What's General Conference??

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about one of the greatest joys in my life. Though it's not technically a holiday, it feels like one--full of traditions, food, family time, gratitude, hope, and everything else that makes a holiday special.

What am I talking about?

General Conference.

General Conference is a semi-annual conference held my my Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Throughout the conference, millions of people around the world hear from many different speakers and Church leaders, including those whom we believe to truly be modern-day prophets and apostles like the men endowed with God's authority when Jesus lived on the earth. We also listen to beautiful music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and other local choirs.

As we watch the broadcast, we usually gather with family or friends who we care about. We try to forget about the world as much as possible for a weekend and focus on what God wants us to know at this point in our lives. It is like a checkup every six months to evaluate the direction that our life is going and receive some input from God through His chosen apostles who can help guide us and bring clarity and peace in a very confusing world. I am so grateful to have a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who lives on the earth today and gives counsel that is absolutely necessary for us to have in order to navigate the craziness of life today.

Every family or group that participates in General Conference "celebrates" it a little bit differently; in my family, we have a tradition of making monkey bread before the Sunday morning session of Conference. We also play Conference Bingo by crossing off a space on our board whenever a speaker mentions a keyword or Gospel topic like "faith," "family," "Temple," or "baptism." :) My family and I are also going to play "Fantasy General Conference" this time around to see who is the best at guessing which hymns will be sung, who will speak when, and what color tie the speakers will be wearing!

Even though I love General Conference for the fun and tradition of it, I also love the feeling that I get when I immerse myself in God's word for an entire weekend. It leaves me feeling so spiritually uplifted that I almost don't want to go back to "the world!"

But at the same time, Conference also gives me hope and strength to go back and face daily life. So often as I listen, I feel God's love for me or the speaker speaks on something that I know I needed to hear. This reminds me that my Heavenly Father is aware of me and loves me. It gives me hope and encouragement. And it brings so much joy.

If you want to experience even a bit of General Conference for yourself (it is a worldwide broadcast and everyone is invited!), go to LDS.org or the BYUtv website. From there, you can watch it live or after the fact, as all of the talks and a recording of the broadcast are available online shortly after the Conference is over.

The Conference is broadcast live from 10-12 and 2-4 (all in Mountain Standard Time) this Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd of April. It is broadcast in at least 43 languages, and then later translated into many more for people all around the world to join in, receive the counsel God has for His Church, and be edified.

I would invite you to listen to one talk/message or view one song from Conference and to listen to how you feel. If you listen with you heart, I think God can send some joy and peace to your soul through this wonderful event that He has arranged for our benefit.

Let me know if you have any questions!

***Click on this link to watch an invitation/little snippet of Conference that features the words of God's prophet on the earth today:***

https://www.lds.org/church/events/april-2017-general-conference?lang=eng