Sunday, April 11, 2010

One of my favorite General Conference Talks

General Conference was last week. I was listening to the Saturday morning session and when it came to Sister Julie B. Beck's talk I felt like what she said was an answer to prayer. Like many women, I suffer from an acute case of compare-itus which may lead me to feelings of sadness and overwhelmed-ness.

My favorite parts (whole paragraphs):

A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently.

And:
Good women always have a desire to know if they are succeeding. In a world where the measures of success are often distorted, it is important to seek appreciation and affirmation from proper sources. To paraphrase a list found in Preach My Gospel, we are doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey His gospel with exactness. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit. When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us.9 Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly.

A scripture she used as a reference note was: Doctrine and Covenants 11:13-14 which states:
13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall aenlighten your bmind, which shall fill your soul with cjoy;
14 And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of arighteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive.

This is my challenge to myself--and to you, if you are interested. Let's measure our success properly and prioritize with the Spirit.

If you would like to read the talk it is available here. For all General Conference talks go here.

1 comment:

Marci said...

This was one of my favorite talks as well! Did you notice her reference to her very first talk as General Relief Society President (increase faith, strengthen families, help others)?