Talking to Myself in Public |
|
A Post About the October 2021 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints3/10/2021 You know what, after nearly ten hours of watching General Conference this weekend I was not looking forward to the tedium of also writing a post about it ASAP before another week has gone by, and then I thought, why not just share the five pages of notes I took? With a few little exceptions that I will redact, I don't believe anything in them is too personal or sacred to share with the entire world. Frankly, most of them are just stuff directly from the talks that stood out to me as potentially significant, and I don't flatter myself that they're anything special that anyone really needs to read, but I'm in graduate school and I'm a busy guy and this saves me the time of writing a full post. I approached this conference with the same question I had two years ago, and a lot has changed and my knowledge and insight into that question are light-years beyond where they were then, but it remains ultimately unresolved and just as pressing. For now it's a personal matter but I do hope that in the immediate future it will be resolved and I can write a post or twelve gushing all about it.
A few little thoughts before my actual notes: On Saturday afternoon, the multicultural choir intended for April 2020 finally sang, albeit in reduced numbers. Prior to its debut, the Deseret News ran an article that of course drew anger from the usual ilk of Deseret News commenters for "creating division" because "we're all one human race" and so on. Then President Eyring used the phrase "multicultural choir" several times during the conference session itself and those people probably blew a few blood vessels. It was great to see more than three black people and one Asian in the choir before returning to our regularly scheduled whiteness in the next session. Not counting prayers, twice as many women spoke as last time, for a total of four. Most of the thirteen temples announced this time are actually somewhat warranted by membership numbers, and aren't just about reducing travel times. I had noticed most of them on people's prediction lists. Last week my institute teacher solicited our predictions of how many would be announced, and I half-jokingly said thirty-seven, because who knows anymore now that the traditional metrics for anticipating their locations are only reliable half the time. I'm glad I was wrong, because announcing fourteen more temples to service one or two stakes each and be mostly empty most of the time would have been harder for me to get excited about, but I suppose that just shows my selfishness in making this about me when it really isn't. Now, my notes: Three things to listen for
It’s not too late to seek the Holy Ghost Don’t “fix” the tooth, pull it out No man having his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God There is divine help for any one of us at any hour that we seek to make a change in our behavior First great truth – God loves us wholeheartedly now He will give us the capacity to love our neighbor and ourselves Study patriarchal blessing Don’t tangle yourself in the net Don’t judge your neighbor harshly and cruelly because we all need the Savior Seek out the good in others As we rely on God’s love, we rely less on the approval of others God’s blessings are not unconditional The world is anti-Christ Can God rely on our love as we rely on His? Can He love us not just in spite of our failings, but because of what we are becoming? It is not where we start but where we’re headed that matters Don’t ignore your negative circumstances, but don’t fixate too much on them Show some humility for the positive circumstances we may not have created ourselves – give back Every blessing of eternal significance begins with faith that God is willing Overcome selfishness and individualism Church participation can magnify our capacity to love Live in accordance with the obligations we have accepted in the temple to receive spiritual strength in every season of our lives If you want justice and accountability, study the Atonement more deeply “Since the price already has been paid for those sins, would you demand that such a price be paid twice?” Heal the wounds caused by another person’s unrighteous exercise of moral agency, receive peace, mercy, and love The Lord knows what is better for us Nephi and his brothers were acting and trusting the Lord, yet failed twice Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time – your faith increases and your character grows One more day, one more week, try one more time God’s love is not found in the circumstances of our lives, but in his presence in our lives Pray to have our eyes opened to see his hand in our lives and his love in the beauty of his creations Focusing on growth is healthier than obsessing about our shortcomings What things do you ponder? What things really matter to you? [Redacted] (duh)
Don’t look beyond the mark or God will give you only confusing things The faithful need not fear the Second Coming And may I add, sisters? The Savior doesn’t fault our shortsightedness re:death The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives (4x) Nephi didn’t murmur against the Lord because of his afflictions Lift others’ burdens even during your own Complexity is not a bad thing or something to be avoided Small things bring to pass great things
Only He can bring us true joy, happiness, and peace To believe is to love and follow our Savior and keep the commandments even in the midst of trials and strife Relationships with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and those around us = happiness Willing heart to say to the Lord, “Here am I, send me” Repentance is healing and it’s more important than physical healing His grace is sufficient for all + leftovers Feast on the scriptures, don’t just taste them Desire to participate in the gathering of Israel will increase We will want to go to the temple as often as possible and submit our ancestors’ names We will faithfully keep the Sabbath day God’s well-intentioned messages can be misunderstood as hateful Taking the sacrament is like filling up at the gas station Don’t just ask for forgiveness, ask for grace – less time hating yourself for what you’ve done, and more time loving Jesus for what he has done No all-or-nothing expectations – incremental growth – prosper by degrees We are not just walking toward God and Christ – we are walking with them
The need to hold up our light has never been greater Pure revelation for the questions in your heart will make this conference rewarding and unforgettable Revelation is always gotten by exercising faith If you have questions and seek answers, you have at least enough faith to hope for answers If it’s important to your eternal welfare, it’s more likely to come (*cough* [Redacted] *cough*) but even then the answer might be to be patient Internal quiet and submission to the Lord’s will. “I only want what you want, not what I want.” Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, wherefore they speak the words of Christ The Savior will not shout commands to you and me Judith Tannery Roiz It’s hard to walk in a straight line, actually impossible without landmarks. True for individuals, also for societies and nations No matter how strong our spiritual experiences have been in the past, we tend to wander Keep our thoughts and actions pure by keep rolling Change this hour to change your day to change your life What narrative are you writing for your life? Will you invite Jesus to be its author and finisher? David could have gone home, back to tending sheep We receive more faith by doing something that requires more faith Spiritual stress test has revealed a need to be more unified and less contentious Failing the test doesn’t mean I’m hopeless, it just means I need to change What can I do to foster unity and lessen contention? Assume that those with whom we disagree are doing the best they can with the life experiences they have Don’t give up our cultural heritage The Savior helps restore order to a life thrown into chaos by our own or others’ choices Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment, and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high Love your enemies if you want to receive a glorious welcome home Nobody changes the principles and doctrines of the Church except the Lord, but methods may change
Pray consistently to understand temple covenants and ordinances We can always trust God even though humans break our trust We endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning The Lord doesn’t forget our sins, he chooses to forget them I can do the same thing with [Redacted]’s wrongs against me Sacrifice was once more closely tied to ancient Latin roots meaning to make sacred or holy Our will/heart is the only uniquely personal thing we have to give the Lord
Don’t expect to go from Attila the Hun to Mother Theresa overnight One of these things could make the biggest difference in your life When we choose to doubt, we choose to be acted upon Only your unbelief will keep God from blessing you with miracles Conversion blesses your life – sorry I was distracted during this one by [Redacted]’s text Focusing on the road ahead is like focusing on the Savior and walking on water No discipleship without discipline Things in front of the hood can distract us from Christ and eternal things down the road Distractions do not have to be bad or immoral to be effective (for Satan) The Savior came to the Apostles’ aid during the fourth watch of the night, not immediately When we must wait, remember that the Savior is always watching Specific steps in the Savior’s work (like emphasizing the proper name of the Church) are revealed at the appropriate time In these coming days, we will be called by the name of Jesus Christ Domains suddenly became available when the name change happened Humility and sacrifice to follow the prophet when it contradicts our initial thinking, we receive the Lord’s affirmation and approval How will we be different because of what we have heard and felt? Counter the allure of the world by making time for the Lord in your life each day. Even otherwise faithful Saints can be derailed by the steady beat of Babylon’s band Nothing invites the Spirit more than fixing your focus on Jesus Christ
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
"Guys. Chris's blog is the stuff of legends. If you’re ever looking for a good read, check this out!"
- Amelia Whitlock "I don't know how well you know Christopher Randall Nicholson, but... he's trolling. You should read his blog. It's delightful." - David Young 
About the AuthorC. Randall Nicholson is a white cisgender Christian male, so you can hate him without guilt, but he's also autistic and asexual, so you can't, unless you're an anti-vaxxer, in which case the feeling is mutual. This blog is where he periodically rants about life, the universe, and/or everything. Archives
September 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
