#8 Sunday's Regional Conference

Today's church meetings were great! This past Sunday, I had the chance to attend a Regional Conference held at the Marriott Center for my stake and a few others around here. We had the chance to hear from a few speakers who came out to teach us, such as Elder and Sister Suarez and M. Russell Ballard. I wanted to share a few of the highlights from their talks:

-"The Gospel isn't a big umbrella that will keep us dry from the storms and rain we experience in life. The Gospel is the rock that we stand on and are founded on when we're soaked from the rain and pelted by the hail." I thought this was a great image to keep in mind, especially in relation to Helaman 5:12, because living the Gospel won't protect us and keep us from having trials, but instead will keep us grounded and firm in resisting the current and being swept away. 

-Elder and Sister Suarez talked about charting our own course to eternal life and different things we should be doing to achieve that, such as regular scripture study, putting our relationship with God first, attending the temple, and keeping the Sabbath holy. Sister Suarez shared an example of how her and her husband would attend the temple every Saturday morning while they were dating. 

-M. Russell Ballard did a great job of addressing different issues and helping each member of the congregation find areas to fix in their life. He encouraged everyone to find time to disconnect from the world, to separate oneself from all the clutter, and to conduct a self interview. He exhorted us to ask ourselves questions about various areas of worthiness and growth, and then to make goals to overcome challenges in our lives. He told us to set a reasonable amount of goals (not too many, not too few) and with reasonable expectations (not too high, not too low). We were also encouraged to be true disciples of Christ by reaching out to the lonely. Finally, he elaborated more on his topic this past General Conference, the "Old Ship Zion," and to make sure we, "stay in the boat, keep your life jacket on, and hold on with both hands." 

I felt the message of hope and to not give up, even when we feel like our best isn't enough. God knows us so well that he knows exactly how much is our best and will accept our efforts. Great messages of hope and encouragement, I'll be carrying them with me throughout the week!