General Relief Society Meeting- Loved It!

We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at our house, and as such the end of September and beginning of October is a unique time for us, it is the time when the leadership of the LDS church addresses the world as a whole, and provides guidance for us in the latter days- or General Conference. I will be the first to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of conference as a kid or teen, I saw it as a time to skip church while pretending to watch it on TV with my family while really eating the candy my mom had out for the little kids to use for “conference bingo”. As an adult I am happy to say that my attitude has improved drastically and I look forward to conference not just because it means a PJ filled weekend at home, but also because it means we have the opportunity to hear from living prophets. I love this time of year, I love the General sessions the first weekend of October, but my very favorite part of the Fall Conference is the General Relief Society session, particularly the message from the First Presidency. The messages last night were wonderful, but I particularly enjoyed the message given by President Henry B. Eyring. The message was heart felt, and timely for me. I went through and listened again today, and pulled out just a few quotes I loved.

“Caring for those in need takes a team, a loving and unified society, that is what the Lord is building in you.”

“Heavenly Father hears and answers your prayers of faith for guidance and for help to endure in your service to him. The Holy Ghost is sent to you and those you care for, you will be strengthened and yet inspired to know the limits and extent of your ability to serve. The spirit will comfort you when you may wonder did I do enough?”

I love the reassurance that our Heavenly Father is mindful of us, mindful of our desire to serve those around us, and mindful of our limitations and personal circumstances.

I love that as members of the Relief Society we so often have the opportunity to serve those around us. I loved the emphasis on visiting teaching last night. Since moving to Texas my testimony of visiting teaching has been strengthened tremendously. I have been blessed with an amazing visiting teaching companion (no really she is the best, please don’t switch her!) and wonderful sisters. As we have visited our sisters and been given even little opportunities to serve them it has been amazing to see my love for them and my testimony of the program grow. I loved hearing about visiting teaching as more than a monthly phone call or visit, but as an opportunity to really develop friendships and serve one another.

The session helped me remember that even if we don’t have the opportunity to attend Relief Society we can still be active participants in the program and the sisterhood. I haven’t had the chance to attend Relief Society for a little while now and sometimes I feel a little bit isolated from some of the sisters, but this was a great reminder that Relief Society is more than just the meeting on Sunday or the Enrichment/Relief Society meetings. Loved it!