Conference Tradition...

I love General Conference. I love to gather my family around and hear Prophets, seers, and revelators declare and testify the words of our Father in Heaven. I love to hear them bear testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love to listen to stories of faith, past and present. I love it because it makes me want to be better. A better mom, a better wife, a better person. It makes me want to be someone who my Heavenly Father would be proud of--the woman He wants me to be, the woman He knows I can be.

Another reason I love General Conference is because Todd's family has a great conference tradition. I'm not sure when this tradition started--but I know it was before I joined the family 15 years ago. Everyone in our family takes notes during conference, so that after conference we can gather together, and Grandma and Grandpa bring candy bars, and each member of the family, youngest to oldest, has the opportunity to tell the group something they learned that day. If they do, they get rewarded with a candy bar. Over the years, this has meant buying more and more candy bars--(over 40 this year!) but everyone loves it! My kids will make sure to listen and take notes so they can give a summary for their candy bar. Even the youngest children get up and say something that they learned. Ashlie said, "I love my family, and I love Jesus!" Everyone claps and cheers, and they feel so proud! The older children are more specific. Joshua said, "I learned that we should love the temple." This was the main focus in the afternoon session. I was proud of him for remembering. Many children remembered the phrase, "You are never lost if you can see the temple!" The older children bring their notes, and will sometimes give a full summary of a talk. It's great to hear the teenagers, and what they get out of the talks. I am surprised at how much they listen, and understand. The adults have their opportunity to do this as well. I love it because it gives us an opportunity to bear testimony to one another, and to talk about the messages that we heard that day. As our family has grown, we have decided that a park is the way to go. It is fun to see the looks you get from people when our huge group sits down, and we sing a primary song, and pray before we start. It's really a fun tradition.

We missed Grandma and Grandpa this time, but want to let you know that Chris did a great job of presiding over this years meeting! We had so much fun together--thanks everyone for your testimonies, and your experiences. Conference wouldn't be the same without all of you! I was able to get a few good pictures this year--enjoy!