The Conference Issue

It's just me this week, so I hope I can be as engaging as all the others who have contributed of late!

If you recall my posts back in May and June, you can probably guess what I'm going to say this week.... the Ensign is coming!! The May and November issues usually arrive a little later than the other months, but I look forward to to them like no other. It's a little like Christmas! Why? Because the May and November issues contain the talks shared with us in General Conference. I often liken General Conference to drinking straight from the well of Living Water. I can't get enough! And though I enjoy listening to or studying the talks again digitally, there's something magical about holding real paper with printed words. These are truly the living scriptures! I know that the principles we are taught in these discourses are true, that they give us light and security and guidance in a world where there are so many voices pulling us in different directions.

So how can we let that vitality of living scripture from inspired leaders influence our daily lives? Since our focus area on the blog the past two months has been about sharing the literacy experience, here are some ideas for sharing these talks in a way that they may come alive for YOU and those you share them with, family or otherwise.

First, the Conference issues have a wealth of tools already in them! You can refer to May's issue right now until the November one comes. Note the topic index listed at the front of the issue, right after the Table of Contents pages. If you want to learn or ponder more about a certain topic, this is a great place to start. But don't stop there!

Next, check out the back of the issue. There's a two-page spread titled "Making Conference a Part of Our Lives" (p. 128-129). Right there, a lot of the work has already been done for you! The editors do a survey of the talks and pull together common threads/themes that apply to broader groups. They break it out for children and youth especially, but grown-ups, too! I love the list of scripture stories and where they were referenced in talks. It can really bring the scripture story to life in a  new way for you, and the talk will have better meaning too!

If you keep flipping after that spread, there are pages focused on additional youth topics. The New Era and Friend usually have articles this month, too. 

Finally, before the News section, there's the Conference Story Index. What a great reference! This is the perfect place to find a story to share in family home evening or to just to enjoy for yourself!

Beyond these tools, try out some of the ideas below to keep the Conference talks alive in your hearts. I know you won't regret it!

GENERAL

• Take notes as you read. Keep them in a journal. Or if there's a specific talk that really resonates with you right now, print it out and keep it handy. Keep a binder of your favorite talks over the years. When you're struggling with something, you can always go back to these talks and find wonderful comfort!
• When you read one of the talks, take time to discuss it with someone. Be it around the family dinner table or on your daily walk with a friend, discussing it will not only make it more personal for you, it will strengthen others as well.
• Read a talk and then take another day to study all the scriptural cross-references listed at the end. You can learn so much about the scriptures by doing this!
• Have a study partner! Decide on a talk you will both read then keep each other accountable and discuss it later. It will strengthen your relationship AND your understanding. Not a bad investment!
• Depending on your personality/reading style, you might like to sit down and read it all, but my guess is that most of us don't have the time or energy to do that. (Or, it's ok to admit it! ..maybe you just feel overwhelmed by so much content and never get around to it?) Make a plan or set aside some time for yourself to read. Maybe Sunday afternoons? Or Tuesdays at lunch? Whatever works for you. Spreading it out over the next few months will keep that living water pumping happily through you!
• Always try to read the talk selected for the fourth Sunday of the month in Relief Society. The "Teachings for Our Time" lessons are always some of my favorite!

FOR CHILDREN

• While you read for yourself, look for object lessons that you can turn into a family home evening lesson. One that comes to mind for our family was a talk from a long while ago by President Hinckley about the Four Cornerstones of Our Faith. If your kids love (or ever loved) blocks, they'd love building and learning about these ideas!
• Tell one of the stories from the Story Index and have your children draw a picture about it.
• Have your children flip through the issue and pick out one of the photographs. Talk to them about how those people look/feel in the picture. Why do they think that? Use their ideas as a bridge to bearing testimony -- about Conference, our prophet, leaders, music, whatever! OR, talk about where the people live and what's interesting or beautiful about that culture, how we are all God's children.
• Play a matching game with the pictures of the General Authorities! Or have them count how many times President Monson spoke. Think of the issue not just as a reference for articles but as a fun tool for games and familiarizing them with the Church. If they learn to love it now, they will be more inclined to want to read it later.

FOR YOUTH
Obviously, I do not have teenagers yet, but I have taught them plenty! (And I like to think I still remember what it was like to be one?)

• Let them be the teacher. Either choose a talk and have them teach the family about it, or let them find one themselves and report on it. This can be in family home evening or just at breakfast or dinner. Trust their judgment! And don't be surprised if they push back at first. :)
• Cross-reference with seminary. Look at the scriptures listed at the back of the issue that are scripture mastery verses (see the yellow callout box on p. 129 of the May issue, for example). Focus on those that correspond with this year's scriptures.
• If you have sons who will be joining Dad on home teaching, maybe they can be involved with the preparation of the message.
• Again, don't miss the Youth pages at the back!
• Consider making the talks part of your family scripture study. You don't have to necessarily put aside whatever it is you're already reading together, but maybe take one or two days a week to read a talk instead.
• Design some kind of family challenge for the older ones in your house to read this issue!

Last but not least, just keep this issue out and available until the next Conference issue comes. Try to make it a habit to look and see what the most recent addresses have said about something you are pondering. For your families, you can set the example of following the prophet -- not just out of duty, but out of the love of his words. He is the mouthpiece for our Savior Jesus Christ. Let your children (and friends!) catch you reading! And when they are working through something themselves, don't forget to pull out this issue!

Happy reading!