9 Ways to Get the Least Out of General Conference


Third Hour
 Share

Recommended Posts

It's that time of year again, folks: conference season. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world huddle around TV sets and stereos, listening intently to the divinely inspired direction of General Authorities. Conference is a time for spiritual renewal, to receive answers to the quietest of your heart's prayers, and to have your testimony strengthened and solidified. If being this spiritually uplifted sounds like a drag, here are some tips and tricks to avoid feeling that outpouring of the Holy Ghost. 1. Stock up on Corn Nuts and Pop Rocks Did you know the sinuses and cavities in your head are great at reverberating sound? Take advantage of these excellent acoustics with a Pop Rock-Corn Nut symphony. There's no way you'll be able to hear any of the sage advice, important apostolic counsel, or promptings of the Spirit over your orchestral crunching. 2. Get to know the speakers by using past conference talks as white noise Allow the cadence of prophetic wisdom to lull you to sleep each night preceding conference. Not only will this allow you...

View the full article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fun article.  Does anyone have some GC traditions that really help get the MOST out of conference?

EXAMPLES:

  1. Some of my children are sober enough to actually sit through conference and take notes in their journal.  :eek:
  2. The little ones play "conference bingo" by writing some gospel related words on a bingo board.  For each bingo, they get something.
  3. We have a talk about each session of conference and discuss something that stood out to each person.

 

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Fun article.  Does anyone have some GC traditions that really help get the MOST out of conference?

EXAMPLES:

  1. Some of my children are sober enough to actually sit through conference and take notes in their journal.  :eek:
  2. The little ones play "conference bingo" by writing some gospel related words on a bingo board.  For each bingo, they get something.
  3. We have a talk about each session of conference and discuss something that stood out to each person.

I like #3 in particular - assuming you know beforehand that you'll be doing this, it's a good motivator to concentrate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They forgot "head over to the chapel and spend the first 15 minutes of each session sitting on the steps waiting for the missionaries to show up with a key because nobody thought to unlock the building.  Spend the next 30 minutes finding the right cables, and the next twenty getting the ancient laptop to boot up, connect to the WiFi and cooperate with the projector and sound system."

Maybe Conference should be scheduled at the same time every year so they can plan for this stuff.  Oh wait...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not going to lie - I find I get more out of conference if I attend fewer sessions, but make them quality sessions.  I learn from reading, as opposed to lectures, and I find four sessions of conference to be just too much for me personally.  However, I find that if I cut the sessions to two and really listen, I get more out of it.

Edited by DoctorLemon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, DoctorLemon said:

 I learn from reading, as opposed to lectures, 

I liked your overall post.  But there is an interesting facet of what I quote here.  Quite often (probably once or twice per conference) there is an ad-lib by one of the speakers that really makes an impact.  Sometimes, it changes the tenor of the message that is written.  Unfortunately, there is no written record of it, so there is no way to look it up.

I've been searching in vain for a quote that I thought was Pres. Hinckley.  But since he ad-lib'd it, I can't find it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

I liked your overall post.  But there is an interesting facet of what I quote here.  Quite often (probably once or twice per conference) there is an ad-lib by one of the speakers that really makes an impact.  Sometimes, it changes the tenor of the message that is written.  Unfortunately, there is no written record of it, so there is no way to look it up.

I've been searching in vain for a quote that I thought was Pres. Hinckley.  But since he ad-lib'd it, I can't find it.

Hey i'm not saying it's the most righteous choice... but, being fully honest, it is what i find myself doing year after year.

I know who the 144000 in the book of revelation are... they are the only people who stick around for the saturday afternoon session! (lame joke)

Edited by DoctorLemon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

I liked your overall post.  But there is an interesting facet of what I quote here.  Quite often (probably once or twice per conference) there is an ad-lib by one of the speakers that really makes an impact.  Sometimes, it changes the tenor of the message that is written.  Unfortunately, there is no written record of it, so there is no way to look it up.

I've been searching in vain for a quote that I thought was Pres. Hinckley.  But since he ad-lib'd it, I can't find it.

As recently as 10 years ago Bishops used to be sent conference reports in the form of a paperback booklet.  My Bishop thought it had a record of what was actually said in conference, so it could vary from what was in the Ensign.  I never really took the opportunity to look through one and compare it to the talks in the Ensign though.  I don't know if they are still produced.

I see there are some old ones here: https://archive.org/details/conferencereport

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh gee, it's worse than what I posted.  Some genius decided to schedule the building for a wedding at 1:00, so half the morning session was constantly interrupted by bridesmaids in backless dresses setting up decorations and photographers doing light checks. 

Yeah, in the chapel. No, I couldn't find the bishop, so I have no idea who officiated it  

But wait, there's more. 

I'm sitting on the damp grass outside the clerk's office where I can get just enough wifi signal to listen until my phone battery dies. Apparently they did tell the wedding bunch to be gone by 3, and so when I got here, the last stragglers were leaving and building was locked. 

This is why I don't bother inviting anyone to church.  This ward throws more red flags in front of investigators than a Chinese state holiday. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, apparently it was a quinceanera. Certainly looked like a wedding with a half dozen women in fluffy tube dresses, (and those were the adults) and both a photographer and videographer with full pro rigs. 

Either way, not appropriate for a Church building on Conference weekend. I've noticed even the missionaries don't invite investigators to come watch Conference anymore. For the first 3-4 Conferences after I joined, that was a preferred tactic. (Though never the Saturday morning session because of the mess of having to find and set up the equipment.)

Now, with 8 minutes to go before the Priesthood session, the missionaries bring the total attendance to six. This used to get 40-50. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share