I admit I was not particularly spiritually inclined the first day. I had spent the previous day with an insanely nasty headache (not a migraine, oddly enough), and only had four hours of sleep the night before. I did get a few good quotes though (wording may not be exact):
"Ideals are stars to steer by; they are not stickes to beat ourselves with."
"People are unique, and one size never fits all!"
"Righteousness has never precluded adversity, but it can be a source of inner strength and peace."
"No one's life can be both faith-filled and stress-free."
Friday started a bit better, after a good night's sleep. Before the first session, I went and got some chocolate milk for all three of us; when I got it back, I handed Laura hers and started into the aisle. I was passing the second one behind my back to hand to Mom, it dropped and started bouncing down to the front of the Marriot Center, eep! Actually, we were only on the fourth row. I handed Mom the last chocolate milk and headed down after it, with the announcement "what can I say, I like it well-shaken!" to the women I was passing (it was actually rather humorous, the right comment at the right time, you know?). I got the bottle, back up to my seat, and was relieved to find not even a crack in it, the delicious chocolate goodness all still safely contained within.
After the first session, we were all going to get lunch before splitting off to go to our own choice of sessions (we had spent the first day all together). Mom and Laura both picked up some Cafe Rio salads; not hungry myself, and let's face it still rather moody, I decided to not inflict myself on them any longer and headed off to the BYU Bookstore. Let's face it, when am I not at home in a bookstore? While there I actually spent some time making recommendations to a couple of moms looking for good books for their teenagers, which definitely marked the beginning of my attitude shift (witty chocolate milk comment aside) to the positive; two things I'm good at--helping people, and fantasy literature :). After making my own selections, I bolted down a quick lunch (not having realized how much time had passed in the bookstore) and headed off to my first selected session, "Enfold Me in Thy Quiet Hour". This is one of the few classes that I came to know that the Lord wanted to me to attend, and I am so glad I listened. It's not like I really learned anything new, just new ways to apply what the Lord has taught me over the years. While I was greatly uplifted by the class as a whole, one of the statements that had the most impact on me goes something like this:
"The thought in your mind at this moment is contributing...to the shaping of your soul"
Given that I have spent the last...well...long time thinking mostly less-than-positive ones, I officially flipped the switch on my attitude and began truly enjoying my day, eagerly drawing in the rest of the class and eagerly anticipating the rest of the Conference. Yay!
After the final concurrent session, we all met back up at the Marriot Center for the official Final Session with Elder David A. Bednar and Sister Bednar. It is while waiting for the final session to start that I really started getting the message the Lord had sent me that morning. The theme of the conference was "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass" (Alma37:6-7). By one small and simple act of keeping that chocolate milk bottle whole, the Lord had shown me directly that He is present in the small and simple things, and a great impact was made on my heart and spirit. The Lord took the time to show me a miracle, a small and simple miracle. "Wow" doesn't even begin to describe how I felt when the Spirit told me that.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes of day 2 (again, not necessarily word for word):
"I do this because this is what the Lord taught me to do"
"[Relief Society] is not a passee organization, it is in its ascendancy!"
"Charity is covenant-keeping at its purest; it is more than benevolence, it is becoming like Christ and partaking of the atonement"
"How foolish and futile to walk through life without divine help!"
"Much more power is available to us in mortality than we take advantage of"
"Do I really do all I can to receive the Spirit in my life, or do I allow outside influences to distract me?"
"Speeding tickets have nothing to do with our worth as daughters of God"
"The Lord knows all and is over all--we are never outnumbered!"
"Children are like wet cement--whatever falls on them makes an impression"
"Fear not, be of good cheer; the future is as bright as your faith"
"We should find comfort that ordinary people, through God, will bring amazing results"
"Steadiness over time is more effective than 'spiritual-spurting'" or, as Neal A. Maxwell put it, "Measured steadiness is more effective than spurts then slackness"
Like Laura, I find myself with an abundance of notes (33 pages in my case). If you like anything you've read here, let me know and I'll be happy to pass along a few more :)
Overall, I have found myself to be much happier and at peace with where I'm at in my life. It was actually a rather spiritual week--I had attended a meeting at the Conference Center the Tuesday before, and the first official Stake Conference of a brand new stake, at which I think my favorite quote I jotted down was:
"You either have the Spirit or you don't"
I admit it tickled my funny bone a bit and brought out a smile that day, but frankly that about sums it all up. I only hope to find myself within the first half of that statement more often than not.
