LDS General Conference October 2014 Sunday Afternoon Session

Elder Ballard

This entire talk was based on the metaphor of river rapids as life experiences. Elder Ballard counseled that God has given us tools to get through trials.

1."Stay in the boat"
The old ship Zion is a metaphor for the church. If we stay with the church we will be carried safely into the harbor because the Lord is at the helm. I think this tells us that even if we may have little doubts our disagreements, it's important to always hold onto church.

How do we stay in the boat? Continuous conversion. Increasing our faithfulness. The leaders of the church cannot and will not lead us astray. When the apostles and prophets speak, it is with a united voice. Church leaders are not out of touch. 

I feel like this is preparing us for times when it is crucial to stand firm wit hour beliefs and follow the prophet. 

2. Always wear a life jacket

This symbolizes the council of the prophets. We should search the scriptures diligently and focus on studying, living, and loving the doctrine of Christ. We also need much prayer and fasting. The fundamental principles are the apostles' testimonies of Christ.

This talk made it clear how important it is to stick with the church and our beliefs.

Richard G. Scott

The easiest way to fast find peace is to make gospel tools habits. We should ask the Lord how we can make better use of these tools.

1. Prayer
Peace through prayer will help you through trials. Tell Him everything that concerns you. Family prayer is a non-negotiable priority.

2. Scriptures
This is how the Lord communicates. This made me think of how important it is to pair prayer with scriptures especially in times of trials.

3. FHE
We teach the gospel formally and informally. This is a special time to bear testimonies, strengthen family bonds and have a marvelous time together.

4. Go to the temple
There is no more peaceful place on Earth than the temple. We can go there to listen, ponder, and pray about our ordinances.

We can endure everything as we come unto Him.

LDS General Conference October 2014 Sunday Morning Session

Russell M. Nelson

Do we really understand what it means to have a prophet?

We should sustain the prophet in deed and in thought. What don't elect or remove prophets through the ways of man. The dealing of the prophet are purely through God. We should do all we can to uphold their calling.

It is our sacred obligation to sustain the prophet. The living Lord leads his living church. We have no need to hear because He is always at the helm.

Many of the speakers at conference spoke about following the prophet. This is clearly an important message for our time.

James Hamula

The sacrament needs to become more holy and sacred to us.

The bread symbolizes personal resurrection and the restored presence of God. The water symbolizes how we are made clean and Jesus' atonement.

We will be clean if we have faith sufficient unto repentance. We must declare that we are willing to take His name upon us. The ordinance of the sacrament helps us to endure to the end.

This wasn't the only talk about sacrament. It definitely made me think about how I can focus more on the sacredness of the sacrament.

Thomas S. Monson

The purpose of our life on Earth is to obtain a body, gain experience, and keep the commandments to return to Heavenly Father. We brought our agency will us when we came to Earth. We have been given the tools we need to endure: the council and teachings of the prophets and the example of Christ. We should walk"as" Jesus walked.

The prophet clearly laid out what we are to do in order to be successful in this life. It's nice to have a reminder that everything we need to endure has been provided to us.

LDS General Conference October 2014 Saturday Afternoon Session

Elder Oaks

It's hard to always live with Christ-like love when we are not all worthy disciples. Nevertheless, Jesus gave us the great commandment to love one another. We must look to his example to emulate this. We are to live in the world, not of the world.

"He that hath a spirit of contention is not of me" This warning against contention applies to all aspects of our lives.

While we should be kind and tolerant to others, we should not dilute our values. We should be firm with loving kindness.

Todd R. Callister

Parents are to be the prime gospel teachers in their children's lives. Teach them to pray about things that are of eternal importance. Help your children master morning prayer. Restrict TV time and redirect into gospel efforts. Make sure your children always receive your best efforts.

Elder Klebingat

How confident are you in your faith? The adversary tries to distance us from the Lord and make us lose confidence.

6 ways to grow spiritual confidence

• Take responsibility for own spiritual well-being
• Take responsibility for physical well-being
• Embrace voluntary, whole-hearted obedience
• do the right things, for the right reasons
• make the church your whole life
• Repent thoroughly and quickly
• welcome and apply repentance daily
• be joyful in repentance
• Be good at forgiving
• we are never exempt for forgiving
• Accept trials and surprises as experiences
• don't be immobilized by weakness

Elder Holland

Jesus' great duty was to bless the poor. He had no more persistent call than to help them.

Do whatever you can. Don't withhold charity because you don't think the poor are worthy of your gift. Are we not all beggars? We should pray for people in need as well as give all we can. Fasting at least once a month is also of critical importance.

LDS General Conference October 2014 Saturday Morning Session

Lynn G Robbins

Do we fear God over men? "I do only those things which please my Father" This should be our goal in all things. Jesus is the only one who didn't forget the Father. We should always look to him as an example. Jesus followed in His Father's way so perfectly that he became "indistinguishable" from the Father. We should strive to be one with Jesus and our Heavenly Father as Jesus did.

Cheryl A. Esplin

Sacrament should be a truly spiritual experience.

How?
-Listen to the sacrament prayers and recommit to covenants.
-Put Him first. Always remember Him.

We will constantly look to the savior to guide our thoughts, actions, and choices. We should think about him more in our daily life.

Remember the enabling power of the atonement. The Spirit heals and renews our souls. The sacrament gives us this spirit.

The more we ponder the sacrament, the more sacred it becomes.

**Action: Make sacrament a spiritual experience**

Dieter Uchtdorf

Learn to listen to the Savior's voice. The Savior is the way back to Heavenly Father.

1.Search the Word of God
2.Consider, ponder, and be grateful
3. Ask Heavenly Father to manifest truth
4.Live the principles

And after doing all this, pray to know it is true. When we seek the light, we show God that we are ready for more.