CONFERENCE

Cody Miller

7 

A sister blogger made note of the last lines of the closing prayer of the Relief Society General Conference last Saturday:

Bless us with a greater desire to understand and keep our covenants. Bless us with a greater desire to not only read but search the scriptures and to have the confidence to ask with greater intent; greater faith (in) knowing that an answer is sure.
Help us with greater understanding of our mission, on this earth, as thy daughters in these latter days. amen

Wow, I very seldom remember the prayers at conferences, but I did bow my head to this one and I felt the Spirit testify of the truth of answers to prayers like these.

This is my prayer also; I want to know if "I am doing it right", If I am fulfilling and magnifying my callings in my life and in church, am I good enough, am I worthy?

Answer: In the 2012 Relief Society Conference Sister Burke asked the question: “Is the Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in our Hearts”. To me this question carried the same weight of the question given by Alma “Have ye received a mighty change of heart”?

“Every sister in the Church should know……., that she is a beloved daughter of God. How does knowing our worth to Him change how we keep our covenants? How does knowing our worth to Him affect our desire to minister to others? How does knowing our worth to Him increase our desire to help those who need to understand the Atonement as we do—way down deep? When each of us has the doctrine of the Atonement written deep in our hearts, then we will begin to become the kind of people the Lord wants us to be when He comes again. He will recognize us as His true disciples” Sis Linda K. Burton Relief Society General President.  

 I was also amazed at the "tone" of the Conference, there seemed to be a very peaceful spirit there, almost solemn, the overall message seemed to be "speak softly", and carry a big message, and that was concerning how we "keep" or "guard" our covenants that we have made with Heavenly Father.

I went back and looked at the last conference in 2012 and I noted that the message was the same even to the Sisters saying some of the same things, and then I reviewed the last 2 conferences of 2011 & 2010, before the sustaining of the new Presidency.  The message is the same; that the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ will give us the ability to honor our covenants; to obey those covenants and then fulfill those covenants. Our baptismal covenants specifically tell us how to serve the Lord by serving his people; how to love the Lord by serving his people; and how to show obedience and love, by serving his people.

The  aha moment for me was the answer to the prayer of "What is our Mission"? Almost like the conversation the resurrected Savior had with Peter:

John 21:16-17

¹⁶ He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”

¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?”Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; you know that I love you.”

But most of all and you might not agree with me and that's OK, I felt in my heart that this conference message and those that preceded it, was a call for obedience, a call for repentance, and a call to love. Only through obedience can we please the Father, "If you love me, keep my commandments."