Post Conference Thoughts
I enjoy walking my boys to school each morning. For those ten minutes, they have a captive audience, and they often compete with each other to tell me what is on their minds. This morning, Peter was telling me some soda jokes he came up with:
How old do you need to be to drink soda?
-7 and up.
Where was the first soda made?
- In the Mountain Dew (My guess was in Minnesota.)
What soda can you plant in your garden?
-Root beer.
Josh, on the other hand, was telling me, in great detail, how to get an artifact that is hidden in his vault. The key could be found in the graveyard, if you could get it from the zombies. Then, to get into the vault, you had to drink a certain potion, but it was hidden among five other potions, one of which was poison, and two of which were root beer, and the other two were not root beer, although I'm not sure what they actually were. There was also a tiger with eleven lives that had to be fought, and all your weapons were taken from you before you could enter the vault except for the key, which turns into a sword. There was also something about flying broomsticks, one of which was better than the other... As I was listening, parts of it sounded very familiar, like a blend between Fablehaven and Harry Potter, both of which he has been reading lately. I asked him about it, and he freely admitted that was where he had gotten his ideas.
On the solitary walk back home from the school, my thoughts went back to General Conference which our family enjoyed watching this weekend. By what has become a tradition, we had plenty of treats to eat (maybe too many). We all gathered in the dining room and living room where we could see the computer screen as the Conference sessions streamed over the internet. Together, we listened to the words of a living prophet and apostles and other church leaders. The kids sat at the table and listened while doing crafts, and playing Conference Listening Activities. I had some knitting to keep my hands busy, but stopped to take notes from time to time when something impressed me. My notes include items like: Do missionary work! Desire and strive to become perfect. Look ahead and believe. Blessings are significant and subtle. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. All that is wrong can be made right through the atonement of Christ. Take time to be well. Accept every call to serve. God should be my first priority. Dedication - Self Discipline - Perseverance. Endure to the end. Spend time doing what is really important. Ordinances and Priesthood power bring strength and blessings. God speaks! Continually hold fast to the iron rod. Don't neglect to look up. Align my will with God's. Sin, even legalized, is still sin.
At dinner each evening, we asked the kids what they remembered, and discussed the stories and talks that came to mind. Usually, it was the stories that the kids remembered. Last night, it was the image of two kids playing marbles in the dirt while a huge storm moved in overhead that was most memorable. "Don't forget to look up!" The kids could even remember the moral.
Later on, as Steven and I discussed the Conference, another story came to mind, one where a mother asked a father, "shall we go to sacrament meeting today, or should we go for a Sunday drive instead?" The result of that one choice had far reaching consequences for them and their children, and many lives were affected because of it. It was made evident to me how important it is to always, always, always do what is right, especially when children are watching - and they always are. As I could see from how Josh took in and regurgitated themes from the books he has been reading, my children remember and are greatly influenced by what they are exposed to. If I choose not to go to church just one week because I'm too tired or have too many other things to do, it tells my children that church is not important, that rest or whatever other things I do instead are more important than renewing the covenants I have made with God. The same thing applies to scripture reading, family home evening, prayer, and even watching General Conference. What are the priorities that I am teaching my children?
I am grateful that my parents taught me where my priorities should be when I was a child. I remember always going to church, having family prayers and family scripture study. We had Family Home Evenings and family counsels. I learned that my parents believed these things to be important, so they were important to me, even before I gained my own testimony of their importance.
I am also grateful for a faithful husband who is an equal help to me in passing these same values to our children. He leads us in prayer and scripture study. He conducts our family home evenings. He has initiated the reading of a scripture before dinner, and the watching of a conference talk on Sundays. He is a great support to me, as together we strive to teach our children what is really important.
How old do you need to be to drink soda?
-7 and up.
Where was the first soda made?
- In the Mountain Dew (My guess was in Minnesota.)
What soda can you plant in your garden?
-Root beer.
Josh, on the other hand, was telling me, in great detail, how to get an artifact that is hidden in his vault. The key could be found in the graveyard, if you could get it from the zombies. Then, to get into the vault, you had to drink a certain potion, but it was hidden among five other potions, one of which was poison, and two of which were root beer, and the other two were not root beer, although I'm not sure what they actually were. There was also a tiger with eleven lives that had to be fought, and all your weapons were taken from you before you could enter the vault except for the key, which turns into a sword. There was also something about flying broomsticks, one of which was better than the other... As I was listening, parts of it sounded very familiar, like a blend between Fablehaven and Harry Potter, both of which he has been reading lately. I asked him about it, and he freely admitted that was where he had gotten his ideas.
On the solitary walk back home from the school, my thoughts went back to General Conference which our family enjoyed watching this weekend. By what has become a tradition, we had plenty of treats to eat (maybe too many). We all gathered in the dining room and living room where we could see the computer screen as the Conference sessions streamed over the internet. Together, we listened to the words of a living prophet and apostles and other church leaders. The kids sat at the table and listened while doing crafts, and playing Conference Listening Activities. I had some knitting to keep my hands busy, but stopped to take notes from time to time when something impressed me. My notes include items like: Do missionary work! Desire and strive to become perfect. Look ahead and believe. Blessings are significant and subtle. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. All that is wrong can be made right through the atonement of Christ. Take time to be well. Accept every call to serve. God should be my first priority. Dedication - Self Discipline - Perseverance. Endure to the end. Spend time doing what is really important. Ordinances and Priesthood power bring strength and blessings. God speaks! Continually hold fast to the iron rod. Don't neglect to look up. Align my will with God's. Sin, even legalized, is still sin.
At dinner each evening, we asked the kids what they remembered, and discussed the stories and talks that came to mind. Usually, it was the stories that the kids remembered. Last night, it was the image of two kids playing marbles in the dirt while a huge storm moved in overhead that was most memorable. "Don't forget to look up!" The kids could even remember the moral.
Later on, as Steven and I discussed the Conference, another story came to mind, one where a mother asked a father, "shall we go to sacrament meeting today, or should we go for a Sunday drive instead?" The result of that one choice had far reaching consequences for them and their children, and many lives were affected because of it. It was made evident to me how important it is to always, always, always do what is right, especially when children are watching - and they always are. As I could see from how Josh took in and regurgitated themes from the books he has been reading, my children remember and are greatly influenced by what they are exposed to. If I choose not to go to church just one week because I'm too tired or have too many other things to do, it tells my children that church is not important, that rest or whatever other things I do instead are more important than renewing the covenants I have made with God. The same thing applies to scripture reading, family home evening, prayer, and even watching General Conference. What are the priorities that I am teaching my children?
I am grateful that my parents taught me where my priorities should be when I was a child. I remember always going to church, having family prayers and family scripture study. We had Family Home Evenings and family counsels. I learned that my parents believed these things to be important, so they were important to me, even before I gained my own testimony of their importance.
I am also grateful for a faithful husband who is an equal help to me in passing these same values to our children. He leads us in prayer and scripture study. He conducts our family home evenings. He has initiated the reading of a scripture before dinner, and the watching of a conference talk on Sundays. He is a great support to me, as together we strive to teach our children what is really important.
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