sniffed down pretty quick and Faith's apple, crackers and cheese lasted the distance.

When Faith finally ventured off the couch she went to the bookshelf to get the book of Mormon. She lay up on the couch for ages 'reading' it and then she came to us all excited cause she'd found her name all by herself. She'd even found the Faith chapter all on her own!

And as far as the talks go, I got a few gems out of them.....

There may be some among you who feel darkness encroaching upon you. You may feel burdened by worry, fear, or doubt. To you and to all of us, I repeat a wonderful and certain truth: God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things.¹ It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn.

spiritual light rarely comes to those who merely sit in darkness waiting for someone to flip a switch. It takes an act of faith to open our eyes to the Light of Christ.

To speak to a child’s heart, we must know a child’s needs. If we pray to know those needs, the very words we say may have the power to reach into their hearts. Our efforts are magnified when we seek the direction of the Holy Ghost. The Lord said:

“Speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, …

“For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.

The answer to our prayer of how to meet our children’s needs may be to more often technologically disconnect. Precious moments of opportunity to interact and converse with our children dissolve when we are occupied with distractions. Why not choose a time each day to disconnect from technology and reconnect with each other? Simply turn everything off. When you do this, your home may seem quiet at first; you may even feel at a loss as to what to do or say. Then, as you give full attention to your children, a conversation will begin, and you can enjoy listening to each other.

 Fifth, love. The happiest marriages I have seen radiate obedience to one of the happiest commandments—that we “live together in love.”⁸ Speaking to husbands, the Lord commanded, “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.”⁹ A Church handbook teaches: “The word cleave means to be completely devoted and faithful to someone. Married couples cleave to God and one another by serving and loving each other and by keeping covenants in complete fidelity to one another and to God.” Both the husband and wife “leave behind their single life and establish their marriage as [their] first priority. … They allow no other person or interest to have greater priority … than keeping the covenants they have made with God and each other.”¹⁰ Watch and learn: successful couples love each other with complete devotion.

There are rules and laws to help ensure our physical safety. Likewise, the Lord has provided guidelines and commandments to help ensure our spiritual safety so that we might successfully navigate this often-treacherous mortal existence and return eventually to our Heavenly Father.

Said President Gordon B. Hinckley, “The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of … God.”⁹