APRIL 2025 SUNDAY MORNING GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION THOUGHTS
Sunday Morning! Said my prayers, read my scriptures, did my NYT Wordle and Connections, had my breakfast casserole and Momma Crimin’s Specialty French toast - I’m ready! Let’s go!
Today IS April 6th! Happy 195th Birthday, Church! “Joseph did not pray merely to know what was right. Rather, he prayed to know what was right so he could do what was right.”. Love that! His whole purpose of going to the Sacred Grove was to act. Classic Elder Bednar in inviting us to act, and not to be acted upon. It is not enough to know what to do; we must be willing to receive and act on what is true. So grateful for the this first of a miraculous sequence of events which lead to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of priesthood keys. And the restoration isn't over. It's still occurring as Christ's gospel and His church are being shared, taught, and accepted all over the world.
Another strong tie game from Elder Steven D. Shumway! “When we say yes to serving we’re saying yes to Jesus Christ. And when we say yes to Christ, we’re saying yes to the most abundant life possible.” We engage in God's work, not because He needs us, but because we need Him. This reminds me of one of my favorite James E. Talmage quotes - “Our need to serve God is incalculably greater than His need for our service.” He just really I’m a big believer in this!
“When we sacrifice for Jesus Christ, He sanctifies us.”
Oh, and the beautiful hymn that the choir sang, “Welcome Home” is in our hymnbook - check it out (#1027)
I always love listening to Sis. Tamara W. Runia! I appreciate her words and candor - and she loves using her hands when she speaks. "Heaven isn't for people who've been perfect. It's for people who've been forgiven, who choose Christ again and again." Love her take on shame - You are not the voice in your head or the mistakes you have made. You may need to say that out loud too. Tell Satan, ‘Not today.’ Put him behind you.” 🔥. Can’t type fast enough…tons of great one-liners in her talk!
The “compensatory” nature of Jesus Christ has always fascinated me, so my ears perked up when Bishop Causse shared “When circumstances beyond our control prevent us from fulfilling the righteous desires of our heart, the Lord will compensate in ways that allow us to receive His promised blessings.” To compensate means - “to pay back in recognition of loss, suffering, or injury”. He quoted one of my favorite verses - D&C 124:49, which is SO compensatory in nature. Loved this talk so much!
Every kid who made up quick spiritual thoughts for my Seminary class on "Jesus wept" now feel vindicated. 😂. Like Elder Gong, I too have always loved John 11:35 - Jesus Wept. Not just in the shortness of it, but in the context of the message surrounding the death and subsequent resurrection of Lazarus. The perfect emotions of the Savior include weeping…in all it’s forms. Jesus wipes away our tears, except our tears of joy. “Some of our greatest life lessons come from experiences we would never choose.”
"In all good things, Jesus Christ restores abundantly not only what was, but what can be."
Restoration and compensation. Two pretty awesome Christlike attributes.
John A. McCune
Feels like we've gotten some Japanese lessons in a few Conference sessions - which I think is awesome! What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? We worship Him, revere Him, believe in Him, love Him, and follow Him. “Jesus Christ is both the example and the means…Through covenant discipleship we can begin to understand better the nature of God and the joy that He wants all His children to experience.”
“Why can President Nelson feel joy during difficult times? Because HE knows.”
“To those who fall, how kind thou art!” -Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee. One of my favorite lines in the hymnbook.
Can I just remind us that Dallin H. Oaks is 92! Still one of the wisest men this world has ever seen. Nobody teaches doctrinal aspects of the Plan better than him. As part of that perfect plan of happiness, our Father in Heaven provides many gifts and helps to protect us from sin. “Our Heavenly Father desires all of His children to return to the Celestial Kingdom, where God and our Savior reside. And to have the kind of life of those who reside in that Celestial Glory.”
Parable of the Ten Virgins count: 6 (at least…probably more). I’m not an alarmist by any stretch, but maybe there’s a message here that we should focus on?
“It is Well With My Soul” is such a beautiful hymn. Wrecks me every time! If you haven’t seen the story behind it, look it up - pretty powerful stuff!
Snack time…and Ben wants to play more ping-pong.