Every six months is a special weekend for Mormons. It’s General Conference, a worldwide meeting of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where they come to hear the teachings of a living prophet and other leaders of the faith. I used to love conference because it meant a weekend without church. As I got older, I began to see it as a weekend of church, but at least I got to stay in my pajamas. On my mission, I really learned to enjoy Conference. Here I was, halfway across the world, and I was sitting and enjoying a meeting live via satellite that my family was also enjoying back home. There was something cool and powerful about it. On my mission, of course, it was different from home because it wasn’t just broadcast on TV like it is in Salt Lake City. No, we had to travel to another city in our stake to go to conference there because they had satellite reception, and our church didn’t. It was really cool to see all the people coming from different towns and cities all dressed up to enjoy conference. It was just cool.
Now that I am home, married with children, I still enjoy conference quite a bit. I am back to liking that it is at home because that means we don’t have to get all 5 kids ready to go some place to sit for a long time just listening to meetings. They stay in their pajamas and can just stay home and play and whatever, but conference is on.
Whenever it comes around now, I am always amazed at how technology has changed how we take in conference. We don’t have cable or satellite TV, so we can’t just turn it on, but with our iPad and Apple TV, we just stream it on the TV, and we can watch it in any language we choose (we always choose the ASL feed for our kids sake). It just amazes me how well it all works. The Lord’s word is more available today than it ever has been, and that is pretty cool.
If you are not LDS, and you are curious about what Mormons believe and what is taught, then check out our General Conference. It is an amazing opportunity to hear what we believe from our leaders. We sustain many of these leaders as prophets, who, like prophets of old, receive revelation and guidance from our Father in Heaven. How often do you have an opportunity to hear a prophet speak? I am grateful for that opportunity every six months, and I look forward to it. Each time, my testimony is strengthened as I feel the Holy Ghost confirm the truths taught. I love it.
If you would like to check it out, please go to lds.org, and you can view the conference live. If you would like to find out more about Mormons in general, please go to mormon.org. Thank you for reading and enjoy conference weekend.
