Conference Clarity

A few things I love about General Conference:

--It always comes right when I desperately need some serious self-evaluation and spiritual jump-starting.

--There are always a handful of talks that feel as if they were written just for me, talks that speak to the very dilemmas and thoughts I've been grappling with lately.

Elder Bednar's talk about being more diligent and consistent at home has been echoing through my mind since Saturday.

"Our testimonies are proclaimed and lived most powerfully in our own homes."
"Many, ordinary brushstrokes work together to produce a beautiful masterpiece" (his analogy for being consistent with daily family prayer, scripture and FHE)
"Publicly declaring testimony when obedience and diligence are missing at home is a false witness"

Elder Eyring's talk was another one that continues to reverberate.

"Pray for love to overlook weakness and shortcoming in your spouse. Pray for love to soften his load and sufferings. Pray to forgive and see the good."
"You owe your parents your life. Remember them with honor regardless of how imperfect they are or how you may presently feel about them."

"Remember the feeling of baptism and that feeling of approval that you get when you say sorry to your spouse or your children. The gift of the Spirit and its peace can be felt by you and your family."

--It forces us as a family to slooooow down for at least one weekend of typically-busy October. I mean, how often do the five of us sit together on one couch, gathered in front of the computer, watching and listening to the prophet and apostles of God?

--Grandpa's Sunday morning french toast and banana-chocolate chip pancakes, which the boys were talking about all week in eager anticipation.

--The clarity of mind and spirit I always take away with me. It's as if the pieces to the puzzle have been there all along; I just couldn't see quite how to put them together. The Brethren lay out the design for me. All I have to do it is execute.