mormon women Archives - Women in The Church of Jesus Christ

“Be Partakers” – a watercolor painting about oil in our lamps, the light of Christ, the tree of life, and more

Women Seeking Christ — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 02:24:00 +0000

Many thanks to Pauline Colton for sharing this beautiful watercolor painting with us. Below, she shares some of her thoughts about the painting, and a few of the many scriptures that came to mind as she was working on this piece. We first shared this in 2009 but the image was not accessible. We figured it was a great opportunity to re-share. Please note the image is copyrighted, and shared with permission. More information below.

“Be Partakers”

Alma 37:6 “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”

The greatest of all the gifts of God is His Son. Christ willingly and lovingly makes the blessings, the healing and the power of the atonement available to each of us. Only by small and simple means can I be in a position to partake of the atonement.

As I worked on the drawing and design of this piece, I had many scriptures come to mind. By taking note of each scripture as I recalled it, I ended up with six pages of scriptures. I categorized the scriptures by elements in the painting. Here, I include only one reference for each category:

1. Being partakers – Alma 5:62

2. Fruit – 1 Nephi 8:10-12

3. Tree – Revelation 2:7

4. Oil – D&C 33:16-17

5. Support for the lamp – Isaiah 41:10

6. Drop by drop – Deut 32:2

7. Light of the World – John 8:12

8. Light of Christ given to man – D&C 84:45-46

9. Clay lamp – Isaiah 64:8

10. Being invited – Revelation 3:20

Copyright Pauline Colton. Picture may be reproduced and used for for personal, non-profit use.

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Poder: Power to be able to…

Women Seeking Christ — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 04:52:41 +0000

~by Whitney

I am only a few days away from starting my service as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It does not seem possible that something I have waited for all my life is finally within reach. Knowing what is ahead is daunting, but my feelings of inadequacy and nervousness subside when I think about the lessons God has taught me this past year and especially this past semester to prepare me for “that which will be my finest hour” (to quote Winston Churchill found in Elaine S. Dalton’s talk: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/…/come-let-us-go-up…)

Here are some of the lessons I have learned these past couple of months.

1. “Own it.” These words came after pleading to Heavenly Father to help me out of the whirlpool of negative thoughts about myself. These two words changed everything for me. Now, I am choosing to own my body, my thoughts, my personality, my family, my weakness, etc. Through this, I can repent and find satisfaction in my life because I am honest and grateful.

2. Be deliberate in bettering the relationships you care about. This is probably a “no duh” for most, but I needed to remember it. I need to remember it for my mission for both those at home and those I work beside.

3. Ask questions. They change everything. Because of a simple question, I’ve been able to spend my time between school and a mission with two of my favorite families. Because of a simple question, I get to do my MTC at an unimaginably perfect place. Because of simple questions, I have gained some of the sweetest relationships with strangers on planes and in the classroom. If you don’t believe me, just look at what a question did for Joseph Smith.

4. “Trust it, even though you don’t feel it.” Another powerhouse phrase that the Spirit inspired me with when I was consumed in anxiety. In my life right now, I know that the mission is the right next step. So even when it feels daunting or crippling, I can trust what I know rather than what I feel in the moment.

5. “Whitney, it’s true.” These were the words my coach said to me after receiving my temple endowment. I’ll never forget how I felt when he said those simple words to me.

6. Like any parent, Heavenly Father does not respond to everything His children ask for. This sounds harsh, but just picture what a day would be like if a toddler got their way the whole day. It simply would not be good. It is the same for Heavenly Father. I do not know if He always responds. But for me, that does not matter because I know He always listens.

7. “Cheerfully do all things that lie in your power; and then… stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (Doctrine and Covenants 123:17). Just show up (as my mom puts it). God is aware and will work a marvelous work for us.

8. Heavenly Father wants to help us know we are on the right path. And when we know what we are doing is right, it is exhilarating.

9. When I know it and I know that God knows it, that is enough.

10. I #HearHim through the words “that is what I can do.” I know Christ wants us to press forward. Therefore His words of correction and inspiration motivate and excite us. This principle was emphasized in my Portuguese study: He gives us power through revelation (power in Portuguese = poder) and with that, we can do what He asks us to do (poder as a verb = to be able to).

I love truth. I love my Savior. I love my Heavenly Father. I love this Gospel. I love what is coming in a week. It is all so good.

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2018 BYU Women’s Conference Transcripts and Videos

Women Seeking Christ — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 09:42:13 +0000

There are various transcripts and videos available from the 2018 BYU Women’s Conference. (For a link to the full program, see here.)

Transcripts:

President Kevin J. Worthen: Strengthen One Another in the Lord

Susan L. Gong: Our Savior’s Love

Gerrit W. Gong

Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt: As I Loved You, Love One Another

Joyce Andrus: The Needs Before Us

Highlights from messages from Sharon Eubank and Reyna Aburto of the Relief Society General Presidency at LDS.org: “Doing better doesn’t mean doing more”

Videos:

Messages from the new Young Women General Presidency: Sister Bonnie H. Cordon, Sister Michelle D. Craig, Sister Becky Craven: “Strengthening Young Women: Believe in Your Divine Identity”

(Link to the video “Daughters of God: I am a Mormon Woman” shown in their presentation)

Friday closing message by Elder Gerrit W. Gong and Sister Susan L. Gong

“Strengthen One Another in the Lord” by President Kevin J. Worthen

“Understanding the Doctrine of Christ” by Sister Laurel McConkie

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Beautiful Heartbreak

Women Seeking Christ — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 09:12:26 +0000

Today, I heard some hard news from a friend and read a pain-filled comment here at our site. And as I opened up a page to post a new post, the following song came on.

This was not my original intent for a post, but I think it’s what I want to share today.

Life can be really, really hard, with unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes even our greatest fears can happen, and we can wonder where God is in it all.

This song from Hilary Weeks captures a powerful truth — that God’s compensatory blessings are real, and especially that the pain we go through can help us come to really know who He is and why He sent His Son.

Truth be told, I used to hate songs like this, because I couldn’t see past the pain and questions that pressed on my mind and soul. So I’m not trying to suggest that it’s easy to see past the pain and let God in. It is a process, and it’s personal, and only God knows the timing and unfolding of our lives. But I know now that He really does want to be with me in my pain. Faith won’t always prevent the hard stuff, but it can help us hope and trust that we can find Him in our heartbreak.

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Mormon women and postpartum depression and anxiety

Women Seeking Christ — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 09:32:28 +0000

I love my children with a fierceness that hurts. My oldest just graduated high school, and my momma heart hardly knows how to wrap itself around the fact that my babies are leaving our nest. There is nothing in the world except my connection with God that brings me more deep joy than being a mom.

But just yesterday, I saw a man pushing a stroller and I got a sort of heavy, anxious feeling in my chest. I turned to my husband and asked, “How did we do it? How did we do that early stage of having three little children?” Being a mom of littles was hard for me!

Although I didn’t struggle with the kind of postpartum depression that leads to thoughts of harming a baby, the OCD that had almost left me as a single young adult came back with a fury the minute I found out I was pregnant, and I dealt with serious postpartum depression with at least my first baby. And anxiety? That was my constant companion from the time I was a child. Having to also care for children of my own only exacerbated that struggle.

So when I saw this Mormon Message (see below) about a young mom who dealt with serious postpartum anxiety, depression, and OCD, my heart went out to her and I knew I wanted to post about it.

In the Church, we talk a lot about how much motherhood matters to God. Now that I’ve been doing this motherhood thing for nearly two decades, I understand more why it is that God commands us to multiply and replenish. Family matters. Motherhood matters in ways that I think our mortal selves can’t really comprehend. It’s not just for the joy that can be there, but for the challenge of it all that stretches us to the point of recognizing all the more how much we need God.

Because family life can be really, really hard. Motherhood can be knock-you-to-your knees hard. Like the woman in this video, I had spent time in the professional world before I found my husband and became a mom. I’d served a foreign mission. I’d traveled the world meeting with executives and helping them work through complex operational and organizational challenges.

But nothing, nothing could have prepared me for how hard motherhood would be. And I was embarrassed by that. As this Mormon woman says, my world was turned upside-down when I became a mother.

If you are a mom and finding yourself shocked by the challenge of motherhood, know you are not alone. Like this woman says in the Mormon Channel video, don’t hesitate to accept offers for or ask for help.

I wonder if in our busy modern lives, we’ve lost some of the power of Relief Society when it comes to helping women who are moms. I know as a mom of teenagers I wish I had more formal ways to engage the women in my ward about launching children into adulthood and parenting adult children. We need each other!

I know that when I was a young mom, I needed a lot of encouragement. I am glad I had a few friends I could call, and I’m grateful for the visiting teachers who stepped in to help. But I really didn’t know it was okay to struggle with motherhood. All I knew is that I knew my weakness as a mom and wondered if my kids deserved better.

Now I know that those weren’t thoughts from God. Now I know that motherhood is a process. Now I really know that the Atonement is for parents (oh, how grateful I am that Jesus Christ is there to cover and compensate and comfort us in our mortal weakness as parents!).

And now I know that one of the ways to access the power of the Savior’s grace is to learn to work with my body and its weakness. Anxiety, OCD, depression — these are real things. They affect the brain, which is both a physical organ and a spiritual center in our lives. Like Rachel in this video, I struggled for years not being able to feel the power of the Atonement in ways that people often talk about it. Peace isn’t something you feel regularly when anxiety presses on you. Trained therapists can help us separate out the thoughts that come with anxiety so that we can create more space for peace to enter in and have better eyes to see tender mercies that extend beyond just what we can (or can’t) feel.

Again, if you struggle as a mom, don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you struggle with anxiety, depression, OCD or other mental health issues, please share with someone. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, including professional help. The pieces can and do come together as we seek for help. And God’s grace often shows up in ways that we might not expect.

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Mormon Women leaders speak #byuwc

Women Seeking Christ — Sun, 07 May 2017 09:18:25 +0000

We recently had a comment from an LDS woman (made after General Conference) craving opportunities to hear more from our newly called Relief Society General Presidency.

I’m happy to share several links to recent addresses from our new Relief Society leaders!

In my opinion, one of the most under-celebrated events of the Relief Society — the worldwide Mormon women’s organization — was just held for two days this past week. BYU Women’s Conference is hosted by Brigham Young University, but is c0-sponsored by the Relief Society. Every year thousands of LDS women swarm the beautiful campus for two full days of general sessions, breakout classes, and significant service opportunities. I’ve attended this conference multiple times in the past, and there is a power at the conference that is amazing. I wish there was a way for more people to physically attend, but there is a way to virtually connect with some of what has happened.

Members of our new Relief Society General Presidency spoke on a couple of occasions during the BYU Women’s Conference. Sister Jean B. Bingham gave inspiring opening remarks to kick off the conference, before Sister Sharon Eubank’s powerful keynote address, and each presidency member spoke in a joint session.

In the coming weeks, other talks by faithful LDS women and men will be made available via the transcripts link at the BYU Women’s Conference site, but I’m thrilled to report that the talks given by our General Relief Society leaders are available for viewing now!

I’ll provide links to the various websites/pages below, but for ease, I’m also including direct links and embedding videos.

“How Vast Is Our Purpose,” Sister Jean B. Bingham, BYU Women’s Conference, May 5, 2017 (Highlights found in this Deseret News article.) If you have ever felt “just average” Sister Bingham’s talk is for you! She is a perfect example of the power of humility and trust in the Lord in the face of overwhelming situations.
“Eyes to See, Discipline to Create, Glue to Bind—Converted unto the Lord,” Sister Sharon Eubank BYU Women’s Conference keynote address, May 4, 2017 (again, this video also includes opening remarks by Sister Bingham). Sister Eubank shares personal experiences with the challenge (and faith that can be found) as a single sister in the Church, and has important insights into the power of Mormon women.
“Relief Society—Divinely Ordained of God,” Sister Sharon Eubank, BYU Women’s Conference, May 5, 2017. Hear more of Sister Eubank’s experiences and insights as she is processing this new calling and what Relief Society means to her.
“What Has Relief Society Been for Me?”, Sister Reyna I. Aburto, BYU Women’s Conference, May 5, 2017. Sister Aburto talks poignantly of the pain of being married to a drug and alcohol addict and the difficulty of facing divorce, finding the gospel, and discovering what it means to be a Mormon woman in the Relief Society.

Here is information to help you find talks by our Relief Society leaders in the future.

At LDS.org, on the Relief Society page, under the sidebar section entitled “General Presidency Messages.”
At LDS.org under the Broadcasts section, within the sidebar tab/section entitled “BYU Women’s Conference.” Right now, Sister Eubank’s keynote address is the only talk available. I’m sure that will change in short order.
On Mormon Channel’s YouTube channel. I’ve embedded the videos below. Sister Sharon Eubank (new first counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency) was the opening keynote speaker of the BYU Women’s Conference, and Sister Jean B. Bingham (Relief Society General President) gave some opening remarks before the keynote. For whatever reason, the YouTube version right now has a loooong segment of Mormon Tabernacle Choir music (lovely music, but makes the video very looooong). You can find the beginning of the remarks (starting with Sister Bingham) at about the 1:15 mark (that is one hour and 15 minutes).

The Relief Society General Presidency also each spoke at another session of the conference. Again, scrub to about 1:04 (that’s one hour and 4 minutes) to get to the beginning of their talks.

In time, talks from BYU Women’s Conference will also be available at BYUtv.

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Mormon Women celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Relief Society

Women Seeking Christ — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 09:38:20 +0000

It’s St. Patrick’s Day (are you wearing green?) but for Mormon women around the world, March 17 is much more than that.

It’s the day that the Relief Society, the women’s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was organized. Today marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of the Relief Society.

Here is a message from the worldwide leaders of Mormon women (the general presidency of the Relief Society), encouraging us to remember and study the history and purpose of this worldwide women’s organization.

I love the photos in that article as well, capturing Mormon women around the world.

Here are a few things to celebrate Mormon women and this special day in our history.

The First Fifty Years of Relief Society is a book that is now available online for free. This article explains how there are so many stories about faith of our foremothers, seeds of stories, that if studied can give us glimpses of the heritage early Mormon women left us.

In another article, Mormon women around the world share what Relief Society means to them.

Here is a video with Mormon women sharing their love of Relief Society.

I also love this short, straightforward video of Julie B. Beck explaining what Relief Society is about. Mormon women care about strengthening faith in Jesus Christ, building family, and serving those in need.

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Tools and truth for healing false thoughts and beliefs

Women Seeking Christ — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 11:32:12 +0000

One of the things I didn’t understand for the first 40 years of my life (I call those my 40 years in the wilderness) is that when we seek healing and help from God, there are layers of healing that can happen when we become aware of our thoughts.

I have suffered from OCD and anxiety since I was a young child. For many years, I also suffered from dysthymia (a low-level form of depression — “persistent depressive disorder” that is less pronounced than major depressive disorder but still impacts life in a significant way).

I can still remember as a child praying earnestly for God to take away my fears. But they never went away. I was so confused by this!

And I think at some point in my tween/teen life I gave up asking. (My heart hurts to even write those words.)

Now let me say that I didn’t lose my testimony. I still believed in God. I felt God guide me throughout my life, especially in major decisions (although I was always, always afraid that somehow I would make the wrong decisions and mess up my plan forever). I felt the Spirit on many occasions. I was diligent in scripture study, prayer, church attendance, and temple worship. I served a mission. I married in the temple. I did everything active Mormons do. (I don’t share this at all to boast; this is just what my journey looked like.)

I also share these things to show that all the doing of my Mormon life was not sufficient to heal my mind, heart, and spirit.

In spite of my religious habits, which were done with a good heart and real intent, I wasn’t ever consistently at peace. I was ignorant to how my own thoughts were sabotaging my spiritual health and leaving me weary of life. (I believe God unveiled me to this reality at a time when things were right in my life. But I also believe that my life could have been different had I known what I know now. And so I share in hopes that others “can be more wise than [I] have been.“)

The messages in my head were pretty constant, and included things like “You are not enough.” “What if you go through all of this life thing and find out you didn’t make it?” “You should be able to fix yourself. You have a testimony. Why aren’t you happy?” Or I would feel mad at God because I had so little peace. I would listen to conference talks and talks at church, and I would read scriptures, and I would attend the temple. And my brain still ended up feeling hopeless, seeing all I wasn’t doing. Then, because I had such a testimony, I thought the answer was simply to be more religious, to work harder to be more diligent, more dutiful.

Those in the Church who suffer from anxiety and depression may relate to some of these thoughts. Even though I had a testimony and was earnestly active in the Church, I simply didn’t know how to believe in God’s love for me (even though I could believe in it for others!) because THESE. THOUGHTS. WERE. SO. LOUD. (Yes, the all-caps was on purpose.)

I can’t speak for God, but I feel like He didn’t answer those little-girl prayers to simply take away my fears, because He knew that my 40 years in the wilderness would teach me something about my Egypt, my bondage.

God was allowing me to learn by experience to seek truth by learning through life experience what was not truth. He wasn’t ignoring me or torturing me. He was simply allowing me to experience my fall so I could know what the contrasting, personal, on-this-side-of-the-veil salvation would feel like when it was time for that healing to start to come.

I had to reach a pretty low point where I wanted more than some sort of quick-fix relief from my pain, fear, and shame. Life and health issues also brought me to a point where I couldn’t work harder or more. I had to learn how to work differently. What I needed was healing at my core, at that root level of my thoughts. That healing for me couldn’t start to happen until I connected with others further along this specific, thought-level approach to seeking the healing power of Christ.

I needed to know, first, that healing. is. possible. And I needed guidance on the how.

For me, angel-from-heaven therapists were a start and have been critical to my healing. But the real change for me started happening when I followed through on the heaven-sent idea to attend 12-step meetings, which I have been attending regularly for five years now. Immersing myself in a healing community has been life-changing. The Twelve Steps also have taught me the how of accessing the Atonement. It’s the different work that my mind and spirit had actually been desiring to understand since my youth. (I still remember asking people in my teens what it meant to put things at Jesus’ feet. I knew the what. But no one ever explain a how that I could wrap my head around. The Twelve Steps changed that for me.)

With that hope from hearing others’ stories of healing, and learning from their how, I eventually started to engage my own process of learning to identify and start to surrender these voices in my head. (Think of Moses’ experience in Moses 1 where he first experienced truth about God’s nature and power as the foundation to be able to recognize how much the devil truly was not God. I was a faithful member of the Church, so temple-recommend type of obedience was not my issue. But obedience alone to the commandments was not enough to heal my mind. My fallen thoughts were a channel for the devil to have a hold on my life.)

Along the way, I also have had impressions (personal commandments!) to do things like yoga and meditation as well (great tools for helping one learn how to observe one’s thoughts in a non-judgmental way and to be more present rather than obsessed with the past or the future).

I now understand that because my OCD and anxiety started when I was barely at the age of accountability, perhaps even before, the false beliefs around which my mind developed have been around for a long, long time. I now understand that it will continue to take time for the layers to be revealed to me, but I’m learning to cherish the process. God shows up in amazing ways to let me know that the real truth about Him is nothing like I had imagined in the hamster wheel of my head. As we learn in Lectures on Faith, we can’t really exercise faith in God unless we have a correct understanding of His character and attributes. Through this find-and-surrender/replace process, I am coming to know a God who is more gentle, loving, kind, patient, and ever-ready to help me than I ever could have dreamed. He meets me where I am and takes me one baby step, one thought at a time, to show me more of who He really is. He isn’t angry when I can’t just figure it out or fix myself.

In fact, one of the most important truths that has come to light is that it is simply not my job to change or fix myself. That doesn’t mean I sit passively. I can use my agency to surround myself with people engaging in this process. I can be willing to learn from the pain of my unhealthy thought patterns, and let the pain teach me (rather than expecting God to anesthetize me). I can choose to pray for courage to seek knowledge and insight from the pain that my hamster-wheel thoughts cause me (rather than trying to force myself to think differently — which only breeds shame — I can practice being kind to myself in that process). I can do my usual Mormon stuff (scriptures, prayers, church, temple, service) and also do the things that I now know help me stay plugged into this process and the hope for healing (my 12-step meetings and study of 12-step recovery stories and truths, taking walks with friends who are engaged in a similar process).

As I become aware and gently observe thought patterns that do me harm, I can journal and (especially) talk to others about what I am seeing. But it really gets exciting when I then turn to God to start giving Him my false beliefs and letting Him give me truth to replace those beliefs. I call this the divine find-and-replace process.

Again, I used to just expect Him to make my mind better, to make me feel better. I was confused and hurt and scared when He didn’t. This was an innocent desire, but an ignorant one.

I wanted a cure, but God wanted me to find the healing power of Christ.

I wanted instant relief, but now I realize He wants to give me more than that.

He wants to give me experience engaging Him in a very personal way. He wants to heal me at my core. It is a very individualized, sacred process. There are patterns of truth that appear in what others experience in this process (which is why I treasure my 12-step meetings), but the truths I practice believing are mine, from God, for me. I write them on my mirror and in my journal, and I ask support people to help me practice believing them. We practice believing together.

It is in identifying my personal pavilions — my own fallen, false beliefs (again, many of which I developed when I was a tender child) — that I become ready for Him to teach me about who He really is. How He really feels about me.

I am coming to believe that this is what Alma talks about when he talked about exercising faith. Faith isn’t about outcomes. It’s about a process. For me, it’s about God helping me identify the weeds that were choking out my seed that has been there all along, wanting to grow. He is helping me prepare the ground of my mind to create more space for Him.

This kind of faith is so much different than when I was trying to somehow earn God’s fixing power by simply being more religious. Without meaning to, I was treating God like a vending machine by focusing on the quick-fix relief I wanted. I now understand that He wants to engage a sweeter-than-sweet-fruit process with me that I can plug into every day.

I am repeating myself, I know. But the principles and patterns in this process are so powerful!

It’s also important to know that I have not been magically cured of my OCD or anxiety (although the persistent, depressive state I was in is all but gone). My brain still has a tendency to get stuck very easily. But I have tools now. Tools and truth. I feel like I have been given new life.

And, interestingly enough, my weak things allow God to show me His strength. Were all of my mortal weaknesses taken from me, I don’t think I would desire to lean on Him like I do now. (The words of Paul and Moroni mean so much more to me now.)

This week, I’d like to share a few stories (including ones I have just across this past week) that reflect some of these tools and truths. Only one resource that I will share will be from the Twelve Step world; I realize that not everyone will need or benefit from 12-step work. But the principles found in this process are true, and they show up in a lot of different ways, in a lot of different tools and techniques. I gain confidence in truth when those patterns appear.

Because even as this is a spiritual process, it’s also a very earthy one. Our brains are part of our fallen selves, and when we can work with God to bring our thoughts more into alignment with spiritual truth, I think it’s a way for us to experience more of the joy that God intends for us in this life. Through this process, I am coming to believe that we can experience glimpses of resurrected joy on this side of the veil.

For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element…connected, receive…joy;

And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples

I share these experiences, tools, and truth because I know there are others out there like me. I know there are many people who are suffering (sometimes ignorantly, often in silence) with their own shame and hamster-wheel thoughts, whether because of mental illnesses like anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar or other disorders; childhood abuse or trauma; adult traumas — or simply just because we all have layers that develop because we are mortal. Through the journey we call life, our mortal brains find quick-fix ways to make sense of our world, and often the false beliefs and coping mechanisms that develop along the way take up space where God wants to give truth.

I hope that some of what is shared here can be helpful. I know God cares about your pain. Don’t give up on the process; the pain can actually show you where He wants to heal you. Find others who can help and who understand. There is hope! Healing is possible!

With love,

Michelle

MormonWoman.org admin

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General Women’s Meeting Fall 2016 #ldsconf

Women Seeking Christ — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 06:48:21 +0000

Did you have a chance to watch the General Women’s Meeting, the first session of the fall 2016 General Conference? If so, please share your thoughts below, or use the hashtag #ldsconf and If not, following are ways you can watch it (these are also online venues you can use for the rest of the General Conference Sessions next week).

Find the entire meeting at LDS.org’s General Conference page.

Watch the videos on the LDS General Conference YouTube channel or at the Mormon Channel YouTube channel.

Find a DVR recording of the General Women’s Meeting at byutv.org

Watch at byutv.org

Watch the embedded video here (includes prelude music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, so scroll to find the beginning of the meeting.)

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Listen to music from the Women’s meeting (and stay tuned for more music coming next weekend).

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Watch individual talks:

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Permacallings (#ldsconf Odyssey)

Women Seeking Christ — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 14:30:37 +0000

Editor’s note: This post is part of a collaborative effort of Mormon bloggers who are reading and writing about General Conference talks. We call it the General Conference Odyssey. This article at Meridian Magazine explains more about the Odyssey, and includes some thoughts from those of us participating in this project.

One of the things I appreciate about being a part of this effort is to read the words of my fellow brothers and sisters. Their perspectives and experience enrich my experience engaging the words of the prophets. Of course, we don’t want our posts to replace the words of the prophets, but we hope perhaps this project will inspire you in some way, as it has us.

The other posts from this week’s reading, which focused on the Friday Afternoon Session of the April 1971 General Conference, are at the bottom of the post.

It’s so interesting to see how the “What should I write about?” process works each week with the General Conference Odyssey. This week, rather than feeling drawn to the patterns in the talks, (which were definitely present — commandments was a key theme), I was drawn to the one talk that was completely different in focus and voice, which ended up opening up a pattern I observed in my personal sphere.

S. Dilworth Young began his talk thusly:

It is my desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord in what I say. The wards and branches of the Church have been organized to give activity to a large number of the members, the great majority actually. Yet there are many with no official position or no specific responsibility that calls them to do formal acts for the organization. They belong to the Church; they belong to the stake; they belong to the ward. They are invited to attend various classes and meetings designed for their instruction, but at the conclusion of a meeting they go home, having no particular appointment to arouse them to organizational activity. Many of them feel that they are being left out, that their talents are not wanted. Others do not want to accept any responsible calling.

I have struggled with health issues for 13 years and for several years, my health has affected my ability to hold Sunday callings. I have been active; I attend Sunday meetings every week. My issues relate to sleep and fatigue and migraines; mornings are a challenge. But I didn’t want to miss church, so I have attended other wards. (I have such a testimony about how much God cares about me getting the sacrament; I can’t tell you how many times He woke me up just in time to get the sacrament. Amazing.)

My calling for I-don’t-know-how-many-years has been ward tech specialist. As passionate as I am about the benefits of technology, the work I can do in this calling is fairly limited. And sometimes, as Elder Young describes, I have felt detached and sometimes discouraged when I’ve heard repeated talks about the importance of filling a calling. I also felt self-doubt about the things I have been able to do in spite of health issues — like running this website and doing other online volunteer work.

Without a formal calling, though, there have been times I have wondered if my offerings were acceptable to the Lord because my work wasn’t necessarily part of a calling for which I was set apart.

(I also read Elder Young’s words and think of women who may equate a differential in leadership callings between men and women as a sign that we are less needed, so I hope some of what I share here will be helpful.)

I love what Elder Young had to say — something that I’ve felt the Spirit tell me, and yet, it was still refreshing to hear it so clearly articulated “over the pulpit.”

Each of us has the same general calling. Each of us has the same responsibility as a result of entering into the waters of baptism and making the covenant. The Lord will not hold us blameless if we allow organizational responsibility, or the lack of it, to interfere with this special calling….

He then quotes numerous scriptures — too numerous to list here — that underscore the calling we all have to help the children of God who are in need. It seems obvious, but again, who doesn’t need to hear that our personal service to the one really does matter. In a world where accolades and position and resumes often measure the worth of work, it’s refreshing to be reminded that the Lord doesn’t work that way.

All about us are those in need of encouragement, assistance, and help—help of a kind we can all give, not money, but time and attention and personal encouragement, especially to those who must bear great responsibility for loved ones and who cannot pass it to others for the simple reason there are no others to whom to pass it.

I think of the women from years ago who I called my “stay-at-home sisters.” They were women who had older children but still chose to stay home. That was where they felt they should be. They filled their time serving others. These women helped me at a time when my health issues first started and I had three very young children. Some of my dearest friendships came out of that period in my life when I was in such want and women stepped into that role to help me over and over again.

I think of my friend who came over and read to my children when they had a two-week stomach bug and my husband was out of town. I think of friends who have spent hours with me walking and talking, helping me face the inevitable cycle of discouragement that swings around with chronic pain.

These are the kinds of examples of “helping the poor and needy” that Elder Young invites us to embrace as our covenant responsibility and opportunity. When we don’t have a formal [or “big”] calling, it’s all the more a chance to reach people who can’t be reached otherwise.

I know that home teachers are responsible for these needs, but often those at home conceal the needs from them. I know there are visiting teachers, but still there are many who hide their needs from them. I know the priesthood is expected to be alert, but this responsibility goes beyond the organized priesthood. This is a personal obligation that no living soul who loves the Lord can dismiss. It is one to which we must ever be alert.

Those with no [or “smaller’] ward assignments have more time to pursue this great work of the salvation of souls. Let us not sit back jealous of those giving attention to the stake, the ward, the auxiliaries [or sit back and wonder if our informal service matters to God], but seek our salvation where the Lord appointed us, among those who, weak in spirit, weak in body, or weak in desire, need to be encouraged, need to be raised up in the kingdom of God on this earth….

This echoes what James said: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27.)

One last word from the Lord to us in this day: “And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple.” (D&C 52:40.)

I think of the conversation I just had on Sunday with the wife of a bishop of a young adult ward. Oh, how I wish every Mormon woman could have heard her and her husband talk about how they work together! She has not been set apart in her role as “just the bishop’s wife.” But there is no “just” in her service, and because she doesn’t limit her view by her lack of formal calling, she is channeling heavenly power in the lives of these young adults. That power was palpable.

Another conversation with a friend allowed me to bring up this talk by Elder Young, and reminded me also of President Russell M. Nelson’s recent Plea to [the] Sisters. How much the Lord needs us as women to understand how power through covenant living can and must be unleashed in these latter days as we prepare for the Savior’s Second Coming!

If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work. – Doctrine and Covenants 4:5-6

It is easy to think that being called means being formally called. I am grateful for this talk by Elder Young and all that happened in my world this week to remind me that God’s work is everywhere and the needs of His children are all around us. Our calling to serve is never-ending, not bound by formal callings alone. I desire to serve. I pray to be open to where He calls me to help, every day.

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Other posts from this week’s General Conference Odyssey can be found below:

This is What the Gospel Is	http://difficultrun.nathanielgivens.com/2016/01/26/this-is-what-the-gospel-is
No Easy Path	http://www.jrganymede.com/2016/01/26/no-easy-path/
LDS Conference October 1971 – The Mysteries of Being Righteous Aren’t So Mysterious	http://www.sixteensmallstones.org/lds-conference-october-1971-the-mysteries-of-being-righteous-arent-so-mysterious/
Football, FHE, and Sacrifice	https://symphonyofdissent.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/football-fhe-and-sacrifice/
Obedience, Sacrifice, and Love	http://goodgazette.blogspot.com/2016/01/obedience-sacrifice-and-love-october.html
Choose the RIght. Why?	http://patheos.com/blogs/soulandcity/2016/01/choose-the-right-why/
Battle of the Wills	http://www.ldswomenofgod.com/battle-of-the-wills/
Practicing (Obeying) Virtue (the Commandments)	http://difficultrun.nathanielgivens.com/2016/01/26/practicing-obeying-virtue-the-commandments/
Love and Sacrifice	http://rainscamedown.blogspot.com/2016/01/love-and-sacrifice.html

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