General Conference

Twice a year--the first weekend of October and April--LDS church members around the world sit in their homes and/or church buildings and soak in the words of church leaders spoken at General Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. It's been interesting to me, as someone who did not grow up in the church, to observe the eagerness with which people await conference. It feels almost like a holiday.  Some people have grown up with various traditions surrounding conference that they continue to observe, such as celebrating Sunday morning with cinnamon rolls or dressing up in a suit and tie even while watching the broadcast from the comfort of their living rooms. (For the record, I opted for yoga pants. Church in pajamas? Yes, please!) 

One of the most important doctrines of the LDS church is the idea of continuing revelation. As prophets and apostles lived and taught in Christ's day, so too do we have the privilege of listening to men called by God to teach his people and to guide his church on the earth today. At first, the idea of having "prophets" in the church made me a bit uncomfortable. I thought, "Sure, they call themselves prophets so that people have to do whatever they say." This apprehension quickly dissolved when I actually listened to and read church talks. The core teachings in almost every talk are the atonement of Jesus Christ and following the commandments.  "Atonement" is a term that Mormons throw around quite a bit, and a concept that we spend our whole lives studying.  In just a few words, atonement is the act of Christ taking upon himself all the sins of the world so that through repentance we can return to live with our Father in heaven again.  Is this concept new? No. Of course not. It's been taught now for millennia. But, the challenges we face today are much different than the challenges that faced Christians 2,000, 200, or even 20 years ago. Continuing revelation helps to keep God's people on the straight and narrow path in an age when the path keeps being obscured and shifted by increasing moral relativism. We are not asked to follow the prophets' counsel blindly. We receive the counsel and are asked to pray about it to come to know for ourselves that it is true. While some teachings are easy to accept, others take more time. What I like most about General Conference is that church leaders  teach and preach on relevant topics that make me reflect on how I am living my life and what changes I need to make in order to align my life more closely with Christ's perfect example. I already have a list of goals for the next six months, including reflecting more in this space. We'll see how well I do. Luckily, the atonement is real, and God is merciful!