Conference Recap

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Show Notes

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Transcript

Episode 105 - Conference Recap

 [00:00:00] 

Sher: All right. Cydni, are you ready for our general conference episode? Yeah. I'm glad 

Cydni: we did this because I paid attention better than normal. 

Sher: Yeah, it helped me also. So good idea, Cydni. 

Cydni: Thank you. one reason I really wanted to pay attention to conference is I kind of went down a rabbit hole of listening to people's conspiracies and rumors about what the big announcements were going to be.

And then I shared some of those with you. Absolutely. And I really delight in that so much. my favorite was hearing, everyone thought there would be one hour church. Yes. Which I never believed I don't think that'd be a good idea. It'd be really fast. I think I would quit church and It'd just be a slippery slope, like two hours. Okay. I'm serious about Jesus. But if it was one hour, I'd be like it was one hour. 

Sher: But I think the idea behind that is you're supposed to do more of your own study at home. Right? Well, 

Cydni: that's where I feel scared. Like the adult part. The grown up. I got it. Adult parts scared me. But the other one was that people thought [00:01:00] the age for temple attendance would change. That'd be eight years old. And also the one that we came up with And tried to start a rumor. It didn't go anywhere though. No, it was just between me and you.

And I told my kids was polygamy. So the whole conference, every talk I did say, oh, here's the polygamy announcement, and that was your first text to me at the end is no polygamy. And I got a great laugh outta that. So thank you. So those were the rumors, not one forgetting 

Sher: one. The Savior's return would be like next month or something. Yeah. 

Cydni: Or that he would pop up behind President Nelson, like, 

Sher: Hey, none of that happens. Guess who's here, 

Cydni: guess who's back, back again. 

Sher: Okay. But on a serious note, Cydni, yes. I would like to say after our discussion about all the conspiracy theories, we said, which one do you think is really gonna happen? And we said. None of them. That's true. 

Cydni: We did. And furthermore, I reflected upon this, and I would even say rumors and [00:02:00] conspiracies is a tool of Satan . Because I was thinking how many people out there were probably so disappointed after some of the talks they expected a big bam, and then they probably felt disappointed, which is the opposite of how conference. It's supposed to make you feel, you're supposed to go in with an open heart prayerful, let God throat punch you about something you need to change in your life, but you feel hope and you feel like, there's dark times, but here are a beautiful group of people who are all trying. We feel very human and we love God, and we're trying to be like Jesus, that's what it's supposed to be about. Not like what big announcement's gonna happen? What are we gonna be able to be like, oh, no way across the crowd. So I thought maybe it's a little bit of a tool for the adversary to have those. 

Sher: You're probably right. I think that was a good insight, 

Cydni: but I think I'll still listen to the rumors every time. I know I'm weak. I just love it. 

Sher: Well, let's get started. We came up with some guiding questions to help us through conference things that we were personally looking [00:03:00] for. And the first one is what message was meant for you personally? So what do you have, Cydni 

Cydni: This one's a little funny because I felt like this talk was meant so much for me personally that I assumed it would be very underrated and it's the one I'm seeing everywhere. Everybody is talking about it. So it was meant for me personally, but also for millions of other people personally. And that's Sister Tamara Ez? Yep. Good one. That was the one I chose to. I wonder though, what stood out to both of us, because it's the same talk, but I've seen people post different thoughts on it, and so I'm interested to know what yours is, but I'll go first. I just wrote in my notes a few things that stood out. One, she said, shame doesn't tell us we made a mistake. Shame tells us we are our mistakes. Shame may even tell us to hide. She continues to tell us that Satan is the thief of hope, which I loved 'cause we've talked so much about thiefs and what it's stealing from us.

And so I love the [00:04:00] idea that he does still hope, hope to change. She also said, you may need to hear this, so I will say it out loud. You are not the voice inside your head. Oh, I love that part. It was so good, powerful. and then she said, or the mistakes you have made, but my favorite part was when she talked about diving.

She was a diver as a youth, and she said that, of course, the judges would judge you on your toes and your posture and how little your splash was. But the part that touched my heart the most is she said. that , the judges factored in the degree of difficulty. And she said, we all have different degrees of difficulty in our life, and your Savior is the only one who truly knows the degree of difficulty you are diving with. I loved this because a thought I've had since I was a child is that every single one of us will be judged. Sincerely on our full picture and nobody else knows the full picture, but Christ, I just felt like this illustration was perfect and it brought everything I've ever felt to [00:05:00] light. And finally she said, I want a relationship with the one person who gets me, who knows my heart and knows how hard I am trying. What was your takeaway from her talk? 

Sher: I agree with everything you said. I'm just gonna add to it she said, heaven isn't for people who've been perfect. It's for people who've been forgiven, who choose Christ again and again. I love that idea none of us are supposed to be perfect. That's why the Savior came. Let's to save us. And that's the whole purpose of our Savior and our gospel. The next thing I loved was her example when she used the hand examples how she said that our worth never changes to God. And any mistakes that we make or will make we can choose to be further away from God or closer to God, but that never changes our worth and that God loves us no matter what. 

Cydni: And could we just say thank you to this sister? Mm-hmm. Who stood up there and with her personality and her femininity. She was so [00:06:00] powerful. I feel so grateful because sometimes when women get up there and talk we're like, oh, what in the basket and cardigan and lasagna casserole is she talking about? But I was. So grateful and I felt so proud because that talk is everywhere and people are talking about it, and I felt like it was because she was genuinely herself, her real personality, and I thought she was powerful and strong, and I felt so grateful for that talk.

Sher: Yeah. And I'm gonna add vulnerable, genuine, vulnerable, powerful. It was awesome. I'm gonna stick with the sisters. I wanna just add a few more. I love Sister Camille Johnson's talk as well. She said that wholeness does not necessarily mean physical and emotional restoration, in mortality , but, and this is my words because I was unable to write it all down quick enough, but it does mean you can become spiritually whole in Christ.

for me, what this meant is God may not take away your pain, but Christ will help all of us carry our burdens. And that gave me a lot of comfort. And I wanna throw out a shout out to President Udo. 'cause I really liked when he said, and [00:07:00] again, this is my word, so sorry to President Udo if I am not getting the quote. Exactly. Yeah. When you 

Cydni: listen to this President Udo, we were trying. 

Sher: I know, right? But basically he said. You're not a misfit, you're a needed piece. And I really liked that talk a lot.

Cydni: I see a lot of people sharing different broken toys and memes. And they're all collected together and barely hanging on by a thread. And they're like, we're not misfits. 

Sher: Okay, so our next question is, what message was timely for the state of the world? What did you have, Cydni 

Cydni: Overall I would say a message I felt for the world wasn't a specific talk as much as a specific feeling I got though the best person for me that summarized how I was feeling was President Holland, I felt was talking about not being a casual disciple, and a quote he shared from Richard E. Evans and he said this quote was shared 60 years ago. many of us profess to be Christians, yet we do not take him seriously. We respect him, but we don't [00:08:00] follow him. We quote his sayings, but we don't live by them. We admire him, but we don't worship him.

That was a sting in my heart. It was for me, a call to. Not hide our testimonies to be more serious with our discipleship, to take up our cross daily, not just one hour Sunday church, but truly to step into our testimonies and live, like we say, we believe, 

Sher: I think that we were on the same idea. But for me, what I heard several times was the parable of the 10 virgins, I felt like it was throughout the conference and several speakers used that reference. I'm gonna go back to Sister Camille Johnson again. She said to be whole means to be complete and full. Like the five wise virgins who had their lamps full with oil, when the bridegroom came making and keeping covenants in the house of the Lord fills lamps today with the oil of conversion, then share his light.

I know that was a lot, and it kind of goes back to what I was talking [00:09:00] about before too, about being whole. But I wanna focus on then share his light. it's important for us to not only fill our lantern, but as we are making and keeping covenants and following the commandments, our light is gonna grow.

And it's important to share that and share our testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ. That is important piece of discipleship. And then just real quick, president Oaks also used that parable , basically what I learned is that only half of the followers of Christ, will be ready when the Savior comes.

. To which I said share. Get your crap together because you've got a long way to go. I don't wanna be left out when the savior comes.

Cydni: There's nothing like the Spirit whisper springing to you to get your crap together already. 

Sher: right? That's what I heard is get your crap together. So could I just, that's what I need to do. 

Cydni: Could I just add that with the 10 virgins, how many times it was mentioned? someone shared. A photo of the 10 versions. There were several versions shared, but there was one specifically that caught my eye. And the five [00:10:00] versions who were not prepared are in the background. And it's worth finding. Maybe we should find it and one day share it, but nah, that would be crazy What's worth noting is the different expressions on the faces of the five virgins that are not ready because there are some who are on the ground weeping. There are some who look like, I don't really care, like I am not about this. And I just felt like from all five there was just so many different emotions that are very real and caused by different things. Maybe guilt or shame or indifference or apathy. And I thought that was really interesting to reflect on. 

Sher: that is, and again, Sher, get your crap together. That was my overall takeaway too, was 

Cydni: man, I hope Sher's listening, she really needs to get her crap together. We all heard it Could I just say there once was a time in conference where , what the guy was talking about, I thought to myself, I hope Ben's listening. And then the guy said in the talk, now you might be thinking, I hope [00:11:00] so and so is listening. And I was like, oh my gosh, I am the five version that is not ready.

Sher: I remember that talk. I believe I did the same thing and then ended with Get your Crap Together, share, which obviously still hasn't happened yet. That's okay. There's time. All right. Cydni be honest. Did you fall asleep during conference? 

Cydni: Yeah, through my favorite speaker. The most exciting to listen to for me is Al Patrick, Karen. I fell asleep through his, what? I know. Half of my family, well, the boys went to conference. They were downtown for the last session.

Oh, that's great. Yeah. It was really cool that they got to go. But it was just Iana and I, so because I'm the adult there, we ate ice cream and both fell asleep. Nice. But I only fell asleep through one. I zoned out through several. 

Sher: Did you? Well, I have to be honest, I didn't fall asleep, but it's probably because I wasn't paying attention enough. 'cause I was multitasking, which , is never good for me. But I was cleaning and doing things like that while listening to conference. 

Cydni: That helps me so much. I never fall asleep while cleaning. So it works well, but I did not do that. we doodled and [00:12:00] ate ice cream. Perfect. And I was like, this is why I should not be alone with children. I'm like, you want some more ice cream for dinner? 

Sher: It sounds like the perfect conference. Afternoon. All right, Cydni, what message did you not want to hear but needed to? Besides the whole thing? 

Cydni: It hit so hard to my heart that I don't even know the speaker, so. Is that a good start? But I looked it up and I think it's called a joyful choice. This one hurt the most for me because he talks about a first sin and a second sin, and he said, we're all faced with a first sin of the temptation.

For instance, Adam and Eve. The apple, but the second sin is hiding. And that one I could just see across my life that when I make a mistake, I don't want to just go face it. I just want to like sneak away and fall asleep and forget about it. And so that one probably the affected my heart, the absolute most that I would like to hide instead of face it and improve. But also I just thought about hiding in general [00:13:00] and we've talked a lot about using our talents and our gifts and letting our light shine. And we both struggle with this. We both are like, well, let's like put forth a little bit of effort so we don't feel totally guilty, but not like turn the light on all the way. We'll just like dim it. So it was a double whammy. 

Sher: It's our go-to move. Right there, dim the light. 

Cydni: We're setting the mood to dim the light and hide and not do what we feel prompted. 

Sher: Mine's on the same lines, but it was from Elder Jimenez. he said. Don't just have a checklist of things to do, but actually study your scriptures. Know your why and your purpose. It was a throat punch. And then also President Nelson's talk, when he was talking about having confidence that one was like. Hello. Wake up. 

Cydni: I know I listened to that one again already, actually. And I took a note of something else he said in it because he does talk about having confidence but not confidence of the world, confidence in spirit to be able to go. Toward God right now as you are, which does go hand in hand with not [00:14:00] hiding. additionally, he said anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one. Contention never leads to an inspired solution. True charity towards all men is the hallmark of a peacemaker. 

Sher: That was perfect. 

Cydni: And if we could just do another shout out. I did stick around I didn't turn the TV off and I watched the prophet shake everyone's hands. I. And it brought tears to my eyes watching him at the end.

Sher: I did the same thing. Did you? I did. I cried too. , it just touched my heart. 

Cydni: Completely. Touched my heart. Mm-hmm. And Ben was there with the boys, like I said, and some friends, and he said they were all taking a group picture and the prophet was willed in. At the time that they were snapping a photo. they all turned and looked he said it was such a powerful feeling. on the way there, Titus said, I hope the prophet's there. And Ben said he hasn't been in any of the sessions, so it's unlikely. And he said, Titus just. Lit up when, oh, that's so, so special. That's so 

Sher: beautiful. I love that. That makes me teary eyed. Just you talking about it. That's [00:15:00] awesome. 

Cydni: Yeah, it touched my heart and I just feel grateful But also, I felt such an amazing Spirit the whole time watching, so what a cool experience.

Sher: . All right. Just to. wrap this up, Cydni. Just a few things that popped out to me was Elder Hollands when he talked about having humility of a child that Christ knew the apostles needed it the most before He left, and so I thought that was important advice for me to follow as well.

And then Elder Cook, I'm really gonna. Ruin his quotes. But basically he said, sometimes life is sunny, cloudy, or stormy. And the thought that came to me was, so, suck it up buttercup. And then President Irene, he said, be obedient and focus on Christ because the Savior is coming. Of course, we don't know when, but again, I need to get my crap together.

just on a side note, one of the talks, 'cause I was trying to take notes while multitasking, which is never good. And I just put it was really good, but I forgot to write down the point then it's honest. But then overall, I thought the most important and greatest message for me [00:16:00] personally was we are children of God. That I am God's daughter and He loves me and I'm worth saving. I loved that very much. 

Cydni: To wrap mine up, I would say there was a few one-liners that did stand out to me. One was that many are called, but few choose to be chosen. Another was give equal time to Him, not spare time. And overall my number one favorite one-liner is simply walk Undaunted towards Him. I felt overall, my takeaway is that we need to put forth effort and be a more serious disciple. But God comes to where we are and He is with us, and I love the idea to simply walk undaunted towards him.

Now, share, if you had to tell someone to listen to just one talk from the whole conference, which one would you say to listen to? 

Sher: I'd have to say the prophets 'cause he's the prophet. Then I'd have to go with Sister Nia. I loved it. 

Cydni: I agree. it would be hers for sure. . And in the spirit of [00:17:00] general conference, to be a more serious disciple, we both would like to boldly state that we believe Jesus is our Savior. We believe that he has died for each one of us, and we believe that we are children of God and we believe you are a child of God. we believe that we have a living prophet on this earth today, and above all, we believe that we have a loving Father in Heaven who loves each and every one of us, and is desperate for us to come to Him.

Sher: This is our prayer 

Cydni: from Cydni and Sher

okay. 

I don't remember his name, Sher. That doesn't help with this, but I'll just That's okay. or you could say your whatever. Okay. You wanna do that? Yeah. Okay. Do you want me to, do you want me? 

Sher: Yeah, you go first. No, you can or [00:18:00] me. I can. Do you have something? I could. I'm going to get emotional.

Cydni: Look at that. Way to go lady. 

Sher: Shut up. Cydni has it I feel like you should say it 

Cydni: each and one each, and each and every, say amen. Hallelujah. Have a great week.