General Conference Scorecard
by Sariah S. Wilson
We have Dish Network as our satellite provider. The only reason we got satellite and that particular provider was because BYU-TV was offered. General Conference at home! Score! (I know that this makes no sense to those who have always been able to watch conference on TV, but as we had to go to the church building almost my entire life in order to watch conference, it is truly glorious to watch it from your comfy couch.)
My husband hurt his back and has had daily chiropractic visits (including today) that I've had to drive him to along with all of our children (and I can't even tell you how much the chiropractor seems to love having four kids sitting in his waiting room that is smaller than your typical closet) and thus we decided to DVR so we could watch conference later. (I remember the first year we got our DVR - I thought it'd be so awesome to fast forward all the hymns and just watch the talks - express conference! Then one of the speakers talked about how it was important to watch the entire conference, including all the music and how important the music was, and duly chastened I went forth and fast forwarded no more.)
Not remembering to clear out the 962 Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, we only got a partial of the first session before the DVR ran out of space.
So now I will have to jump online to read/watch the rest of today's sessions.
Before I do that, I thought I'd ask the readers which talks today particularly touched you, or that you would recommend I read first. I could just do it in order to try and get the full experience, but I've read on a couple of blogs some speakers that bloggers were touched by, like Elder Bednar and President Uchtdorf.
Also, does anyone have any ideas on how to get the older kids engaged in conference? I do remember when I was younger how boring and long it all seemed, and it probably wasn't until I got to high school that it was like this light going on and suddenly the things they were saying weren't boring, but were actually pretty fascinating. So I do know how my kids are feeling, but I'm wondering what I can do to make the whole thing a more enjoyable experience for them. Suggestions?
We have Dish Network as our satellite provider. The only reason we got satellite and that particular provider was because BYU-TV was offered. General Conference at home! Score! (I know that this makes no sense to those who have always been able to watch conference on TV, but as we had to go to the church building almost my entire life in order to watch conference, it is truly glorious to watch it from your comfy couch.)
My husband hurt his back and has had daily chiropractic visits (including today) that I've had to drive him to along with all of our children (and I can't even tell you how much the chiropractor seems to love having four kids sitting in his waiting room that is smaller than your typical closet) and thus we decided to DVR so we could watch conference later. (I remember the first year we got our DVR - I thought it'd be so awesome to fast forward all the hymns and just watch the talks - express conference! Then one of the speakers talked about how it was important to watch the entire conference, including all the music and how important the music was, and duly chastened I went forth and fast forwarded no more.)
Not remembering to clear out the 962 Dora the Explorer and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, we only got a partial of the first session before the DVR ran out of space.
So now I will have to jump online to read/watch the rest of today's sessions.
Before I do that, I thought I'd ask the readers which talks today particularly touched you, or that you would recommend I read first. I could just do it in order to try and get the full experience, but I've read on a couple of blogs some speakers that bloggers were touched by, like Elder Bednar and President Uchtdorf.
Also, does anyone have any ideas on how to get the older kids engaged in conference? I do remember when I was younger how boring and long it all seemed, and it probably wasn't until I got to high school that it was like this light going on and suddenly the things they were saying weren't boring, but were actually pretty fascinating. So I do know how my kids are feeling, but I'm wondering what I can do to make the whole thing a more enjoyable experience for them. Suggestions?
Sariah Wilson — 10/03/2009 09:01:00 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
I was particularly touched early by Elder Scott's talk. The last part was about pornography issues, but the firs half or so was so poignant about how to not only listen to the Spirit but be taught by it and actively seek out those moments. It was one of those aha moments for me.
(That, and his voice is always so calming. I love his talks.)
I felt a great loss when Elder Wirthlin died; I simply LOVED that man and his amazing talks. "Concern for the One" probably still will be my all-time favorite when I die.
Elder Andersen is making my loss easier to bear. He reminds me so much of Elder Wirthlin in the messages of grace and love and inclusion he shares.
I haven't been able to see any of it yet - we have to go to the Stake Centre to watch Conference, and it's a long drive, plus it starts at 5 p.m. our time and finishes around midnight. The kids play up the whole time when we're there (tired, probably), so after spending the whole of the last three conferences in the nursery, I've given up. I'll go through the conference Ensign with my highlighter pen when it comes out.
What luxury to be able to watch it on your TV!
Both Elder Oaks and Pres. Packer impressed me deeply. When our kids were small, I would give them each paper, pencils and crayongs and tell them to listen to each speaker then draw a picture of something the speaker talked about in his talk. Sometimes I had a hard time seeing what they heard, but as we talked about it, I discovered they got more of the message than I thought they had. We also only insisted that the little ones only be in the room for one session, then added more sessions as they got older.
One more:
I like the obvious love and gentleness of the greetings between the spouses – and the fact that a couple of the widowers in the 12 were supporting each other as they walked out. That sight choked me up a bit.
Have you ever played General Conference Bingo? Make a bingo card with gospel-type words like faith, hope, charity, etc. As you hear one of the words used in a talk you can mark it off. You can make a card with the pictures of the general authorities for nonreaders.
When my children were younger, I let them play with anything quiet (coloring, puzzles, Legos), as long as they played in the room where we were watching conference.
Really good treats help too.
Did you know you can go to ksl.com and get a live broadcast of conference?
Another option for viewing is lds.org on the internet. Check that out if you can't get it on TV or your stake center is too far away. My wife said Elder Holland was getting kind of animated for an apostle. I always enjoy all the talks.
Charlie
One word: Legos
We do Legos too--we bring the big box of Legos down to the family room while we listen to Conference.
I thought the whole thing was great. Except for Pres. Monson's daughter. She was a bit strange for me, smiling the whole time she was talking about a bridge collapse. Other than that, I was really impressed by what was shared.
It was good to read some of the ideas for kids. That will be good to know as Emma grows up.
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