Musings to the theme of General Conference

This is Mark Wahlberg

This is Mack Wilberg

It is easy to get the two confused because their names are so similar 

and they both are musically talented...

...but they are not one and the same. 

P.S. It is difficult to find pictures of Mark Wahlberg with all of his clothes on. Mack Wilberg, on the other hand, understands that "modest is hottest".

Now that that's out of the way.

I love conference weekend. It is one of my favorite times of the year.

It was only slightly marred because I had a group project due today that I should have been working on all weekend but I was in salt lake and the only place I can get anything done ever is in the BYU library because I can hide in the basement where my cell phone doesn't get service and there are no windows so I can't see nature and be drawn to it and because there is no service/windows my friends don't study there so they can't distract me and I can't listen to music cause I only listen to it out loud cause I hate my headphones and someone should buy me some cool new ones like these (the plywood ones) so anyway youtube/hulu/hypem is out of the question but I didn't do my work before so I was worried the whole time but now it is done and I've made yet another resolution to never procrastinate...

ever,

ever,

ever again.

former motto

Let's hope that lasts.

I wasn't as prepared for conference as I would like to be, but I've renewed my vigor in keeping my goals.

It was comforting to know that the brethren think I'm pretty great (Quentin L. Cook's talk), but I want to be better and to do good. I will strive to be recognized as a follower of Christ, like Elder Gonzales said, and I also be more attentive and kind to those around me who are trying to do the same.

Elder Kent F. Richards talk reminded me that feeling pain, as awful as it may be, is a sign that I'm alive. It's a sign that I haven't lost my sensitivity and become cynical about the world. In a round about way, it is a sign of hope, because pain won't last forever. I listened to "The Problem of Pain" by C.S. Lewis over the summer. The following from that book matches nicely with Elder Richard's talk: Tribulations cannot cease until God either sees us remade or sees that our remaking is now hopeless.

I know that I would rather be refined than rejected.

In my homeboy's talk (do you remember when these shirts were the coolest? Or these shirts, for that matter? Man...I've been at BYU for too long.), he said that "we should not have higher standards for others than we have for ourselves". That is important advice to follow. I'm pretty strict about my standards, and maybe not as forgiving on my judgements. It's important to remember that most people are trying to be good, most of the time.

But I think my very favorite talk was Elder Oaks'. In fact, I think I'll just put it up here for all y'all to watch for yourselves, just in case you missed it:


ALMA 32:26-27
26Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

27But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.

I also like Russell M. Ballards talk. "The patient accumulation of little flecks of gold has brought me great wealth." Sometimes I get discouraged when I compare my life to other peoples. It makes it seem mundane and small. But during this talk, I wrote, "Maybe it seems like my life doesn't have many nuggets, or that I'm not finding them, but I know that I am gradually collecting golden moments in my life". My brother's interpretation of the talk was that we need to appreciate all the small things, just like Blink 182 said.

Oh boy.
At least he was listening.

On Sunday, it was more difficult for me to concentrate. What I gathered from the talks was the importance of keeping ourselves receptive to revelation and spiritual promptings. And also (most of the girls I've talked to agree with me on this), I want to have a marriage just like Elder Scott's when I grow up. Every time he talks about his wife it is a tender moment.

So I hope you all enjoyed conference as well! If you missed it, they are all up on youtube if you subscribe to Mormon Messages. Awesome, I love living in the future.