For those of you who might have missed it, last weekend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held its bi-annual General Conference. The weekend consisted of five 2-hour long sessions from various leaders in the organization speaking on a variety of moral topics relevant to our time. To understand how big a deal this is for the membership, check out this infographic. Whether or not you’re a Mormon, there are many great messages that are applicable your personal life. Here are some of my favorite nuggets of wisdom that I captured on my twitter stream:
- Walking the walk: Participating in Church activities and living the Gospel of Jesus Christ are two related but different things. The Church promotes actively living the Gospel and provides strong support for those that wish to do so, but a person can be active in the Church and less active in living the Gospel.
- There are many things about living the gospel that cannot be measured by that which is counted or charted in records of attendance.
- Work Ethic: “I know what pleasure is, for I have done good work.” -Robert Louis Stevenson
- Judging: “Though we cannot look into a person’s heart we assume that we know a bad person.” -Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- Abusing Authority: Those that exercise unrighteous dominion lose the spirit of peace, the spirit of leadership, and most importantly the spirit of God.
- If you’ve been hurt by its effects, know that you are still loved and welcomed. You can overcome the hurt and pain through the Atonement of Christ.
- Examples: What we do speaks so loudly that our children might not hear what we say. -Elder Quentin L. Cook
- Simplification: Our lives need regular pruning so we use our time and energy to bring forth good fruit.
- Motivation: Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf
- “The what informs, but the why transforms.”
- “The basic gospel principles should become part of our life’s foundation even if we have to learn them over and over and over again.”
- “Sermons that do not lead to action are like fires without heat or water that does not quench thirst.”
- Philosophical Myopia: “Scientific Atheism is tone deaf to…faith.” -Elder Quentin L. Cook