Women's Conference 2008

I attended Women's Conference down at BYU yesterday with my roommate and friend, Shannon Rice. We had a great time! We got a hotel room right by the stadium, attended the conference, shopped at the bookstore (of course), attended a new LDS movie preview (Errand of Angels--well done), and went to the Shadow Mountain Music Showcase (Hilary Weeks, Jenny Jordan Frogley, Eclipse, Kenneth Cope & Michael McLean). By the time we got back to the hotel last night, we were happy and exhausted!

I loved the conference for many reasons, but mainly because I felt inspired to do better and be better (no more General Hospital for me). Here are some of my favorite quotes from the conference:

Sheri Dew: "Our Spirits crave to progress. It is easier to motivate someone to do something difficult than to do something easy. To have influence on others, we don't have to have money, fame or a BIG title. Just like David O. McKay says, Motherhood is the greatest potential to influence human life. She said she finds it disturbing that RS sisters are quoting famous Hollywood types in RS lessons instead of wonderful women of the gospel who have far better influence than the world. She encouraged us to care more about what the Lord thinks of us than what the world or even the women in our ward think of us. Choose purity and holiness first. She also said anyone who shifts our focus from Christ is an anti-Christ.

I also attended a class entitled Balancing Act: Benefits of Extra-Curricular Activities versus Overscheduling our Children. One of the speakers made an interesting statement that I hadn't really pondered on. It use to be the family were a family of producers where everyone had a job and contributed to the well-being of the family. Flip ahead a few years, the family has become a family of consumers crying "I want more, more more!" Hence the need for hyper-parenting. Not that all activities are bad, b/c studies show that the more engaged kids are in sports activities in high school are 40% more likely to graduate college. However, it is all based on the Good, Better, Best principle that Elder Dallin H. Oakes related in a past General Conference. We need to put important family matters first: prayer, scripture study, family time. They both warned not to try and live our kids. Just b/c we didn't get to do it or maybe enjoyed it when we were young, doesn't necessarily mean our kids will want to participate or enjoy it.

The Next Class I attended was entitled A Merry Heart Maketh a Cheerful Countenance with Ronald Skinner & Emily Watts. I have read many of Emily's mother books, which are really quite funny. They both said that we are all going to have bad days....sometimes more than one. However, we have to learn the "delight" that the scriptures talk about and change our perception often through laughter (i.e. our Chicken Butt story). Often times in the scriptures when they talk about being cheerful, it was not at cheerful times but times of trial. Life is but a moment, we have to strive to find the joy in the journey. It was a great class for me!!!

Finally, the concluding speakers were President & Sister Bateman, formally BYU President and Seventy-emeritus b/c he is now serving as the Provo Temple President. He talked about temple work, but here was something I gleaned that works well at home. He said that when they get new temple workers they follow the same orientation program so to speak: teach, demonstrate, and let the worker practice w/ a mentor until perfected. This is a way we can teach our kids to work....teach them the principle/job, demonstrate the best way to follow it/do it, and and then help them live/do until they can fully live/do on their own. He said it is a privilage to do things in an orderly, clean fashion. That was the way of the Savior.

Needless to say, it was great experience and we had a lot of joy in the journey! You can read the transcripts of the talks online at www.byuwomensconference.com if you were unable to attend.