Women's Conference

25 February 2012

Queen Creek Stake Women's Conference

So for the past week and the next two weeks I have been/am on vacation, and while visiting Momma Jo, I had the luck of being able to attend the Women's Conference that her stake put on. Part of the reason for this vacation was for me to clear my head and get a handle on my life and what it is that I want to do. I've been able to really take some time for myself and get my head on straight, but as I was attending the conference, I didn't realize just how much I was really needed to hear what was being said at the conference. By the end of it I just felt so truly blessed to have been able to go and I wanted to share what all I learned there with anyone else that was interested, so here goes! We were able to attend three workshops, so here are the notes and quotes that were given.

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Too Busy to Fight Satan?

'As members of the Church , we are engaged in a mighty conflict. We are at war. We have enlisted in the cause of Christ to fight against Lucifer and all that is lustful and carnal and evil in the world. We have sworn to fight alongside our friends and against our enemies, and we must not be confused in distinguishing friends from foes. As another of our ancient fellow apostles wrote: 'Know ye not that the friendship of the world in enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (Bruce R. McConkie Oct. 1974)."

Elder McConkie said this in 1974, and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland echoed his words again in the 2011 October General Conference stating that "We are at war!" There are so many more things that we face as Latter-day Saints today then ever before; lustful, carnal, and evil things are finding a way into our lives without us even knowing or fighting it. The biggest way we are allowing these things into our homes is by allowing television shows that are promoting violence, bad morals/values, bad language, etc. By watching them, we allow our standards to slip and we begin to tolerate things that we would otherwise think are wrong. Satan gets us with the littlest things; allowing television to bring lustful things into our home is a small way he can do so, and that will bring the biggest and worst results. 

Don't get me wrong, you can watch good, wholesome television shows, but we also must remember that the commercials are out of our control. I remember even watching the news there are inappropriate commercials. When I was at home for Christmas break, my little sister and I were watching a movie and one of those commercials came on, I tried to mute it but she got the general gist of the commercial and began asking questions. . .she's ten! I don't want my siblings, let alone my future children exposed to those kinds of things. We really must be cognizant of what we are watching and exposing our families to. 

"When we reject the counsel which comes from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influence. We choose another influence. . .In rejecting His counsel, we choose the influence of another power, whose purpose is to make us miserable and whose motive is hatred. We have moral agency as a gift of God. Rather than the right to choose to be free of influence, it is the inalienable right to submit ourselves to whichever of those powers we choose (President Eyring, April 1997)."

"We are either for the Church, or we are against it. We either take its part or we take the consequences. We cannot survive spiritually with one foot in the Church and the other in the world. We must make the choice. It is either the Church or the world. There is no middle ground. And the Lord loves a courageous man who fights openly and boldly in his army. . .Members of the Church who have testimonies and who live clean and upright lives, but who are not courageous and valiant, do not gain the celestial kingdom.Theirs is a terrestrial inheritance. Of them, the revelation says, 'These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God (Doctrine and Covenants 76:79; Bruce R. McConkie 1974 October)." 

It isn't enough for us to have a testimony of Christ, we must go forth and proclaim our it boldly against Satan. When asked for a definition of what valiant means, people stated : to be completely devoted, taking courage one step further both in mind and action, being a spiritual participant, doing hard things that are out of our comfort zone because we know we are supposed to. Webster's dictionary states that valiant means: "Boldly courageous; brave; stout-hearted; marked or showing acts of bravery or valor; worthy or excellent." When we are being courageous and valiant, we are proclaiming it, we must be like unto Moroni with his title of Liberty. It isn't enough for us to be good, we must be valiant! 

The days of having the computer in the family room are gone; you may not allow laptops or computers in the bedroom, however iPod touch, iPads, and almost any cell phone can now be used as a computer when used with WiFi. In this day and age, I believe it is very difficult for families to not have cell phones for their children, it is a necessary evil. We are able to keep track of children so much easier now because they are a phone cal or a text a way. If you are worried about you children or future children being addicted to their phones, remember that you can control what your kids have access too, you can control when they can text, who they can call, and at what time they have these capabilities.You have control, but you also need to trust that you have taught your children right from wrong and allow them to hopefully choose wisely. If they don't, then as a parent you can do what you think is necessary.

"Prophet-The work of a Hebrew prophet was to act as God's messenger and make known God's will.The message was usually prefaced with the words 'Thus saith Jehovah.' He taught men about God's character, showing the full meaning of his dealings with Israel in the past (scripture reading). It was therefore part of the prophetic office to preserve and edit the records of the nation's history, and such historical books as Joshua, Judges 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings were known by the Jews as the former Prophets. It was also the prophet's duty to denounce sin and foretell its punishment, and to redress, so far as he could, both public and private wrongs. He was to be, above all, a preacher of righteousness. When the people had fallen away from a true faith in Jehovah, the prophets had to try to restore that faith and remove false views about the character of God and the nature of the Divine requirement. In certain cases prophets predicted future events, e.g., there are the very important prophecies announcing the coming of Messiah's kingdom; but as a rule a prophet was a forthteller rather than a foreteller (second coming) In a general sense of a prophet is anyone who has a testimony of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost, as in Num. 11:25-29;Rev. 19:10 (Bible Dictionary)."

Every time prophet appears, you can take it out and replace it with motherhood or parenthood. As mothers and future mothers, remember that you must counsel with your husband/future husband, and the Lord.

"Our doctrine is clear; its application sometimes seems to be more difficult. Perhaps some personal introspection might be helpful. For instance--Am I valiant in the testimony of Jesus if my chief interest and concern in life is laying up in store the treasures of the earth, rather than the building up of the kingdom?-Am I valiant if I have more of this world's goods than my just needs and wants require and I do not draw from my surplus to support missionary work, build temples, and care for the needy?-Am I valiant if my approach to the Church and its doctrines is intellectual only, if I am more concerned with having a religious dialogue on this or that point that I am on gaining a personal spiritual experience?-Am I valiant if I am deeply concerned about the Church's stand on who can or who cannot receive the priesthood and think it is time for a new revelation on this doctrine?-Am I valiant if I use a boat, live in a country home, or engage in some other recreational pursuit on weekends that takes me away from my spiritual responsibilities?-Am I valiant if I engage in gambling, play cards, go to pornographic movies, shop on Sunday, wear immodest clothes, or do any of the things that are the accepted way of life among worldly people?-If we are to gain salvation, we must put first in our lives the things of God's kingdom. With us it must be the kingdom of God or nothing. We have come out of darkness; ours is the marvelous light of Christ. We must walk in the light."

Ask yourself these questions and do a self evaluation to see where you are at. 

"One of the characteristics of modern life seems to be that we are moving at an ever-increasing rate, regardless of turbulence or obstacles. Let's be honest; it's rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia--even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives. 'Elder Dallin H. Oaks, in a recent general conference, taught, 'We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families (President Uchtdorf, October 2010)."