April 7, 2014

Whaaaaaaatttt!!!

Can you believe that General Conference has happened again? For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a worldwide broadcast that happens every six months in April and October, where the General Authorities from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including the Prophet and apostles, address the church in 2 day period. It is always a wonderful experience and this past weekend was true to form. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can go to www.lds.org and watch it. Also the talks will be posted on that same sight to read or print and study. I can't wait!

I learned a ton, and I know I'll learn even more as I go back over my notes and go over the thoughts and impressions I received during it. I can say that loving those around you was a huge emphasis, at least it seemed that way to me. But, the thing I wanted to write about today was prayer. I loved Henry B. Eyring's talk, the first councilor of the quorum of the 12 apostles, about how when we make righteous decisions and choose to live the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are justifying the hope of our righteous ancestors. I thought that was so cool. It just goes to show that the Lord answers every prayer in His own way and in His own time. We may not understand right then and there where He is going with things, but we will. It's all about perspective. There was one talk and the woman speaking said, "prayer doesn't change God's will, it changes me." That really is what it's all about. In the bible dictionary it says that most problems arise from forgetting the parent-child relationship we have with Heavenly Father, and forgetting the true nature of prayer. Prayer isn't about changing the will of God, but about securing for ourselves blessings that God already has in store for us. So much frustration and heartache could be avoided if we could just learn to develop a relationship of trust with our Father in Heaven, and trust that every prayer we have will be answered in a way that is better than we ever could have come up with on our own. The purpose of prayer, the whole reason why Heavenly Father doesn't just give us everything we need without us asking, because He already knows every one of our needs and wants desires, is to cause change. To help us develop patience and faith and trust and love and gratitude. To help us develop every Christ-like attribute necessary to return to live with Him again. As we hit our knees in humility and plead with the Lord for those things that we need, and then wait patiently and trust in the Lord and exercise enough humility to say that He really does know best, we can then sit peacefully while we wait and watch the Lord's hand as He works in our lives for our good and the good of our families. It is a comforting thought that the most powerful being in the universe wants us to be happy and is working alongside of us to ensure that we attain eternal life and eternal joy. Amazing. And the promise is, that regardless of what trials we may face in this life, if we make and keep sacred covenants with the Lord and are faithful to those through diligent prayer and scripture study, no blessing will be withheld. No blessing. He wants to bless us we just have to ask, act, and receive.

I hope that makes sense. Anyways, I loved conference and I hope if you didn't watch it, that you will. Have a wonderful week and love one another. It should be easy, you all are lovely people. See ya soon!

-Sister Williams