I love General Conference! Getting to hear the word of God from a modern-day prophet is one of the greatest blessings of the restored gospel. The Scriptures contain eternal truths that always apply to everyone, but the Prophet and the Apostles give us specific applications of scriptural truths for situations specific to our time. How many people in the New Testament had to deal with immorality on the Internet? There are many things in the world today that can threaten our spiritual wellbeing that didn't exist back in 1 AD or even a few decades ago.
Its funny how our perceptions of things change over time. Back in my teenage years before I was a missionary, I liked General Conference because it meant that we didn't have to get up early and go to church! We could sit around in our PJ's all day and watch these old guys talk on TV if we really wanted to. No shirts and ties, no meetings, just sitting around hearing the word of God in my own home (if I wasn't sleeping). The kitchen was just around the corner and was availiable at any given time if I ever needed a sandwich, and we have this really big love sac that I could snuggle up and sleep in all day long. Conference weekend was the best!
Now, a few years later, my perception of Conference is completely different. The kid who once loved taking naps in a giant beanbag is now sitting on the edge of his seat, leather-bound conference-eclusive study journal open wide with pen in hand, anxious to absorb every last drop of the insight and motivation that flows from the TV screen in a raging torrent of spiritual awesomeness! I pay particular attention to my favorite speakers, such as Boyd K. Packer, D. Todd Christofferson, and especially Thomas S. Monson. I love the Prophet's and the Apostles' ability to open my mind to ideas that I have never thought of before, and to answer questions that I have been wondering about for a while.
So, what caused this change of attitude towards Conference? Why do I listen so attentively now when just a few years ago my main priority was to catch up on sleep that I had lost due to work, school, and just life in general? The answer is this: Just as my physical body needs the rejuvination that comes from sleeping, my spiritual self needs the rejuvinating feeling that comes from listening to the inspired word of our Heavenly Father. It took me a while to realize that my spiritual self requires rest, just as my physical self does. When I insisted on taking naps during Conference earlier in life, I was depriving my spirit of much needed rest. Now my priorities are different. I finally figured out that the feeling I get after listening attentively to Conference feels much better than the feeling I get right after having a 12-Hour pass out session.
I hope everyone gets the chance to sit down and take in everything they can get from this April 2011 General Conference! I am anxious to learn new things and have my questions answered once again. I also love the fact that Heavenly Father loves us enough to leave us with a Prophet to guide us in our hectic lives. The Prophet is going to be speaking to us this weekend. So listen up!
