Conference Weekend and Easter

It's General Conference weekend, and it was been the most exciting conference in recent history.  So many changes, so much new revelation, it all feels very fresh and vibrant.  Conference started off  with a solemn assembly where President Russell M. Nelson was sustained as the 17th President of the Church.  It was a solemn occasion, with members of each quorum and auxiliary of the Church having the opportunity to raise their hand and acknowledge their support and sustaining of President Nelson.  I felt a rush of the Spirit as I stood and raised my hand, a real confirmation to me that President Nelson is the Lord's prophet on the earth today.  I hope the children felt that, too, when everyone was asked to stand and sustain the prophet.

In addition to sustaining President Nelson, there were also two new apostles called, Elder Gerrit Gong and Elder Ulisses Soares.  Elder Gong is American, but of Asian descent, and Elder Soares is from Brazil.  They fill the vacancies left by President Monson and Elder Hales.

The Saturday sessions were great, and after the afternoon session, we drove up to David and Sharon's house for dinner.  Lee, Cammie, and Aaron came, as did Cammie's sister and her husband, plus Matt and Cindy and their kids, Katie and Drew and their kids, and David and Sharon's unmarried children. We had a very nice dinner and then sent the men off to the priesthood session.  Sharon said she'd heard there was going to be a big announcement during priesthood, so we had the TV on and sort of watched while we talked.  Then President Nelson came on and announced that there would no longer be two separate priesthood quorums, but that the high priests and elders would be combined into a single elders quorum.  We were amazed, and interested in the whys of the change.  We talked about that after the men returned, and thought about all the restructuring there was going to be in the priesthood quorums throughout the church.  We joked that the men were finally catching up with the women who have all been meeting together since the beginning.  It's obviously the higher way.

The kids quietly playing with Legos while we watched conference.

Sunday was Easter, a wonderful day to be listening to Conference.  Many of the talks were about the resurrection of Christ and the hope and peace that come through the atonement.  Grandma Sue came over to watch, listen, and eat treats with us.  We were once again amazed as President Nelson announced the end of home and visiting teaching, and the institution of ministering with the inclusion of young women to help in the work, just as the young men have been doing with home teaching.  Sister Bingham and Elder Holland followed up President Nelson's announcement with a more thorough explanation of what ministering should look like, and I loved the things they said.  They were inspiring and encouraging.  Elder Holland began his talk by saying, "To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, the most memorable moments in life are those in which we feel the rush of revelation.  President Nelson, I don’t know how many more 'rushes' we can handle this weekend. Some of us have weak hearts. But as I think about it, you can take care of that too. What a prophet!"  We have certainly felt the prophetic calling of President Nelson.  It's like nothing has been happening since President Monson was got so bad, and now that we've got a new, vibrant, energetic prophet, things are happening!  He finished up conference by announcing seven new temples, including one in Bangalore, India and a major city in Russia.  SHAZAM! and WOW!! What a prophet, indeed!

I had invited my mom and Mikayla to come to Easter dinner today.  Guy wasn't feeling well, but Mikayla came with the littles.  They are always a bit wild, but Brandt and Blythe are always good to help.  Blythe read to Kal while we prepped food.  Mikayla and Guy had been with his family yesterday and their egg hunt hadn't been brilliant for at least one of her children, so we had an impromptu egg hunt in the backyard.  Everyone found a sufficient number of eggs to satisfy the need, and Brandt was good about sharing when he didn't get all that he was supposed to.  He had plenty of candy.  I sent Mikayla home with Kal, in the car, but the rest of us walked back to Mikayla's burning off a bit more energy before bed.  

Apparently, no basket needed.

It was a lovely day.  Conference was inspiring and uplifting and encouraging and revelating, and I came away with a greater appreciation for living prophets.  It's always a joy to think about and  celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ which makes our own resurrection possible.  In life, we face so much that is difficult and heartbreaking and gut wrenching, but we have a savior, a friend, an ally, an advocate in Jesus Christ who will bear us up and see us through.  I know he lives and I love him.  And I'm grateful on this Easter day to know I am his disciple.